Foreign ministry to unveil 'highly tightened' rules on sexual misconduct: vice minister

The foreign ministry will soon announce highly tightened rules against sexual misconduct committed by foreign service officials posted overseas, a vice foreign minister said Thursday. "(The foreign ministry) has decided to unveil sexual misconduct-related rules that are highly tightened from the existing ones," First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said during a plenary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. He was responding to Rep. Lee Tae-kyu

Nov. 5, 2020

Seoul says it’s ready for all eventualities in US election

The South Korean government on Thursday reiterated that it is prepared for all possible outcomes of the US presidential election. “The government will continue to cooperate with the US to maintain and further advance the Korea-US alliance regardless of the US presidential election’s outcome,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok said Thursday. “The government will cooperate with the new (US) administration to achieve denuclearization and establishment of peace on

Nov. 5, 2020

Opposition overtakes ruling party in Seoul

The ruling Democratic Party’s support rating has fallen behind that of the conservative opposition People Power Party in Seoul, where the two parties seek to strengthen their support base ahead of next year’s mayoral by-elections. According to a survey released by Realmeter on Thursday, the People Power Party’s support came in at 31.4 percent among Seoul residents surveyed, up 1.0 percentage point from the previous week, while that of the ruling party decreased 3.8 percenta

Nov. 5, 2020

Moon to receive NSC briefing on US presidential election

Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday that South Korea will maintain a robust alliance with the United States regardless of the outcome of its presidential election. President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to receive a related report from the National Security Council (NSC) in the afternoon, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. "No matter how the outcome of the US presidential election comes out, our government will maintain the robust South Korea-US alliance and continue cooperation to f

Nov. 5, 2020

S. Korea bans poultry imports from British county following bird flu outbreak

The South Korean government said Wednesday it has banned imports of poultry products from a British country where an avian influenza case broke out. 　 The move comes after the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain of bird flu was reported at a farm in the northwestern county of Cheshire in England. 　 The ban effectively blocks imports of all birds and poultry products from the region, including chicken and duck meat, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 　 The farm ministry h

Nov. 4, 2020

Opposition party mulls right-wing alliance

The floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of a right-wing alliance in next year’s Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections. People Power Party floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young said he sees “a very high probability” that his party could join hands with Ahn Cheol-soo, head of the minor opposition People’s Party, and former lawmaker Keum Tae-sup, who defected from the ruling Democratic Party in October. Joo said the tie-

Nov. 4, 2020

[US elections and Korea] Seoul braces of US presidential election outcome

South Korea on Wednesday was bracing for the result of the US presidential election, uncertain about the impact it will have on the country. On Wednesday, as vote-counting was underway in the US, top South Korean officials voiced the possibility of the US election bringing about changes both long- and short-term for Seoul. “There is high possibility that the result of US presidential election will be the beginning of a new political situation” on the Korean Peninsula, Minister o

Nov. 4, 2020

Squatting campers pose headache to east coast beaches

GANGNEUNG -- Public parking lots at many famous beaches on the east coast are beleaguered by a growing number of squatting campers, officials and residents said Wednesday. Camper vans are gradually gaining popularity among South Korean holidaymakers wanting to avoid crowded places amid the coronavirus pandemic. But recreational vehicle campgrounds still remain in short supply nationwide, forcing many campers to occupy seaside public parking lots for an extended period. Public parking lots alon

Nov. 4, 2020

Korea's security situation expected to grow 'fluid,' Cheong Wa Dae says

A top Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday that the Korean Peninsula's security conditions will likely be more "fluid" than ever in the coming months, potentially swayed by the results of the US presidential election and North Korea's Workers' Party convention early next year. "The fluidity of the security situation around the Korean Peninsula will increase more than ever," Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, told lawmakers during a parliamen

Nov. 4, 2020

Prosecutors raid Woori Bank's headquarters over fund scam case

The prosecution on Wednesday raided the headquarters of Woori Bank in connection with a snowballing financial fraud scandal involving a hedge fund, officials said. Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office raided the headquarters in central Seoul to secure materials related to Lime Asset Management. The prosecution has made a series of raids in recent weeks at brokerages and financial firms, including Shinhan Investment Corp., KB Securities and Korea Investment & Se

Nov. 4, 2020

S. Korean government, ruling party settles on tax relief proposals

The government and the ruling Democratic Party agreed on tax relief for single homeowners and retail stock investors, in an apparent move to soothe public anger over increased levy burden under the Moon Jae-in administration. According to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Tuesday, the government scrapped its initial plan to broaden the tax base for capital gains to include retail stock investors who own stocks worth over 300 million won in a single company. This means the current standard -

Nov. 3, 2020

Moon says carbon neutrality is a necessity for survival

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday urged the government to move forward with its preparations for carbon neutrality by 2050, saying that achieving the goal is "not a choice but a necessity." Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Moon reiterated his administration’s commitment to laying the foundations for South Korea becoming a net-zero emitter. "I made the heavy promise of moving toward the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in the parliamentary address. It is a declarat

Nov. 3, 2020

Moon says S. Korea's 2050 carbon-neutral goal is 'heavy promise,' urges calm preparations

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that South Korea is seriously committed to its stated aim of going carbon neutral by 2050 to support the global fight against climate change. He called for national efforts to attain the goal via a "calm and cool-headed" approach, speaking during a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. "Carbon neutrality is the direction in which the world should move to respond together to the climate crisis," he stressed. "We should actively part

Nov. 3, 2020

Sitting lawmaker detained over election wrongdoing allegations

CHEONGJU -- A sitting ruling party lawmaker was put under pre-trial detention on Tuesday for alleged campaign accounting fraud and other wrongdoing ahead of the parliamentary election in April. The detention came shortly after the Cheongju District Court in the namesake city, 120 kilometers south of Seoul, approved a detention warrant requested by prosecutors for the lawmaker based in the city. This made Rep. Jeong Jeong-soon of the Democratic Party (DP) the first incumbent lawmaker of the 21

Nov. 3, 2020

Moon offers condolences to Turkey, Greece over quake damages

President Moon Jae-in conveyed condolence messages to the leaders of Turkey and Greece, which suffered a heavy blow from a powerful earthquake, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.    In notes sent to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Moon expressed regret over deaths attributable to the 7.0-magnitude earthquake and offered his condolences, according to Cheong Wa Dae.    Moon also expressed his hope that the two nations will qui

Nov. 2, 2020

Prosecutor general’s rating as next presidential candidate rises to new high

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s approval rating as a presidential candidate shot up to its highest point so far, narrowing the gap with ruling party heavyweights, in the final week of October. In a survey conducted by Realmeter, Yoon was chosen by 17.2 percent of respondents as the favored candidate, the highest figure since Yoon was first included in relevant polls in June. Compared with a month earlier, he gained 6.7 percentage points. The poll puts Yoon 4.3 percentage points beh

Nov. 2, 2020

Opposition slams ruling party for fielding Seoul, Busan mayoral candidates

The ruling Democratic Party decided to revise its rules and officially nominate candidates for mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan in April, as a majority of party members voted in favor of the plan Monday. The party’s constitution states that it cannot nominate any by-election candidates if the party caused the situation that made the by-election necessary. The late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon took his own life in July, and former Busan Mayor Oh Ke-don resigned in April amid sexual ha

Nov. 2, 2020

[Newsmaker] Former President Lee Myung-bak put behind bars

Former President Lee Myung-bak was placed behind bars Monday, after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction for bribery and embezzlement and revoked his bail. The 78-year-old, who led the country from 2008 to 2013, faces 16 more years in jail. Lee left his residence in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, at around 1:45 p.m., as supporters and longtime aides, including former Rep. Lee Jae-oh, gathered to bid him farewell.　 “They can arrest me, but they can’t confine the truth” his

Nov. 2, 2020

PM announces new 5-level social distancing scheme

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Sunday announced a new social distancing scheme based on five levels instead of three, saying the new plan aims to improve anti-virus measures in a tailored fashion amid criticism the current system is too broad-brush. The scheme will take effect Saturday and break up the current three levels into Levels 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3. The government has divided the nation into seven zones, with the level of each zone determined based on the average number of daily infect

Nov. 1, 2020

Moon appoints new minister for food and drug safety

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday appointed Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip, known for his daily coronavirus briefing, as the new minister for food and drug safety in a reshuffle that also affected 11 other vice minister-level posts. Moon also appointed Vice Labor Minister Lim Seo-jeong as senior presidential secretary for jobs and Park Jin-kyu, a former presidential secretary for New Southern and New Northern policies, as vice minister of trade, industry and energy, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang

Nov. 1, 2020