Potential radiation exposure to North Koreans near nuclear test site overlooked: report

Hundreds of thousands of North Korean residents near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site are living under the possible risk of nuclear radiation exposure, a Seoul-based nongovernmental organization said in a report Tuesday, and called it a serious human rights question that is often overshadowed by security concerns. In the report, the Transitional Justice Working Group said existing literature on the North Korean nuclear issue so far has been marked by a lack of attention to how people living near

Feb. 21, 2023

President Yoon approves motion for opposition leader’s arrest

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the motion to arrest the Democratic Party of Korea's leader and his former presidential opponent, Lee Jae-myung. Lee’s fate -- whether he will become the first prominent opposition leader to be arrested -- will be decided by an anonymous vote of lawmakers on Monday. “The motion for Lee’s arrest was received yesterday (Feb. 20) and approved by the president,” the presidential office said in a written statement early in the morning. &ld

Feb. 21, 2023

Ministers urge opposition to rethink labor-friendly 'yellow envelope' bill

Ministers of finance and labor on Monday urged the opposition party to stop pushing a bill that would prevent unionized workers from being sued by companies to recover financial losses from sit-in protests, calling it "illegitimate." In an emergency press briefing, Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik said the bill lacks “legal stability and predictability" and could lead to "strike omnipotence." “If the revision is passed, the labor union will be able to resolve the

Feb. 20, 2023

Yoon's approval rating rises to 40.4 percent: poll

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has risen over 40 percent for the first time in six weeks on the back of a strengthened policy focus on economic and livelihood matters, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 2,504 adults conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 3.5 percentage points from a week earlier to 40.4 percent, the biggest weekly gain in the poll conducted by Realmeter since Yoon came to power last year.

Feb. 20, 2023

Left-wing party official arrested in North Korean spy ring investigation

Two were arrested over the weekend on Jeju Island on charges of violating the national security law in a spiraling investigation into a North Korean spy ring. According to the Progressive Party, the head of the party’s Jeju chapter and a senior official at the anti-free trade Nationwide Farmers’ Association were nabbed by the National Intelligence Service and the police on Saturday. Their arrest comes after the NIS and police searched the offices of the Progressive Party and the home

Feb. 19, 2023

Ex-chief of broadcasting watchdog panel arrested over alleged score rigging in cable channel relicensing

A professor who formerly chaired the license review panel of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) was arrested Friday on suspicions of score manipulation in the process of renewing a broadcasting license for a cable TV channel in 2020. The professor at Gwangju University, identified by his surname Yoon, is accused of deliberately giving low scores to TV Chosun, a right-leaning cable channel, during the review. The Seoul Northern District Court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon, citing a ris

Feb. 17, 2023

DP leader slams Yoon gov't as 'prosecution dictatorship' over arrest warrant

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday lashed out at President Yoon Suk Yeol a day after the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for him, saying the administration should use its power to rein in price hikes hurting ordinary people rather than focusing on arresting him. Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, also claimed during a party meeting that South Korea's "democracy and the rule of law is being ruthlessly trampled on by the sword blades of the Yoon Suk Yeol p

Feb. 17, 2023

Democratic Party decries prosecutors' attempt to arrest Lee

South Korea's main opposition party has ratcheted up criticism of the prosecution and President Yoon Suk Yeol and rallied in support for its chairman, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, who has become the first incumbent leader of the main opposition party wanted for arrest. Members of the Democratic Party of Korea held an outdoor rally denouncing the Yoon government and the prosecution in front of the National Assembly on Friday. It said about 2,000 people took part. In a speech, Lee accused the Yoon adm

Feb. 17, 2023

Yoon orders thorough crackdown on rental scams

President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for thoroughly cracking down on home rental scams amid a surge in their numbers, his office said Friday. Yoon was briefed Thursday on the government's efforts to clamp down on scams involving the "jeonse" rental system, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon. He called for "improving systems and a thorough crackdown as jeonse scams are vicious crimes targeting ordinary citizens and young people," Lee said. The briefing was g

Feb. 17, 2023

Yoon likely to hold summit with Biden in April to build on alliance

President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to meet with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, as early as April for the third time following their November talks in Cambodia as the two allies eye a stronger alliance that could ride out deglobalization prompted by the escalating US-China rivalry. On Thursday, Yoon’s office dismissed a Bloomberg News report that said a White House state dinner was scheduled for late April, saying the Biden administration has not officially corroborated it. The White House

Feb. 16, 2023

Arrest warrant sought for Democratic Party of Korea leader in corruption scandal

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea chair and last year’s presidential candidate, is facing a possible arrest over corruption controversies from his time as the mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province. The Seoul prosecution service’s anti-corruption investigation bureau on Thursday filed a request for an arrest warrant after Lee with the Seoul central district court, about a year and four months after the investigation opened in September 2021. Lee is the fi

Feb. 16, 2023

Yoon urges companies, cities to tame bills

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that the government would freeze public utility fees controlled by the central government, including highway tolls, postal and railroad fees, in the first half of this year, while asking municipalities and private companies to join the efforts to contain steep increases in transportation and communications charges. He also urged banks to return their profits to the people suffering from high interest rates. “The government will focus all policies on

Feb. 15, 2023

New government body to be established for ‘overseas Koreans’

South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday agreed to set up a government office for people of Korean lineage living abroad. Reps. Sung Il-jong and Kim Sung-hwan, leading the policy committees of People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea, respectively, announced the bipartisan agreement on this day following a meeting. “The office will serve more than 7 million Koreans overseas,” Sung told reporters. In October last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol creating a

Feb. 14, 2023

Yoon office blasts opposition for 'fake news' over first lady’s alleged stock manipulation

The presidential office said Tuesday the opposition party was spreading “fake news” concerning first lady Kim Keon Hee's involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, saying her accounts were not deliberately used for the price inflation of Deutsche Motors stock and she was not the figure behind the scheme. “In the course of the investigations and trials, dozens of people were intensively investigated, but not a single person stated that they had been in contact with or

Feb. 14, 2023

South Korean parliament passes resolution urging support for Turkey, Syria

The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Tuesday passed a resolution on relief efforts for quake-struck Turkey and Syria. The resolution, adopted at the committee’s plenary session convened the same day, urged the South Korean government to provide sufficient emergency relief and recovery support for damages suffered due to the earthquake. The resolution also called on measures to ensure the safety of Korean residents there as well as travelers in the even

Feb. 14, 2023

[From the Scene] ‘Ahn would get Yoon impeached’: In ruling party chair race, campaign speech goes awry

JEJU CITY -- The ruling People Power Party candidates for the leadership role embarked on a joint tour across the country on Monday with Jeju as the first stop. With the March 8 convention less than a month away, the top contenders’ allegiance to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is becoming a major talking point in the leadership race. Although the presidential office has officially espoused no particular candidate, as is the norm, the candidate most widely supported by Yoon’s base i

Feb. 13, 2023

S. Korea to send 2nd group of rescuers to Turkey

South Korea will send a second group of rescuers to quake-hit Turkey on Thursday, as well as a separate group of 29 medical staff within a week. Korea will also establish a separate unit within state ministries to organize relief and fundraising activities to support Turkish people who lost homes and families, the presidential office said Monday. The 29 medical staff are a part of 372 people who signed up for the medical treatment mission to Turkey, presidential spokesperson Lee Do-hoon said, ad

Feb. 13, 2023

In tit-for-tat, Democratic Party calls for special counsel to investigate first lady

The Democratic Party of Korea has called for a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee, as its chair, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, appeared before prosecutors Friday for the third time this year in one of several criminal investigations facing him and his aides. The party is now considering fast-tracking a bill to name a special counsel against the first lady, whose stock transactions have come under scrutiny in connection with a Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation investigation. &ldqu

Feb. 10, 2023

Ex-Deutsch Motors head found guilty in stock manipulation linked to first lady

The former chairperson of Deutsch Motors, Kwon Oh-soo, was handed a suspended prison sentence on Friday in the company stock manipulation case which South Korea’s main opposition party claims first lady Kim Keon Hee is implicated in. In the first trial, Kwon was sentenced to two years in prison on three years of probation and 300 million won ($237,000) in fines for violating capital market law. In total, he was found guilty in more than 3,000 different instances of fraudulent transactions,

Feb. 10, 2023

Opposition leader to appear for questioning in corruption probe

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was set to appear before prosecutors for questioning Friday as part of a development corruption investigation that he condemned as politically motivated. Lee is scheduled to show up at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office at 11 a.m. in connection with the investigation into corruption-ridden property development projects in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul, launched while he was mayor. It marks the third time in about a month that Lee, the chair of th

Feb. 10, 2023