Yoon seeks ‘US-style’ personnel vetting. How does that work?

As the presidential transition team takes shape, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said he would pursue change in the personnel vetting process, using the United States as reference. Yoon said he plans to abolish the Office of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, which handles discipline for public officials, and transfer its functions that include vetting nominees for Cabinet posts to other entities, such as the Justice Ministry and police, in a bid to avoid criticisms of “closed-door”

March 16, 2022

NEC secretary general offers to resign over mishandling votes

A key election watchdog official offered to resign after facing criticism over mismanaging the 20th presidential election held earlier this month. National Election Commission Secretary-General Kim Se-hwan said in an email to the commission’s employees that he seeks to resign from his post immediately in assuming responsibility for the problems voters experienced during the latest election, the watchdog said Wednesday. The notice comes after the NEC faced widespread criticism for its lac

March 16, 2022

[Reporter's Notebook] How did the Democratic Party lose its power in just five years?

When President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017 following the impeachment of his predecessor Park Geun-hye, many, including myself, thought the liberal Democratic Party of Korea would dominate politics for at least a full decade. Some even expected the party to rule for the next 20 years, and the general consensus was that it would be extremely difficult for the conservative bloc to make a quick comeback. But just five years later, the conservatives are about to take back power. As a reporter w

March 16, 2022

Moon and Yoon off to rocky start in transition

The first luncheon between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol was canceled about four hours before they were to sit down together, with the transition getting off to a rocky start. This is the first case in which a meeting between the incumbent president and president-elect was canceled after plans were made public. “We decided to reschedule the meeting because working-level consultations have not been completed,” a Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson said in a statem

March 16, 2022

'Zero chance' Yoon will move into Cheong Wa Dae: spokesperson

A spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday there is "zero chance" Yoon will move into Cheong Wa Dae and the transition team will continue to look at alternative sites, including the defense ministry compound in Yongsan. Yoon pledged during the presidential campaign that if elected, he would set up his office in the Seoul government complex in Gwanghwamun and open the Cheong Wa Dae compound to the public. Since his election, the transition team has been scouting alt

March 16, 2022

Prosecutor general vows to continue duty amid pressure to step down

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo said Wednesday he will faithfully carry out his duties, after a key aide to President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol urged him to decide his course of action in apparent pressure on him to step down voluntarily. Speculation about Kim's possible resignation emerged after Rep. Kwon Seong-dong, a close confidant of Yoon, said in an interview Tuesday that Kim should decide on his "own course of action" if he is to repeat the "same behavior as shown so far." &qu

March 16, 2022

Moon-Yoon meeting called off due to unfinished working-level consultation

 A planned meeting between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has been called off as working-level, pre-meeting discussions have not been completed yet, both sides said. Moon and Yoon had been scheduled to hold a one-on-one lunch at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday in their first meeting since Yoon won the election last week, though the two spoke by phone a day after the election. "As working-level consultations have not been completed, we decided to reschedule the mee

March 16, 2022

How will Yoon relocate Cheong Wa Dae?

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol appears on course to fulfill his pledge to relocate the presidential office, with two locations in Seoul being discussed as potential candidates. Initially, he proposed setting up the presidential office in the Gwanghwamun area, but due to practical challenges, the Defense Ministry building in Yongsan-gu has emerged as a strong alternative, officials said. During the election, Yoon pledged to relocate the presidential office from the isolated Cheong Wa Dae to th

March 15, 2022

Ex-vice foreign minister to lead foreign affairs on Yoon’s transition team

More members of the presidential transition committee for president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol were announced Tuesday, including a former vice foreign minister and a former vice speaker among others. In a press briefing, Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye released some of the names of the chiefs and members for the three subcommittees --foreign policy and national security, economy, and politics and judiciary administration. Former vice foreign minister Kim Sung-han was appointed to lead the fore

March 15, 2022

Daejang-dong scandal back in spotlight, but parties split on special probe

South Korea’s political circle is again discussing a special counsel inspection on the controversial Daejang-dong land development scandal, but whether it will actually start remains in question. The liberal Democratic Party of Korea’s suggestion on the matter is starkly different to that of the People Power Party, fanning the possibility that it may never materialize. The scandal revolves around former Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and President-elec

March 15, 2022

Moon, Yoon to hold luncheon on Wednesday

President Moon Jae-in will hold a luncheon meeting with President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol at Cheong Wae Dae on Wednesday, the presidential office said Tuesday. Yoon will ask for a pardon for former President Lee Myung-bak. The meeting between the two is the first time in seven days since the presidential election and 21 months since Yoon visited Cheong Wa Dae to attend the Anti-Corruption Policy Council in 2020, when he served as the prosecutor general. “This luncheon will be held without

March 15, 2022

Yoon to benchmark US personnel vetting system

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol plans to benchmark the US personnel vetting system, and have the justice ministry and police take over the roles after abolishing the office of senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, his spokesperson said Tuesday. "The office of the president will only have the role to recommend candidates. With regard to vetting senior officials, Cabinet members and others, we will have the justice ministry and police do it," spokesperson Kim Eun-hye told report

March 15, 2022

Yoon discusses N. Korea, Ukraine crisis with British PM

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and agreed to deepen cooperation between the two countries, including efforts to denuclearize North Korea, both sides said Tuesday. During the 15-minute call Monday night, Yoon and Johnson shared concern about North Korea's recent missile tests and a need to cooperate with the United States and the UN Security Council for the North's denuclearization, Yoon's spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a statement. The tw

March 15, 2022

President-elect to abolish office for senior secretary for civil affairs

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that he will abolish the post of senior secretary for civil affairs at his presidential office, ridding it of its inspection and intelligence functions. Explaining how the office has played a role in illegal inspections on society, Yoon said he will “clear away the remnant” in his government, in a meeting with the leadership of his presidential transition committee. “In the past, the senior secretary for civil affairs at the presiden

March 14, 2022

Will Lee Myung-bak be pardoned?

Many are now watching to see whether former President Lee Myung-bak will be granted a special pardon before the end of the Moon Jae-in administration, as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to demand Lee’s pardon. Moon and Yoon are expected to meet at Cheong Wa Dae early next week, and the issue of special amnesty for politicians, including Lee, is likely to be discussed at the meeting. Yoon is in favor of pardoning Lee, who was president from 2008-2013. Earlier, he said Lee shou

March 14, 2022

Democratic Party looks to reform, but discord reigns

Following its defeat in the 20th presidential election, the liberal Democratic Party of Korea is experiencing an extreme leadership divide as it struggles to reform ahead of another election in June. Since its narrow defeat in the presidential election, the Democratic Party has gone into emergency mode, starting with a leadership overhaul. Rep. Song Young-gil stepped down as chairman of the party, and its Floor Leader Rep. Yun Ho-jung took the helm, heading the emergency steering committee, w

March 14, 2022

Yoon picks veteran politicians to head committees for national unity, balanced regional development

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday named two veteran politicians as chiefs of special transition committee panels on national unity and balanced regional development. Kim Han-gil, former head of the Democratic Party, will lead the national unity committee, while Kim Byong-joon, former interim head of the Liberty Korea Party, a predecessor of the People Power Party (PPP), will head the committee on balanced development. Both worked for Yoon's campaign. "Kim Han-gil is a person who

March 14, 2022

Yoon's transition team expected to formally launch as early as this week

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition committee aims to hold a signboard hanging ceremony as early as this week to mark its official launch, Yoon's spokesperson said Monday. Past transition committees have hung their signboards within seven to 10 days of the election and in the final stages of their composition, the spokesperson, Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party, said during a press briefing. "We are aiming to hold a signboard hanging ceremony as early as late

March 14, 2022

Yoon to recommence operation of special inspector

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to appoint a special inspector charged with preventing corruption involving top officials and presidential relatives after the position was left vacant in the current Moon Jae-in administration. The position was first introduced in 2014 under the Park Geun-hye administration, but it has been vacant since May 2015. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has been demanding the Moon government to name a special inspector. "It is the president-ele

March 14, 2022

Yoon to meet pandemic-hit small merchants in first outreach since election

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will visit a traditional market Monday to meet with pandemic-hit small merchants in his first public outreach since his election, his spokesperson said. Yoon will return to the market he visited last November during the presidential campaign to keep his promise to the merchants there to visit them again after his election, the spokesperson, Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party, said during a press briefing. "During the visit, (Yoon) will l

March 14, 2022