Assembly speaker starts trade mission in Central Asia

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug began his nine-day visit to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to strengthen economic ties with the three emerging Central Asian nations, the National Assembly said Thursday. During the visit, Park will discuss cooperation in areas such as health care, energy, information and communications technology, public administration, agriculture and textiles. On Wednesday, Park visited Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, to hold talks with National Assem

April 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Rival parties try to drum up turnout as early voting for by-elections set to begin

With one day left before the start of the early voting for next week's Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, rival parties on Thursday strived to encourage more of their supporters to go to the polls. The advance polling is set to begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and last till Saturday evening at 722 polling stations in Seoul, Busan and other regions ahead of the election day on Wednesday. Both sides believe turnout of their supporters for the early voting will be a prime determinant in the elections

April 1, 2021

Early voting for upcoming by-elections set to kick off for 2-day run

Early voting for the upcoming by-elections, including polls for the new Seoul and Busan mayors, is set to kick off this week for a two-day run, election officials said Thursday. The advance polling will begin at 6 a.m. on Friday and last till Saturday evening, ahead of the election day on April 7. Some 8.4 million voters in Seoul are eligible to cast ballots for a new mayor in the by-elections that come about a year ahead of the 2022 presidential poll. In Busan, South Korea's second-bigges

April 1, 2021

PM demands Japan withdraw history distortion amid renewed Dokdo sovereignty claims

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday criticized Japan for the country's latest territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo and demanded that Tokyo withdraw its attempts to distort history. A textbook screening committee under Japan's education ministry approved 296 textbooks Tuesday for first-year high school students, including 30 kinds for social studies subjects that contain Tokyo's territorial claims to Dokdo. "We demand that Japan, as a responsible member of

March 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Minor Seoul mayoral candidates pledge to support women, LGBTQ people

As the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor approaches, a fierce battle is ongoing between the ruling and main opposition parties. At the same time, 10 minor parties and independent candidates are appealing to voters by talking about gender equality, LGBTQ rights, basic income and the environment. The 10 candidates, whose combined approval rating is less than 5 percent, are getting voters’ attention with issues that major candidates haven’t paid much attention to.

March 31, 2021

Week ahead of bellwether by-elections, rival parties rush for last-minute campaigning

Rival parties were rushing to rally support in their last-minute election campaigning Wednesday, with the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, seen as a potential game changer for next year's presidential election, only a week away. Some 8.4 million voters in Seoul are set to vote for a new mayor on April 7 in the by-elections that come about a year ahead of the 2022 presidential poll. The mayoral seat in Busan, South Korea's second-biggest city, is also up for grabs in the elections, along w

March 31, 2021

Ex-DP head issues public apology in admission of housing policy failure

The former head of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday made a public apology in admission of the overall failure in the party's housing policy and a recent bombshell land speculation scandal involving public servants. The so-called LH scandal was triggered earlier this month when two civic groups alleged that employees at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) bought plots of land in two cities -- Gwangmyeong and Siheung in Gyeonggi Province -- before the government announced a massive

March 31, 2021

Moon vows support for corporate governance campaign

President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that the government will provide full support for the spread of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria in South Korea's business sector. He was speaking during the 48th Commerce & Industry Day event hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) at its headquarters in Seoul. The president declared a vision for turning 2021 into the original year for the expansion of "ESG management and entrepreneurship for all&qu

March 31, 2021

Moon names new Cheong Wa Dae aides on anti-corruption, economy, digital innovation

President Moon Jae-in appointed Kim Gi-pyo, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, as his new secretary for anti-corruption, Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday. The president also picked Deputy Finance Minister Lee Hyong-il as secretary for economic policy and Kim Jeong-won, information and communication policy chief at the science ministry, as secretary for digital innovation, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Kim is succeeding Lee Myung-shin in a follow-up to Moon's replacement of seni

March 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Poll shows opposition Seoul mayoral candidate has commanding lead over his ruling rival

The conservative main opposition People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon is leading his rival from the ruling Democratic Party Park Young-sun by an overwhelming margin of nearly 30 percentage points, an opinion poll showed Wednesday, a week ahead of the election day. According to the survey conducted on 842 voters in Seoul from Sunday-Monday by Hangil Research, 60.1 percent of the respondents said they will vote for Oh in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. Only 32.5 percent

March 31, 2021

Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan named as senior presidential secretary for economic affairs

President Moon Jae-in tapped Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan as his new senior secretary for economic affairs, Cheong Wa Dae announced Tuesday. An is succeeding Lee Ho-seung, who was promoted to the post of presidential chief of staff for policy the previous day. Moon also picked two new vice finance ministers, Lee Eog-weon and Ahn Do-geol, both of whom are career officials at the ministry as well. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has two vice ministers. An has been serving as second vic

March 30, 2021

Moon calls for speedy relief money handouts, vaccination

President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Tuesday to accelerate the emergency relief money payment that has just begun and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, describing the two elements as crucial in efforts for "inclusive" economic recovery. Earlier this week, his left-leaning administration started handing out the fourth batch of direct financial support for the vulnerable in a tailored program based on a 14.9 trillion-won ($13.1 billion) extra budget. Millions of small mercha

March 30, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul mayor election campaign descends to mud slinging

With the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor just around the corner, the election campaigns are becoming marred by mudslinging and personal insults between candidates, which may lead to political distrust and apathy among voters. About a week to go before the election, both the ruling and opposition parties appear to be focusing more on raising personal negative issues about rival candidates than discussion of policies and pledges. Although there are several candidates, the

March 29, 2021

Moon calls for all-out efforts to fight real estate corruption

President Moon Jae-in on Monday pledged all-out efforts to fight real estate corruption, especially among public officials, as he chaired an emergency session of the government’s Anti-Corruption Policy Consultative Council for Fair Society. The meeting was attended by the ministers of finance, justice and interior, as well as the head of the Financial Services Commission and the acting prosecutor general. The last meeting was convened in June last year to discuss ways to root out corrupt

March 29, 2021

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon leads in new poll of prospective presidential candidates

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is leading presidential hopefuls from rival parties by a large margin in the latest popularity poll on potential candidates to succeed President Moon Jae-in next year, a pollster said Monday. Public support for Yoon as South Korea's next leader surged to a record high of 34.4 percent in a Realmeter survey conducted on 2,547 adults nationwide from last Monday to Friday, according to the Seoul-based pollster. It is the first time that Yoon's support rate

March 29, 2021

Moon’s top economic adviser resigns over excessive rent increase

President Moon Jae-in on Monday dismissed his chief of staff for policy Kim Sang-jo, who played a key role in implementing policies to better protect tenants’ rights but was recently found to have greatly raised the jeonse deposit for his Gangnam apartment days before the new laws took effect. According to government filings, Kim raised the jeonse deposit 14 percent -- from 850 million won ($751,000) to 970 million won -- when he renewed a lease with a tenant July 29 last year. Two days l

March 29, 2021

Moon replaces Cheong Wa Dae policy chief amid property-related controversy

President Moon Jae-in replaced Kim Sang-jo, his top Cheong Wa Dae aide on policy, Monday, Moon's office announced amid a controversy over the leasing of his apartment in southern Seoul. Moon promoted Lee Ho-seung, senior secretary for economic affairs, to the post of handling policy at the presidential office, according to You Young-min, presidential chief of staff. Moon's decision came "in consideration of the very grave situation connected with real estate," a senior Cheong Wa Dae

March 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Approval rating for conservative main opposition party tops 40% in Seoul: poll

The approval rating for the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has topped 40 percent in Seoul, expanding its lead over the liberal ruling Democratic Party (DP) in the runup to next week's Seoul mayoral by-election, an opinion poll showed Monday. According to the Realmeter survey conducted on 2,516 voters nationwide from last Monday through Friday, the approval rating for the PPP came to 41.2 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from a week ago. This marks the first approval rat

March 29, 2021

Govt. to push for legislation binding public officials to mandatory registration of property

The government and the ruling party decided to push for new legislation obligating all public officials to declare their assets, a lawmaker said Sunday, amid a public uproar over a land speculation scandal involving employees of the state housing developer. Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, acting chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, also said after a meeting with officials of the government and the presidential office that the government will make sure to confiscate all illegal gains made from real esta

March 28, 2021

Ruling party voices 'deep regret' over N. Korea's missile provocations

South Korea's ruling party on Friday expressed "deep regret" over North Korea's recent back-to-back launches of short-range missiles, calling on the country to come back to the negotiating table. "(We) express deep regret over the North Korean provocations that took place as the US Biden administration is reviewing its North Korea policy," Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, acting chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), said during a party meeting held in the southern port city of Busan.

March 26, 2021