[Herald Interview] 'Lee Jae-myung's universal basic income would change society'

Bringing universal basic income to South Korea is central to the socioeconomic vision of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Under the scheme, citizens would unconditionally receive the same sum of money each year, a plan touted by Lee and his aides as a means to tackle growing inequality and provide funds for people to sustain their livelihoods should difficulties arise. Some will receive more based on their social and economic standings. Kang Nam

Feb. 14, 2022

[Newsmaker] Yoon hops on ‘Passion Train’ to woo voters from rival stronghold

YEOSU, South Jeolla Province -- It is Saturday, and People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is making a grand entrance outside Jeonju Station in North Jeolla Province. With supporters cheering -- some chanting “President Yoon Suk-yeol” to a drum beat -- Yoon is greeted by party Chairman Lee Jun-seok who arrived at the station on the “Passion Train,” a chartered four-carriage train that the party hired for a tour of the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces.

Feb. 14, 2022

Yoon criticized for putting his feet on train seat

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol has found himself in hot water after a photo of him putting his feet on a train seat sparked criticism that his gesture indicated a lack of public etiquette and courtesy. The photo of Yoon resting his legs was uploaded by Lee Sang-il, an aide to Yoon, on his Facebook page Sunday, apparently trying to show a glimpse of the candidate's time on a visit to cities in the southwestern Honam region on a campaign train. The People Power Party (PPP) re

Feb. 14, 2022

Ahn overwhelms other presidential candidates in reported assets

Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People's Party reported the most wealth among South Korean presidential candidates, the National Election Commission (NEC) said Monday. Ahn, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, reported his personal assets to be worth 197.99 billion won ($165 million), the biggest amount among the 11 presidential candidates who finished candidacy registration with the NEC on Sunday. Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol declared the second most wealt

Feb. 14, 2022

Yoon leads Lee 43.5% to 40.4%: poll

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 43.5 percent support against Lee's 40.4 percent, a poll showed Monday. The 3.1 percentage-point gap was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, according to the survey of 1,005 adults conducted Friday and Saturday by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI). Compared with the previous week's survey, Yoon of the conservative People

Feb. 14, 2022

Yoon meets with ex-US Vice President Pence

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol met with former US Vice President Mike Pence in Seoul on Sunday and discussed security cooperation between the two countries, including the denuclearization of North Korea. "We discussed issues related to our security and Korea-US cooperation, including the denuclearization of North Korea," Yoon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) told reporters after a 30-minute meeting with Pence. Pence, who served under former US Presiden

Feb. 13, 2022

Ahn suggests unifying candidacy, ‘public primary’

Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party on Sunday suggested unifying candidacies with the main opposition party’s Yoon Suk-yeol, and letting the public decide which of them will run.  “Today I suggest the candidates of the opposition parties to merge campaigns for a complete regime change and to call an end to the old system (in politics),” Ahn said in a livestream on his YouTube channel. Ahn explained that, even if an opposition party candidat

Feb. 13, 2022

Candidate registration begins for March 9 presidential election

Candidate registration began Sunday for the March 9 presidential election, with all four main contenders, including the ruling party's Lee Jae-myung and the main opposition's Yoon Suk-yeol, registering on the first day to become the country's next president. The National Election Commission (NEC) will receive candidacy registration for two days through Monday before the official 22-day campaign period kicks off Tuesday. Along with Lee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon of the People Po

Feb. 13, 2022

Ahn to hold press conference via YouTube after wife tests positive for COVID-19

Minor presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo called off a planned press conference Sunday after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. Ahn of the centrist People's Party had called the press conference earlier in the day amid speculation he could make a proposal on how to merge candidacies with Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party to field a single opposition candidate in the March 9 election. But the plan was canceled after his wife was notified of the virus infection. Ahn was

Feb. 13, 2022

Yoon envisions liaison office in Panmunjom or Washington as dialogue channel between Koreas, US

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledges to create a standing dialogue channel between the two Koreas and the United States by establishing a liaison office either in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom or in Washington if elected president. The liaison office idea was one of Yoon's top 10 campaign pledges that the main opposition People Power Party candidate put together to submit to the National Election Commission ahead of the March 9 presidential election, accord

Feb. 13, 2022

Lee claims two Koreas ‘effectively ended war’

The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said South and North Korea had effectively ended the war but the situation was only an armistice in legal terms. “(The two Koreas) have practically ended the war, but legally, we are in an armistice,” Lee, said at the second presidential candidate TV debate held Friday by the Journalist Association of Korea, when asked by Yoon Suk-yeol of People Power Party on his views about declaring the end of Korean War. Moon

Feb. 11, 2022

Lee Jae-myung's policies rooted in 'pro-North, pro-China, anti-US' ideology: Yoon

Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s foreign and security policies are rooted in "pro-North, pro-China, anti-US" ideas, claimed his main rival Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party. During a presidential debate program aired Friday, Yoon claimed the set of views Lee has in approaching North Korea is essentially in favor of maintaining close ties with China while shunning South Korea's relationship with the United States.

Feb. 11, 2022

Presidential candidates united on press freedom, differ on methods

The four major candidates in the ongoing presidential race for South Korea were united in the need to assure freedom of the press, but had differing views on whether additional agencies or laws were needed to achieve it and to protect people from false reports. The responses were made following a general question during a debate program Friday on what measures candidates have in mind to protect freedom of the press, respond to victims of "fake news" and prevent undue influence from th

Feb. 11, 2022

Ruling party candidate treads lightly on anti-discrimination law

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of ruling Democratic Party, said he agreed with the idea of passing an anti-discrimination law, but remained cautious about it being billed. Sim Sang-jung, candidate from the minor progressive Justice Party, brought up the anti-discrimnation law at the second presidential candidate TV debate held Friday by the Journalist Association of Korea. “Though there may be some controversies, it is right to enact the anti-discrimination law. I have shared my

Feb. 11, 2022

Yoon Suk-yeol concentrates fire on allegations against Lee Jae-myung during debate

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol spent much of his allotted time during a debate program Friday on questioning his main rival Lee Jae-myung on allegations of corruption. Yoon asked Lee during his turn to ask the two other candidates in the debate if Lee would call his past behavior, in which he allegedly favored certain entities in real estate contracts, as truly fair. The candidate representing the main opposition People Power Party was referring to an allegation that&

Feb. 11, 2022

Yoon, Lee veer off topic to attack each other over allegations

Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol, the respective presidential candidates from Democratic Party and People Power Party, attacked each other over past scandals at the second TV debate held Friday, despite them being unrelated to the topic of debate. While the debate arranged by the Journalist Association of Korea kicked off discussing policies for the young people in their 20s and 30s, Lee and Yoon dedicated much of their time to scandals surrounding each other, Lee attacked Yoon

Feb. 11, 2022

Sim emphasizes green economy; Ahn denounces signs of political revenge

Rep. Sim Sang-jung, presidential nominee of the left-wing Justice Party stressed the need to establish an eco-friendly welfare nation as South Korea faces myriad of socioeconomic challenges on Friday at the second televised presidential candidates’ debate. In the debate hosted by the Journalists Association of Korea on Friday, Sim veered away from the more ususual pledge to become an “economic president,” instead opting to stress that the country must change completely if wan

Feb. 11, 2022

Ahn Cheol-soo is only presidential contender with science literacy: adviser

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate for South Korea’s centrist People Party, will prioritize sound judgments based on science over populism as Korea seeks a safe exit from the pandemic, according to his COVID-19 adviser. Dr. Park Jin-kyu, COVID-19 adviser to Ahn and the former Korea Medical Association vice president, told The Korea Herald that response has been swayed by political meddling. Ahn -- the qualified medical doctor, software engineer and two-time presidential candida

Feb. 11, 2022

Lee pledges to seek constitutional revision for renewable, 4-year presidential term

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung pledged Friday to pursue a constitutional revision if elected to change the current single, five-year presidential term to a renewable, four-year term. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party has talked about the idea before, saying he would gladly become the first president to shorten their term to four years. On Friday, he made the plan official by submitting it as part of his 10 top campaign pledges to the National Election Commission, the electio

Feb. 11, 2022

Yoon leads Lee 48% to 36%, 37% to 36%: polls

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung by 12 percentage points and 1 percentage point, respectively, two polls showed Friday. Yoon of the conservative People Power Party received 48 percent support, while Lee of the liberal Democratic Party received 36 percent, according to a survey of 1,000 adults conducted by Research View on Wednesday and Thursday. Yoon gained 2 points from last week, while Lee lost 2 points. According to a sepa

Feb. 11, 2022