DP leader Lee retains ticket to his constituency for April elections

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung retained the ticket as the party's single candidate to his constituency for the upcoming April 10 elections, the party announced Saturday. The DP's nomination committee made the announcement as it unveiled the decisions on the candidate nominations for seven other constituencies, with about a month left before the parliamentary votes expected to serve as a political litmus test for the Yoon Suk Yeol government. The announce

March 2, 2024

Vote on bill to probe first lady lays bare Democratic Party of Korea split

The bill to launch a special counsel investigation into allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee was struck down in a National Assembly vote late Thursday, amid a loud protest from the Democratic Party of Korea’s primary losers challenging the results of the nominations for the April general election. The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party convened a plenary session to vote on the special counsel bill, which was sent back to the Assembly for a re-vote

March 1, 2024

Yoon touts improved Japan ties on Independence Movement Day as gateway to 'new world'

President Yoon Suk Yeol hailed Seoul's thawing relationship with Tokyo as a chance to move the two East Asian countries toward a "new world," stressing that now is the time for South Korea to leave historical grievances in the past. Yoon described Japan, which ruled South Korea for 35 years until the end of World War II, as South Korea's "partner in the pursuit of common interests for global peace and prosperity," at the March 1 Independence Movement Day celebration held at Y

March 1, 2024

Address by President Yoon Suk Yeol on the 105th March 1st Independence Movement Day

My fellow citizens, 7 million overseas Koreans, decorated patriots who fought for the nation’s independence, Today, we celebrate the 105th March First Independence Movement Day. With utmost reverence, I pay a heartfelt tribute to our fallen patriotic forefathers and patriots who devoted themselves to the cause of our country’s freedom and prosperity. I extend my sincerest gratitude to our independence heroes and the bereaved families who lost their loved ones. Fellow Koreans, One h

March 1, 2024

Ex-judge, ex-prosecutor recommended as anti-corruption agency chief

A former veteran judge and a former prosecutor have been recommended as candidates for the head of the anti-corruption agency, a nomination committee said Thursday. Oh Dong-woon, a former judge at the Seoul High Court, and Lee Myong-sun, who served as the chief prosecutor at the Anyang Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, were tapped as the nominees for Chief Prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, according to the committee. With the nomin

Feb. 29, 2024

2 special probe bills, including one involving first lady, scrapped in revote after Yoon's veto

Two opposition-led special investigation proposals, one of which involves allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee, were scrapped Thursday in a revote after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed them last month. The results have widely been expected as two-thirds support is required for vetoed bills to pass through the Assembly again, and the ruling People Power Party (PPP), which is against the measures, holds 113 seats in the 297-member parliament. The bills, which the main opposition Democratic P

Feb. 29, 2024

Parties agree to hold revote on special investigation bills

The floor leaders of South Korea's two main parties on Thursday agreed to hold a revote on the two special investigation bills vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 5. The revote on the two bills, one of which pushes for a probe into a stock manipulation scandal linked to first lady Kim Keon Hee, was to take place during a plenary session scheduled in the afternoon. “We plan to deal with the revote of the two special investigation bills (during the plenary session scheduled later

Feb. 29, 2024

[KH Explains] Inside main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s bitter faction war

The Democratic Party of Korea’s primary race for the April 10 legislative election is being tainted by a furious faction fight. As the party begins to select candidates to run for the upcoming election, nearly a dozen have left the main opposition party. Among them are long-time loyalists who have stuck with the party through thick and thin for several decades. The faction to suffer the biggest blow was a group of lawmakers who were collectively deemed as the “pro-Moon faction”

Feb. 29, 2024

More than half of people in 24 countries dissatisfied with their democracy: report

A survey by a US-based think tank on Thursday showed growing criticism of how democracy is working across 24 nations, with a median of 59 percent expressing dissatisfaction with how their democracy is functioning and a small minority even being open to a form of military rule. Between Feb. 20 and May 22, 2023, the Pew Research Center surveyed 30,861 adults in 24 countries including South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Sweden,

Feb. 29, 2024

S. Korea's ODA budget set at record high of W6.3tr in 2024

The government set this year's budget for official development assistance at a record high of 6.3 trillion won ($4.7 billion) Thursday in line with efforts to take full responsibility and play a leading role as a global leader. The decision was made during a meeting of the government committee on official development assistance presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. This year's budget represents a 31.1 percent increase from the previous year. "The Yoon Suk Yeol administrati

Feb. 29, 2024

Interior minister renews calls for trainee doctors to return to work

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min renewed calls for trainee doctors to return to work Thursday as the government-set deadline is set to expire later in the day for their return from a walkout protesting the government's medical school quota hike plan. The government has given thousands of interns and resident doctors across the nation until the end of Thursday to return to their hospitals or face punitive action, such as the suspension of their medical licenses. Since Tuesday last week, the trainee

Feb. 29, 2024

Main opposition wrestles with exodus over nomination spat

The main opposition party on Wednesday was grappling with a mass exodus of non-mainstream faction lawmakers, as many of them questioned the authenticity of its candidate nomination process for the April 10 general election. Five-term lawmaker Sul Hoon announced he would leave the Democratic Party of Korea after being placed in the bottom 10 percent of the party leadership's performance review for legislative activity. The leadership has claimed they made fair decisions on candidate nominati

Feb. 28, 2024

US takes step toward signing defense procurement pact with S. Korea

The US Defense Department has started a process to solicit industry feedback on its pursuit of a defense procurement agreement with South Korea to allow easier access to each other's market amid growing security uncertainties from North Korean threats and other challenges. Last week, the department posted a notice in the Federal Register to request public comments on the pursuit of a new Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement with South Korea through March 25. Seoul and Washington have be

Feb. 28, 2024

Main opposition party grapples with widening internal rift

An existing fissure within the main opposition party has widened as several lawmakers have taken steps in response to conflict over the party’s candidate nomination process for the upcoming general election. Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Ko Min-jung on Tuesday announced her resignation as a member of the party’s Supreme Council, saying that she believes the party should openly discuss its election candidate nomination process, which has been criticized as biased towards the pro-Lee

Feb. 27, 2024

Why Cha Eun-woo’s name keeps popping up in politics

Actor and K-pop singer Cha Eun-woo is undoubtedly one of the most popular Korean celebrities at the moment. It is no surprise that Cha has often generated buzz in the entertainment news section and among fans of Korean music and drama. But in recent days, his name was mentioned multiple times among a most unexpected group of people here: politicians. It started with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s decision last week to nominate its deputy spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong to run

Feb. 27, 2024

Democratic Party of Korea’s beef with prosecutors, explained

With the April general election just around the corner, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is again campaigning on “abolishing the political prosecution” -- a slogan that the liberal party has been using for every election for at least the past three administrations. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party chair who was narrowly defeated by then-rival Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 presidential election, says he is a victim of “political prosecutors." Having been in

Feb. 26, 2024

Skepticism clouds roles of overseas Korean nationals in upcoming election

The launch of the Overseas Korean Agency raised expectations that overseas Korean nationals could play a bigger role in this year's general election, but experts are skeptical. With polling indicating a weak turnout and parties showing little interest, they say the impact of overseas voters is likely to be very small. "The interest in the upcoming election is obviously lower than the 2022 presidential election," Lee Jean-young, director of Inha Center for International Studies s

Feb. 26, 2024

Korea to lift land use restrictions near military bases

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday pledged to remove restrictions near military bases regarding land use for private purposes such as construction, in yet another apparent move to appeal to voters ahead of the April parliamentary election. Yoon's conservative administration has decided to ease land regulations on a total of 339 square kilometers of land across the nation -- equivalent to 47,480 soccer fields, or 0.3 percent of South Korea's land area -- mostly near military airfields an

Feb. 26, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Companies supporting child birth, redevelopment projects

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on the Improvement of Urban Areas and Residential Environments Proposed by Rep. Park Duk-hyum (People Power Party) ● The number of owners of most plots of land in major cities exceeds the number of owners allowed to directly or jointly implement a redevelopment project, which has complicated the implementation of redevelopment projects. This amendment expands the conditions regarding the number of owners of a plot of land from the current less than 2

Feb. 26, 2024

S. Korea to offer tax incentives to boost value of listed firms

The financial regulator said Monday that it will work to incentivize efforts by local businesses to enhance their own value that will in turn lead to increased returns to investors. The move comes as part of efforts to end the "Korea Discount," where local shares are traded at prices lower than their fundamentals. A seminar, attended by Kim Joo-hyun, the head of the Financial Services Commission, was held on the day to discuss how to encourage local firms to improve their value. "

Feb. 26, 2024