Yoon to start his five-year term with JCS briefing, inauguration ceremony

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol takes office on Tuesday morning, starting a new chapter of South Korea for the next five years. Officials said Monday that Yoon will start his term as the 20th president of South Korea at the underground bunker of his new presidential office in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. He will receive a briefing from the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the new commander-in-chief for the South Korean armed forces. The underground bunker will serve as the situation room for the national

May 9, 2022

Industry minister nominee vows 'reasonable use' of nuclear energy for zero emissions

South Korean Industry Minister nominee Lee Chang-yang vowed Monday to utilize nuclear power as a tool for the country's energy security and zero-emission goals and to actively support its exports. During a parliamentary confirmation hearing, Lee, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, stressed his vision of seeking balanced energy use for the best interest of the people and nurturing such key industry fields as chips and batteries by easing regulations and support

May 9, 2022

Yoon govt. likely to hold first Cabinet meeting Thursday

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is likely to hold its first Cabinet session this week to approve an extra budget proposal aimed at compensating pandemic-hit small merchants, officials said Monday. The meeting will likely be held at the new presidential office in Yongsan in Seoul with the participation of a mix of outgoing and incoming Cabinet members due to delays in the parliamentary confirmation process. "We're working to make a Cabinet meeting possible on Thursday in order to pass

May 9, 2022

Parliament adopts confirmation hearing report for defense minister nominee

The National Assembly on Monday adopted a confirmation hearing report on Defense Minister nominee Lee Jong-sup, a day before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol takes office. The parliamentary defense committee unanimously approved Lee's nomination following last week's hearing, saying he has leadership and plenty of experience and expertise on national defense policies and military operations. Lee, a former three-star Army general, graduated from the Korea Military Academy and served as the Joint Chi

May 9, 2022

Yoon to meet with inauguration delegates from Britain, Uzbekistan, Japan

Incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold meetings Monday with foreign delegates visiting South Korea to attend his inauguration this week, his office said. Yoon will meet separately with British Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East Amanda Milling; Sodiq Safoyev, first deputy chairperson of Uzbekistan's Senate; and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. The meetings will come a day before Yoon is set to be sworn in as South Korea's new president. Other high-level guests attend

May 9, 2022

Yoon to begin term at midnight with military briefing

Incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol will begin his term at midnight Monday at an underground bunker set up at his office building by receiving a briefing from the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the commander-in-chief, an official said. Yoon will be briefed by phone in the underground bunker of the new presidential office in Yongsan, which will serve as the situation room of the national crisis management center. "He will receive his first phone briefing from the JCS command and control center upon t

May 9, 2022

Moon leaves behind mixed results despite high hopes that fueled his win 5 years ago

President Moon Jae-in will serve his last day as president Monday, leaving behind a mixed batch of results contrary to the high hopes South Koreans had when he took office five years after the country impeached its president for the first time in history. Moon and members of his Cabinet will spend their final day in office paying respects at the Seoul National Cemetery and the burial site of independence activists at Hyochang Park. He will also give his final address in the morning and leave

May 8, 2022

Political heavyweights stage comeback in parliamentary by-elections

Two former presidential candidates on Sunday declared their bids for parliamentary seats in the by-elections, raising the stakes for the rival blocs in the June 1 polls. On the sidelines of the local elections, the country will be electing seven new legislators as some incumbents have resigned in order to run for the metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial elections. Lee Jae-myung, former presidential nominee of the Democratic Party of Korea, on Sunday declared his bid to run for a constituenc

May 8, 2022

'Little LA' planned near new presidential office

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is planning to convert part of a US Forces Korea base adjacent to the new presidential office in Yongsan into a cultural space reminiscent of a "Little LA" and open it to the public in September, officials said Sunday. The 500,000-square-meter space is just outside the defense ministry headquarters, which is being converted into the new presidential office. The USFK plans to return the land to the South Korean government at the end of this month as

May 8, 2022

Yoon says any meetings with NK leader should be for ‘tangible’ results

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has said he is willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but any talks should be made only when they would produce tangible results on the North‘s denuclearization or cross-border exchanges. “There is no reason to shun meetings (with Kim). But if such meetings are only for show and fail to make practical results on the denuclearization and our economic assistance to the North, they will not be helpful for denuclearizing the Nor

May 7, 2022

DP selects ex-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung as candidate for parliamentary by-election

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Friday selected its former presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung as a candidate for parliamentary by-elections that will be held concurrently with the June 1 local elections. Lee, who lost to now President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol only by 0.73 percentage point in the March 9 presidential election, will run for a National Assembly seat representing a constituency in Gyeyang, Incheon, the DP said. "Our leadership recently asked Lee to run in a by-election for our e

May 6, 2022

Chinese VP known as Xi's right-hand man to attend Yoon's inauguration

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, considered one of the closest aides to Chinese President Xi Jinping, will be among the foreign guests attending incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration ceremony next week, the organizing committee said Friday. Wang will be the highest-ranking Chinese official ever to attend a South Korean president's inauguration, indicating Xi's desire to foster good relations with the incoming government in Seoul. Other high-level guests at the May 10 ceremony will

May 6, 2022

PM says current government's antivirus measures deserve recognition

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday the current government's antivirus measures should be recognized as "successful" as he thanked people for their cooperation in the virus fight in his last COVID-19 response meeting before leaving office. "Some people say our return to normal was late compared with other countries, but if you look at objective data, our virus preventive measures deserve to be called successful," Kim said. "Until the crisis is completely over, we sho

May 6, 2022

Moon accepts prosecutor general’s resignation

President Moon Jae-in accepted the resignation of Prosecutor-General Kim Oh-soo. In a written briefing Friday, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mi said, “President Moon accepted the resignation as it is difficult to procrastinate.“  Moon rejected the resignation of the prosecutor general once, but Kim expressed his resignation again to “take responsibility”, the presidential office said. Kim submitted his resignation after failing to block the passage of bil

May 6, 2022

Who's attending Yoon’s inauguration?

The United States and China are reviewing which key figures to send to the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on May 10, to stress the importance of their relations with Korea. Meanwhile, Japan is reported to have dropped plans for its prime minister’s attendance, as thorny issues remain unsolved. The US government will reportedly send second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer and the spouse of Vice President Kamala Harris. The US will also send Labor Secretary Mart

May 4, 2022

Race to fill empty Assembly seats amid local elections

On the sidelines of the local elections on June 1, South Korea will be electing seven new lawmakers as some incumbents have resigned from their legislative posts to run for metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial elections. Eyes are centered whether heavyweights that have been in the shadows will return to try joining the main circle once again and change the dynamics in South Korea’s political landscape. According to the Public Official Election Act, those running for local elections hav

May 4, 2022

Defense chief nominee vows stronger alliance, deterrence against NK threats

South Korea's defense minister nominee on Wednesday vowed efforts to cement "cohesion" in the country's alliance with the United States and sharpen deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. During a parliamentary confirmation hearing, Lee Jong-sup, a former three-star Army general, highlighted his vision of a "robust national defense and sturdy military based on science and technology" to respond proactively to "threats from all directi

May 4, 2022

Justice minister nominee vows to minimize negative impact of prosecution reform laws

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon said he will look for ways to minimize any negative impacts that the recently enacted laws on prosecution reform could have on ordinary people, according to a lawmaker Wednesday. Han made the remark in a document submitted to independent Rep. Yang Hyang-ja for his confirmation hearing, stressing ordinary people will take the brunt of the legislation centering on reducing and ultimately abolishing the prosecution's investigative powers. The legislation, cons

May 4, 2022

Moon Jae-in signs controversial prosecution bills into law

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday promulgated the two controversial bills on prosecution reform despite fierce opposition from the public and related sectors, seeing further progress on his vow to overhaul the law enforcement agency. At the last Cabinet meeting of his five-year term held 2 p.m. Tuesday, Moon officially signed the two prosecution reform bills that passed the final vote at the National Assembly, completing the Democratic Party of Korea’s push to strip most of the remaining i

May 3, 2022

Transition team sets out 110 national tasks for Yoon administration

Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential transition committee announced 110 national tasks on Tuesday. The tasks include reversing the phase out of nuclear power, cut real estate taxes, and improve welfare for soldiers. The team estimated that the new government would require an additional 209 trillion won ($165 billion) over the next five years to implement the plans. Yoon Suk-yeol’s government will scrap Moon’s nuclear phase-out policy and work to strengthen the nuclear industry.

May 3, 2022