Moon reiterates call on Nat'l Assembly to swiftly pass extra budget bill

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday reiterated his call on the National Assembly to swiftly approve an extra budget bill designed to help pandemic-hit small merchants, emphasizing that quick support is the key. "We cannot delay support for small merchants and self-employed people even for a moment," Moon said during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office. The government will thoughtfully review reasonable plans coming out of the process of the National Assembly's deliberation.&quo

Feb. 8, 2022

‘Yoon Suk-yeol will not repeat Moon’s COVID-19 mistakes’

The last two years of the pandemic in South Korea have been punctuated by similar, preventable tragedies, and this will stop with Yoon Suk-yeol as president, according to his top COVID-19 adviser. Dr. Jung Ki-suck, who served as the director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2016-17 in the immediate aftermath of the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak, joined the main opposition People Power Party candidate’s campaign in December. On his role as the c

Feb. 7, 2022

Ruling party's attempt to revive late progressive icons backfires

The presidential campaign for Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is embroiled in fresh controversy, this time over accusations of posthumous defamation of two iconic progressive presidents. The Democratic Party on Saturday uploaded two videos on its official YouTube channel featuring former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung. The videos portrayed the two presidents backing Lee, separately, in the presidential election next month, even though they both died years ago. I

Feb. 7, 2022

‘Now is the time to pass anti-discrimination law’

South Korea’s upcoming presidential election is just one month away. But overshadowed by other issues such as housing prices and family misbehavior, the two leading candidates Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party have tiptoed around the issue of an anti-discrimination law. One party’s stance on the issue, however, has been crystal clear –-- an anti-discrimination bill needs to be passed now, said Rep. Jang Hye-youn

Feb. 7, 2022

Moon, Turkmen president exchange letters marking 30th anniversary of relations

President Moon Jae-in and Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov exchanged letters celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. In the letters, the two leaders took note of cooperation between their countries in the fields of energy and transportation, and agreed to expand cooperation to new sectors, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon told Berdymukhamedov that the two nations have developed relatio

Feb. 7, 2022

PM hints at possible increase in extra budget for pandemic-hit merchants

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum hinted Monday at the possibility of increasing a proposed extra budget designed to help support pandemic-hit small merchants following calls from ruling and opposition parties. "The government does empathize with views that direct support for these people needs to be increased," Kim told lawmakers during a parliamentary budget committee meeting. "Now is the time for the National Assembly and the government to open up candidly to each other and put the

Feb. 7, 2022

Govt. launches team to support vulnerable N. Korean defectors

The South Korean government launched an interagency team Monday tasked with helping North Korean defectors suffering from economic and psychological difficulties after resettlement here. The nine-member team, comprising officials from different government agencies, will provide support in fields ranging from education and employment to living and psychological counseling for the defectors, the Ministry of Unification said. According to a biannual government survey conducted last year, 1,582 de

Feb. 7, 2022

Yoon leads Lee 43.4% to 38.1%: poll

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 43.4 percent public support to 38.1 percent, a survey showed Monday. Yoon of the People Power Party gained 3.2 percentage points from a week ago, while Lee of the Democratic Party lost 0.4 point, according to the Realmeter survey conducted on 1,509 adults from last Wednesday to Friday. Yoon led Lee by 5.3 percentage points, which was outside the margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent

Feb. 7, 2022

[Herald Interview] Politics startup seeks to bring power of data to people ahead of elections

Transparent and unbiased data will help potential voters and politicians make rational choices, putting an end to the era of heavily skewed public polls and knee-jerk policy reactions. This is the guiding philosophy at Oxopolitics, where scores of data engineers are working to change political decision making with the power of data. “I wanted to build an open data platform that enables each user to have their say about politics and see the data on themselves, like-minded people and al

Feb. 6, 2022

Election remains foggy with Lee, Yoon neck and neck in polls

Even after the first TV debate held Thursday, two front-runners of the presidential election are running neck and neck against each other, polls showed Sunday. Candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party earned 43.3 percent support, while Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea earned 41.8 percent, according to a poll held by Realmeter under the request of local media outlet Newsis. The poll was conducted on 1,076 adults on Thursday and Friday, partially ref

Feb. 6, 2022

Presidential candidates to register with election watchdog on Feb. 13-14

With the presidential election just 30 days away, South Korea's election watchdog is hastening its preparations for the March 9 vote amid a surge in daily COVID-19 infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. According to the National Election Commission (NEC), political parties' presidential candidates have to formally register on Feb. 13 and 14. The candidates' official 22-day campaign period is set to kick off on Feb. 15. Three rounds of TV debate among candidates have been

Feb. 6, 2022

Moon to preside over COVID-19 response meeting amid surge in daily cases

President Moon Jae-in will preside over a COVID-19 response meeting on Monday as the nation is grappling with a surge in daily infections driven by highly transmissible omicron variant, according to the presidential office on Sunday. It will be the first time in about six months that Moon presides over a virus response meeting. Due to the rapid spread of the highly contagious omicron, South Korea has set daily records, but deaths have remained relatively low. The daily cases exceeded 38,000 o

Feb. 6, 2022

Lee pledges to launch new airport in Busan by 2029

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Sunday he aims to launch a new airport in the southern port city of Busan by 2029. In February last year, the National Assembly approved a bill on a multi-billion-dollar state project to build the new airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island of Busan, to handle growing air traffic demand and facilitate prosperity in the country's southeast region. Unveiling campaign pledges for Busan, Lee said he will speed up procedures for constructi

Feb. 6, 2022

COVID-19 patients under self-quarantine may be unable to vote

Concerns are mounting over whether COVID-19 patients will be unable to cast their votes for the 20th presidential election, as those confirmed with the virus after the mail-in ballot registration period may be unable to report to voting booths on March 9. The National Election Commission said Friday it would receive applications for mail-in ballots from Wednesday to Sunday next week. The registration is available to COVID-19 patients housed in treatment centers or those in isolation or self-qua

Feb. 4, 2022

Fact check: 1st TV debate for 20th presidential election

Four major candidates met in a studio Thursday night for the first televised debate ahead of South Korea’s 20th presidential election. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and his main rival Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party met their minor counterparts Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People’s Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the left-wing Justice Party. In a span of two hours until 10 p.m., the candidates clashed over topics ranging from rea

Feb. 4, 2022

Yoon leads Lee 46% to 38%: poll

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 46 percent public support against Lee's 38 percent, a survey showed Friday. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) gained 1 percentage point from a week ago, while Lee of the Democratic Party lost 1 point, according to the Research View survey conducted on 1,000 adults from Tuesday to Thursday. Yoon led Lee by 8 percentage points, which was outside the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1

Feb. 4, 2022

Election watchdog reviewing plans for virus-infected voters as daily cases surge

South Korea's election watchdog said Friday it is looking for solutions that allow people who have contracted COVID-19 after the early voting period to cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election as the country grapples with a surge in daily COVID-19 cases. Under current election rules, it is virtually impossible for those who are diagnosed with COVID-19 after the early voting period that falls on March 4-5 and people who go into self-isolation just before the March 9 presidential

Feb. 4, 2022

Current distancing rules to be extended for 2 more weeks: PM

The government decided Friday to extend current social distancing rules for two more weeks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, as the country struggles to contain the omicron variant. "Slowing the pace of the omicron's spread, which is heading to its peak day after day, is a priority in this difficult circumstance where we cannot accurately estimate the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday period," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting. The government has been enforcing e

Feb. 4, 2022

Ruling party chief tests positive for COVID-19: party

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party has tested positive for COVID-19, the party said Friday. Rep. Song Young-gil went into isolation Thursday after testing positive on a rapid antigen test. He then took a polymerase chain reaction test and got back the result Friday morning. "(Song) plans to strictly follow the guidelines of the health authorities," the DP said in a notice to reporters. The chairman has canceled his public schedule for Friday. (Yonhap)

Feb. 4, 2022

Yoon says 'preemptive strike' is 'to protect peace'

People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday defended his position on "preemptive strike" against North Korea, saying that such a plan would curb war and protect peace in a live broadcast TV debate on Thursday. "The president should exercise leadership to prevent the war itself from happening. I think it’s a rash remark," Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party told Yoon in the debate. In response, Yoon said, "We are not trying to wage war, b

Feb. 3, 2022