Lee insists again on universal COVID-19 relief grants

The ruling Democratic Party's presidential nominee, Lee Jae-myung, on Sunday insisted again on giving additional universal COVID-19 relief grants, saying excess tax revenue is expected to amount to 40 trillion won ($34 billion). "Is it right for the people of a well-off nation to be poor?" Lee said in a Facebook posting, after his opposition rival, Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party, voiced opposition to offering universal relief grants. "The real gross domestic product (G

Nov. 7, 2021

Presidential race begins in earnest

The four-month presidential campaign has fully begun in earnest, but both the ruling and main opposition candidates face a series of hurdles ranging from a lack of appeal outside party supporters to allegations that could potentially bring them under the scrutiny of law enforcement. For both the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and main opposition People Power Party’s Yoon Seok-youl, winning over younger generations and female voters are critical tasks, amid unprece

Nov. 7, 2021

Moon calls for expanding exchanges with Visegrad Group countries

President Moon Jae-in instructed aides to make greater efforts to strengthen exchanges with Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, known collectively as the Visegrad Group, noting their economies are growing dynamically compared with Western European nations, a senior presidential official said Sunday. Moon issued the instruction after returning from a three-nation European trip that included a summit in Hungary with the four Visegrad Group countries, senior presidential secretary fo

Nov. 7, 2021

Official phone of prosecution spokespersons seized as part of probe into Yoon

The inspection department of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office (SPPO) has seized a mobile phone that former and incumbent SPPO spokespersons had used, as part of an investigation into cases allegedly involving opposition presidential nominee Yoon Seok-youl. The official phone, which had been used by current SPPO spokesperson Suh In-sun and her two predecessors, was seized on Oct. 29, as the inspection office pressured Suh to turn the device in voluntarily or face an inspection for noncooper

Nov. 7, 2021

Yoon Seok-youl picked as presidential nominee for People Power Party

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl has been declared the official nominee for the main opposition People Power Party for next year’s presidential election. The party announced Friday that Yoon will be its presidential nominee after gaining a total of 347,963 votes, or 47.85 percent, to defeat his rival Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, who came in second with 41.5 percent. Former Rep. Yoo Seong-min received 54,304 votes, or 7.47 percent, while former Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong achieved 23,085 votes,

Nov. 5, 2021

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon wins presidential nomination of main opposition People Power Party

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl won the presidential nomination of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday. Yoon won 47.85 percent of votes cast in a four-day poll of party members and the general public this week, followed by Rep. Hong Joon-pyo with 41.50 percent. Former Rep. Yoo Seong-min won 7.47 percent, while former Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong won 3.17 percent. The results were announced at a national convention at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Nov. 5, 2021

Prosecutors' office raided in connection with opposition's political meddling scandal

The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) was raided Friday as part of a probe into allegations that a sitting prosecutor conspired with the main opposition party to investigate pro-government figures when opposition presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl was in office as prosecutor general, sources said. Authorities are currently looking into suspicions that Son Jun-sung, a prosecutor who previously served at the SPO, asked the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to file a complaint against pro

Nov. 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] Main opposition party set to pick presidential nominee

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was set to pick its presidential nominee Friday as the two leading contenders appeared locked in a tight race. The nominee will be announced at a national convention at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul following a four-day poll of party members and the general public on who is best prepared to take on Lee Jae-myung, the nominee of the ruling Democratic Party. The four candidates in the PPP primary are former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl,

Nov. 5, 2021

Court issues arrest warrant for key figure in development corruption scandal

A Seoul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for the owner of an asset management firm at the center of an urban development corruption scandal over allegations his firm received business favors in exchange for bribes. Kim Man-bae, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, is facing charges of breach of trust and bribery in connection with a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, into apartment complexes. Prosecutors have been looking into suspicio

Nov. 4, 2021

Sim Sang-jung vows to put end to two-party system

The Justice Party’s presidential candidate, Sim Sang-jung, pledged Wednesday to put an end to the two-party system that has dominated South Korea’s political landscape for decades. “The rival structure between the progressives and conservatives has passed its expiration date. The two big parties have been in power for the past 30 years and become the front-runners of vested interests,” Sim said during a sit-down with reporters at the National Assembly. “In the b

Nov. 3, 2021

Rights watchdog advises against ban on use of mobile phones in schools

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said Wednesday it has asked a local high school to lift a ban on the use of mobile phones by students in school. The state human rights watchdog said the ban on the use of mobile phones at the high school, whose name was withheld, infringes on its students' general right to freedom of action and freedom of communication. The school's students are allowed to possess cell phones on campus but are completely prohibited from using them, accordi

Nov. 3, 2021

Court questions key figure in development corruption scandal

A Seoul court questioned the owner of an asset management firm at the center of an urban development corruption scandal Wednesday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for him on bribery and other charges. Kim Man-bae, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, is facing charges of breach of trust and bribery in connection with a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, into apartment complexes. Prosecutors have been looking into suspicions over h

Nov. 3, 2021

Seoul to offer new concept administrative services via metaverse platform

The Seoul city government said Wednesday it will offer a new concept public service through online virtual worlds by building its own metaverse platform for the first time among local governments nationwide. The city's own high-performance platform, tentatively named Metaverse Seoul, will be established by the end of next year, according to its five-year "Metaverse Seoul Basic Plan." The city government will then begin implementing the metaverse ecosystem for administrative services

Nov. 3, 2021

PM says govt. cannot afford extra universal COVID-19 relief grants

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday the government cannot afford another round of universal COVID-19 relief grants as proposed by Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP). Kim made the remark during a radio interview, stressing that the most urgent task for now is to compensate the self-employed and small business owners suffering from the pandemic. "Our finance does not have enough capacity to do that," Kim said of Lee's proposal during the

Nov. 3, 2021

Ahn Cheol-soo says unifying candidacies with main opposition party 'impossible'

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, has said he has no interest in unifying candidacies with the main opposition party, calling it an "impossible" deal. Ahn said, however, that if the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) yields to him, he will achieve a change of government in the upcoming presidential election in March as the single unified candidate. "I have no other thoughts at the moment," Ahn said in an interview with Y

Nov. 3, 2021

Moon pays tribute to victims of 2019 Budapest boat sinking

President Moon Jae-in paid tribute on Tuesday to the Korean and Hungarian people killed in a 2019 boat sinking, as he began a state visit to Hungary for a series of summit talks with Eastern European leaders. The accident happened on the Danube River on May 29, 2019, when the sightseeing boat Hableany (Mermaid) carrying 33 Koreans and two Hungarian crew members collided with a cruise ship. The sinking left 25 Koreans and the two Hungarians dead. One of the 33 Koreans remains missing. Shortly

Nov. 3, 2021

Ruling bloc jump-starts ‘mammoth’ presidential campaign

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is now in full "election mode" behind presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, with his competitors from the presidential primary joining forces in hopes of maintaining power come next year. On Tuesday, the party held a ceremony launching the largest-ever election committee headed by its chairman, Rep. Song Young-gil, with 12 other party heavyweights to rally unified support for Lee in the presidential election slated for March. Lee Jae-myung's forme

Nov. 2, 2021

Ruling party launches largest-ever presidential election committee

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) launched its presidential election committee on Tuesday to help steer its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung to victory in the upcoming election in March. The committee is the liberal party's largest ever and includes all 169 of its National Assembly lawmakers with party chairman Song Young-gil as its standing chief and 12 others as co-chiefs. The party held a massive launching ceremony that was expected to be attended by up to 499 people under the government

Nov. 2, 2021

Prosecutor Son summoned for Yoon Seok-youl’s alleged political meddling

Public prosecutor Son Jun-sung was summoned for questioning Tuesday in the probe into alleged political meddling involving presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl, two months into the investigation. Son, the former chief of investigative information policy at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, is accused of ordering subordinate prosecutors and Rep. Kim Woong of the main opposition People Power Party to write complaints and collect evidence against ruling party figures and some journalists ahea

Nov. 2, 2021

Seoul vows efforts to implement inter-Korean deal on forestry cooperation

The unification ministry on Tuesday vowed efforts to push for inter-Korean cooperation in the forestry sector as agreed to in an earlier deal, after President Moon Jae-in again stated on the global stage that Seoul will seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the peninsula in cooperation with Pyongyang. Moon was addressing an annual UN climate conference in Glasgow on Monday (local time) that brought together more than 100 world leaders, including US President Joe Biden. Chinese President Xi

Nov. 2, 2021