NIS says Ri Yong-ho purged, unclear whether executed: lawmakers

Lawmakers on Thursday shared the South Korean spy agency’s assessment that former North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho appears to have been purged. The lawmakers of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee said in a closed-door briefing that the National Intelligence Service was able to confirm that Ri was purged by the regime The closed-door briefing was held after the spy agency briefed the parliamentary intelligence committee during Thursday’s plenary session. Demo

Jan. 5, 2023

Yoon's office considers suspending 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol is considering suspending a 2018 inter-Korean summit agreement if North Korea violates the South's territory again, officials said Thursday. The Pyongyang Joint Declaration was signed by then President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their September 2018 summit in Pyongyang. The possibility of suspending it comes after Yoon instructed the presidential National Security Office on Wednesday to consider suspending a military tension reduct

Jan. 5, 2023

Ministry vows to add Gwangju Uprising in textbooks as alleged filtering backfires

South Korea’s Education Ministry said Wednesday it would make sure that major historical events, including the Gwangju Uprising, are reflected in new textbooks to be published in 2025. The announcement came a day after opposition lawmakers raised the allegation that the democratization movement against the military government in 1980 was intentionally taken out of the ministry's guidelines for textbook writers. Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said via a press release that the ministry wi

Jan. 4, 2023

Lawmakers slam lack of police presence at Halloween disaster

Police chiefs said they did not know about the Halloween crowd disaster at Itaewon in Seoul’s Yongsan as it was unfolding on the night of Oct. 29 last year, appearing as witnesses at a National Assembly hearing on Wednesday. At the hearing, the police chiefs and senior officers of Seoul, Yongsan and the national police were grilled about their lack of presence on the night of the incident, leaving the fire department to respond by itself. “I wasn’t briefed or contacted by anyon

Jan. 4, 2023

Democratic Party renews push to impeach interior minister over Itaewon tragedy

The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party on Wednesday threatened to impeach the interior minister over the Itaewon crowd crush should the minister continue to refuse to voluntarily resign. The DP has called on President Yoon Suk-yeol to fire Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, railroading a dismissal motion against Lee in December to hold him responsible for the Oct. 29 tragedy that has killed 159 people. The presidential office said the motion, which is not legally binding, should b

Jan. 4, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'For unhappy Koreans, starting families is difficult task'

Na Kyung-won, a four-term lawmaker and the chief of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, said young Koreans are reluctant to get married and have children because their lives are “very difficult” with “no expectation that their lives will be any better and happier.” Young Koreans living in a highly competitive society have low expectations for their futures, with the thought that they might not live happier lives than their parents. This

Jan. 3, 2023

Yoon's office maintains S. Korea, US in talks over joint nuclear operations

The office of President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday that South Korea and the United States are in talks over sharing information and jointly implementing plans involving US nuclear assets, after US President Joe Biden denied the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises. Yoon said in a recent newspaper interview that the two sides were in talks over joint planning and exercises involving US nuclear assets to counter North Korea's nuclear threats. When asked by a reporter at the White House o

Jan. 3, 2023

Cornered Democratic Party head’s first 2023 stop: Moon’s home

BUSAN/YANGSAN, South Gyeongsang Province -- In one of his first steps in the new year, Democratic Party of Korea chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Monday visited the residence of former President Moon Jae-in, skipping President Yoon Suk-yeol’s New Year event held on the same day. Monday’s meeting took place behind closed doors, with at least hundreds of meters from the vicinity of the ex-president’s residence barricaded, barring access to dozens of reporters who were there. Lee left

Jan. 2, 2023

Yoon vows to correct 'evils' hindering growth

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday has vowed to “correct the evils that hinder the growth and development of the economy” while putting immediate livelihood issues at the forefront. At a meeting with key figures from government, politics and religion on Monday morning to exchange New Year’s greetings, Yoon said, “If we are easily defeated by the resistance of those with vested interests, our sustainable prosperity will be difficult.” Although the president did not

Jan. 2, 2023

Prime Minister pledges to keep up pace of labor, education, pension reforms

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Monday the government will keep up the pace of labor, education and pension reforms this year, in an effort to increase productivity and revive the economy. "We will carry out in earnest the three major reforms of labor, education and pension, and the three major innovations of the finance, service and public sectors," Han told the government's kick-off ceremony for the new year. "In particular, labor reform will succeed without fail," Ha

Jan. 2, 2023

Yoon's approval rating falls for first time in three weeks: Realmeter

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating fell for the first time in three weeks following the intrusion of North Korean drones into South Korea's airspace last week, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 2,511 voters conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, 40 percent positively assessed Yoon's job performance, down 1.2 percentage points from the previous week. Yoon's disapproval rating was 57.2 percent, up 0.6 percentage point. The fall could be attributable t

Jan. 2, 2023

Yoon calls for new export strategies to weather crisis

President Yoon Suk-yeol used his New Year's address Sunday to call for new export strategies in South Korea to overcome external crises that threaten an economic recession, vowing to personally attend to the nation’s export strategies and focusing diplomacy on the economy. Stressing the importance of exports to Korea, Yoon said it was time to change its export strategy, as protectionist trade policies were undermining the world's joint efforts to tackle inflation, global supply chain disru

Jan. 1, 2023

Ex-President Lee returns home after special pardon

Former President Lee Myung-bak returned home from hospital Friday, after being granted a special pardon by President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday. Speaking in front of his residence in Nonhyeon-dong in Gangnam, Lee said national unity was needed to overcome the global crisis and for South Korea to become a good country. “People have suffered from COVID-19 for the past three years, and I would like to express my comfort. For South Korea to over the global crisis, we need everyone to pull togeth

Dec. 30, 2022

‘Year of reckoning’: Where South Korea is headed as it readies for defining 2023

The year 2022, marked by unprecedented geopolitical and economic tensions, has been especially brutal for South Korea as it sought greater global clout amid deglobalization prompted by the escalating US-China rivalry. The search for a seat in a new world order is emboldening Korea to take bolder steps, beginning with its longtime ally, the US. The Indo-Pacific strategy revealed Wednesday is the epitome of Seoul’s commitment to helping reshape the world alongside Washington, its biggest all

Dec. 29, 2022

Ruling party interim chief to attend Brazilian president's inauguration

A special delegation led by the ruling People Power Party’s interim chief, Chung Jin-suk, will attend the inauguration ceremony of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Jan. 1, the presidential office said Wednesday. Chung will deliver a letter from President Yoon Suk-yeol expressing his expectation to “work closely with the new Brazilian government to further deepen and develop the comprehensive cooperative partnership” between the two countries. Elected for the thi

Dec. 28, 2022

Yoon berates defense minister over botched operation against NK drones

President Yoon Suk-yeol berated Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup over the military's failed operation against five North Korean drones that entered South Korean airspace earlier this week, officials said Wednesday. Yoon met with Lee on Tuesday morning and was briefed on the military's response to the North's violation of South Korean airspace the previous day. The drones flew across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas, with one flying over northern parts of Seoul, but the South

Dec. 28, 2022

‘It was already late’: Safety minister gives excuse for delayed response to Itaewon disaster

Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min said “the golden hour had already past” in explanation of his tardy arrival at the scene of the fatal crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon on Oct. 29. His remarks came during Tuesday’s parliamentary questioning of Cabinet ministers, police chiefs and other heads of institutions as part of the National Assembly probe into the Halloween disaster that killed 158 people. “It was already late,” the safety minister replied to R

Dec. 27, 2022

Ex-President Lee; aides to Park, Moon pardoned by Yoon calling unity

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday granted special pardons to 1,373 people ahead of the upcoming New Year, including former President Lee Myung-bak and several key political aides to both of his conservative and liberal predecessors, calling the decision an opportunity to "clear up the past” and "unite" the power of the nation. Among the list, former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyung-soo was included but without reinstatement. A reinstatement would allow him to wo

Dec. 27, 2022

4-term lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon declares bid for ruling party leadership

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the ruling People Power Party declared his bid for party leadership Tuesday, vowing to lead the party to victory in the 2024 general elections and help the government of President Yoon Suk-yeol succeed. The People Power Party will hold a national convention March 8 to pick its new chair. The People Power Party has been led by an emergency leadership committee since its former chairman Lee Jun-seok was ousted in August after he was suspended of his party membership over alleg

Dec. 27, 2022

Lee fights back as legal troubles mount

Facing a series of prosecutorial investigations, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung said Monday he would comply with the prosecution's summon over an investigation into alleged bribery, but not on Wednesday as prosecutors originally requested. "I don't understand the prosecution's behavior, but will confidently deal with (the case)," he told reporters at the National Assembly. "As you know, the case has already been cleared," he

Dec. 26, 2022