[Newsmaker] Main opposition in leadership fracas

A day after canceling a planned debate because a leading presidential contender was unhappy about it, the main opposition party on Wednesday was wrangling over its leader’s comments in a private conversation. Won Hee-ryong, former Jeju governor and a preliminary presidential candidate of the People Power Party, claimed that party leader Lee Jun-seok told him on the phone that Yoon Seok-youl, the ex-prosecutor general and the party’s most popular presidential hopeful, “will be

Aug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] DP chief calls for swift OPCON transfer as lesson from Afghan crisis

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday called for speeding up South Korea's envisioned takeover of wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the United States in reflection of the recent crisis in Afghanistan. "We need OPCON transfer to further strengthen our will and capability of self-defense against the backdrop of the Afghanistan crisis," Rep. Song Young-gil said in his Facebook post. Song wrote the post as a direct rebuttal to a claim recently ma

Aug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Five-term lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo announces 2nd presidential bid

Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, a five-term lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), officially announced Tuesday he will run in the presidential election slated for March. Hong, who lost the 2017 election against President Moon Jae-in, held an online press conference announcing his second bid for the presidency, in which he pledged to "correct the nation heading in the wrong direction." The former prosecutor-turned-politician presented a vision in which South Korea wins respect

Aug. 17, 2021

[Herald Interview] Parliament should represent teens, LGBT people

South Korea’s youngest member of parliament believes the National Assembly should be more inclusive and represent the diversity of the Korean public, not just middle-aged men. “They say the National Assembly should resemble the citizens, but that’s not what the current parliament does,” said 29-year-old Rep. Ryu Ho-jeong of the progressive Justice Party in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Currently, 80 percent of the members are male, and those in

Aug. 17, 2021

Revered independence fighter awarded medal 78 years after death

South Korea awarded a posthumous medal of honor Tuesday to Hong Beom-do, a historic independence fighter, whose remains returned from Kazakhstan two days earlier. President Moon Jae-in conferred the Order of Merit for National Foundation on Hong in a ceremony attended by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at Cheong Wa Dae. Hong, who served as commander of Korea's independence army, is revered for leading victories in the troops' battles against Japanese forces during the 1910-45 colonial r

Aug. 17, 2021

Moon says return of Korean independence fighter's remains very meaningful

President Moon Jae-in said it is very meaningful that the remains of Gen. Hong Beom-do, a legendary Korean independence fighter, have been repatriated to South Korea's soil, according to his office Monday. Moon conversed with the three members of his special delegation at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, the previous day. They traveled to Kazakhstan to bring Hong's remains home, 78 years after his death in the Central Asian country. Moon observed the arrival of the remains at th

Aug. 16, 2021

Main opposition's approval rating drops again amid rift between heavyweights

Public support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has fallen after a two-week rise, a poll showed Monday amid a conflict between the party's two key figures -- Lee Jun-seok and Yoon Seok-youl. In the Realmeter survey on 2,512 people, aged 18 and older, nationwide from last Monday through Friday, the PPP's approval rating dipped 0.5 percentage point to 37.3 percent from a week earlier. The ruling Democratic Party's rating gained 1.4 percentage points to 33.5 percent. The PPP, in p

Aug. 16, 2021

Opposition parties' merger talks end in failure: Ahn

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the minor opposition People's Party, announced a no-deal end Monday to negotiations with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) over a proposed merger. "I am very sorry to say that the efforts to unify the two parties have come to a halt here," he said during the press conference at the National Assembly. Ahn described the negotiation process as the "hardest time" for him since he became a politician a decade ago. He apologized to those who h

Aug. 16, 2021

US nuke envoy expected to visit S. Korea this month: official

The US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, is expected to visit Seoul later this month for talks with his South Korean counterpart and a trilateral session involving the Russian nuclear envoy, a diplomatic source said Sunday. Kim is expected to arrive on Saturday for a four-day visit, the source said. It will mark his second trip to South Korea since taking office as Washington‘s chief nuclear envoy. He last visited Seoul in June. While Kim is in town, Russia’s nuclea

Aug. 15, 2021

Foreign ministry ‘closely monitoring’ situation in Afghanistan

South Korea is closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan, the foreign ministry said Sunday, as Taliban fighters advanced to Kabul demanding the surrender of the central government, prompting citizens and foreigners to flee the city. 　“We still have staff stationed at the embassy. We are closely monitoring the situation,” a ministry official said on Sunday afternoon. 　Another official said the situation in Afghanistan is “very tense,” adding that they are &ldquo

Aug. 15, 2021

Assembly speaker visits Turkey, Azerbaijan to cement ties

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug began his nine-day visit to Turkey and Azerbaijan on Friday, hoping to strengthen cooperation on the economy and defense, officials said Sunday. He will spend six days in Turkey and three days in Azerbaijan, according to the speaker’s office. During his visit to Turkey, South Korea’s strategic partner, Park will seek support for the participation of Korean businesses in large-scale infrastructure and defense projects in the nation. On

Aug. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ruling party forges ahead with “fake news” law despite opposition

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is poised to push ahead with the revision of the Act on Press Arbitration, despite resistance from opposition parties and the media. The Act on Press Arbitration aims to mediate disputes over media reports that infringe on people’s rights, interests or reputations. The ruling party recently proposed a revised bill that would further toughen consequences for false reports, including the introduction of punitive damages. Under the revised law

Aug. 15, 2021

Both Koreas to benefit from 'institutionalizing' peace, Moon says in Liberation Day speech

President Moon Jae-in proposed Sunday that South and North Korea "institutionalize" peace on the peninsula and create a Germany-style trust-building system toward the longer-term goal of unification. "Firmly institutionalizing peace on the Korean Peninsula will definitely benefit both Koreas greatly," Moon said during his Liberation Day speech to commemorate the 76th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule.He described division as the biggest obstacle bl

Aug. 15, 2021

Ex-President Chun hospitalized for medical treatment

 Former President Chun Doo-hwan has been hospitalized for medical treatment, informed officials said Saturday, days after he made a 660-kilometer round trip to the southwestern city Gwangju to attend an appellate court hearing on a defamation case. The 90-year-old Chun, who served as president from 1980-1988, was admitted to Severance Hospital in western Seoul on Friday to receive medical treatment and undergo a checkup, the officials told Yonhap News Agency. He is expected to be discharg

Aug. 14, 2021

Police block Liberation Day rallies by conservatives

A group of conservative activists pushed ahead with its anti-government street rallies planned in downtown Seoul on Saturday, the eve of Liberation Day, but ran into a watertight blockade by riot police amid authorities' warning about the further spread of COVID-19. The conservatives, led by Jun Kwang-hoon, a politically controversial pastor, began a three-day street walking event at Seoul Station at 6 a.m. in defiance of warnings by the government and police, which have said the gatherings are

Aug. 14, 2021

Moon vows continued efforts to resolve comfort women issue on memorial day

President Moon Jae-in vowed Saturday to strive to resolve the pending issue of wartime sexual slavery victims, saying that such efforts are the path to avoid "a repeat of the unfortunate past." Moon made the remarks in a video message, as the country marks the national memorial day for "comfort women," a euphemism referring to sexual slavery victims who were forced to work at Japanese brothels during World War II. "Resolving the comfort women issue is the way to not r

Aug. 14, 2021

S. Korea urges rapid vaccine supply during protest visit to Moderna

South Korea has asked US drugmaker Moderna Inc. to speed up its delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Seoul in accordance with a prior contract, visiting government officials said Saturday. The request was made during a South Korean government delegation's visit to the headquarters of Moderna in the U.S. state of Massachusetts on Friday, they said. It came after Moderna notified Seoul that it plans to supply less than half of the 8.5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine planned for August. Vice Mi

Aug. 14, 2021

Samsung leader’s parole is in national interest: Cheong Wa Dae

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that the decision to release Samsung’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong from prison on parole was made in the national interest. “We are well aware of opinions either in favor or against the parole of (Samsung Electronics) Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The opinion of people who oppose it is also right,” Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, said in a briefing held few hours after Lee was released.

Aug. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi governor announces in-province universal COVID-19 relief handouts

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung on Friday announced his decision to provide universal COVID-19 relief funds to all provincial residents, contrary to the central government's policy of selective relief payments. Lee, the front-running presidential contender for the ruling Democratic Party, vowed to ensure that all 14 million residents in the province, which surrounds Seoul, will benefit from the government's upcoming emergency disaster relief handouts. In late July, the National Assembly p

Aug. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Internal strife continues to weigh on PPP

Main opposition party leader Lee Jun-seok continued to bicker with his own party members supporting former prosecutor general and presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl despite concerns that internal fighting will not help the party win next year’s election. The People Power Party plans to hold a debate between the party’s preliminary presidential candidates on Aug. 18, which members of Yoon’s camp have expressed discontent with, saying everyone will attack Yoon, the leading can

Aug. 12, 2021