Moon hits back after Yoon says he will probe ‘deep-rooted evils’

President Moon Jae-in hit back Thursday at opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol’s statement that he would order a probe into Moon’s government for corruption and irregularities if elected president. “I am deeply resentful of (Yoon’s remarks) accusing this government as subject to corruption investigations without any evidence. I demand his apology,” Moon was quoted as saying by Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication. &l

Feb. 10, 2022

Attacks continue against Lee’s wife despite apology

Attacks against the ruling Democratic Party of Korea‘s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s wife have continued despite Wednesday’s apology, with opposition parties contending she failed to address the key points of the controversy. Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of Lee, apologized at a press conference, saying she failed to draw distinctions between public and private life in reference to her alleged abuses of power while her husband previously served as the governor of Gyeongg

Feb. 10, 2022

[Newsmaker] Lawmakers expected to extend voting hours for COVID-19 patients

South Korea could extend voting hours on March 9 to let voters afflicted with COVID-19 to vote in the presidential election and by-elections held that day. Legislators on Thursday agreed to revise the Public Official Election Act so that voters afflicted with COVID-19 under self-quarantine will be allowed to vote within a 90-minute window until 7:30 p.m. after voting booths close for regular voters at 6 p.m. Lawmakers also agreed to add a clause mandating voters afflicted with COVID-19 to be p

Feb. 10, 2022

S. Korea, US agree on wording of declaration ending Korean War: Moon

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that South Korea and the United States have agreed on the wording of a declaration formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War, although North Korea has shown little sign of returning to the negotiating table. In a joint written interview with Yonhap News Agency and seven other global newswires, Moon said, however, it would be "too physically demanding" for the declaration to be reached by the end of his term in May. "An end-of-war declaration is use

Feb. 10, 2022

Moon expresses regret over Japan's push for UNESCO recognition of mine linked to forced labor

President Moon Jae-in expressed regret for the first time Thursday over Japan's push to list a mine associated with Korean forced laborers as UNESCO heritage. Moon made the remark in a joint written interview with Yonhap News Agency and seven other news wire services from around the world in his first comment on the issue since Tokyo announced plans to nominate the controversial mine on Sado Island for the 2023 UNESCO heritage list. "Regrettably, the Japanese Government has recently begun t

Feb. 10, 2022

Moon says Biden-Kim summit is 'matter of time'

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he believes US President Joe Biden and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet eventually to discuss Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program despite an ongoing impasse between the two countries. Moon made the remark in a written interview with Yonhap News Agency and seven other news wire services from around the world, saying the Biden administration has repeatedly expressed its commitment to reengaging the North in dialogue. "Since dialogue is the only way

Feb. 10, 2022

Moon says no prerequisites for inter-Korean summit, virtual summit possible

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he is willing to hold an inter-Korean summit without prerequisites in whatever format North Korea wants amid concern Pyongyang could end its self-imposed moratorium on long-range missiles launches. Moon made the remark in a joint written interview with Yonhap News Agency and seven other global news wire services, warning that the Korean Peninsula may return to a "touch-and-go crisis" five years ago if the North goes ahead with its veiled threat to sc

Feb. 10, 2022

Moon congratulates Hwang for winning gold in men's 1,500m short track

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday congratulated short track speed skater Hwang Dae-heon for winning the men's 1,500m, bringing South Korea its first gold medal of Beijing 2022. Moon sent a congratulatory message to Hwang shortly after the skater grabbed his first career Olympic gold medal, according to Moon's office. In the message, Moon praised Hwang's "overwhelming talent" and lauded his win as a feat that wiped away "the sense of unfairness" that he had undergone followin

Feb. 10, 2022

Lee Jae-myung’s wife apologizes in regards to ‘gapjil’ controversy

The wife of presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea offered an official apology in person Wednesday in regards to allegations of power abuse while her husband served as the governor of Gyeonggi Province before entering the presidential race. Kim Hye-kyung appeared before reporters Wednesday afternoon and bowed to apologize, saying she has failed to draw distinctions between public and private lives, adding she will take responsibility for any outcome of the in

Feb. 9, 2022

Olympic-sparked anti-Chinese sentiment rises as political issue

Anti-China sentiment sparked by controversial decisions at the 2022 Beijing Olympics is growing into a political issue, prompting presidential candidates to jump on the latest bandwagon to woo voters. On Monday, Korean speedskaters Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified in different groups for the men’s 1,000-meter semifinals held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in China. While they came in first and second in their respective group races, the two athletes were penalized and

Feb. 9, 2022

DP presidential candidate hopes for deeper economic cooperation with Russia

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), on Wednesday said he expects the economic cooperation between South Korea and Russia to be further expanded, especially in the energy field. Lee made the remarks during his meeting with Russian Ambassador to South Korea Andrey Kulik at his party's headquarters in Seoul. "The scale of economic cooperation between the two nations has become very large, and Russia's advanced science technology gives a big help to ou

Feb. 9, 2022

Ruling party lawmaker blames Samsung for 'unfair' short track refereeing

Rep. An Min-suk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is once again raising controversy, this time linking unfair decisions at the Beijing Olympics to Samsung. An said in a radio interview Wednesday that the core reason behind the refereeing decisions that disqualified two short track speedskaters in the men’s 1,000-meter semifinals on Monday is that Samsung Group stopped financial support for the Korea Skating Union. Samsung provided financial support for the local skating authority

Feb. 9, 2022

Main opposition fans speculations on Ahn’s merger, forfeiture

Main opposition People Power Party is fanning talks of alliances and forfeiture involving People’s Party’s Ahn Cheol-soo, in an apparent bid to raise pressure on the minor opposition candidate. While Ahn himself has ruled out merging his campaign with that of People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol, and reiterated time and again that he will see the campaign through, the main opposition has publicly mentioned possibility of an alliance, stressing the need for a change of power. L

Feb. 9, 2022

[Voters &] Why can’t overseas Koreans be the casting voter?

Kim Hyun-kyu, 43, who lives in Rotorua, New Zealand, recently registered to vote in the upcoming presidential election in March. But he is still not sure whether he could vote on the day. “To go to the polling station, I need to drive for three hours. When calculating the round trip, I’d need to take a day off. I will see whether I can do that during election day,” Kim said. Kim said the three-hour drive is already a relatively short distance to a polling station there -- m

Feb. 9, 2022

Yoon rules out negotiations for merger with Ahn

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol has said he will not hold negotiations with minor candidate Ahn Cheol-soo for a merger of their candidacies while leaving open the possibility of a merger through a surprise deal. Yoon of the conservative People Power Party made the comments in an interview with the Joongang Ilbo newspaper published Wednesday, emphasizing his aversion to long, drawn-out negotiations over details. "If we trust each other and agree on the goal of regime cha

Feb. 9, 2022

Election watchdog looking at in-person voting for COVID-19 patients after 6 p.m.

South Korea's election watchdog will propose a plan to allow in-person voting for virus patients after 6 p.m. in the upcoming presidential election amid concerns that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis could affect hundreds of thousands of voters casting their ballots. Under current election rules, it is virtually impossible for those who are diagnosed with COVID-19 after the early voting period that falls on March 4-5 and people who go into self-isolation just before the March 9 presidential election

Feb. 9, 2022

Opposition rivals raise talk of campaign merger as clock ticks

With less than 30 days to go to the March presidential election, candidates from opposition parties are bringing talks to merge their campaigns to the surface. Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party expressed for the first time his openness to unifying his candidacy with Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party in a media interview Monday. Ahn, however, drew a line on merging campaigns, saying he has no intention of doing so. In an interview with a local n

Feb. 8, 2022

Abuse of power claims against Lee Jae-myung and his wife grow

Allegations of power abuse surrounding the presidential nominee for the ruling party and his wife continue to grow, with numerous accusations freshly presented since they were first raised on Jan. 28. A new allegation was made Monday that Lee Jae-myung‘s wife Kim Hye-kyung used a Gyeonggi Provincial Government vehicle for personal purposes, attending to private matters and parking it at a resident welfare center near the apartment where Lee and Kim lived. The two are also suspected of ad

Feb. 8, 2022

Moon calls for measures to guarantee voting rights of virus patients, people in self-isolation

President Moon Jae-in called Tuesday for measures to guarantee voting rights of virus patients and people in self-isolation in the upcoming presidential election amid concerns that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis could prevent hundreds of thousands of voters from casting their ballots. Under current election rules, it is virtually impossible for those who are diagnosed with COVID-19 after the early voting period that falls on March 4-5 and people who go into self-isolation just before the March 9

Feb. 8, 2022

Presidential candidates slam penalty for short trackers

Presidential candidates vented their rage Tuesday after two South Korean short trackers were disqualified in questionable referee decisions for alleged infractions at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Skaters Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were both disqualified from the semifinals of the men's 1,000m on Monday after getting called for making an illegal late passing and a lane change that caused contact with another skater, respectively. Those decisions allowed Chinese skaters to advance to the fi

Feb. 8, 2022