Ex-N. Korean envoy pledges to bring peninsula closer to unification

Thae Yong-ho, who was North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom before defecting to South Korea in 2016, is aiming for a parliamentary seat.  　Announcing his run in the April general elections under the conservative Liberty Korea Party, the high-profile defector said Tuesday that his mission is to contribute to the reunification of the two Koreas. 　“I know North Korea better and deeper than anyone else in South Korea. With my knowledge and experience, I hope to

Feb. 11, 2020

High-profile N. Korean defector to run in S. Korea's spring election: party

Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who defected to South Korea in 2016, plans to run in the April 15 general elections here as a member of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), a party official announced Monday. Kim Hyong-o, head of the LKP's election candidate selection panel, said Thae has joined the conservative party for a race in a Seoul constituency and not in pursuit of a National Assembly seat from proportional representation. "I think he would probably be the fi

Feb. 10, 2020

Opposition party threatens to impeach Moon over election scandal

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Monday urged President Moon Jae-in to come clean on allegations involving former and incumbent presidential secretaries in an election-meddling scandal, threatening to launch an impeachment campaign. “As soon as the 21st National Assembly is formed, we will push for a parliamentary probe and special investigation. Should President Moon be found to have been involved in any way, we will push for his impeachment,” the party’s floor l

Feb. 10, 2020

[Newsmaker] Jongno race bellwether for presidential election

Home to the presidential office and Seoul Government Complex comprising key government offices, the Jongno District in central Seoul has been a symbolic seat in the political landscape. The election results there have proven to be a yardstick on where rival parties stand for the next president. In the upcoming parliamentary elections in April, the district will once again serve as a key battlefield for liberals and conservatives, as Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Chairm

Feb. 9, 2020

Moon says S. Korea can ride out viral outbreak, asks for no excessive fear

President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that South Korea is "certainly" capable of bringing the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak under control and advised people not to have excessive fear. He voiced confidence in the government's fight against the two-month-long pandemic, which originated in China, while meeting with residents in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province and Asan, South Chungcheong Province. The Moon administration chartered flights to bring a total of 701 South Koreans hom

Feb. 9, 2020

Ex-BP lawmaker seeks merger with LKP ahead of elections

A conservative lawmaker who recently broke away from a minor opposition party announced Sunday that he is seeking to merge his newly created party with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party in a bid to form a united right-wing front ahead of the April general elections. Rep. Yoo Seong-min made the announcement at the National Assembly, saying he will not run in the upcoming elections to focus all his efforts on uniting the conservative bloc. "I will follow the people's order to bring

Feb. 9, 2020

Moon stresses alliance, seeks US state governors' support for Korea peace process

President Moon Jae-in has asked US state governors to provide South Korea with full support for its efforts to bring lasting peace to the peninsula, as he delivered a video message to them during a reception co-hosted by his country's embassy in Washington, D.C. "We now find ourselves with the noble task of completing the journey towards peace," Moon said at the U.S. National Governors Association (NGA) event held in the U.S. capital on Saturday (local time). "I would like to as

Feb. 9, 2020

Opposition leader to run in Seoul's Jongno district in April elections

Hwang Kyo-ahn, chief of the main opposition party, announced his bid Friday to run in the Jongno district in central Seoul for the April 15 elections, heralding a high-profile race against the former prime minister. Hwang, chairman of the Liberty Korea Party, made the surprise announcement, weeks after he vowed to run in a "tough" electoral district in a metropolitan area for the parliamentary elections. "I will run in the Jongno district," Hwang told a press briefing. Jo

Feb. 7, 2020

Liberty Korea Party launches satellite group

General elections are about two months away and South Korea’s political landscape is undergoing a transformation, with party splits, mergers and even the arrival of the nation’s very first “satellite” party. 　The main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Wednesday launched the Future Korea Party, the satellite group created for the sole purpose of securing additional proportionate representative seats in the next parliament. LKP’s four-term lawmaker Han Sun-kyo switc

Feb. 5, 2020

[Newsmaker] Candidates turn to social media to woo voters amid coronavirus crisis

The coronavirus is forcing general election candidates to find ways to reach voters apart from street canvassing, with many turning to social media. 　 Campaign rally events often involve face-to-face conversations, handshakes and canvassing trucks with loudspeakers blaring music at places with a large flow of people and dense crowds. But fears over the contagious disease are driving candidates to run online campaigns. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has suggested party leaders suspend ele

Feb. 4, 2020

Majority of public against release of jailed ex-President Park: survey

A majority of the public opposes the release of former President Park Geun-hye, who has been detained for nearly three years now after a corruption scandal took down her presidency in 2017, a poll finds. According to local pollster Realmeter on Monday, which conducted the survey of 503 adults nationwide, some 56 percent of respondents voiced opposition to Park’s early release. Slightly less than 40 percent supported the idea, while 4.6 percent chose neither answer. People in the count

Feb. 4, 2020

Extra parliamentary session set for Feb. to handle quarantine bill, other proposals

Political parties agreed Monday to hold an extra parliamentary session for February to handle key bills, including a proposal to revise the quarantine act to better tackle the outbreak of a new coronavirus. Rival parties agreed to open a 30-day extraordinary session this month to pass hundreds of bills linked to people's lives. Details will be later decided through consultations. One of the most notable of the 244 pending bills is a proposal to revise the quarantine act to beef up the countr

Feb. 3, 2020

Ex-presidential candidate Ahn says his new, moderate party will be 'different' than others

Former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo laid out visions for his new political party Sunday, claiming it will be different than existing parties plagued by irresponsibility.   "The new party I am about to create won't be like any other party that's out there," said Ahn, who recently defected from a minor opposition party he co-founded, at a press conference.  "With the new party, I'll try to overcome differences in ideologies and blocs, and shatter the old fr

Feb. 2, 2020

Govt. vows efforts for police reform legislation

South Korea will make efforts to get legislation of police reform bills passed in the first half of 2020 in its drive to follow up on the parliamentary passage of key prosecution reform bills, the prime minister said Friday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun unveiled the government's steps to support the passage of bills to set up a non-prosecution body to look into corruption by ranking public officials and to grant police more investigative authority. "(The government) will introduce an au

Jan. 31, 2020

Ahn’s ‘new politics’ mantra getting old

Former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo is leaving the political party he co-founded two years ago to embark on a quest, once again, for “new politics.” In doing so, the entrepreneur-turned-centrist-politician seeks to revive his political fortunes in the April parliamentary elections and attract moderate voters who have grown disillusioned with the endless partisan battle of liberals and conservatives.   French President Emmanuel Macron appears to be his role mod

Jan. 30, 2020

Ulsan mayor, several former Cheong Wa Dae officials indicted over election-meddling scandal

Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho was indicted Wednesday on charges of violating election law, as the prosecution's probe into a 2018 election-meddling scandal involving Cheong Wa Dae is apparently drawing to a close. Several former Cheong Wa Dae officials were also indicted for their alleged involvement in the case, along with Song Byeong-gi, former vice mayor of the southeastern city, and Hwang Un-ha, who led the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency at that time. They include Baek Won-woo, former sec

Jan. 29, 2020

[Newsmaker] Ahn quits own Bareunmirae party, likely to create new one

Former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo said Wednesday he has decided to leave the party he co-founded two years ago, in an apparent move to create a new group for the April general elections. The former chief of the Bareunmirae Party, who returned from abroad last week after more than a year’s absence from the political scene, said he was giving up on the minor opposition party, blaming party leaders for failing to present a vision for new politics. The move came after the party&rsq

Jan. 29, 2020

Cheong Wa Dae secretary quizzed by prosecutors over election-meddling scandal

State prosecutors summoned a secretary to President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday over the allegations that Cheong Wa Dae is involved in an Ulsan mayor election scandal. Lee Gwang-cheol, secretary for civil affairs, appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office to face questioning over suspicions that he had played a secret role behind the 2017 police probe into alleged corruption by Kim Ki-hyun, the mayor of Ulsan. Kim, a member of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, was seeking

Jan. 29, 2020

[Newsmaker] Ex-presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo defects from minor opposition party

Ahn Cheol-soo, a former presidential candidate, announced Wednesday that he will defect from the minor opposition party that he previously co-founded, as he has resumed political activity ahead of the April elections. The decision came as the minor Bareunmirae Party is on the verge of being split amid his deepening rifts with Sohn Hak-kyu, the incumbent party chief over reform measures. "I am leaving the BP with a bitter heart. I gave up the dream of reviving the party after seeing Sohn'

Jan. 29, 2020

Will Im Jong-seok return to politics for upcoming elections?

Ahead of the April 15 general elections, Im Jong-seok, former chief of staff to President Moon Jae-in, is back in the media spotlight amid rampant speculation over his next career move.He left politics effectively in November last year with an abrupt announcement that he would not run in the elections. He said he plans to focus on campaigning “outside the politics of the establishment” for the reunification of the two Koreas.Im is a highly symbolic figure in South Korea‘s pro-d

Jan. 25, 2020