PM reiterates opposition to Lee's proposal of delaying heavy taxation on multiple home owners

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to a proposal from ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung to temporarily postpone heavy taxation on owners of multiple homes, saying it will bring down people's trust in government policies. Lee has been calling for the government to delay imposing a heavy capital gains tax on owners of multiple homes when they sell their properties, claiming that such a move will put more homes on the market and thus help stabilize soa

Dec. 21, 2021

Moon calls for readiness against spread of omicron

President Moon Jae-in called on the government Tuesday to prepare for the scenario of the omicron variant becoming the dominant version of COVID-19 in the country while making sure to reinforce the country's medical capacity. Moon made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting held after the country reported 49 new omicron cases, bringing the accumulated total to 227. South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases have recently hovered in the 7,000's, marked by alarming growth in the number of critically ill patie

Dec. 21, 2021

Senior presidential aide resigns over son’s job search blunder

Kim Jin-kook, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, on Tuesday tendered his resignation after it was found that his son had attempted to use Kim’s position to find employment, officials said. “President Moon accepted Kim Jin-kook’s resignation,” said Park Soo-hyun, senior Cheong Wa Dae secretary for public communication. “There is no discussion on the successor yet.”　 Kim issued an apology, saying, “Above all, I deeply apologize for ca

Dec. 21, 2021

Ruling party seeks to establish secondary presidential office in Sejong

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday said it is seeking to establish a secondary presidential office in the central administrative city of Sejong following a pledge from its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. The DP said its plan to set up a secondary presidential office in Sejong, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, will be introduced as a party policy at its general meeting Wednesday. Lee promised in a Facebook post in September that he will establish a secondary presidential offic

Dec. 21, 2021

Umbrella union disapproves of ex-Foreign Minister Kang's bid for top ILO job

A major South Korean umbrella labor organization has notified the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation that it does not support former South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's candidacy for the position of ILO chief, sources said Tuesday. The statement from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which was sent Monday, is expected to deal a blow to Kang's bid to become ILO director-general about three months before the election se

Dec. 21, 2021

Lee vows full compensation to small businesses hit by pandemic

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, on Monday called for the provision of full compensation to pandemic-hit small businesses as he unveiled a set of measures to support their recovery. "I want to pay back people's sacrifice in a way that is completely different from now," Lee said in his meeting with small business owners and self-employed people. "I will change the paradigm with a preemptive system that provides damage compensation to peopl

Dec. 20, 2021

[Herald Interview] Lawmaker calls for awareness for disabled

The next president should improve social awareness and welfare for the disabled, says Rep. Kim Ye-ji, South Korea's first visually-impaired woman to hold a parliamentary seat. The visually-impaired pianist-turned-politician of the main opposition People Power Party said in an interview with The Korea Herald that she asks whoever becomes the next president to raise awareness of disabled people and to ensure their presence and needs are recognized by others. She demands the next president to hel

Dec. 20, 2021

Moon orders hospitals to focus on critically ill COVID-19 patients

President Moon Jae-in instructed national university hospitals on Monday to focus their medical resources on caring for critically ill COVID-19 patients. Moon's order came as the country has seen a surge in serious cases, with the number hitting an all-time high of 1,025 on Sunday amid a shortage of hospital beds across the country. "I ask national university hospitals to focus their medical capacities on treating critically ill COVID-19 patients," Moon said during a meeting with his

Dec. 20, 2021

Ruling party concentrates fire on opposition candidate’s wife

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is concentrating fire on Kim Keon-hee -- People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife -- raising one allegation after another related to her career history. Adding on to the allegedly inaccurate information on Kim’s resume that she sent to universities while applying for teaching positions, the Democratic Party is raising suspicions on Kim’s claims to have studied at New York University. The ruling party claims that whi

Dec. 20, 2021

Pardons for ex-presidents unlikely under Moon administration

Former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, currently serving prison terms for a number of corruption convictions, are unlikely to be included in a list of New Year’s special pardons, which could be the last of the Moon Jae-in administration. From Monday, the Ministry of Justice began a two-day amnesty review by a nine-person committee, including Justice Minister Park Beom-kye and senior officials from related agencies. The selected list will be reported to the president and the f

Dec. 20, 2021

Yoon vows to double war veterans' allowances

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, on Monday vowed to double war veterans' allowances and improve welfare for service members as he targeted military voters ahead of the March 9 election. "I will improve disability criteria so that veterans who sacrificed themselves for the country do not feel disappointed," Yoon said in a Facebook post, referring to veterans of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Yoon added that he will reform the

Dec. 20, 2021

Young feminist joins Yoon's campaign

A 31-year-old feminist politician joined the campaign of main opposition presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday in a surprise move expected to widen the conservative candidate's appeal among young female voters. Shin Ji-ye, a vocal feminist who currently heads the non-profit Korean Women's Political Network, was named senior deputy chair of the Saesidae Preparatory Committee, an organization that works directly under Yoon to woo moderates and liberals with an affinity for the conservative

Dec. 20, 2021

Lee, Yoon are neck-and-neck in latest polls

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol are in an increasingly tight race, with one opinion poll putting Lee ahead of Yoon and another survey showing contrary results. In a Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) survey of 1,008 adults, Lee led with 40.3 percent against Yoon's 37.4 percent, though the gap was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. But a Realmeter poll of 3,043 pe

Dec. 20, 2021

Police earmark W760m for presidential candidates' security details

Police have earmarked over 700 million won ($590,000) for the security details of major presidential candidates, officials said Monday. According to police, 762 million won has been set aside for security-related funds for the March presidential election, including those for candidates' close-up security, equipment and transportation support. The budget marks an increase from 728 million won in the previous presidential election. Candidates of the ruling and main opposition parties, Lee Jae-m

Dec. 20, 2021

Moon to receive final annual policy briefings this week

President Moon Jae-in will receive the government's annual policy briefings for the final time this week, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. The 2022 briefings will begin Monday under the slogan, "Changes made with the people, a government fulfilling its responsibilities until the end," the presidential office said in a press release. "Through the policy briefings, we plan to go through the achievements made during the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration and check the governmen

Dec. 19, 2021

Ruling party accuses Yoon's wife of lying about NYU attendance

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Sunday accused the wife of main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of falsifying her attendance at New York University in 2006. Kim Keon-hee, the wife of the People Power Party (PPP) candidate, has been hit with a series of allegations that she falsified her credentials when applying for teaching jobs at two local universities in 2007 and 2013. According to a task force under the DP presidential campaign committee, Kim wrote on her 2013 resume f

Dec. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yoon apologizes over his spouse’s false career allegation

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate for the main opposition People Power Party, bowed his head and apologized Friday for the controversy over allegations his spouse Kim Keon-hee had made false claims about her career history. "I am sorry for causing concern to the public over the controversy related to my wife," Yoon told reporters. "Regardless of the reason, I make it clear that the fact that (she) caused controversy without accurately writing down her career does not fi

Dec. 17, 2021

Lee says son denies prostitution allegations

Ruling Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Friday his elder son has denied allegations he visited a massage parlor for sex. The allegations were raised against Lee's 29-year-old son after he was found to have left a comment on an online poker forum that advised people against visiting a spa in Seongnam, south of Seoul, because it did not keep its massaging hours. "I also checked, but he says there was no sex trafficking," Lee told reporters after a party m

Dec. 17, 2021

South Korea to inject W4.3tr to support struggling small business owners

South Korea will inject 4.3 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in subsidies to support owners of small businesses and self-employed people struggling from social distancing rules necessitated by the pandemic, top officials said Friday. The support measures come a day after the government decided to reimpose restrictions due to a surge in infections. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a joint government briefing on the day, “If a sales decline is confirmed, the government will pay 1 million

Dec. 17, 2021

Yoon's poll lead over Lee narrowed to 42.3 vs. 38.4

The main opposition People Power Party's presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, saw his lead over ruling Democratic Party rival, Lee Jae-myung, narrowed to a margin of 3.9 percentage points, an opinion poll showed Thursday. Yoon was leading Lee 42.3 percent to 38.4 percent in the survey by RnSearch, commissioned by Maeil Business Newspaper and its affiliated broadcaster MBN. The 3.9 percentage point gap is smaller than a 5.4 percentage point margin in favor of Yoon seen in the previous survey

Dec. 16, 2021