No shirt, no shoes or dressed for mourning: Candidates' campaign gimmicks

As South Koreans go to the polls to elect the 300 members of the National Assembly on Wednesday, political candidates have fully ramped up efforts to court voters. Walking down practically any main street at the moment, one will easily spot rallies of candidates and supporters singing theme songs with politically tweaked lyrics and flamboyant dance routines. Others have taken more unconventional turns in the outreach. One candidate was seen barefoot greeting visitors at the red clay road in Gumi

April 7, 2024

Assembly race heats up as early voters turn out in record numbers

More registered voters than ever turned out for early voting on Friday and Saturday, further heating up the election race, with the Democratic Party of Korea claiming that it points to their advantage. According to the National Election Commission, the early voter turnout rate was 31.2 percent -- the highest since early voting was introduced in 2016. In the Democratic Party's turf, namely the Jeolla Provinces, the rate was highest with around 40 percent showing up to vote early. By contrast

April 7, 2024

Early-voting turnout for general elections hits record 31.28%

Turnout for the two-day early-voting period that wrapped up Saturday ahead of the parliamentary elections next week hit a record 31.28 percent, the election watchdog said. A total of 13,849,043 out of 44,280,011 eligible voters cast their ballots at 3,565 polling stations during the early-voting period that ended at 6 p.m., according to tentative data from the National Election Commission. Those who missed the opportunity this weekend will have to vote on Election Day on Wednesday. It marked the

April 6, 2024

Koreans head to polls for early voting amid record-high turnout

More than 6.91 million South Korean voters headed to the polls as of 6 p.m. Friday to cast their ballots on the first day of the early voting for next week’s parliamentary election. Some 15.61 percent of all 44.28 million eligible voters here had cast their votes at a total of 3,565 polling stations across the country as of 6 p.m., according to the National Election Commission. The figure marked the highest turnout for a legislative election on the first day of early voting for the cited t

April 5, 2024

Early voting for parliamentary elections kicks off

Early voting began Friday ahead of next week's parliamentary elections, with turnout reaching a record high amid high interest in the vote seen as a midterm referendum on the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Voters began casting ballots at 3,565 polling stations nationwide at 6 a.m. in the two-day early voting taking place ahead of Wednesday's main vote to elect a new 300-member National Assembly. Voting hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. As of 11 a.m., some 2.26 million people

April 5, 2024

Yoon eyes foreign students, spouses as domestic helpers

President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered South Korean government ministries to explore ways to help South Korean families hire foreign students and marriage migrants as domestic helpers, doubling down on a troubled program designed to address the country's low fertility rate. Conservatives such as Yoon and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon have proposed hiring foreign nannies at below minimum wage for some time, but faced difficulties in putting the plan into action. Presiding over a meeting at his office to discus

April 4, 2024

Skepticism clouds young voters ahead of general election

Bae Yu-jin, a 33-year-old office worker in Seoul, has made several plans for April 10, when the nation’s 22nd legislative election is set to take place. But heading to the polls is not one of them. “I’m going to Daegu with my friend to blow off some steam,” Bae told The Korea Herald on Thursday. “I don’t think I’m going to vote this year. The past few months have been full of fighting and criticizing (between the two rival parties), and I don’t tru

April 4, 2024

Early voting for parliamentary elections to kick off Friday

Early voting for next week's parliamentary elections will kick off Friday for a two-day run, the election watchdog said. Eligible voters will be able to cast ballots at 3,565 polling stations nationwide from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the two-day period, according to the National Election Commission. The NEC said that thorough preparations will be made to ensure voters can cast their votes with confidence in the fairness of the process, particularly in light of the recent discovery of spy cameras a

April 4, 2024

April 10 election sees record overseas voter turnout

Overseas voter turnout for the April 10 general election hit an all-time high of 62.8 percent, but experts on Wednesday were divided as to whether the number will play a significant role in determining the fate of the South Korean legislative body. The state watchdog National Election Commission said in tentative data released Tuesday that 92,923 of an estimated 148,000 eligible overseas voters had cast their ballots for the upcoming election. Polls were open for a total of six days, from March

April 3, 2024

Seoul eyes 'all-time high' R&D budget for 2025

South Korea's budget related to technology research and development for 2025 will "reach an all-time high," reversing course from the 14.7 percent budget cut for this year's R&D projects that baffled scientists here, according to the presidential office on Wednesday. Park Sang-ook, senior presidential secretary for science and technology, said in a press briefing in Seoul that Korea will "exponentially increase" the R&D budget, though he did not elaborate on the speci

April 3, 2024

South Korea sanctions Russians for helping North Korea

South Korea imposed sanctions on two Russian individuals and two other entities over the transfer of arms with North Korea and involvement in helping North Korea finance its nuclear and missile programs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul said Tuesday that two Russian ships used in arms transfers as well as two Russian organizations and their leaders have been designated as sanctions targets. Two Russian vessels -- Lady R and Angara -- were involved in shipping containers of military suppl

April 2, 2024

Election candidates seek to win votes from pet owners

Several candidates running for the April 10 general election have rolled out pledges to attract votes from pet owners in recent weeks, including tax benefits and setting up pet-friendly systems and facilities. Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Kim Byung-wook, who is running for the Bundang-B constituency -- one of the two constituencies in the Bundang district located in Seoul's satellite city of Seongnam -- sees pet owners as key voters. Kim pledged to build a budget pet hotel

April 2, 2024

Yoon envisions 2nd presidential office, relocation of parliament to Sejong

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday his administration was moving to establish a new presidential office and a parliament branch in Sejong, the de facto administrative capital of South Korea. The new branch of the presidential office, currently located in Yongsan-gu of Seoul near the Yongsan Garrison of the US Forces Korea, will contribute to "breaking down barriers between the presidential office and the government" and at the same time boost Yoon's public engagement, Yoon said

April 2, 2024

[Election Battlefield] ‘Mini presidential election’ unfolds in Incheon

INCHEON -- In a district in Incheon, two potential presidential candidates are in a neck-and-neck race to secure a National Assembly seat on April 10. The ruling People Power Party candidate is Won Hee-ryong, previously the minister of land and transport under President Yoon Suk Yeol. The 60-year-old was a candidate in the party’s presidential primary in 2021, and boasts a winning track record against Democratic Party of Korea rivals so far in all of the five elections he has run in. He is

April 1, 2024

Korea unveils next-generation bullet train

South Korea on Monday unveiled the KTX Cheong-ryong, a new class of bullet train that boasts a maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour. The new high-speed train is the first domestically designed and manufactured one with a peak speed surpassing 300 kilometers per hour. South Korea launched its homegrown bullet train, the KTX-Sancheon, in 2008 for the first time. Beginning in May, the KTX Cheong-ryong will operate four times a day between Seoul and Busan in southeastern Korea, and twice a day b

April 1, 2024

Yoon says 'open to talks' but doctors express disappointment

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that he is open to talks with doctors if they can suggest a more plausible option than his administration's plan of adding 2,000 more medical students a year, seeking a breakthrough in a prolonged medical standoff that has apparently been affecting the ruling party's election campaign. Pointing to doctors' failure to refute his administration's plan to increase the school quota by 2,000 to 5,058 per year starting in 2025, Yoon said in a tel

April 1, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Game user protection, fostering AI industry

Proposed Bills: Partial Amendment to the Game Industry Promotion Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Seung-su (People Power Party) ●This amendment ensures users can receive compensation for damages caused by intentional indication of misinformation for probabilistic game items by introducing a punitive damages system that mandates a compensation of twice the maximum damages. Game companies must prove that there was no intention or negligence in not displaying or falsely displaying probabilistic game item i

April 1, 2024

US seeking trilateral summit with S. Korea, Japan in July: report

The United States is in talks with South Korea and Japan to arrange a trilateral summit on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit to be held in Washington in July, a report said Sunday. According to Japan's Kyodo News, which quoted diplomatic sources, U.S. President Joe Biden is considering inviting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the NATO event and holding the trilateral summit on the margins. The three leaders

March 31, 2024

Yoon attends Easter service at church

President Yoon Suk Yeol attended an Easter service at church Sunday and stressed the need to practice love and solidarity in the spirit of the Christian celebration, according to his office. In his remarks during the service at Myungsung Presbyterian Church in eastern Seoul, Yoon said that at a time when the country is faced with serious challenges within and outside, everyone should reflect on and practice the true meaning of Easter. Noting that Jesus showed the infinite love of freeing humanit

March 31, 2024

Democratic Party gains momentum, takes lead in poll

  Over 45 percent of South Korea's voters are leaning towards supporting candidates from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in the upcoming April 10 general election, to keep the Yoon Suk Yeol government in check. The results of a poll conducted by Jowon C&I, commissioned by The Korea Herald and Herald Business from Mar. 25 to 27, indicate a positive trend for the Democratic Party on Sunday. Out of the total of 4,041 respondents aged 18 or older, 45.1 percent responded that &

March 31, 2024