Justice Party presidential candidate resumes public activities after 'introspection'

The presidential candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party visited an apartment building collapse site in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Sunday, four days after she suspended her campaign to review her strategy amid dismal approval ratings. Sim Sang-jeung traveled to Gwangju unannounced as rescue workers searched for a sixth day to locate five of the six people who went missing in the collapse of the building under construction. The body of one person was retrieved from the rubble

Jan. 16, 2022

Yoon lays out pledges to ‘rebuild’ Seoul, to relocate railroads underground

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party announced on Sunday plans to “rebuild” Seoul, by reorganizing city spaces and relocating railroads and highways underground. At a press briefing, Yoon laid out four vision pillars with nine detailed pledges for Seoul, including plans to supply some 500,000 new homes and to foster the city as a global hub for finance and startup companies. “I will create Seoul to be more refreshing by moving railr

Jan. 16, 2022

Ruling party's presidential candidate vows to resume tourism to Mount Kumgang

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Sunday he will resume tourism to North Korea's Mount Kumgang as soon as possible if elected in March. Lee announced the pledge during a visit to the border county of Goseong, 466 kilometers northeast of Seoul, referring to a program that was suspended in 2008 following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the mountain by a North Korean guard. "I will reopen the doors of tourism to Mount Kumgang as soon as possible," Le

Jan. 16, 2022

Cheong Wa Dae says it will keep leasing presidential jet

Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday it will continue to lease a presidential jet, called Air Force One, an official said Tuesday in response to a news report that it is considering buying a new one. The presidential office has leased a modified Boeing 747-400 airliner from Korean Air under a 10-year contract. It's slated to expire this year. Cheong Wa Dae is planning for another long-term lease, and a related budget has already been allocated, the official told reporters on the customary condition of a

Jan. 15, 2022

Lee leads Yoon 37% to 31%: poll

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol by 37 percent public support to 31 percent, a survey showed Friday. Lee's support rose 1 percentage point from last week, while Yoon's rose 5 points, according to the Gallup Korea survey conducted on 1,001 adults from Tuesday to Thursday. In third place was Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, at a record high 17 percent, up 2 percentage points from

Jan. 14, 2022

Court to rule soon on injunction to stop airing of Yoon's wife's alleged phone calls

A court is expected to make its ruling Friday on an injunction seeking to stop a TV station from broadcasting the recordings of phone calls between the wife of opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and a reporter. The injunction was filed by Kim Keon-hee, Yoon's wife, to stop MBC from airing recordings of her phone conversations with a staff member of the YouTube channel Voice of Seoul last year. The broadcasting was set for Sunday. The recordings, running some seven hours, reportedl

Jan. 14, 2022

[Newsmaker] Presidential candidate Ahn demands special investigation into corruption scandals around Lee Jae-myung

People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Thursday openly attacked Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, saying that those linked to allegations against him have been “silenced with death.” Ahn also strongly demanded prosecutors to launch a special investigation into the scandals and their possible connection with presidential candidate Lee. “People who held keys to corruption scandals, including the Daejang-dong corruption scandal

Jan. 13, 2022

Yoon vows to scrap planned electricity rate hike

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Thursday to scrap the government's planned electricity rate hike if elected in March. Electricity prices are set to increase in April and October under a government scheme announced last month, leading to a 5.6 percent annual average increase in households' electricity bills. Yoon said the decision to raise the rate after the March 9 election was "political" and vowed to reverse the plan if elected. "It's an irrespons

Jan. 13, 2022

Justice Party presidential nominee suspends all activities, campaign team disbands

All members of the campaign team for presidential candidate Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party resigned Thursday, following Sim’s decision to suspend all campaign activities the day before. Sim, who has been struggling to raise her single-digit support rating, has put off all campaigning activities since late Wednesday saying she will take time for deliberation as the situation was “grave.” “The party’s campaign committee is aware of the seriousn

Jan. 13, 2022

Lee Jae-myung apologizes for real estate ‘failure,’ promises deregulation

Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea publicly apologized again for his party’s failure in controlling the housing crisis, promising regulatory reliefs to increase supply of new homes and thereby curb real estate prices. Lee said in a campaign event Thursday held at a reconstruction site in Nowon-gu, northern Seoul that he deeply regrets that his party failed in terms of control the real estate market, saying especially those who live in northern

Jan. 13, 2022

Moon says pan-regional cooperation is key to balanced national development

Panregional cooperation is the key to balanced national development, President Moon Jae-in said Thursday, presiding over the nation’s first meeting for cooperation between central and regional governments. The meeting, called “the second Cabinet meeting,” was held for the first time for top decision-makers of the central and local governments to deliberate on major policies related to regional autonomy and balanced development. It is the highest decision-making body dealing w

Jan. 13, 2022

Lee leads Yoon 37% to 28%: poll

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol with 37 percent public support against Yoon's 28 percent, a survey showed Thursday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party gained 1 percentage point from last week, while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party stayed put, according to the poll conducted on 1,000 adults from Monday to Wednesday by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research. In two other surveys publish

Jan. 13, 2022

PPP seeks to stop TV broadcasting of Yoon's wife's alleged phone calls

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday sought an injunction to stop a TV station from broadcasting the recordings of alleged phone calls between the wife of its presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and a reporter. According to news reports, Yoon's wife Kim Keon-hee spoke by phone with the person who works for the YouTube channel Voice of Seoul for a total of seven hours last year and criticized the Moon Jae-in government, among other things. The phone calls were recorded and

Jan. 13, 2022

Moon calls for measures with excess tax revenue to help small merchants, self-employed

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered aides to come up with measures using excess tax revenue to help small merchants and self-employed people suffering from the economic fallout of COVID-19. Moon gave the instruction after he was briefed about last year's excess tax revenue, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters. In the first 11 months of last year, tax revenue rose 55.6 trillion won ($46.5 billion) on-year to 323.4 trillion won, according to the finance ministry. The a

Jan. 13, 2022

Moon expresses condolences over death of pilot in F-5E crash

President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences Thursday to the family of an Air Force pilot who died after his F-5E fighter crashed into a mountain earlier this week. "I pray for the repose of Major Shim Jeong-min, who died in the line of duty while defending the nation's sky, and offer my deep condolences to the family members," Moon said in a message posted on social media. The aircraft crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, minutes after taking of

Jan. 13, 2022

Cabinet members resume schedule after negative COVID-19 test results

Sixteen Cabinet members resumed their schedules on Thursday after they all tested negative for the coronavirus after attending the same meeting with an infected member. The members had to take virus tests and cancel their schedules on Wednesday after they attended the same Cabinet meeting with Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon, who tested positive for COVID-19, in Seoul the previous day. Those who attended the meeting included Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol, Defense Minister Suh Wo

Jan. 13, 2022

Moon to use Middle East trip to expand business opportunities: official

President Moon Jae-in will use his trip to the Middle East later this week to explore opportunities for South Korean businesses in hydrogen, defense and other industries, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday. Moon is set to depart Saturday for an eight-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. "The three nations are our traditional friendly states in the Middle East and Arab world and strategically important countries that play a key role for stable global energy su

Jan. 12, 2022

Ahn takes firmer stance backed by rising ratings

People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo is taking a firmer stance against the two main parties and their candidates, as well as on a potential merger of his campaign as his support ratings rise. Recent polls show that Ahn has passed the 10 percent bar, absorbing voters peeling away from the major two candidates, the Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol. Ahn had been at 3 percent support only a few weeks ago. Backed with

Jan. 12, 2022

[Newsmaker] Lee Jae-myung whistleblower found dead

The first whistleblower on ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung's alleged payment of legal fees by proxy in 2018 was found dead Wednesday, after he had gone missing for days. The latest is the third death reported among those related to allegations surrounding Lee, which has again raised calls for exhaustive investigations into Lee's suspected charges from the opposition bloc. Police said Wednesday that the lawyer named Lee Byung-chul was found dead at a motel in

Jan. 12, 2022

[KH Explains] Ministry for feminists? Pledge to abolish gender ministry reignites debate

The idea of abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has reemerged as a hot topic, after presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party proposed it as an election pledge. When the conservative party candidate made the simple pledge in plain words, “Abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family,” via Facebook on Saturday without further elaboration, it immediately drew criticism from rivals as a move to woo male voters in their

Jan. 12, 2022