Yoon's spokesperson denies report on PM's retention

A spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol denied a news report Monday that Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is being considered for retention in the incoming government. The Chosun Ilbo newspaper carried the report earlier in the day, saying retaining Kim would avoid political wrangling during the parliamentary confirmation process for a new prime minister and demonstrate a commitment to working together with the opposition party. "Prime Minister Kim is a person of virtue and is respect

March 14, 2022

Yoon appoints Ahn Cheol-soo as chief of presidential transition committee

People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo will lead the presidential transition committee, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Sunday, in a speedy move to launch the committee for a smooth transition of power from the incumbent government. “Ahn Cheol-soo and I share values and philosophy on state affairs management and we have already met (for discussion) after the election,” Yoon said during a press briefing on Sunday. “Ahn is willing to lead the presidential transition

March 13, 2022

President-elect to break away from Moon administration’s Cabinet gender quota

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will not adopt a gender or regional quota for his presidential transition committee or his Cabinet when he begins his presidency. A key official on Yoon’s team has said that his personnel will be based on their talent and ability, Yonhap reported Sunday. “To serve the public, you need to look at their talent, not their story,” the official was quoted as saying by the news agency. The move is a departure from a gender quota during the Moon Jae-i

March 13, 2022

Women’s groups urge president-elect to scrap anti-feminist pledges

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s strategy of practically alienating the female population in pursuit of male voters nearly cost him the election, and local women’s groups are urging him to be aware of this before carrying out his “anti-feminist” pledges. On the coattails of Wednesday’s presidential election, the Korea Women’s Associations United released a statement criticizing Yoon’s campaign, in which he escaped with Korea’s smallest-ever margin

March 11, 2022

Yoon hopes S. Korea, US, Japan will further strengthen coordination on Korean Peninsula issues

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday he hopes South Korea, the United States and Japan will further strengthen coordination on Korean Peninsula issues as he spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Yoon talked with Kishida two days after his election, saying he hopes the two sides will work together to promote "friendly cooperative" ties between their countries. "South Korea and Japan have many future tasks on which we need to work together, such as securi

March 11, 2022

Rookie lawmaker named spokesperson for President-elect Yoon

A first-term lawmaker, who led the opposition's attack on a land development scandal surrounding the ruling party's presidential candidate, has been named a spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, his aide said Friday. Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party (PPP) will serve as a spokeswoman for the president-elect, according to Yoon's chief secretary Chang Je-won. Kim, who was elected in a district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, led a public affairs unit of the PPP's campaign committee

March 11, 2022

Yoon says sure S. Korea-China relations will develop further

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday he is certain South Korea-China relations will develop further as he met with Beijing's top envoy to Seoul. Yoon made the remark during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming two days after his election, noting China is South Korea's largest trading partner and South Korea is China's third-largest. "I'm certain South Korea-China relations will develop further," he said at the People Power Party headquarters, recalling this year

March 11, 2022

President-elect seeks to start term outside Cheong Wa Dae

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and his aides are working to move the presidential office from where it is now in Cheong Wa Dae to the government complex by the Gwanghwamun area in Seoul, as he had promised during his campaign. The project would be one of the first initiatives Yoon will push in starting his presidential transition committee, which will officially launch within the next two weeks. The committee is expected to have around 200 officials, including many experts and officials who took

March 11, 2022

Revisiting Yoon’s 8-month political career before presidential leap

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s improbable run to the highest seat of South Korean leadership was littered with controversy, scandal and bad decision-making, both on his own part and that of his main rival from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, and the tumultuous journey is reflected in the fluctuating polls from Gallup Korea along the way. Yoon, who was until a year ago the country’s chief prosecutor appointed by the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration, declared

March 10, 2022

Ex-audit agency chief wins seat in Seoul’s Jongno district

Former chief of the national audit agency Choe Jae-hyeong was among the winners of the March 9 elections, as he garnered over 50 percent of the vote in a legislative by-election held in central Seoul’s Jongno. According to the National Election Commission on Thursday, Choe of the conservative opposition People Power Party had 52.09 percent of the vote and independent candidate Kim Young-jong, a three-term mayor of Jongno-gu, marked just 28.41 percent. Choe was one of the contenders in

March 10, 2022

What Yoon pledged to do as president

COVID-19 economic rescue At the top of his agenda is compensating those who have sustained economic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Yoon’s plans, "fair and complete" compensations for losses will be provided, and counseling will be offered to merchants and self-employed people affected by the pandemic. Yoon pledged to establish a presidential committee dedicated to COVID-19 compensation immediately upon inauguration, and to introduce new laws and revise rela

March 10, 2022

Election shows age, regional divides

The 2022 presidential election showed that age and regional divides in Korea continue to remain solid. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party beat his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party of Korea by 0.73 percentage points, marking the smallest point gap in the presidential election history of Korea. The previous record of the smallest point gap was set in 1997, when former President Kim Dae-jung won the election by 1.53 percent

March 10, 2022

What lies ahead for president-elect Yoon?

Former top prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol rose to the presidency in less than a year, entering politics with a promise to restore fairness following a regime marred by runaway housing prices and corruption scandals. The political neophyte now needs to prove his presidential capacity by addressing the mounting political and diplomatic challenges the nation faces. Public frustration grew under the administration of Moon Jae-in, who once won in a landslide with great expectations, but who was rocked by

March 10, 2022

People’s Party chief among favorites to head presidential transition committee

With Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party elected as the next president of South Korea, attention is turning to who will make up his transition committee. People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo, who dropped out of the presidential race in support of Yoon, has been mentioned as a likely figure to head the committee, which is expected to be launched earlier than usual. The committee will be tasked with helping Yoon get to work immediately upon his inauguration on May 10, and

March 10, 2022

Entrepreneur takes on new role as first lady

As South Korea chose its next president in a tightly contested election Wednesday, the spotlight also turned to Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has actively pursued her career running an exhibition planning firm. Kim, a chief executive officer and founder of the company, has kept a low-key presence on the campaign trail since being bombarded by a series of allegations and rumors. And while she had little room to show off her personality in public during the cam

March 10, 2022

[News Analysis] Lee's defeat opens uncertain future for liberal bloc

The Democratic Party of Korea faces a perilous path ahead after the defeat of its candidate Lee Jae-myung, as possible investigations and political actions could undermine its dominant position in South Korean politics. Lee's defeat signifies that voters have eventually chosen to prioritize holding the current administration to account, underscored by Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party over Lee's assertions that he would be able to bring about a national recovery. Although Le

March 10, 2022

[News Analysis] Yoon's win reflects South Korea's unquenched thirst for justice

The dramatic victory for Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party marks a shift for South Korea where voters veered back to give support to the right after five years of the liberal faction rule under President Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea. Yoon's win symbolizes South Korea's wish to bring justice and equality to society after many felt the opposite in the performance of the Moon administration, which also came to power from voters’ yearning for the same five years ago. Ma

March 10, 2022

Yoon wins by 0.74% point; Huh Kyung-young gets 0.83% of votes

Wednesday’s election came down to the slimmest margin ever seen in South Korean presidential election history, with the conservative opposition’s Yoon Suk-yeol beating his rival from the ruling camp, Lee Jae-myung, by just over 247,000 votes. It was the tightest race ever seen in the country’s 35-year-old democracy. Yoon, who was until March last year the country’s prosecutor general, took 48.56 percent of votes cast, just 0.73 of a percentage point ahead of former Gyeo

March 10, 2022

President-elect Yoon vows to 'trust, follow will of people'

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he will trust and follow the will of the people as he vowed to close any national divisions. "I will solely trust the people and follow the people's will," Yoon said in his remarks given at the National Assembly Library in western Seoul. "(The election results) constitute a call for reform, and the restoration of justice and common sense as well as the people's desperate appeal to do politics of unity, not division," Yoon noted.

March 10, 2022

Yoon may meet Biden shortly after taking office in May

As South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol received a congratulatory call from US President Joe Biden hours after his election victory Thursday, drawing keen attention is when they will meet. Observers say they may hold their first summit talks as early as in late May. Biden is reportedly considering a visit to Japan in late May for a Quad summit, which will offer a chance for him to make a stopover in South Korea. Yoon is slated to be inaugurated on May 10. If they meet before the end of the

March 10, 2022