COVID-19 hospitalization surge fivefold in 3 weeks

The number of patients hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19 surged fivefold in three weeks to late July, government data showed Friday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 during the fourth week of July reached 465, up over five times from the first week of the month at 91. Through the first four weeks of July, 929 patients were hospitalized for the highly contagious disease affecting the human respiratory sys

Aug. 2, 2024

Ruling party seeks expulsion of opposition lawmaker over defector remarks

South Korea's ruling People Power Party filed a motion Friday to expel opposition Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Rep. Choi Min-hee over alleged discriminatory comments against a North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker. The controversy came about at a Monday confirmation hearing for state broadcasting regulator chief Lee Jin-sook. Choi, chairing the Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, reportedly told People Power Party Rep. Park Choong-kwon, who defected fr

Aug. 2, 2024

Opposition-led Assembly passes W13tr cash handout bill

A bill to dole out cash-equivalent vouchers universally to every South Korean citizen gained parliamentary approval at the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Friday, about four months after opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung proposed the scheme. The 13 trillion-won ($9.4 billion) bill, designed to offer 250,000 won cash coupons to the entire 50 million population across the country, won 186 votes from 187 lawmakers present at the National Assembly. In South Korea's political lands

Aug. 2, 2024

Han tightens grip on ruling party

Han Dong-hoon, chair of the ruling People Power Party, nominated four-term lawmaker Rep. Kim Sang-hoon as the new policy chief of the ruling party, which would also make him one of the nine members of the party's supreme council, in an apparent move to tighten his grip on the party's decision-making body. The nomination of Kim will likely be confirmed at a general assembly of the People Power Party lawmakers next week. Han told reporters Friday that Kim is "highly competent."

Aug. 2, 2024

Ruling party policy chief steps down amid internal rift

People Power Party Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, who is considered part of pro-Yoon Suk Yeol faction within the party, announced his resignation from his post as the party's policy chief, or a member of the party's supreme council, on Thursday. Jeong, in a surprise press conference held in the afternoon, said that he had decided to do so to prevent a further "split" in the ruling party. He added that current People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon requested him to resign. "It was

Aug. 1, 2024

Opposition parties float impeachment motion against new KCC head

Opposition parties on Thursday proposed a parliamentary impeachment motion against the new head of the state broadcasting regulator Lee Jin-sook who took office Wednesday, accusing her of making key decisions "unfairly" with only two of the five commissioners currently in office. The main opposition Democratic Party and five other minor parties floated an impeachment motion against the new regulator chief during a National Assembly plenary session held Thursday afternoon. This marks th

Aug. 1, 2024

Main opposition threatens impeachment of new broadcasting regulator head

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday officially approved Lee Jin-sook, a former journalist of Munhwa Broadcasting Corp., as the new chief of the country’s top broadcasting regulator amid threats from the main opposition to propose an impeachment motion against her. Lee’s term as the new chief of the Korea Communications Commission immediately began Wednesday, with the 63-year-old former reporter and ex-CEO of the public terrestrial broadcaster's Daejeon branch pledging to &ldquo

July 31, 2024

Yoon advises Han to embrace political allies

President Yoon Suk Yeol told the ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon to embrace his political allies as they sat down for closed-door talks for about 1 1/2 hours Tuesday morning, the president's office said Wednesday. It was among the agenda items discussed at the highly anticipated meeting of Yoon and Han that took place in the presidential office from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. -- 30 minutes longer than initially planned. Yoon's chief of staff Chung Jin-suk was also in attendanc

July 31, 2024

Ex-Gyeonggi governor named new labor minister, but faces opposition

President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated Kim Moon-soo, a seasoned conservative politician and a former labor activist who recently served as the governor of Gyeonggi Province, as the new labor minister on Wednesday. Kim, who is currently a chair of the presidential advisory body the Economic, Social and Labor Council, will succeed Lee Jung-sik once he gets Yoon's final approval after going through a parliamentary hearing. Yoon is likely to push for appointing the former Gyeonggi governor without t

July 31, 2024

Assembly passes all 4 broadcasting bills despite ruling party objection

All four contentious bills aimed at reducing the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s influence over public broadcasters here were passed by the opposition-led National Assembly Tuesday. The Assembly passed the revision to the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act, railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, in a 189-0 vote during a plenary session in the morning. The move marks the passage of the last of four contentious broadcasting bills, with the amendments to the Broadc

July 30, 2024

Parliament confirms appointment of new police chief

The National Assembly confirmed the appointment of Cho Ji-ho as the country's new police chief Tuesday. The parliamentary committee on public administration and security adopted a confirmation hearing report on Cho's nomination as the commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency after holding a hearing the previous day. Adoption of the report is seen as parliamentary consent to the appointment, though the National Assembly has no power to reject the nomination and the pres

July 30, 2024

Kim Jong-un's daughter under succession training: lawmaker

Kim Ju-ae, the 12-year-old daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is seen as being groomed for succession, a lawmaker who attended a meeting of the intelligence committee of the National Assembly told reporters Monday. "(According to the National Intelligence Service,) Kim Ju-ae is being suggested as the most likely successor in the regime, as her succession training is currently underway," said Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party, who attended the meeting Monda

July 29, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Tax delay for virtual assets, regulating 'dark pattern'

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Income Tax Act Proposed by Rep. Song Eon-seog (People Power Party) ● Under the current Act, income from the transfer or lease of virtual assets will be classified as “other income” and be subject to taxation from January 1, 2025. This aims to achieve tax parity between physical assets, such as cash and real estate, and virtual assets, such as cryptocurrency. However, given the deteriorating sentiment towards investment in virtual assets due to

July 29, 2024

DP criticizes Yoon govt. as Japan's Sado gold mine gains UNESCO status

The main opposition Democratic Party on Monday criticized the government for failing to prevent a Japanese gold mine associated with Korea's wartime forced labor from being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On Saturday, the UNESCO World Heritage committee decided to add the controversial mine as a cultural heritage site after South Korea, which had initially opposed Tokyo's bid, gave last-minute consent to the listing. "The Sado mine was listed as World Heritage, backed by t

July 29, 2024

Opposition-controlled parliament unilaterally passes contentious broadcasting bill

The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed one of the four contentious broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government's influence over public broadcasters Monday, with lawmakers of the ruling party walking out in protest. The main opposition Democratic Party led the bill's passage in a 187-0 vote after passing a motion to forcefully end a filibuster by the ruling People Power Party (PPP). The revision to the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act aims to increase the number

July 29, 2024

Filibuster, veto: Assembly stalemate expected to continue

Gridlock is expected to persist in South Korea's legislature, as the rival parties remain locked in a cycle of the ruling party filibustering opposition-led bills, with the president then vetoing them, with no efforts to find bipartisan consensus. The latest in this ongoing political tug-of-war centers on a series of broadcasting bills to curb government influence over public broadcasters. On Sunday, the opposition-led National Assembly passed the second of four such bills, overriding a fil

July 28, 2024

1 in 5 students overdependent on smart phones, internet: study

Internet and smartphone use interferes with the lives of almost one out of five students in South Korea, recent data showed. A diagnostic survey on youth media use and habits conducted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family showed that over 221,000 youths have difficulty managing their daily lives due to uncontrolled use of the internet and smartphones in 2024, accounting for 18 percent of the total survey group. More than 1.2 million youths in the school transition period, such as those

July 28, 2024

IOC apologizes for 'mistake' during Olympics opening ceremony

The International Olympic Committee apologized to President Yoon Suk Yeol, the government, and the country's athletes for the error made during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics Friday afternoon local time, at which the South Korean delegation was mistakenly identified as representing North Korea, with which South Korea is technically still at war. According to the Sports Ministry on Sunday, IOC President Thomas Bach apologized for the "mistake in the audio broadcast of the op

July 28, 2024

Parliament passes broadcasting bill, ruling party lawmakers exit in protest

The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed one of the four contentious broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government's influence over public broadcasters Friday, with lawmakers of the ruling party leaving in protest. The passage followed the main opposition Democratic Party ending the ruling People Power Party's filibuster during a plenary session after 24 hours. The bill was then put to a vote and passed in a 183-0 vote, in which only lawmakers from opposition pa

July 26, 2024

First lady skips parliamentary hearing

First lady Kim Keon Hee’s absence at an opposition-led parliamentary hearing on Friday sparked a protest by opposition parties, while the ruling party came to her defense. Kim and her mother failing to appear as witnesses at the hearing organized by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee Friday morning, to review an online petition with some 1.4 million signatures calling for the impeachment of her husband President Yoon Suk Yeol. The impeachment motion against Y

July 26, 2024