Deported North Koreans ‘didn’t want to be here’: lawmaker

The recent indictment of former President Moon Jae-in’s top officials in the investigation of the forced return of two North Korean fishermen in 2019 is “nothing more than political revenge,” an ex-Moon aide and sitting lawmaker said. “This is political revenge against the last administration -- nothing more, nothing less,” Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Youn Kun-young, who served as the state affairs monitoring director in Moon’s Cheong Wa Dae, told The Korea

March 2, 2023

Yoon, calling Japan a partner, offers new vision to reboot sour relations

South Korea needs Japan on its side as a partner to elevate its own global status, President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday, as he looked to move beyond the constraints of their historical disputes dating to Tokyo’s 1910-45 rule of the Korean Peninsula. The speech, made to mark Independence Movement Day, laid out a clear blueprint of how Seoul will handle relations with Tokyo in the context of a three-way coalition that includes the US -- the chief ally of both Korea and Japan. The trilatera

March 1, 2023

Democratic Party in chaos as supporters hunt ‘anti-Lee Jae-myung’ lawmakers

The narrow defeat of a National Assembly motion to arrest Democratic Party of Korea chairperson Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Monday has angered supporters, while the party continued to rally behind its legally embattled leader. The vote, which proceeded anonymously at the Monday plenary session, split 139 in favor to 138 against, below the minimum threshold of 149 votes required for the motion to pass. Nine votes were abstentions and 11 were deemed as invalid. The Democratic Party, which holds 169 seat

Feb. 28, 2023

Yoon finds Japan ties harder to reset as Korea marks March 1 Movement

A conservative leader eager to “quickly mend relations” with Japan, President Yoon Suk Yeol still faces an uphill battle to deliver on his pledge made months ago, as Tokyo shows little sign of moving to close a deal. Seoul maintains that Tokyo needs to apologize to and compensate Koreans forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. That depends on the Japanese leader because it is now a “political decision,” according to Foreign Minister Park Jin last week,

Feb. 28, 2023

Bill gets Cabinet nod to create agency for Korean diaspora

  A new state-run agency dedicated to providing consolidated administrative support to some 7.3 million South Korean diaspora across the world will likely to be set up in June this year. The new government body will be carved out of the Foreign Ministry and be tasked with creating and implementing state policies aimed at supporting Korean diaspora, according to the bill to revise the Government Organization Act, endorsed by the Cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday. This means the first governmen

Feb. 28, 2023

Yoon urges lawmakers to pass digital health care bill

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vowed to foster growth of the nation's biohealth industry, aiming to establish it as a key contributor to the economy on par with the semiconductors industry. Urging lawmakers to pass the digital health care bill, he said he believes it will not only safeguard personal information but also enhance the industry's competitiveness. Noting that the global market size of the industry is nearly 2,600 trillion won ($1.96 trillion) and the growth potential

Feb. 28, 2023

Local councilor vows legal action to continue military service during term

A 30-year-old incumbent local councilor began his alternative military service last week, portending a legal dispute over whether people should be allowed to hold public office while serving. Kim Min-seok, a councilor of Seoul’s Gangseo-gu, was elected to the office through the local elections on June 1 last year on the People Power Party’s ticket, with his mandatory military service still pending. All able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the military for 18-22 mon

Feb. 28, 2023

Nat'l Assembly passes bill on new veterans affairs ministry, overseas Koreans agency

The National Assembly on Monday approved a bill on upgrading the state agency on veterans affairs to a ministry-level body and establishing a new government agency to handle policies on overseas Koreans. The revised Government Organization Act is expected to be endorsed by the Cabinet on Tuesday and take effect as early as June. As part of the revision, a sub-ministry-level agency will be created under the foreign ministry and replace the Overseas Koreans Foundation. The envisioned launch is a

Feb. 27, 2023

Assembly rejects motion for opposition leader’s arrest in narrow vote

Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung avoided facing an arrest warrant by a close margin in a National Assembly vote on Monday, despite earlier pledges from the party that the motion will be defeated by “an overwhelming majority.” The motion to allow a judge to consider an arrest warrant for Lee, submitted to the National Assembly last week by the Seoul Central District Court, was rejected in an anonymous vote. The vote split 139 in favor to 138 against, failing to meet

Feb. 27, 2023

Yoon vows to combat school violence amid bullying case fallout

President Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to combat school violence and promote greater social justice after having to cancel a key personnel appointment when the chosen official was found to have defended his son in a school bullying case instead of holding him accountable. During a meeting with his secretaries on Monday, Yoon directed the Education Ministry to “collaborate with relevant organizations such as local offices of education to develop measures for eradicating school violence as qui

Feb. 27, 2023

National Assembly to vote on opposition leader arrest

The National Assembly was set to vote on the government's request for consent to arrest opposition leader Lee Jae-myung over corruption charges Monday amid widespread views his Democratic Party will use its majority power to reject the request. The DP, which holds 169 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, has denounced the prosecution's attempt to arrest Lee as political revenge by President Yoon Suk Yeol against his presidential election rival and vowed to reject the request. By law, parli

Feb. 27, 2023

Yoon's office under fire over vetting process

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Sunday came under fire over a flaw found in the vetting process of a state police investigation chief who was revealed to have defended his son in a school bullying case instead of holding his son accountable. Former prosecutor Chung Sun-sin was appointed by Yoon to be the South Korean police investigation chief on Friday, but resigned the next day hours after criticism built up over his son's verbal abuse of his classmate five years ago. Chung and h

Feb. 26, 2023

Newly appointed police investigation chief offers to resign over son's bullying controversy

A prosecutor-turned-lawyer appointed to head the National Office of Investigation offered to resign Saturday, just a day ahead of assuming his post, amid a bullying controversy involving his son at school. Chung Sun-sin, appointed as the new chief the previous day, found himself in hot water after it was belatedly revealed that his son had verbally abused one of his peers for eight months in high school and was ordered to transfer schools. "Many have been concerned due to my son's problem,

Feb. 25, 2023

South Korea testing North Korean defectors for possible radiation exposure

The South Korean government said Friday it would resume radiation testing for defectors from near North Korea’s nuclear test site in Punggye-ri to check for possible exposure. Lee Hyo-jung, the Ministry of Unification’s deputy spokesperson, said in a briefing that from this year testing will be offered to North Koreans who lived in Kilju or nearby regions after North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, if they are willing. There are 881 defectors who would be eligible for the t

Feb. 24, 2023

Bill seeks to find justice for Vietnamese victims of South Korean troops’ war crimes

Twenty-five lawmakers on Thursday together signed a bill to investigate the war crimes of South Korean troops during the Vietnam War. “For years the Vietnamese victims have asked for the South Korean government’s acknowledgement of the civilian killings linked to South Korean soldiers, as well as an official apology and compensation. No such steps have been taken by the South Korean government to date,” Rep. Kang Min-jung, one of the lawmakers who authored the bill, said in a p

Feb. 23, 2023

Opposition head Lee bashes prosecutors on his potential crimes

The Democratic Party of Korea’s legally troubled Chairperson Rep. Lee Jae-myung went on a lengthy rant at a press conference Thursday, just days ahead of a National Assembly vote that could send the arrest warrant filed for him to court. Lee, once again denying any wrongdoing, called the prosecutors’ investigations into corruption controversies from his time as Gyeonggi Province governor and Seongnam mayor “political propaganda.” “What prosecutors said in the warran

Feb. 23, 2023

[From Korea to Kyiv] 'War's nearing an end but peace talk with Putin will never happen'

The Russian war against Ukraine will reach a critical juncture in spring or early summer, and there is anticipation that the war will end within the year. But even if subsequent peace talks take place, Russian leader Vladimir Putin will be the last person that Ukraine would want to talk to, Ukraine’s top envoy to Seoul said in an interview with The Korea Herald. "I think the spring and early summer of 2023 will be decisive for the course of war. It is possible to win the war this year

Feb. 23, 2023

Yoon sets export target of $685b this year

President Yoon Suk Yeol has set a target of exporting $685 billion this year, an increase of 0.2 percent year-on-year, vowing to mobilize all the nation's capabilities to achieve this goal at an export strategy meeting Thursday. The meeting was attended by related ministers and leaders of major exporters, including CJ CheilJedang, LG Energy Solution, HMM and CJ ENM. Despite difficult economic conditions, Yoon noted that the country had achieved record-high exports of $683.6 billion last yea

Feb. 23, 2023

Korea declares emergency measures over children’s health care crisis

South Korean hospitals are scrambling to keep their children’s units running, with the government declaring emergency measures Wednesday to keep the faltering pediatric health care system afloat. In an emergency briefing, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong said his ministry would be adding more public pediatric intensive care centers, and implement a compensation system that will prompt larger hospitals to operate pediatric emergency rooms around the clock. “Investments in

Feb. 22, 2023

Yoon takes aim at construction union violence

President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a strong crackdown on systematic illegal activities at construction sites, reiterating his will to push for labor reforms, officials said Tuesday. Eradication of illegal activities at construction sites is a key task for labor reforms for the Yoon government, which has operated a dedicated team of the Land Ministry and a special 200-day crackdown by the National Police Agency. After being briefed on the current situation of violence at construction sites, Yoon ord

Feb. 21, 2023