686 candidates sign up for April 10 parliamentary elections

A total of 686 candidates have registered for the April 10 parliamentary elections, the National Election Committee said Friday, setting the stage for a political showdown that could determine how the current administration will fare in its remaining three years in office. Up for grabs in the elections are 300 National Assembly seats, 254 of them directly contested seats and 46 proportional representation seats. The data, tentatively tallied at 7 p.m., showed that 38 parties applied for proporti

March 22, 2024

Yoon, PPP chief look around salvaged warship together after reported clash

President Yoon Suk Yeol and ruling People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon looked around a salvaged warship together Friday, in an apparent show of their bond following signs of discord ahead of the general elections, a presidential official said. Yoon and Han met to tour the warship Cheonan at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, after both attended a memorial ceremony there to mark West Sea Defense Day. The Cheonan is a corvette that sank in a Nor

March 22, 2024

New Reform Party rattled by internal fissures ahead of election

The New Reform Party, a "big tent” aimed at capturing voters disaffected with the main two parties, has been rattled by another round of internal rift ahead of the April 10 legislative election. The party’s Floor Leader Rep. Yang Hyang-ja on late Thursday pledged to continue supporting the New Reform Party, two days after she hinted at leaving. Yang had expressed disagreement with the list of candidates selected by the other leadership members for the upcoming election, and was

March 22, 2024

Anti-corruption agency defers interrogation of troubled envoy Lee

South Korea's anti-corruption investigation agency on Friday announced its decision not to summon Ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-sup for interrogation for a while. The decision comes amid escalating attention on the investigation into Lee, particularly regarding allegations of his unjust meddling in a military inquiry into the death of a young Marine on duty. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said "the investigation team of the CIO is in the position that

March 22, 2024

Attorney who defended sex criminals withdraws Democratic Party candidacy

A human rights lawyer who was nominated by the main opposition party to run as a candidate in the upcoming legislative election decided to withdraw her bid on Thursday, facing mounting criticism that she has provided legal defense to multiple convicted sexual offenders, including a child rapist. Cho Soo-jin announced she would not run in the April 10 general election through a Facebook post merely three days after she won a primary against two-term lawmaker Rep. Park Yong-jin in a key district i

March 22, 2024

Scandal-ridden envoy returns amid calls for tougher probe

South Korea’s Ambassador to Australia and ex-Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup returned home Thursday as the rival parties here called for a tougher investigation into his alleged manipulation of a military probe into the death of a young marine last year. Lee landed in Korea via Incheon International Airport in the morning, 11 days after he flew to Australia to assume his role as top envoy to Australia. The departure on March 10 came two days after the Justice Ministry lifted Lee’s trav

March 21, 2024

Yoon vows to expand senior welfare

President Yoon Suk Yeol announced plans to expand senior welfare in South Korea, where a fifth of the population is aged 65 or older, at yet another policy debate he presided over Thursday morning. Yoon laid out support packages for senior citizens in the country, which is experiencing fast-paced population aging, as 1 in 4 South Korean citizens will be aged 65 or older by 2030. "Comprehensive measures ranging from living, food, medical services and nursing are needed for senior citizens,

March 21, 2024

[Election Battlefield] Busan, long a conservative stronghold, braces for a close race

BUSAN -- Known locally as “South Korea’s second capital,” Busan is home to some 3 million and a key battlefield in the upcoming National Assembly election just three weeks away. Busan is also politically significant for South Korea, having been the birthplace of two presidents, Kim Young-sam and Roh Moo-hyun, who are symbolic figures with the conservative party and the progressive party, respectively. Here, the fiercest battle is expected in Nam-gu, the only district in the cou

March 20, 2024

Yoon aide resigns, embattled Australian envoy to return

Hwang Sang-moo, the senior presidential secretary for civil society, resigned from his post amid growing criticism concerning his conversation with a group of reporters in which he implied that any journalist refusing to be tamed by the Yoon administration could potentially face physical retaliation. Hwang's resignation was accepted by President Yoon Suk Yeol, his office said, but it did not confirm when it was accepted. Also, the government said that Lee Jong-sup, the embattled ambassador

March 20, 2024

Yoon envisions 'villa' redevelopment, culture and art belts

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday pledged a total of 10 trillion won ($7.46 billion) to carry out housing redevelopment in older urban centers of Seoul. Single-family freestanding homes or "dandok jutaek," and low-rise apartment buildings called "villa" will be turned into brand-new buildings, and half of the cost for their development will be through low-interest loans given to land developers by the state-run Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corp. In Korea, land developer

March 19, 2024

Where is Kim Keon-hee? First lady's absence raises questions

Kim Keon Hee is nowhere to be seen. South Korea's first lady has been out of the public eye for four months, and her absence shows no signs of ending. Kim, 51, was last seen in public upon her return from the Netherlands, along with her husband, President Yoon Suk Yeol, in mid-December last year. The presidential office has remained silent about the reason behind Kim's absence, as well as about her whereabouts. No health issues have been mentioned. Her continued absence seems remarkabl

March 19, 2024

Huh Kyung-young sued for sexually harassing female followers

Huh Kyung-young, a cult leader, singer and fringe politician who has run in presidential elections multiple times, faces accusations of sexually harassing over 20 female followers. He has denied the allegations. The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police said Tuesday that 22 members of “Sky Palace,”a cult group founded and led by Huh, filed complaints, asking the police to investigate the leader’s alleged misconduct. They claimed that at the cult’s headquarters in Yangju, Gye

March 19, 2024

Yoon calls for dialogue, trust from medical community

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday urged the medical community to engage in dialogue and to trust the government, rather than refusing to bend on plans to increase the annual medical school enrollment quota. The president made the remarks during his visit to the pediatric ward of the Asan Medical Center earlier in the day. There, he met with hospital officials, including Park Seung-il, the head of the hospital and Lee Je-hwan, the vice director of medical services, to encourage medical workers wh

March 18, 2024

People Future Party, New Future Party announce election candidates

A satellite of the ruling party and another launched by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Monday announced their list of candidates for the upcoming general election on April 10. The candidates will be vying for National Assembly seats through proportional representation under the current voting system. The People Future Party announced a total of 35 candidates, including Choi Bo-yun, a 45-year-old attorney with a spinal cord disability, and Park Chung-kwon, a 38-year-old North Korean defecto

March 18, 2024

North Korea may ramp up provocations after monthlong break

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Monday morning, just over two hours ahead of an international summit held in Seoul that invited the US secretary of state, and three weeks ahead of South Korea’s National Assembly general election. The firings come more than a month after the launch of a cruise missile in mid-February. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, several SRBMs were fired at around 7

March 18, 2024

Yoon orders measures to stem fruit prices

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday pledged to lay out contingency measures to stem the acute food price hikes in South Korea. Beginning Monday, at least 150 billion won ($112.5 million) of emergency funds will be deployed to stabilize the price partly by reducing or lifting tariffs on imported fruit, on a limited amount of agricultural goods or processed foods. If the plan as of Monday goes full-fledged, a total of 29 types of fruit will be subject to "tariff quotas" -- permission to im

March 18, 2024

Pressure mounts on Yoon aide over remarks threatening press freedom

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Monday released a statement over mounting calls for presidential aide Hwang Sang-moo to step down after his controversial remarks about press freedom were disclosed by a media outlet. The presidential office said in a statement that it "respects press freedom" and the responsibilities that come with that freedom. Yoon's office also denied that it has ever attempted to suppress the media's freedom of expression. "The presidential o

March 18, 2024

Dispute heats up over dispatch of scandal-ridden envoy to Australia

A dispute over the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s recent decision to greenlight the lifting of the travel ban on South Korea's new ambassador to Australia intensified Monday, as the ruling party chief and the state-affiliated corruption investigation agency expressed their disapproval of the move. The latest conflict follows the Justice Ministry’s decision earlier this month to allow the departure of the recently appointed envoy and former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup to Austra

March 18, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Fostering hydrogen, mobility technologies, investor protection

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening the Competitiveness of, and Protecting National High-tech Proposed by Rep. Lee Won-wook (New Reform Party) ● Hydrogen and mobility technologies have recently gained global prominence as a way to tackle climate change and environmental problems. This amendment aims to provide national support to foster the development of hydrogen and mobility technologies by including them in the scope of national high-tech strate

March 18, 2024

PPP leader urges return of top envoy to Australia amid corruption probe

Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon urged law enforcement Sunday to summon the ambassador to Australia home amid the ongoing investigation into his alleged interference in a military probe into the death of a Marine. Han Dong-hoon, the interim leader of the ruling People Power Party, made the remarks as criticism is growing over the controversial departure of Ambassador Lee Jong-sup to the host country last week despite him being a subject in the investigation. "The Corruption Investigation O

March 17, 2024