Return of Chung Sye-kyun to set off race to win DP's ticket for presidential election

The imminent return of Chung Sye-kyun to the political realm, following his resignation as prime minister earlier this week, is expected to set off in earnest a high-stakes race to win the ruling Democratic Party's (DP) ticket to run in next year's presidential election.  Chung stepped down from the public office Friday after serving a 15-month stint, mainly preoccupied with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  The 71-year-old former six-term lawmaker has yet to officially decla

April 17, 2021

Govt. to mobilize full capacity to overcome COVID-19 as soon as possible: Chung

South Korea's outgoing prime minister said Friday the government will mobilize its full capacity to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 and ultimately overcome the pandemic. "COVID-19 can never win against South Korea. The government will do everything it can to win this intense war against the virus as soon as possible," Chung Sye-kyun said while chairing his final daily interagency meeting on the coronavirus response held at the government complex in Seoul. Chung resigned from h

April 16, 2021

Moon replaces senior secretaries for political affairs, social policy, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson

President Moon Jae-in replaced some of his senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday, a move coupled with a major Cabinet shake-up to name a prime minister. Former lawmaker Lee Cheol-hee was tapped as senior presidential secretary for political affairs, and Lee Tae-han, an audit official at the National Health Insurance Service, as senior secretary for social policy, Moon's office announced. The president also named Park Kyung-mee, secretary for education policy, as new Cheong Wa Dae spoke

April 16, 2021

Govt. team probes former LH executive over alleged speculation

A government probe team has been looking into allegations of real estate speculation by a former executive of the state housing developer, the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), an official said Friday. The former executive was vice president of LH until his retirement in 2016 and is suspected of using insider information to purchase land and a four-story building in Seongnam, south of Seoul, in 2017, before the land was designated for redevelopment, according to the probe team. The suspect sol

April 16, 2021

Moon nominates new prime minister in Cabinet shake-up

President Moon Jae-in has nominated former Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum as his third prime minister and is replacing five other ministers as part of a major Cabinet shake-up, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. The ministers in charge of industry, land, labor, science and oceans are set to be replaced in the reshuffle, and key Cheong Wa Dae staff are to be reorganized. The reshuffle is seen as an attempt to stabilize state affairs at the end of Moon’s term after the ruling party lost mayoral

April 16, 2021

Natl. Assembly reports 1st COVID-19 case among lawmakers

Rep. Lee Gae-ho of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first virus case among the incumbent lawmakers, the National Assembly said Thursday.    Lee underwent COVID-19 testing earlier in the day after one of his secretaries was confirmed to have been infected, it said.    Rep. Wi Seong-gon, who came into close contact with Lee, tested negative, and Rep. Lee Won-taeg is set to undergo a test, according to officials. Both are members o

April 15, 2021

Korea must lead global chip supply chain: Moon

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday stressed that South Korea must continue to lead the global chip supply chain and pledged support for the local semiconductor industry, amid the prolonged chip shortage and intensifying US-China trade tensions. 　 Moon called the semiconductor sector a “core national strategic industry” that will decide the country’s economy going forward, as he convened an “expanded meeting” of economy-related ministers at Cheong Wa Dae to tackle wa

April 15, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae to soon announce PM's resignation, replacement nomination: sources

Cheong Wa Dae was widely expected to announce the resignation of Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and the nomination of his replacement this week, according to ruling party and presidential office insiders Thursday. "Prime Minister Chung has already offered his resignation to President Moon Jae-in. My understanding is that there will be an official announcement Friday," a source familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency. According to the source and others, a new prime minister no

April 15, 2021

Chief policymaker wary of rising home prices sparked by redevelopment hopes

South Korea's finance minister on Thursday expressed concerns that home prices in Seoul have picked up on expectations for eased rules on redevelopment housing projects, a key policy plan by the new Seoul mayor. Mayor Oh Se-hoon took office last week with a pledge to ease regulations on redeveloping old apartments in the capital in a bid to help increase the home supply in the densely populated area. Sale prices of apartments in Seoul rose 0.07 percent this week, accelerating from a 0.05 perce

April 15, 2021

Ruling party slams Seoul mayor's push to introduce new COVID-19 rules

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday slammed Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's plan to introduce new COVID-19 rules in the city, calling the idea an act of "holding people's lives hostage." Oh, a member of the main opposition People Power Party, took office on Thursday after winning the mayoral by-election over Park Young-sun of the DP by a landslide. One of his early focuses has been helping small businesses survive the pandemic by looking at ways to keep them open for longer hours,

April 14, 2021

Political parties press Tokyo further over Fukushima water discharge decision

South Korea's political parties on Wednesday continued to express firm oppositions to Japan's decision to release radiation-tainted water into the sea from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant. Tokyo announced Tuesday that it plans to start releasing massive amounts of radioactive water, which has been stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, in two years. South Korea has expressed strong opposition towards Japan's controversial decision and pledged to take necessary measu

April 14, 2021

Moon to Japan's envoy: There's 'great concern' over plan to release contaminated water

South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivered a message of "great concern" Wednesday over Japan's decision to dump a huge amount of contaminated wastewater from a crippled nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. Speaking directly to Japan's new ambassador here, Koichi Aiboshi, the president said that there is great concern among South Koreans, as the two nations are geographically close to each other and share the sea, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. He asked the env

April 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon orders probe into alleged corruption by Cheong Wa Dae secretary

President Moon Jae-in instructed Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday to look immediately and thoroughly into allegations of corruption involving his secretary for culture. The move came after a news report that a local company established in 2004 by the secretary, Jun Hyo-gwan, won a dozen contracts, worth a total of 5.1 billion won ($4.5 million), with the Seoul metropolitan government on culture-related projects while he was serving as a senior official in charge of innovation planning affairs at City

April 14, 2021

Moon orders new Marine Corps chief to protect fishermen near border

President Moon Jae-in issued a special order Tuesday for the new top commander of South Korea's Marine Corps to redouble efforts for the protection of the country's fishermen in the Yellow Sea. In particular, the waters close to the sea border with North Korea are regarded as a flashpoint. Chinese fishing boats have frequented there as well. After receiving a promotion report from Lt. Gen. Kim Tae-sung, commandant of the Marine Corps, at Cheong Wa Dae, Moon told him to pay special attention to

April 13, 2021

No fireworks as Moon, Oh hold first Cabinet meeting

President Moon Jae-in presided over a weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, with newly-elected Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon – the only participant from the opposition conservative bloc – in attendance for the first time.  The first encounter between Moon and Oh drew keen attention as it came after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's loss in last week’s mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan, dealing a crushing blow to the president and his administration.  “Unlike

April 13, 2021

Moon says S. Korea may face 'explosive' wave of coronavirus infections

President Moon Jae-in warned Monday that South Korea may be drawn into an "explosive" wave of COVID-19 infections if it fails to contain the current phase of the pandemic. "It's a perilous situation that could lead to an explosive pandemic if we let our guard down," he stressed during an emergency interagency meeting on responding to the coronavirus. The Cheong Wa Dae session was attended by top government officials, including Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol and Jung Eun-ky

April 12, 2021

Korea’s property tax revenue-to-GDP ratio 1.7 times OECD average

South Korea’s tax revenue in proportion to its gross domestic product is still lower than average for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, though it has gradually gone up. The country’s property tax revenue, however, accounted for 3.3 percent of its GDP, nearly 1.7 times the OECD average of 1.9 percent, a state-funded think tank said. Among the 37 OECD members, Korea’s taxes were relatively low overall in proportion to the size of its economy,

April 12, 2021

After election defeat, Moon to announce Cabinet revamp ‘soon’

President Moon Jae-in, whose job approval ratings fell again to the lowest this week, is seeking to turn his political fortunes around with a sizeable change in his Cabinet makeup, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources on Monday. The pending reshuffle is expected to involve senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Choi Jae-sung, Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. Choi had allegedly offered his resignation following the crushing election defeat of the ruling De

April 12, 2021

Moon calls LG-SK deal on EV battery trade fortunate, meaningful

President Moon Jae-in said Monday it is fortunate and meaningful that two South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery makers -- LG and SK -- have reached a deal on ending their legal dispute on electric vehicle batteries. He stressed the importance of the stability in global supply amid accelerating technological changes. "The agreement between the two companies is very meaningful in that it is in both the national interests and the long-term interests of individual companies for domestic

April 12, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae denies report US requested S. Korea join Quad

South Korea's presidential office on Sunday denied as "incorrect" a Japanese report that the United States asked Seoul to join the US-led Quad forum. The Yomiuri Shimbun, a major Japanese daily, reported earlier in the day that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had strongly requested Seoul join the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue group, also known as Quad, during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Suh Hoon early this month. "(The newspaper's) citation is very i

April 11, 2021