PM nominee to be put to vote as opposition digs in over justice minister appointment

Whether Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo will join the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is to be decided Friday, as the parliament is slated to vote on his appointment as the last part of the confirmation process. The National Assembly has scheduled a plenary session at 2 p.m. Friday to vote on whether to approve Han’s appointment to the office of prime minister. The Democratic Party holds sway over the final vote, as it controls 168 seats and holding super majority at the legislative bran

May 18, 2022

Yoon, PPP lawmakers travel to Gwangju en masse to commemorate 1980 democracy uprising

President Yoon Suk-yeol and some 100 lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) traveled to the southwestern city of Gwangju on Wednesday for a ceremony marking the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in an unprecedented outreach to the home turf of the main opposition party. The civil revolt, in which Gwangju citizens rose up against the then military junta led by late former President Chun Doo-hwan, has long been associated with the liberal opposition Democratic Party (DP), and the conservativ

May 18, 2022

Yoon forges ahead with justice minister appointment against resistance

President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Han Dong-hoon as justice minister alongside former lawmaker Kim Hyun-sook as gender equality minister on Tuesday, forging ahead despite fierce resistance from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The approval provoked an immediate backlash from opposition parties, heralding a bumpy road for the approval of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo, which requires a vote in the plenary session of the National Assembly. Shortly after the announcement, t

May 17, 2022

Tough road ahead for Yoon’s 59.4 trillion won extra budget plan

The National Assembly has started reviewing the 59.4 trillion won ($46.5 billion) supplementary budget proposal from the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, with ruling and main opposition parties clashing over how much of the budget should be used to assist pandemic-hit small-business owners as promised. The debate between the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea comes down to whether the 9 trillion won proposed to pay back treasury bonds should be approved as

May 17, 2022

Acting PM presides over Cabinet meeting

Acting Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho presided over a Cabinet meeting Tuesday amid lingering uncertainties over the National Assembly's confirmation of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo. The opposition-controlled parliament has yet to endorse Han for the job of prime minister. In South Korea, the prime minister is the only Cabinet post that requires parliamentary approval. A parliamentary confirmation hearing committee of the DP has declared Han "unqualified,"

May 17, 2022

Yoon says undecided on whether to appoint health minister nominee

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday he will continue to review whether to appoint Health Minister nominee Chung Ho-young, who is accused of using his position to get his children into a medical school. Chung is one of the Cabinet nominees that have not been formally appointed, along with Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo, Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon and Gender Minister nominee Kim Hyun-sook, as the main opposition Democratic Party has objected to their appointments. Asked whether h

May 17, 2022

Democratic Party cornered by yet another sex scandal

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is yet again dealing with a sexual harassment controversy as it readies for an important election in less than three weeks. Legislators with the Democratic Party on Monday approved Rep. Park Wan-joo’s expulsion from the party over allegations that he sexually harassed a female staff member late last year. The party requested the National Assembly to penalize Park, which could cost him the lawmaker seat. Park was reportedly und

May 16, 2022

Yoon calls for bipartisanship in economy, security

President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized Monday the need for bipartisan cooperation on passing a supplementary budget to compensate for pandemic losses and to expand economic and security ties with major countries. In his first speech as the president at the National Assembly, Yoon focused on “bipartisan cooperation” and expressed his strong willingness to resolve pending issues with the support of lawmakers. After the speech, Yoon walked around the plenary session, shaking hands with o

May 16, 2022

Poll shows tight contest in race for Gyeonggi governor

The two candidates of the ruling and the main opposition parties are running neck and neck in a race for the governorship of Gyeonggi Province in the June local elections, a survey showed Monday. Kim Eun-hye, former lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), led former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) 40.5 percent to 38.1 percent, according to the survey of 1,010 adults, conducted by Gallup Korea last Friday and Saturday. The gap of 2.4 percentage

May 16, 2022

Korea to dispatch condolence delegation to UAE

South Korea will dispatch a delegation to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to express in-person condolences on the death of the country’s President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the presidential office said Sunday. Sheikh Khalifa, who took over as the UAE president in 2004, succeeding his father, died on Friday aged 73. The delegation consists of Yoon’s chief of staff Chang Je-won, Korean Ambassador to the UAE Lee Seok-gu and Foreign Ministry senior officials. “

May 15, 2022

Fierce two-way race for June 1 elections

The upcoming local elections on June 1 have already become a historic event for South Korea, with the country seeing younger candidates than ecer running for public office while the competition rate hit rock-bottom. The National Election Commission at 6 p.m. Friday stopped accepting candidate registrations for the local elections, where voters will choose 17 new metropolitan mayors and provincial governors as well as 226 other heads of local administrative units. Voters will also be deciding w

May 15, 2022

Yoon appoints unification, culture, land ministers

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday appointed three more ministers, including the North Korea policy chief, with his Cabinet formation delayed by the main opposition party's refusal to endorse certain nominees. Yoon appointed Kwon Young-se as unification minister after the National Assembly adopted his confirmation hearing report the previous day. Yoon went ahead with the appointment of Park Bo-gyoon as culture minister and Won Hee-ryong as land minister though parliament failed to adopt hearing

May 13, 2022

Moon makes first social media posts after returning home

Former President Moon Jae-in made his first social media posts since he moved to his hometown after his presidential term ended earlier in the week.  Moon revealed that he visited his parents’ graves and a temple near his house in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, via posts on his Facebook and Twitter late Thursday. “Coming out for first time after returning to my hometown. I paid respects at my father and mother’s graves, and also visited Tongdosa temple,” M

May 13, 2022

North Korea, economic alliance set to dominate Korea-US summit agenda

North Korea will likely top the agenda for President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden at the summit meeting in Seoul, but forming economic alliances and ties to contain China will also be high on the list for the US. The Yoon administration will face difficult choices as the US and China seeking to involve Korea, a strong player in strategic industries such as chips and batteries, in their supply chains. 　 The Korea-US summit is a key diplomatic event for President Yoon, who has em

May 12, 2022

South Korea enters another election season ahead of June 1 decision

South Korea officially entered another election season Thursday, with candidate registrations being accepted for the local elections on June 1. The National Election Commission is receiving applications from candidates seeking to run for local government posts until Friday. Those aged 18 or above – those born before June 2, 2004 – as of election date are eligible to register as candidates. It is the first election in South Korea in which high school seniors will be able to particip

May 12, 2022

Presidential secretary under fire for hate speech on homosexuality, sexual slavery victims

A secretary for recently inaugurated President Yoon Suk-yeol is under fire for his past comments on sexual slavery victims and sexual minorities, where he called homosexuality a “treatable” mental illness and labeled victims of sexual slavery under Japanese colonial rule as prostitutes. Kim Seong-hoe, the presidential secretary for religion and multiculturalism for Yoon, said in a Facebook post Wednesday that he “sincerely” apologizes for some of the problematic comments

May 12, 2022

Yoon appoints foreign, interior ministers

President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Foreign Minister Park Jin and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min on Thursday, a presidential official said, amid a delay in their parliamentary confirmation process. The appointments will help meet the quorum for Yoon's first Cabinet meeting set for later in the day. Park is a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, and Lee is a former vice chief of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. (Yonhap)

May 12, 2022

Yoon likely to tap ex-envoy to Britain for UN ambassador

President Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to tap Hwang Joon-kook, a former ambassador to Britain, as his first ambassador to the United Nations, sources said Thursday. Hwang is a former career member of the foreign service with years of experience handling the North Korean nuclear issue. He served as head of a supporters' association for Yoon during the presidential campaign. Under the Park Geun-hye administration, Hwang served as chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing negotiations with the United St

May 12, 2022

Candidate registration begins for June 1 local elections, parliamentary by-elections

Candidate registration began Thursday for the June 1 local elections and parliamentary by-elections amid expectations that the results could serve as an early bellwether for the new government of President Yoon Suk-yeol. The National Election Commission (NEC) will receive candidacy registration on Thursday and Friday before the official 13-day campaign period kicks off May 19. Up for grabs in the local elections are mayoral and gubernatorial posts, local council seats and education board chiefs

May 12, 2022

[Photo news] First lady captured in photos

Tuesday did not just mark the start of a new government led by President Yoon Suk-yeol. It also marked the first official debut -- at least in the eyes of the public -- of first lady Kim Keon-hee, who has been ostensibly missing on the campaign trail. Kim, 49, has been keeping a low profile for months after being embroiled in various controversies surrounding her past, including an allegation that she falsified credentials to take a part-time lecturer seat at a local university. She delivered

May 11, 2022