Yoon calls for care for seriously ill COVID-19 patients

President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed officials Tuesday to pay special attention to seriously ill COVID-19 patients amid a resurgence of the virus across the country. More than 73,000 new cases were reported Tuesday as the highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.5 continues to spread, more than double the 26,299 reported a day earlier. "COVID-19 is at a crossroads of a resurgence," Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting. "We must go all-out to take care of people's lives and health

July 19, 2022

Yoon says 'waited long enough' for DSME strike to end

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday he believes the country has "waited long enough" for a strike at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) to end, hinting at the possibility of using force to break up the prolonged walkout. Subcontract workers at DSME have been striking since June 2, leading to a standstill in shipbuilding operations and causing up to trillions of won in losses for the company. The workers have demanded higher wages and occupied the firm's shipyard

July 19, 2022

Change in media strategy? President responds with unusual silence

President Yoon Suk-yeol was unusually silent at a regular morning briefing on Monday, an apparent move to shift his communication style with the media amid a continuing drop in approval ratings and lingering controversies. Monday morning’s briefing at the Yongsan presidential office drew a bigger crowd than usual, with reporters ready to grill Yoon about ongoing controversies over personnel appointments and the repatriation of two North Korean fishers. But Yoon seemed somewhat differ

July 18, 2022

Parties vow to have National Assembly fully return to work by Thursday

South Korea’s rival parties vowed to finalize negotiations on naming new committee chairs of the National Assembly by coming Thursday as they are keen to have the legislative branch fully return to work after being deadlocked for more than a month. Floor leaders of the ruling People Power Party and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday morning agreed to extend the timeline for negotiations for four more days after the two failed to reach a deal by Sunday as promised before.

July 18, 2022

Ruling bloc eyes tax cuts to stave off stagflation

The South Korean government and the ruling party are to push for tax reforms in a bid to stave off economic stagnation from hyperinflation. Leaders of the ruling People Power Party and Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho said in a meeting held Monday that the two sides reached a consensus that tax relief on earnings and properties is a viable means of revitalizing the economy and stabilizing people’s livelihoods. The meeting was joined by other key figures within the ruling bloc and key

July 18, 2022

Pro-Yoon ruling party lawmakers clash over hire pick

Two lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), considered closest confidants of President Yoon Suk-yeol, clashed Monday over the controversial hiring of a presidential office employee, with one of them warning the other to watch his mouth. Rep. Chang Je-won opened fire on PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong after Kweon said he "pressured" Chang to have a person from his constituency in the eastern city of Gangneung hired at the presidential office when Chang was chief of staff for

July 18, 2022

Yoon says probes on repatriation of NK fishermen must be conducted in line with law

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that probes into the previous administration's 2019 repatriation of North Korean fishermen must be conducted "in accordance with the Constitution and laws." Yoon made the remarks upon arrival at his office in response to a question about ongoing probes by prosecutors and the spy agency into the Moon Jae-in administration's repatriation of two North Koreans to Pyongyang. Yoon told reporters that he "has nothing else to say but the principle that

July 18, 2022

As S. Korea celebrates Constitution Day, National Assembly remains log-jammed

South Korea’s rival parties remain in deadlock over naming new committee chairs of the National Assembly, having the country celebrate this year’s Constitution Day without fully assembled legislative leadership. National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo asked the parties to promptly work towards negotiating on forming the new legislative leadership then discuss possible legislative fixes to ensure the legislative branch is always at work to respond to the people’s troubles at any

July 17, 2022

Democratic Party starts process for electing new chair

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday started receiving applications for the party chairmanship post, ahead of next month’s national convention, in a bid to elect a new leader that can put an end to the party’s continuing election defeats. The party on Sunday opened a two-day registration period for the national convention to be held in Seoul on Aug. 28 in Seoul. The official campaign period for preliminary rounds will start on Aug. 6 where candidat

July 17, 2022

Korean Interior Ministry to create bureau to supervise police

The Interior Ministry finalized its plan to launch a “police bureau” to supervise the police, which has recently seen its powers increased. The National Police Agency expressed their intention to accept the plan, despite criticism from police officers. 　 On Friday, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min announced the details of the launch of the new police bureau. The new bureau will have 16 members, of which 13 would be police officials, a decision made in response to the criticism t

July 15, 2022

Park Ji-hyun runs for party leadership, vowing zero tolerance for sex crimes

Despite efforts to dissuade her, Park Ji-hyun, former co-chair of the emergency steering committee for the Democratic Party of Korea, announced her candidacy for party leadership on Friday, vowing “zero tolerance” for sex crimes within the party. “Today, I would like to tell the people that I have decided to run to be party leader to transform the Democratic Party into an open party that can better hear diverse voices, take better care of the people’s livelihoods, and

July 15, 2022

Yoon to appoint ex-technocrat as economic adviser

President Yoon Suk-yeol will appoint Byeon Yang-kyoon, a well-known former economic technocrat who served as budget and planning minister, as an outside economic adviser Friday, his office said. Byeon, 72, served as chief policymaker in the presidential office of former President Roh Moo-hyun from 2006 to 2007 after spending decades working at the finance ministry and serving as budget and planning minister from 2005-06. "Many people recommended him," Yoon told reporters as he arrived

July 15, 2022

Rival parties make progress on composing new Assembly committee leadership

South Korea’s rival parties on Thursday drew a partial compromise on forming new committee leadership for the legislative branch, raising hopes for the National Assembly to fully return to work in the coming days. Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, told reporters he has reached a deal with his counterpart Rep. Park Hong-keun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on participating in the proposed special committee for prosecution reform. Kweon

July 14, 2022

Ruling party leader urges further investigation of NK repatriation case

The ruling People Power Party warned about the possibility of a National Assembly investigation and independent counsel probe regarding a North Korean repatriation case on Thursday. The Moon Jae-in government ignored the law and decided to forcibly send the defectors to North Korea through arbitrary judgment, said Rep Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling party, at a senior party officials meeting on Thursday. “We will consider detailed measures such as conducting a state investiga

July 14, 2022

Political circles toy with mass pardon for key political, economic figures

South Korean political circles are again reviewing whether to pardon political and business figures en masse ahead of Liberation Day next month. While the presidential office has made no official comment on the matter, calls are rising to grant pardons for former President Lee Myung-bak and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Aug. 15. Granting them pardons would be beneficial to the economy, some have argued. Lee Myung-bak, who was president from 2008 to 2013, was sentenced to 17

July 14, 2022

Parties far apart on choosing new chairs for National Assembly committees

South Korea’s rival parties remain deadlocked over which party will hold chair positions for which legislative committees in the latter half of the 21st National Assembly, with the legislative branch effectively stalled since late May. The ruling People Power Party and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea drew a preliminary compromise on July 4 to elect Rep. Kim Jin-pyo as the new National Assembly speaker, but they only agreed to hold talks in naming chairs for the committees. Addi

July 14, 2022

Yoon calls for protecting ordinary citizens from high inflation, interest rates

President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed officials Thursday to find ways to protect ordinary citizens from the financial pressures of high inflation and high interest rates. Yoon made the remark a day after the Bank of Korea delivered an unprecedented 0.5 percentage-point rate hike in a preemptive bid to fight fast-growing inflation pressure from high energy and commodity prices. "The rate hike was an inevitable step to control inflation, but that burden must not be passed on to the socially vuln

July 14, 2022

Constitutional Court begins deliberations on petition against death penalty

Thursday on whether to keep or abolish the death penalty, the first such debate in 12 years after the punishment was ruled constitutional twice in 1996 and 2010. The case began as a man convicted of killing his parents filed a constitutional petition challenging capital punishment in 2019, together with the Committee for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, after prosecutors demanded the death penalty for him. He was later sentenced to life in prison. South Korea

July 14, 2022

Rep. Lee Jae-myung to declare bid for DP chairmanship: aide

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), will declare his bid for the party's chairmanship on Sunday, an aide said. The DP plans to hold a national convention on Aug. 28 to elect a new leader, and whether Lee will run for the party leadership has been a point of contention within the DP amid a power struggle between pro- and anti-Lee lawmakers. Supporters say Lee is the right person to lead the party, while opponents argue that he shoul

July 14, 2022

Yoon suffers yet another personnel controversy

A sister of a far-right YouTuber staging abusive protests in front of former President Moon Jae-in’s residence offered to resign from the presidential office, adding yet another controversy to President Yoon Suk-yeol’s personnel management track record. According to the presidential office on Wednesday, the official, surnamed Ahn, tendered her resignation shortly after her previous experience and connection to a YouTuber were revealed. She formerly worked on Vellado, a video pl

July 13, 2022