[Election 2024] No more stamps on hands: Voting proof shots evolve

Sharing voting proof shots on social media has been a trend in Korea for some time. In this election, the trend has evolved further with young voters preparing special papers to stamp voting marks on instead of stamping the mark on their hands. Unsurprisingly, these special papers reflect the voter’s personality, often featuring objects of their recent fascination, or even the baseball team they are rooting for. On X, Instagram and other social media platforms, a variety of proof shots

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

Torn ballots and illegal broadcasts: What happened on election day

  South Koreans on Wednesday went to the polls for the 2024 general election, selecting the lawmakers to represent them in the 22nd National Assembly. With stakes running high, a number of incidents at polling stations across the country were reported. Here are a few of the events that took place on the election day.   Father disapproves of daughter's vote, tears up ballot   A 52-year-old man and his 22-year-old daughter went to a polling station in Samhak-dong, Gunsan, North Jeo

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

Voter turnout 64.1 percent at 5 p.m., higher than 4 years ago

April 10, 2024, 5 p.m. The nationwide voter turnout for the 2024 general election continues to be higher than the numbers at the same time in the previous parliamentary election, marking 64.1 percent as of 5 p.m. The figure was 1.5 percentage points higher than the 62.6 percent turnout at 5 p.m. during the 2020 general election. The final turnout of the previous parliamentary election was 66.2 percent. Votes submitted in the two-day early voting period last week, which saw a record turnout of

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

[Election 2024] What voters said

Wednesday’s general election was to pick the 300 members for the next four-year session of the National Assembly, but voters who spoke with The Korea Herald said their ballots extend beyond the next parliament, embodying their hopes and expectations for Korean politics as a whole, with President Yoon Suk Yeol included. Here are their voices. ‘It's all a mess’ says 87-year-old voter leaning on cane Cherry blossoms had burst into full bloom just outside a Hangangno-dong

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

People make most of Election Day off

Wednesday is officially Election Day for the 22nd session of the National Assembly, and it is also a day off for workers in South Korea, as the law mandates significant election days to be state-designated public holidays. After exercising their right to vote at the polls, many people nationwide went out to enjoy the warm spring weather, visiting parks, palaces and other attractions. Here are some of photos of Seoul residents enjoying the day off on Election Day.

Social AffairsApril 10, 2024

Clashes over China mark late campaign

South Korea’s two major parties traded barbs over their respective stance on China and foreign policies over the final days leading to the National Assembly election on Wednesday. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea leader, slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “touted value-based diplomacy” as having an adverse impact on the country’s economic partnerships with China. “Our economic domain is shrinking globally because the Yoon administration is too

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

S. Koreans head to polls amid deepening political divide

South Korean voters headed to the polls Wednesday for the country's 22nd parliamentary elections, as the country's political landscape continues to experience a deepening divide and increasing tensions. The outcome of the latest elections was expected to shape the policy road President Yoon Suk Yeol will walk for his remaining three years in office. The possible scenario of the liberal main opposition party maintaining a majority in the single-chamber, 300-member National Assembly was projected

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

China extends hands to both Koreas in diplomatic dance

China is delicately navigating a diplomatic tightrope on the Korean Peninsula by simultaneously reaching out to both South and North Korea, amid the growing alignment between Russia and North Korea, and alongside heightened cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan. China has swiftly advanced its diplomatic agenda on the peninsula by agreeing to hold a long-stalled trilateral summit involving South Korea and Japan next month, while also dispatching its No. 3 official to North Ko

Foreign AffairsApril 10, 2024

[Election 2024] 3 focal points of general election

As South Koreans vote Wednesday to elect all 300 members of the National Assembly, there are some crucial questions and pivotal issues to keep an eye on. Here, The Korea Herald highlights three focal points before the results come in. 1. How big will the liberal presence be? The election's likely victor appears clear: the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The question is, how big will their win be? The liberal party held onto an absolute majority position in the previous parlia

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

First lady remains out of public view on Election Day, inviting attacks

  South Korea's controversy-ridden first lady, Kim Keon Hee, reportedly cast her vote unbeknownst to the public or apparently the presidential office, raising questions and drawing attacks from President Yoon Suk Yeol's political opponents. Liberal YouTube channel "Park Yeol TV" revealed in a post in the channel's community section on Tuesday that Kim had voted during early voting on Friday at a polling station in Itaewon 1-dong of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, which is near the presidential

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

Voter turnout at 56.4% at 2 p.m.

April 10, 2024, 2 p.m.   The nationwide voter turnout for the 2024 general election on Wednesday was 56.4 percent as of 2 p.m., 3.4 percentage points higher than the 53 percent recorded at the same time in the previous 2020 general election. The figure includes votes submitted in the two-day early voting period last week, which saw a record turnout of 31.28 percent of the electorate. Voter turnout for the election has been higher than the last general election for both the 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

Court orders reinstatement after error costs citizenship of immigrant children

The Supreme Court recently ordered the reinstatement of South Korean citizenship for siblings born to a Chinese immigrant, who had been denied citizenship due to an administrative error that happened before their birth. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in their administrative lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice, in which they challenged the ministry's 2019 decision that they were not South Koreans. The siblings were born in 1998 and 2001 to a South Korean man and a Chinese-b

Social AffairsApril 10, 2024

[Election 2024] What more famous voters said after voting

  Lee Myung-bak, who was president of South Korea from 2008-2013, shared his views on the current state of Korean politics, after voting at a polling station in Seoul’s Gangnam district. “It's a challenging time," he began, as he sought to answer a question about the meaning of today’s elections, and before pointing out, "Korean politics don’t really match the overall level of Korea.” Kwon Yang-sook, wife of the late former president Roh Moo-hyun, vot

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

[Election 2024] Election in numbers

  As Koreans head to the polls to elect their next representatives for the legislature, here’s a quick look at the vote by key numbers.   ►22: The number of the parliamentary session to be established as a result of the April 10 election. ►51.7: Length of the ballot paper in centimeters The ballot for proportional representatives is 51.7 centimeters long, listing 38 political parties vying for the 47 seats allocated to proportional representation. ►44.25 million: Number of eligib

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

Blinken renews concerns over support for Russia's defense industrial base from N. Korea, Iran, China

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated concerns Tuesday over military support for Russia's defense industrial base from North Korea, Iran and China, as Moscow continues its protracted war against Ukraine. Blinken made the remarks during a joint press conference with his British counterpart, David Cameron, in Washington, where they dealt with a range of bilateral and global issues, including what he termed, the "imperative" to get assistance to a war-ravaged Ukraine. "

Foreign AffairsApril 10, 2024

Sullivan stresses 'synergies' in trilateral cooperation among S. Korea, US, Japan

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan highlighted "synergies" in trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan in security, technology and other fields on Tuesday, the eve of a summit between President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Sullivan made the remarks as he previewed the White House summit on what he called issues "across the board," including defense, space cooperation and research partnerships on critical technolog

Foreign AffairsApril 10, 2024

[Live updates: Election 2024]

Stay tuned to The Korea Herald's live coverage of the 2024 parliamentary elections. Opposition rejoices; Humbled ruling party says will watch election results till end April 10, 2024, 6:30 p.m. With exit polls predicting a bigger than expected victory for the liberal opposition Democratic Party and its allies, approaching the critical two-thirds majority, on Wednesday evening, the mood among the main two parties stood in stark contrast to each other. --------------------------------

PoliticsApril 10, 2024

Opposition victory ‘could turn Korea pro-China,’ ruling party chief warns in last rally

Han Dong-hoon, the ruling People Power Party leader, said that a Democratic Party of Korea victory in the National Assembly election slated for Wednesday would “topple South Korea-US alliance” and turn the country “pro-China” during a final rally on Tuesday evening in Seoul. Speaking to a crowd of supporters, Han said that the Democratic Party would “weaken cooperation with the US, sour relations with Japan once again to ‘xie xie’ with China,” refe

PoliticsApril 9, 2024

Yoon stresses medical reform 'for all' during visit to heart hospital

President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed Tuesday that medical reform should not come at the expense of the public or medical personnel but be made to satisfy both sides. Yoon made the point during a visit to a cardiovascular hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, just southwest of Seoul, in his fourth such visit to a medical facility amid a prolonged walkout by junior doctors protesting a government plan to raise the medical school admissions quota. "Medical reform should be for all and not forcin

PoliticsApril 9, 2024

Doctors cancel joint press conference amid signs of internal rift

A doctors' lobby group said Tuesday it was canceling a planned joint press conference with other doctors' groups and medical professors, amid signs of an apparent rift within the medical community over how to respond to the government's plan to increase the medical student quota. The Korean Medical Association made the announcement, saying they need more time for negotiations with the trainee doctors who walked off their jobs seven weeks ago in protest against raising the medica

Social AffairsApril 9, 2024