Opposition raises heat on president over prosecutor general furor

The fallout from troubles between the justice minister and the prosecutor general is engulfing the political arena and generating speculation about President Moon Jae-in’s next move. On Tuesday, Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl gained higher ground in the battle with Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, with both the courts and a Justice Ministry committee putting out conclusions favorable to Yoon. The Seoul Administrative Court approved an injunction against Yoon’s suspension from du

Dec. 2, 2020

Govt. strengthens anti-flood design standards for dams, rivers due to climate change

The government on Wednesday announced a set of countermeasures to deal with flooding and other natural disasters anticipated due to global climate change, vowing to drastically strengthen anti-flood design standards for dams and rivers. Under the new measures, local dams and rivers will be designed to withstand the heaviest daily rainfall over a span of 500 years in anticipation of steady increases in precipitation caused by climate change, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Dec. 2, 2020

Moon says sorry to college entrance examinees over virus concerns

President Moon Jae-in sent a special "warm" message Wednesday to nearly half a million people in South Korea gearing up for the nationwide college entrance exam this week in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's hard to prepare for the CSAT itself, and it will be even more difficult and worrisome to take the exam in the coronavirus situation," he wrote on his social messaging accounts. "I feel sorry (as the president). I'd like to put warm scarves around your necks.

Dec. 2, 2020

Moon names lawyer as new vice justice minister

President Moon Jae-in has tapped a judge-turned-lawyer as new vice justice minister, Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday, amid a simmering controversy over the ministry's move to punish South Korea's prosecution chief over alleged ethical lapses and other misdeeds. The nomination of Lee Yong-gu, who served as a judge for more than 20 years, came just a day after Vice Justice Minister Koh Kee-young tendered his resignation in apparent protest against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's push for discipli

Dec. 2, 2020

PM says No. of quarantined people tops 70,000 amid rapid virus spread

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday that the number of those quarantined at home in South Korea due to COVID-19 has soared to an all-time high level of over 70,000 and asked the public to cooperate with the government's antivirus measures. "Transmissions are continuing in all places, with the number of quarantined people soaring above 70,000 to reach an all-time high level since two days ago," Chung said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headq

Dec. 2, 2020

Moon says S. Korea to work with int'l community in anti-corruption campaign

President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed South Korea's commitment Tuesday to cooperating with the international community in the fight against corruption, speaking during a virtual session of a major global conference on the issue. "South Korea supports all the global cooperation to combat corruption, including the work of the Transparency International, and will work with the rest of the world towards sustainable development of humanity," he said. The president was delivering an address at

Dec. 1, 2020

Prosecutor general returns to work

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl returned to work Tuesday afternoon, almost immediately after the Seoul Administrative Court approved his suit asking for an injunction against the Ministry of Justice’s decision to suspend him from work. On Tuesday, the Seoul Administrative Court accepted Yoon’s suit, hours after the Justice Ministry’s inspection committee concluded that it was unjust to suspend Yoon from duty and call for him to be penalized.　 Returning to work, Yoon thank

Dec. 1, 2020

National Assembly passes bill on allowing recognized pop stars to defer enlistment

The National Assembly passed a bill Tuesday that would allow globally recognized male pop culture artists to postpone their mandatory military duties. The assembly's plenary session gave the nod to the bill on revising the Military Service Act to grant an exceptional right to defer national defense duties to acclaimed pop artists, such as K-pop megastars BTS, who helped elevate the country's global reputation. The revision was proposed in September after BTS became the first-ever South Korean

Dec. 1, 2020

Parties agree on W558tr budget for 2021, plan to pass it this week

Rival parties on Tuesday agreed on a 558 trillion-won ($504 billion) state budget bill for next year that includes nearly 4 trillion won earmarked for additional COVID-19 relief funds and coronavirus vaccine purchases. The agreement was made during a meeting of floor leaders and two other senior lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party held earlier in the day. The agreed amount represents an increase of 2 trillion won from what the government initia

Dec. 1, 2020

Court not to decide Monday on top prosecutor's suspension

A Seoul court said that it will not make a decision on Monday on a crucial injunction case that could affect the fate of South Korea's top prosecutor amid an escalating standoff with the justice minister. Last week, Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae suspended Prosecutor General Yoon Seoul-youl from duty as she sought a disciplinary measure against him over six counts of alleged misdeeds, including collecting personal information of justices in charge of cases related to a former justice minister and

Nov. 30, 2020

Ex-president Chun found guilty of defaming 1980 massacre witness

A court on Monday found former President Chun Doo-hwan guilty of defaming a late activist who testified to having witnessed Chun's troops shooting from helicopters on pro-democracy demonstrators in Gwangju. The Gwangju District Court endorsed the claims of late priest Cho Pius that there were shootings at civilians from helicopters during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. With the conviction, the court sentenced Chun to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The former president was also

Nov. 30, 2020

Justice minister, top prosecutor continue battle in court

A hearing on Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s suit to suspend Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae’s order removing him from duty was held Monday, kicking off the legal and procedural battle between the two. The court’s decision was expected late Thursday or early Friday. On Nov. 24, Choo announced her decision to remove Yoon from duty, citing the results of a Justice Ministry audit. According to the ministry, the audit found a number of irregularities in Yoon’s conduct s

Nov. 30, 2020

Moon urges civil servants to follow his reform drive despite troubles

President Moon Jae-in issued an unusual message Monday in public for South Korea's civil servants, saying they need to break away from what is obsolete and put the interests of the whole community above those of their own organizations or groups. The president reaffirmed his administration's "firm determination" to reform "power institutions" as one of his key policy agenda items, which also include the Korean-version New Deal, a carbon neutrality campaign and regulatory ref

Nov. 30, 2020

Ruling party seeks to distribute 3rd pandemic relief funds before Lunar New Year's

The ruling party will push for the distribution of an additional third round of COVID-19 relief funds before Lunar New Year's Day, a senior party official said Monday. Following the recent resurgence of new coronavirus infections, rival parties are currently discussing ways to source the third emergency relief funds worth about 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion), expected to be added to the 2021 state budget now under deliberation at the National Assembly. "In order to hand out the tailored

Nov. 30, 2020

Moon visits high school ahead of state college exam

President Moon Jae-in visited a high school Sunday to check antivirus preparations ahead of this week's national college entrance exam, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon went to Osan High School in the central Yongsan Ward, which has been designated as a special test center for students in self-quarantine. The College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) will take place Dec. 3. Cheong Wa Dae said Moon's visit was aimed at easing the concern of students, parents and faculty members amid a surge in coronaviru

Nov. 29, 2020

[Feature] Will former presidents be pardoned?

With two former presidents in jail, facing de facto life imprisonment, South Korea is revisiting its tradition of granting special pardons to convicted former leaders. While the majority of the public is against it, there are minority voices calling for leniency for former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye -- who, without presidential pardons, could spend the rest of their lives in prison, considering their advanced ages. President Moon Jae-in was elected in 2017 on a pledge to root

Nov. 29, 2020

Ruling party raises coronavirus vaccine supply target to 44m people

The ruling Democratic Party has raised its coronavirus vaccine supply target to 44 million people, or 85 percent of the country's population, a key party source said Sunday. The figure is sharply higher than the 30 million target previously cited by health authorities. To secure the vaccines, the party plans to seek an additional 1.3 trillion won ($1.18 billion) in next year's state budget, currently under deliberation at the National Assembly, according to the source. "Wouldn't all citi

Nov. 29, 2020

Moon's adviser calls for S. Korea to break away from 'US or China' framework

South Korea should work together with Australia, Canada and Japan to form regional economic or security frameworks so as to create a new order free from the burden of choosing sides between the United States and China, an adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Friday. Moon Chung-in, special foreign policy and security adviser, made the remarks during a virtual seminar, stressing that it is very unlikely the tensions between Washington and Beijing will get any better under the next US administrat

Nov. 27, 2020

S. Korea to launch presidential committee on carbon-neutral campaign, Moon says

President Moon Jae-in announced a plan Friday to establish a presidential body on South Korea's stated goal of going carbon neutral by 2050 as part of a "strong pan-governmental system" to push for the vision. He said the envisioned government-private organization, tentatively named the "2050 Carbon Neutrality Committee," is meant to implement the policy speedily. The government will also seek to create a new vice ministerial position to be in charge of energy policy at the

Nov. 27, 2020

Moon names new secretary for foreign policy

President Moon Jae-in on Friday named a career diplomat as his new presidential secretary for foreign policy, Cheong Wa Dae said. Kim Yong-hyon, who previously served as the consul general in Boston, will replace Park Chul-min, who has been in the post since last year. Park has been tapped as ambassador to Hungary. Kim's past assignments have included posts at the diplomatic missions in Beijing; Erbil, Iraq; and New York, as well as at the foreign ministry's North American Affairs Bureau and K

Nov. 27, 2020