Most Popular
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program
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First lady’s controversies to top agenda at meeting of party leaders
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103 autumn foliage paths in Seoul
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Seoul aims to halve current suicide rate by 2030
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4 in 10 young South Koreans take up 'irregular' jobs: data
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[Photo News] Rallying against LGBTQ+
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Moon says efforts to root out 'social evil' not aimed at punishing individuals
Government efforts to eradicate so-called social evil are not and must not be aimed at punishing those who made mistakes or simply followed orders in the past but should focus on uprooting unjust policies and practices, President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday."As I have repeatedly stressed, the goal of rooting out social evil is aimed at addressing unfair and unjust policies, institutions and practices, not punishing individual government officials," the president said in a Cabinet meeting at his off
April 10, 2018
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Opposition parties up offensive against FSS chief
Opposition parties on Tuesday ratcheted up their offensive against Financial Supervisory Service chief Kim Ki-sik, who has been under fire for his overseas trips sponsored by financial institutions while he was a lawmaker.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party filed a complaint with the prosecution against the embattled FSS chief, claiming taking the costly trips amounted to bribery, abuse of power and the breach of public officials' ethics rules.The minor Bareunmirae Party called for parliamen
April 10, 2018
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National Assembly crippled as rival parties clash over contentious bills
This month’s parliamentary session came to a standstill for the second week in a row on Monday, as rival parties continued to clash over contentious bills including the long-pending broadcast laws and revision of the Constitution. Ruling and opposition parties failed to narrow differences during a breakfast meeting, cancelling the plenary session initially scheduled for later in the day. The session was also cancelled last week for the same reason. The cancellation of Monday’s plenary session al
April 9, 2018
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Parties fail to bridge differences over partisan disputes
Major parties failed Monday to narrow their differences over a constitutional amendment and other disputed motions, triggering the cancellation of a floor session and extending a parliamentary gridlock.The floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party, main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Bareunmirae Party and Parliamentary Group for Peace and Justice held three separate meetings, including a luncheon, but could not reach a compromise.The failure led to the cancellation of a parliamentary plenary
April 9, 2018
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Ex-President Lee Myung-bak indicted on embezzlement, bribery
The prosecution on Wednesday indicted former President Lee Myung-bak on a series of charges involving tens of billions of won in embezzlement and bribery, making him the fourth Korean president to face criminal charges.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said they had indicted 76-year-old Lee on 16 charges, including violation of election law, tax evasion, abuse of power and leaking of government secrets.The former president, who served from 2008 to 2013, became the fourth president i
April 9, 2018
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South Korea's National Assembly stalled over law on media independence
Rival parties continue to trade barbs over the controversial broadcast law reforms which will partially deprive the ruling party of its authority to select and appoint the heads of public broadcasters, leading the country’s opposition parties to boycott plenary sessions at the National Assembly as a way to push for the proposal’s approval. The ongoing boycott by the opposition parties over the broadcast law reform has crippled the National Assembly this month. The long-pending reform proposal,
April 8, 2018
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Cheong Wa Dae dismisses call to fire FSS chief
South Korea’s presidential office said on Sunday it is not considering dismissing the head of the country’s financial watchdog amid the criticism that Financial Supervisory Service chief Kim Ki-sik spent taxpayer money on his business trip abroad while serving as a lawmaker three years ago. Cheong Wa Dae also denied the allegation it exercised influence over the Korea Institute for International Economics‘ termination of funding for the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Kim was o
April 8, 2018
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Moon administration considering phased revision of Constitution
South Korea's Moon Jae-in administration is reportedly considering a phased revision of the Constitution that may push back additional amendments to 2020, an official with the presidential office said Sunday.The government is currently seeking to put its own bill on a constitutional revision to a national vote alongside the local elections slated for June 13. The key part of the government proposal seeks to remove the limit on the presidency to a single five-year term to allow one consecutive re
April 8, 2018
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Govt. to officially give vehicle classification to ultra compact cars
South Korea will officially give ultra compact cars their own classification and promote their production through various incentives, the government said Sunday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will revise the country's motor vehicle management act and make the necessary preannouncement of legislation on May 15. Asia's fourth-largest economy divides vehicles into four large categories depending on overall size and engine capacity. These are city, small, medium and large
April 8, 2018
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Chronology of major events leading to former President Park's sentencing trial
The following is a chronology of major events leading to Friday's sentencing of former President Park Geun-hye. Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)2016Oct. 24: Cable channel JTBC unveils Park's confidante Choi Soon-sil's tablet PC indicating her meddling in state affairs.Oct. 27: The prosecution forms a special investigation team.Oct. 29: Citizens launch an anti-Park weekend rally. Park's aides reject prosecutors' search of the presidential officeOct. 30: Choi is detained after returning home after weeks of
April 6, 2018
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Park Geun-hye: from conservative icon to dethroned president
Park Geun-hye, sentenced to 24 years in jail for corruption, is South Korea's first elected president to be removed from office by the Constitutional Court.The 66-year-old is the eldest daughter of late former President Park Chung-hee. The former army general took power in a coup in 1961 and ruled the country for 18 years.She spent her early years in the presidential palace Cheong Wa Dae. At 22, she took the role of first lady after her mother was shot to death by a pro-North Korea agent in 1974
April 6, 2018
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[Breaking] Ex-President Park Geun-hye gets 24 years in prison
Former President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in prison and 18 billion in fine on Friday in a massive corruption scandal that toppled her from power early last year. In a live televised trial, the Seoul Central District Court meted out the guilty verdict for the 66-year-old former leader, about a year after her arrest in late March of 2017. Park was convicted of 16 counts of corruption, including bribery, coercion and abuse of power. Judge Kim Se-yun (Yonhap)Prosecutors had demanded
April 6, 2018
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Ex-leaders' downfalls add momentum for constitutional revision to weaken presidential powers
Morality and honesty were what former President Park Geun-hye had touted as her biggest strengths, qualities that never needed to be called into doubt. "I have no family to look after, or children to leave my property to." She uttered her famous line in her last stump speech on Dec. 18, 2012, a day before she won the election. "The people of this country are the only family I have, and whose happiness is the sole reason I do politics for."Five years later, she is now in jail on bribery, abuse of
April 6, 2018
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Moon presses parties to revise law to enable vote on constitutional change
President Moon Jae-in sent his first executive letter to the National Assembly on Friday, urging the parliament and rival parties to quickly revise the law on national referendums that was declared unconstitutional more than three years ago.The move came two days after Cheong Wa Dae strongly criticized the parliament for failing to revise the law, which is required to hold a national referendum on a constitutional amendment simultaneously with the upcoming local elections.“Leaving the unconstitu
April 6, 2018
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Ex-Park aide given suspended jail term for attempted coercion of CJ Group
A Seoul court on Friday meted out a suspended jail term to a former economic aide to ex-President Park Geun-hye for collusion in a botched attempt to pressure a senior official of CJ Group to quit in 2013.The Seoul Central District Court gave Cho Won-dong, Park's former chief economic secretary, a one-year prison term suspended for two years, finding him guilty of having attempted to coerce the group to dismiss Group Vice Chairwoman Lee Mie-kyung.With the verdict, the court noted that Park, who
April 6, 2018
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Ahn declares bid to run for mayor
Ahn Cheol-soo, a former presidential candidate and former leader of an opposition party, announced Wednesday his bid to run in the Seoul mayoral election in June. Ahn is currently the recruitment chief of the center-right Bareunmirae Party, which has been struggling with low support ratings and difficulties finding competent candidates to run in the local and gubernatorial elections slated for June 13. Ahn Cheol-soo (Yonhap)“With the belief that South Korea will change when Seoul changes, I aim
April 4, 2018
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Parties remain at odds on normalizing parliament
Ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday failed to narrow differences on how to revise the Constitution and normalize this month’s extraordinary National Assembly session.Floor leaders Woo Won-shik of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Sung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Kim Dong-cheol of the Bareun Future Party and Roh Hoe-chan of a joint floor negotiation bloc of the Justice Party and Party for Democracy and Peace held a breakfast meeting, but couldn’t reach a comprom
April 4, 2018
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Liberty Korea Party proposes constitutional amendment
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Tuesday announced its proposal for a constitutional amendment that seeks to redistribute presidential powers, hinting at a difficult negotiating process with the ruling party.The conservative party also outlined its preferred timeline to bring to the table an amendment bill at the National Assembly in June and put it to a national referendum by September.Floor leader Rep. Kim Sung-tae of main opposition Liberty Korea Party (Yonhap)The main opposition’s
April 3, 2018
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Parties point fingers at each other for parliamentary standoff
Rival parties on Tuesday shifted the blame to each other for a parliamentary standoff over a set of disputed bills, portending another unproductive legislative session this month.The monthlong extraordinary sitting got off to a rocky start on Monday, as the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and Bareunmirae Party boycotted a floor session in protest over the ruling Democratic Party's refusal to quickly pass a revision to the Broadcast Act.The revision calls for electing the chief of a public br
April 3, 2018
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Parties mark 70th anniv. of Jeju April 3 incident with varied interpretations
Political parties on Tuesday commemorated the 70th anniversary of a bloody government-civilian clash on the southern island of Jeju, with their views on the tragedy split across ideological lines.The Jeju April 3 incident is a government-civilian clash from 1948-1954, an outgrowth of Korea's ideological division following its 1945 liberation from Japan's colonial rule. A 2003 government report put the number of civilian deaths at between 25,000 and 30,000, about 10 percent of the island's popula
April 3, 2018