Main opposition in disarray after election defeat

The main opposition United Future Party on Sunday struggled to form a new leadership to navigate its way out of its worst election debacle, suffered in last week’s parliamentary polls. The conservative party’s Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn stepped down from his post, taking responsibility for the loss in the April 15 general elections. Kim Chong-in, a veteran politician who joined the party to lead its election campaign, is widely expected to take charge, reforming and rebuilding the c

April 19, 2020

S. Korea seeks UNESCO listing of April 19 pro-democracy movement

President Moon Jae-in declared a bid Sunday for the inscription of documentary heritage related to South Korea's historic pro-democracy movement in 1960 on UNESCO's global Memory of the World Register. Speaking at a national ceremony to mark the movement's 60th anniversary, he said the bid is meant to "specially commemorate" the spirit of the April 19 Revolution and leave its spirit to mankind, . "The April 19 Revolution was the first democracy movement in a newly independent c

April 19, 2020

Moon, Trump agree to cooperate on coronavirus response, related N. Korea aid

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed Saturday to continue cooperation in response to the coronavirus and reaffirmed a push for humanitarian assistance for North Korea with regard to the pandemic, Cheong Wa Dae said. In phone talks that lasted half an hour, Trump called South Korea's handling of COVID-19 the "best model," noting that it successfully held national elections earlier this week. He then congratulated Moon on his party

April 19, 2020

Petition pokes fun at Gangnam voters after election of North Korean defector

Tens of thousands of South Koreans have signed a petition calling for the mandatory construction of residential flats for North Korean defectors in the ritzy district of Gangnam, southern Seoul, following a high-profile defector's election in the constituency. In apparent derision of the Gangnam residents who elected Tae Ku-min in Wednesday's legislative election, an anonymous petition was filed on the website of the presidential office on Thursday, demanding the government oblige builders to

April 18, 2020

New parliament faces pressure to revise defective election law

As a new proportional representation system, introduced for Wednesday's parliamentary elections, failed to fulfill its purpose, newly-elected lawmakers are now expected to address the problem during their four-year term that begins in early June. The mixed-member proportional representation system was introduced under an electoral reform bill that passed the National Assembly in December to better reflect votes cast for parties. It was expected to work favorably for minor parties by distributi

April 18, 2020

[News Analysis] Minor parties lose foothold in parliament

In Wednesday’s parliamentary election to select 300 lawmakers, a revised electoral system was applied for the first time to open the doors wider for minor parties. But it only caused the opposite effect due to trickery by prominent parties. Out of 47 proportional representative seats, the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition United Future Party, took 17 and 19, respectively, by creating satellite parties to exploit the new parliamentary election formula called semi-mixed membe

April 16, 2020

Former opposition chief Na loses to political novice

Political heavyweight Na Kyung-won of the main opposition party faced a crushing blow in Seoul’s Dongjak district against former judge Lee Su-jin of the ruling party, according to election results Thursday. According to the National Election Commission, political newcomer Lee edged out four-term lawmaker Na, grabbing 61,407 votes, or 52.1 percent of the total. Na won 53,026 votes. Na has served as floor leader of United Future Party and is considered one of the conservative bloc’s

April 16, 2020

Ruling bloc gains unprecedented control

The ruling and opposition parties on Thursday began preparations for the days to come following the ruling bloc’s landslide win in the previous day’s general elections. Wednesday’s win increased the presence of President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party of Korea in the National Assembly to unprecedented levels, and on Thursday, Moon expressed his gratitude and pledged to work for the people in a statement conveyed through his spokesman. “The government will take

April 16, 2020

South Korea’s virus response rooted in lessons from Sewol tragedy: Moon

Commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Sewol ferry tragedy that claimed 304 lives, President Moon Jae-in on Thursday said the lessons learned from the 2014 sinking are embedded in his government’s responses to the novel coronavirus outbreak.  　 ‘We cried with the Sewol ferry tragedy, shared a sense of the responsibility (for the lives lost) and realized how deeply interconnected we are with each other,” he wrote via social media. “As we overcome COVID-19, we ar

April 16, 2020

Moon’s former spokesperson defeats ex-Seoul Mayor

In one of the most heated elections for the National Assembly, former presidential spokesperson Go Min-jung of the ruling party clinched victory in Seoul’s Gwangjin B precinct over an opposition heavyweight figure, election results showed Thursday. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Go, who joined the administration after her time as a TV presenter, narrowly defeated former Seoul Mayor and one-time lawmaker Oh Se-hoon with 54,210 votes, or 50.3 percent, according to the Nationa

April 16, 2020

With victory under his belt, Hong vows to rebuild conservatives

Hong Joon-pyo, a prominent conservative politician who ran in the election as an independent and won, said Thursday that he would rebuild the political right, which is reeling from a crushing defeat in Wednesday’s general elections. Hong, who was denied candidacy for the conservative main opposition United Future Party, was elected to represent the Suseong-gu constituency of Daegu, a conservative stronghold. He said he would return to the United Future Party as he had promised during his

April 16, 2020

Joo Ho-young beats icon of anti-regionalism in Daegu

Rep. Joo Ho-young of the United Future Party won his fifth term by a huge margin against four-term lawmaker and potential presidential hopeful Rep. Kim Boo-kyum of the Democratic Party in the Suseong-A constituency in Daegu. Joo won 59.8 percent of the ballot, easily beating Kim who came second place with 39.2 percent. Having served senior positions in the United Future Party, Joo is now among the likely candidates to lead his troubled party. Joo, a former judge at the Daegu District Court,

April 16, 2020

Justice Party leader narrowly retains her seat

Justice Party leader Sim Sang-jung narrowly won her fourth term as a lawmaker in a cutthroat three-way race against first-time parliamentary candidates of the two largest parties. Sim won 39.3 percent of the ballot in Goyang-A, Gyeonggi Province, followed by Lee Kyung-hwan of the main opposition United Future Party who won 32.7 percent and Moon Myung-soon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea with 27.3 percent. As the only winner among 75 Justice Party candidates who ran in electoral distr

April 16, 2020

Ex-police commissioner elected on prosecution reform pledge

Hwang Un-hah, the former commissioner of the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency who is standing trial on power abuse charges, won a parliamentary seat in his hometown of Daejeon in Wednesday’s general elections. Winning the race by a narrow margin against a conservative United Future Party rival, Hwang grabbed a seat on the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s ticket to represent the conservative-leaning Jung-gu constituency of Daejeon. Hwang is an outspoken critic of the prosecutio

April 16, 2020

Two NK defectors win parliamentary seats with conservative party

The 21st National Assembly will have two members originally from North Korea who have been vocal about their native country’s dictatorship and human rights abuses.  　 One of them is Tae Ku-min, better known here by his North Korean name, Thae Yong-ho, who became the first defector to be directly elected to South Korea’s unicameral parliament.  　 Running on the ticket of the conservative opposition United Future Party, the former North Korean diplomat, who settled down he

April 15, 2020

Ruling party sweeps to victory

  South Korean voters were seen giving President Moon Jae-in’s party control of the parliament in an election that took place amid a pandemic. Voter turnout was projected to rise to its highest level in 28 years. Early counts and exit poll results suggested dominance of the ruling Democratic Party on the back of the successfully flattening of the coronavirus curve, in comparison to other countries struggling with mounting death tolls. “There was something like expectation t

April 15, 2020

Self-isolating S. Koreans vote after regular election hours amid coronavirus fears

Fears of the coronavirus didn't stop South Koreans even in self-isolation from voting Wednesday. A prerequisite was that those who were self-isolating cast their ballots after the regular voting hours that ended at 6 p.m. They were required to arrive at designated polling stations on foot or by their own cars to avoid contact with others. A total of 59,918 eligible voters nationwide were subject to the quarantine rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 as of the day before. Among them,

April 15, 2020

Voter turnout surges to 20-year high

Despite the continuing coronavirus outbreak, South Korean citizens flocked to the polls for Wednesday’s general elections, pushing the turnout rate to the highest in years. Nearly 66 percent of the country’s 43 million registered voters had cast their ballot as of 6 p.m., when balloting was still underway for voters quarantined over COVID-19. The turnout was the highest in general elections since 2000. A record 11 million people -- 26 percent of the electorate -- took part in

April 15, 2020

Ex-PM Lee expected to win against main rival Hwang in Seoul's Jongno: exit polls

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon of the ruling party is expected to win 53 percent of the vote in Wednesday's parliamentary elections against his main rival Hwang Kyo-ahn in the Jongno district in central Seoul, exit polls showed. The result for Lee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) compared with the 44.8 percent recorded for Hwang, chief of the main opposition United Future Party, according to exit polls by three main broadcasters, including KBS. Jongno is regarded as a symbolic constituen

April 15, 2020

Ruling bloc to take parliamentary majority: exit poll

President Moon Jae-in's ruling Democratic Party and its satellite party are set to win a majority in Wednesday’s general elections, an exit poll conducted by terrestrial broadcasters showed. According to the exit poll conducted by the country’s three terrestrial broadcasters, the ruling bloc is likely to grab at least 153 seats in the 300-member unicameral National Assembly. The main opposition United Future Party, combined with its satellite party Future Korea Party, is projecte

April 15, 2020