Yoon says he expects S. Korea-Japan issues to be resolved smoothly

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he expects historical issues between South Korea and Japan to be resolved smoothly from a standpoint of future-oriented cooperation. His comment came amid news reports he could meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a NATO summit in Spain later this month for what would be the two countries' first summit in over two years. "We're preparing for it, but it's difficult to say it's been fixed," Yoon told reporters at

June 9, 2022

Yoon says violence in cargo truckers' strike unacceptable

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday that under no circumstance will violence be allowed in an ongoing nationwide strike by cargo truckers. Thousands of unionized truckers have been on strike since Tuesday to demand solutions to their rising costs amid soaring fuel prices. "Things that can be resolved through dialogue will have to be resolved," Yoon told reporters as he arrived at the presidential office, referring to talks led by the transport ministry. "But under no circumstanc

June 9, 2022

Yoon says 'not right' to keep ex-President Lee in prison

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he does not believe former President Lee Myung-bak should be kept in prison for decades, given similar instances in the past. Speculation has grown that Lee, who is serving a 17-year prison sentence for corruption, could be pardoned on the occasion of Liberation Day on Aug. 15, after the 81-year-old former president reportedly filed for a suspension of his sentence over health issues last week. "Don't you think it isn't right to have him imprisoned for

June 9, 2022

PPP delegation to return home after visit to Ukraine

Ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok was to return home Thursday from a trip to Ukraine. Lee and a group of PPP lawmakers visited the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and other cities ravaged by Russia's invasion and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials for discussions on various support measures. The delegation was scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport around 4 p.m., officials said. (Yonhap)

June 9, 2022

Anti-Moon protests give impetus to hate speech ban in Korea

Unlike Europe, South Korea does not ban expressions of hatred against individuals or groups, unless it is tantamount to defamation. This may change soon, as some lawmakers move to protect former President Moon Jae-in from loud, vulgar rallies outside his retirement home. On Wednesday, a total of 15 lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, to which Moon belongs, proposed a legislative motion to revise the demonstration law to ban hate speech during protests – the firs

June 8, 2022

[Newsmaker] ‘Fandom Politics’: When political supporters act like K-pop fans

"Fandom politics” is the latest buzzword in South Korean politics. It made headlines after Park Ji-hyun, a former co-head of the Democratic Party of Korea’s interim leadership committee, said last month that she would change her party to become a party “for the public, not for fandoms.” Park made the remarks as she criticized the culture that “defended the faults of their own while chastising political opponents for smaller problems” in politics. She h

June 8, 2022

Ruling party chief meets Zelenskyy to discuss aid and reconstruction projects

The chief of South Korea’s ruling party met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ways for South Korea to increase aid for Ukraine and cooperate on its post-war reconstruction projects. People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok held a meeting with Zelenskyy on the third day of his visit to Ukraine as head of the party’s 10-member delegation to the country, the ruling party said in an announcement Wednesday. The party said exact details on when and where the meeting took

June 8, 2022

Democratic Party again backtracks from its promise to shun 586 Generation

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is facing criticism over the appointment of Rep. Woo Sang-ho as the leader of the new emergency steering committee, as many denounce the party for essentially deciding to make no formidable changes, despite losing three elections in a row. Even though many hoped for the party to steer away from the so-called “586 Generation” and let young politicians have a chance to lead, the party still decided to keep the traditional heavyweights on s

June 8, 2022

Yoon says pardoning ex-President Lee 'not an issue to talk about now'

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday that a potential pardon for jailed former President Lee Myung-bak "is not an issue to talk about now." Yoon made the remark to reporters upon arrival at the presidential office following news reports that Lee filed for a suspension of his sentence and could be included in beneficiaries of a presidential pardon that could be carried out to mark Aug. 15 Liberation Day. "This is not an issue to talk about now," Yoon said when asked to comme

June 8, 2022

Ex-President Lee files for suspension of prison sentence

Former President Lee Myung-bak, now serving a 17-year prison time for corruption, has filed for a suspension of his sentence, citing health issues, prosecution sources said Wednesday. The 81-year-old's petition was filed with the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, 23 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday, they said. The prosecution office said it will hold a deliberation committee meeting and decide whether to release Lee from the Anyang Correctional Institution. Lee, wh

June 8, 2022

Yoon completes lineup of top ambassadors

President Yoon Suk-yeol named ambassadors to the United Nations, Japan, China and Russia on Tuesday. Yoon appointed Hwang Joon-kook (62), former ambassador to the United Kingdom, as ambassador to the United Nations, and Yun Duk-min (63), former head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, as ambassador to Japan. Chung Jae-ho (62), a professor of foreign affairs at Seoul National University, was appointed ambassador to China, while Chang Ho-jin (61), a chair professor at Korea Maritime &

June 7, 2022

Rep. Woo Sang-ho to lead Democratic Party emergency committee

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea chose Rep. Woo Sang-ho to head the emergency steering committee with hopes of putting an end to the internal feud that erupted after the local elections. The party announced following a meeting of its legislators Tuesday that the four-term lawmaker will head the committee until the party elects the new chair at the national convention scheduled in August. The meeting came six days after the liberal party suffered a crushing defeat in

June 7, 2022

Justice ministry's personnel vetting team sets sail

A personnel vetting unit under the justice ministry officially went into operation Tuesday, taking over the role of looking into the qualifications of senior position candidates from the presidential office, officials said. Following up on his campaign promise, President Yoon Suk-yeol abolished the office of the presidential senior civil affairs secretary that had been in charge of vetting candidates for Cabinet seats and other senior government jobs amid illegal surveillance accusations. Instea

June 7, 2022

[Reporter’s Notebook] Are 3 consecutive defeats not enough for Democratic Party?

In 2017, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea had high hopes. Taking power after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, some in the party had expressed hopes it would remain the ruling party for at least 20 years. The party got off to a stellar start, dominating the elections that followed. It seemingly had nothing to fear, since the conservative bloc shattered to pieces in the wake of the historical political event. The Democratic Party’s dominance, however, has eva

June 6, 2022

Yoon vows firm and stern response to any NK provocation

President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed Monday to respond firmly and sternly to any North Korean provocation as South Korea and the United States fired missiles in response to the North's missile launches the previous day. Yoon made the remark during a Memorial Day ceremony held at Seoul National Cemetery, a day after North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in its third show of force since Yook took office last month. "Even at this moment, North Korea's nucl

June 6, 2022

Ruling party chief visits Kyiv, discusses cooperation on restoring city

Ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, who is visiting Ukraine, has traveled to Kyiv and discussed ways to cooperate on rebuilding the city, a Facebook post by the Kyiv governor showed Monday. "Today, the parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Korea headed by Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the ruling People Power Party, paid an official visit to the Kyiv region," Kyiv Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba said in the post, uploading photos of the visit made Sunday. The governor said the dele

June 6, 2022

Ruling party chief says Ukraine seeks large amount of assistance from S. Korea

The ruling party chief, who is visiting Ukraine, has said the war-torn country is hoping for a large amount of medical and other assistance from South Korea in its ongoing war with Russia, according to his party Sunday. Lee Jun-seok, head of the People Power Party, met with officials from local nongovernmental organizations in Ukraine's western city of Lviv on Saturday and discussed ways to support refugees fleeing the war. "They are hoping for a lot of assistance from South Korean socie

June 5, 2022

Yoon says now is not time to talk about political victories

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday the economic situation is too grave to be talking about the election victory of his party. The ruling People Power Party won 12 of the 17 key mayoral and gubernatorial races in Wednesday's local elections, strengthening Yoon's mandate less than a month after he took office on May 10. "Don't you feel the windows shaking and the branches swaying in the lawn?" Yoon told reporters as he arrived for work at the presidential office when aske

June 3, 2022

[Photo News] The day after the election

No more loud music, street banners and canvassing trucks. Local elections are over in South Korea now. The usual post-election scenes here include winners making a visit to symbolic sites such as a war memorial as a show of their commitment to serving the people, while losers take time to reflect on the results. Similar scenes took place on Thursday. Here are some photos that show what went down a day after the nationwide local elections, which came just three months after a nail-biting presi

June 2, 2022

With Gyeonggi governor win, Democratic Party saves face

The main opposition Democratic Party took a major loss in the local elections, but Kim Dong-yeon’s narrow victory for Gyeonggi Province governor came as a partial relief and possible sign that all may not be lost for the party. Although the party lost 12 of the 17 seats in the elections of metropolitan government to the ruling People Power Party, it won in the biggest battleground Gyeonggi Province. According to the National Election Commission on Thursday, Kim got 2,827,593 votes, de

June 2, 2022