New autonomous police system takes effect to offer community-oriented services

An autonomous police system went into effect nationwide Thursday in what appears to be the biggest organizational change since the inauguration of the country's police 76 years ago. The system was designed to disperse power within the police after President Moon Jae-in's reform of the prosecution service led to more investigative authority for the police. It is also aimed at providing people with more community-oriented policing services. It came into being in accordance with the new act intro

July 1, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung launches presidential bid, vowing to reduce inequality

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung officially launched his high-profile presidential campaign Thursday, pledging to alleviate inequality between the powerful and the weak. The front-runner by a wide margin among the nine contenders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), Lee announced his bid to run in the March 9 presidential election through a prerecorded video, released on YouTube and other online platforms, in consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "Through the politics of moderating t

July 1, 2021

Seoul keeps 4-person cap on private gatherings

The Seoul metropolitan government said Wednesday it is keeping a four-person cap on private gatherings amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, just hours before the rule was set to be relaxed. The decision was reached at an emergency virtual meeting between Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the heads of all 25 local ward offices. The city of Seoul registered 375 new cases Tuesday, its biggest daily increase this year, two days before it was set to raise the cap on private gatherings from

June 30, 2021

S. Korea-US relationship moved beyond security alliance to comprehensive, global partnership: Moon

President Moon Jae-in assessed Wednesday that South Korea's relationship with the United States has evolved from a traditional military-and-security-based alliance to that of a comprehensive and global partnership. Moon shared his views on the state of the Seoul-Washington alliance in a lunch meeting with the heads of constitutional institutions -- the National Assembly speaker, the Supreme Court chief justice, the Constitutional Court chief and the prime minister -- at Cheong Wa Dae. The pres

June 30, 2021

Special-type workers to benefit from employment insurance from July

Non-standard contract employees, such as parcel delivery workers, home tutors and insurance salespersons, will be newly included among employment insurance beneficiaries, beginning in July, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday. The ministry said a revision of the Employment Insurance Act aimed at making workers in 12 non-standard forms of employment eligible for employment insurance is to take effect Thursday. Non-standard contract employees refer to workers of special employmen

June 30, 2021

With top 2 hopefuls on board this week, presidential race picks up pace

The presidential race is picking up pace with one of the two front-runners declaring his bid and another set to follow suit this week, less than nine months before the election. The launch of the top two contenders -- former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung -- is expected to quicken the pace of other hopefuls who are testing the water for their potential bids. On Tuesday, Yoon, who has topped opinion polls for most favored presidential hopefuls since late last

June 30, 2021

South Korea's parliamentary committee passes resolution demanding removal of Dokdo from Tokyo Olympics map

A South Korean parliamentary committee on Wednesday passed a resolution denouncing Japan's renewed claim to sovereignty of Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo on the Tokyo Olympics website. Dokdo, located in the East Sea, has appeared on the map of the route of the torch relay, posted on the Tokyo Olympics website, in an apparent territorial claim to the South Korean islets by the Japanese government. The National Assembly's culture committee held a plenary session and passed the resolution co

June 30, 2021

[Newsmaker] Jailed ex-president worries about nation in letter

Jailed former President Lee Myung-bak said it was a shame that the country has come to its current state in a letter to a fellow university alumnus, which was disclosed on an alumni website. On the online community of Korea University students and graduates called Kopas, a person who introduced himself as a plastic surgeon and graduate of the university’s medical school said in a post on Tuesday that he wrote to Lee, and Lee wrote back. “It is such a shame that the country has come

June 30, 2021

Moon pledges full support for shipping supremacy

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged full support for the nation’s shipping industry to further bolster its competitiveness in the global market and to regain its leadership position by 2030. “Our pride as a top shipper has been recovered,” the president said during the launch event of HMM’s new mega container ship, called HMM Hanul, at Busan’s new port. “The Hanul is the final of the total 20 vessels that completes the strong recovery of the nation&rsqu

June 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Choo slammed for saying she ‘opposes feminism’

Former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae got herself in trouble by saying she opposes feminism in an interview on YouTube. Among those who criticized her remarks was Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the minor Justice Party. Choo, who has vowed to run for president next year on the ruling Democratic Party ticket, said in an interview with an online media outlet Friday that she opposed feminism and that “if one wants to be treated like a flower because she’s a woman, women will always be ornamental.&

June 29, 2021

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl announces presidential bid

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl on Tuesday announced his bid to compete in the presidential race next year, officially launching a political career 118 days after stepping down from the top prosecutorial post. During a press conference in southern Seoul on Tuesday, Yoon vowed to rebuild justice and the rule of law, saying the Moon Jae-in administration has destroyed South Korea’s foundations. “It is hard to articulate every misdeed that this administration has committed,&r

June 29, 2021

Assembly committee adopts resolution against Japan's Fukushima water release plan

A South Korean parliamentary committee on Tuesday approved a resolution condemning Japan's plan to dump contaminated water from its destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. The National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee unanimously passed the resolution, which also calls on Tokyo to take sufficient measures to ensure the safety of radioactive water at the Fukushima plant. The resolution was prepared by ruling and opposition parties after the Japanese government announce

June 29, 2021

Strict mask rules could be readopted with rise in variant cases: PM

Mandatory outdoor mask rules for those who have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines could be reintroduced if the country sees a rise in new coronavirus variant cases, the prime minister said Tuesday. Starting Thursday, South Korea plans to allow people administered with their first vaccine doses to travel outdoors without masks, as part of the government's new COVID-19 guidelines emphasizing incentives for vaccinated people. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, however, stated that the gov

June 29, 2021

Moon accepts resignation of chief state auditor

President Moon Jae-in on Monday accepted the resignation of the head of South Korea's state audit agency after he offered to step down earlier in the day in a move widely viewed as a prelude to joining the presidential election race. The resignation of Choe Jae-hyeong, the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), came six months before the end of his four-year term and the presidential election slated for March. Moon approved Choe's offer to be relieved of his post at around 5:50 p

June 28, 2021

Watchdog launches probe into main opposition party lawmakers' real estate dealings

The state anti-corruption watchdog launched an investigation Monday into real estate dealings by lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and their families.  The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) said the probe will look into real estate transactions involving a total of 427 people -- 101 PPP lawmakers and their family members -- over the past seven years.  The ACRC conducted a similar investigation targeting all lawmakers of the ruling Democratic

June 28, 2021

6 in 10 Koreans against Moon’s attendance at Tokyo Olympics

A poll showed Monday that almost 6 in 10 Koreans were against the idea of President Moon Jae-in visiting Japan for the Tokyo Olympics next month. Of the 500 people surveyed by Realmeter over the past week, 60.2 percent responded in opposition to the president’s visit to Japan, while 33.2 percent said they were in favor of the visit. Among age groups, people in their 40s opposed the visit most strongly, with the rate reaching 71.5 percent. Unlike other polls, political inclination had a

June 28, 2021

BAI chief offers to resign; may join presidential race

The chief of the state-run audit agency offered to resign Monday, potentially as a precursor to a presidential bid, marking the start of another important chapter ahead of next year’s election. Choe Jae-hyeong, chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, told reporters Monday morning that he had conveyed his intent to resign earlier and now planned to “spend time contemplating what role I can play for the future of South Korea.” “I expressed my intent to resign to t

June 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] 2 DP presidential candidates to merge campaigns by next week

Two presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Monday they will merge their campaigns by next week in a bid to boost their party's chances of winning the 2022 presidential election. Chung Sye-kyun, former prime minister under the Moon Jae-in administration, and three-term lawmaker Lee Kwang-jae announced the decision to unify their presidential candidacies by next Monday, during their visits to the headquarters of the bourse operator in western Seoul. "With a visio

June 28, 2021

Chief state auditor offers to resign amid speculation on his political ambition

Choe Jae-hyeong, head of South Korea's state audit agency, offered to step down Monday in what is viewed as a prelude to joining the presidential election race. If President Moon Jae-in accepts his resignation, the chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) would quit the job half a year before his four-year term finishes. Choe told reporters that he had tendered his resignation earlier in the day. He added he had thought that it is "inappropriate" to carry on his duty amid

June 28, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee to declare presidential bid this week: aide

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is expected to announce his presidential bid this week, joining the race to pick the ruling Democratic Party's standard-bearer for next year's election, a close aide said Sunday. Lee is to declare his bid for presidency on Thursday after completing the registration as a preliminary candidate with the DP, according to Rep. Park Hong-geun, one of his close aides. Lee, who is currently leading polls among potential candidates in the ruling bloc, will be the l

June 28, 2021