Main opposition calls for resumption of psychological warfare against North

The main opposition United Future Party urged the government on Monday to employ psychological warfare against North Korea if there are further provocations. “A certain way of stopping North Korea’s provocations is to make them feel that they have more to lose than gain from provocations,” the party’s in-house foreign policy and security group said in a statement. Among other actions, the government should resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at the border as it

June 22, 2020

With opposition leader's return, assembly set to start review of urgent bills

The National Assembly is likely to set out to review urgent pending issues, including an extra budget bill, this week after the main opposition floor leader vowed to return from his weeklong protest over the ruling party's "unilateral" election of standing committee chairmen. Rep. Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), offered to resign from his seat a week earlier briefly after the ruling majority Democratic Party (DP) elected the chairmen o

June 22, 2020

Main opposition party withdraws boycott, returning to parliament

The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) said Sunday that it will return to the National Assembly this week, ending a weekslong parliamentary deadlock over the organization of parliamentary standing committees. "We'll let the ruling Democratic Party (DP) get all the chairmen posts of 18 standing committees," UFP floor leader Joo Ho-young said. "We will fight in the standing committees." Since the new term started on May 30, the National Assembly has been at a standsti

June 21, 2020

Moon accepts unification minister's resignation: Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in accepted Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul's resignation Friday, Cheong Wa Dae announced, two days after he offered to step down to take responsibility for strained relations between the two Koreas highlighted by the North's demolition of a joint liaison office. Keen attention is being paid to who will become Seoul's new point man on Pyongyang. It remains unclear how soon Moon will make public his choice, with Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho expected to serve as acting

June 19, 2020

Appellate court rejects citizens' damage suit against ousted ex-president

An appellate court on Thursday turned down a damage suit filed against former President Park Geun-hye by thousands of ordinary citizens who argued that they suffered mental distress from the power abuse and corruption scandal centering on the former leader. Upholding the lower court's initial rejection of the suit in May last year, the Seoul High Court again dismissed the case filed by around 4,400 citizens. The suit was filed in January 2017, a month after the National Assembly passed a mot

June 18, 2020

Moon to hold virtual summit with EU leaders on June 30

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold a virtual summit with European Union leaders late this month mainly on the novel coronavirus and the Korean Peninsula issue, Moon's office announced Thursday. Moon is scheduled to have the session with EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the afternoon of June 30 (Seoul time), according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. It would be Moon's first bilateral summit talks of the year. The

June 18, 2020

Former Rep. Hong Sa-duk dies at 77

Hong Sa-duk, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, died Wednesday at the age of 77. He had recently been hospitalized for pneumonia. The veteran politician was a six-term lawmaker, deputy National Assembly speaker and a Cabinet minister. Hong started his politics career in 1981 by winning a seat in the National Assembly, served six terms until 2012 with both liberal and conservative parties, during which he held the title of deputy Assembly speaker for a year from June 2000. Hong was

June 18, 2020

Moon’s ratings lowest since March

President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating fell to its lowest level since March as continued provocations by North Korea escalated tensions, including the demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong on Tuesday. In a poll of 1,507 eligible voters conducted from Monday through Wednesday, 53.6 percent assessed Moon’s job performance positively, down 4.6 percentage points from last week, Realmeter said Thursday. It is the sharpest weekly decline seen this year and Moon&rsquo

June 18, 2020

Moon says Digital New Deal is key to S. Korea's 'pacesetting' economy vision

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday emphasized the significance of the envisioned Digital New Deal in South Korea's ambitious bid to lead the post-coronavirus global economy. He chose a local information technology firm for his first on-site activity in connection with the Digital New Deal initiative, his government's new major project to create jobs, ride out the COVID-19 crisis and revitalize economic growth. He cited the construction of the Hoover Dam in US President Franklin Roosevelt's New

June 18, 2020

Ex-President Park's aide asks for leniency in retrial of 'white list' case

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a four-year prison sentence for Kim Ki-choon, former chief of staff to ousted President Park Geun-hye, for allegedly abusing his power during Park's rule to favor conservative groups, in a retrial of his case at the Seoul High Court. Kim was indicted for pressuring the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), a business lobby group, into providing 6.9 billion won ($5.8 million) to 33 pro-government organizations between 2014 and 2016. An appeals court had sente

June 17, 2020

Moon meets former unification ministers to discuss N. Korea

President Moon Jae-in held a luncheon meeting Wednesday with a group of former unification ministers to discuss deepening troubles in inter-Korean ties, his office said. During the two-hour meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Moon listened to their opinions on South-North relations, according to Cheong Wa Dae deputy spokesman Yoon Jae-kwan. Luncheon attendees included Lim Dong-won, Park Jae-kyu, Jeong Se-hyun and Lee Jong-seok, who at different times led the ministry handling Seoul-Pyongyang relations.

June 17, 2020

Unification minister offers to resign over worsened inter-Korean relations

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Wednesday that he has offered to resign to take responsibility for failing to stably manage inter-Korean relations. Kim said that he expressed his intent to resign to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae earlier in the day. "I feel sorry for failing to live up to the demands and expectations of our people for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," Kim told reporters during a hastily arranged briefing. Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang

June 17, 2020

Parties unify in condemnation of North Korea

Political parties raised a unified voice against North Korea’s destruction of a joint liaison office, criticizing the provocation that jeopardizes relations and urging the North to return to dialogue. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Hae-chan said Wednesday that North Korea has crossed the line by blowing up the symbol of the Panmunjom Declaration, which was signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their first summit in April 2018 to pledg

June 17, 2020

Political parties express strong regret over N. Korea's destruction of liaison office

South Korean political parties expressed strong regrets Tuesday after North Korea blew up a liaison office at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The ruling Democratic Party said in a statement after a emergency meeting of party members that the provocation seriously endangered cross-border relations and could be an obstacle to peace on the Korean Peninsula. Rep. Kang Hoon-sik, the liberal party's chief spokesperson, said the matter is being viewed as a grave development. He said the party is wor

June 16, 2020

Cheong Wa Dae convenes top security meeting to discuss N. Korea's demolition of liaison office

Cheong Wa Dae convened an emergency meeting of top security officials Tuesday, hours after North Korea demolished the inter-Korean liaison office in its border town of Kaesong. Presided over by Chung Eui-yong, director of the national security office at the presidential office, the National Security Council (NSC) meeting opened at 5:05 p.m., Cheong Wa Dae said. The meeting brought together top security officials, including the foreign, unification and defense ministers, as well as the national

June 16, 2020

Democratic Party going it alone sparks boycott from opposition

Partisan strife is back to cripple the newly minted National Assembly, following the ruling party’s push to go ahead with the appointment of a party member as the chief of a key parliamentary committee Monday. The main opposition United Future Party boycotted all parliamentary sessions scheduled for Tuesday in protest against the Democratic Party of Korea’s decision to appoint all six standing committee chief positions endorsed at a plenary session a day earlier. Committee me

June 16, 2020

Ruling partly elects standing committee heads in unilateral voting

The ruling Democratic Party went it alone and elected the chairmen of the National Assembly's six key standing committees without the main opposition party Monday after bipartisan negotiations fizzled out. Convening a full-floor assembly session, the DP and minor parties elected six DP lawmakers to head six out of the total 18 parliamentary standing committees without the participation of the main opposition United Future Party. Since the new term started on May 30, the National Assembly has

June 15, 2020

Resolutions to inter-Korean relations show stark partisan divide

North Korea resurged as a point of division in the National Assembly on Monday, as ruling and opposition parties pushed starkly different resolutions on the 20th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit. The ruling Democratic Party on Monday called on the two Koreas to abide by all inter-Korean agreements and reverse the tide of deteriorating relations. Meanwhile, the opposition party criticized Pyongyang’s recent harsh rhetoric and urged the South Korean military to maintain it

June 15, 2020

Seoul urges Pyongyang to keep reconciliatory deals, staunch posture in place over threats

South Korea held an emergency security meeting on Sunday and pressed North Korea to keep reconciliatory deals as Pyongyang continued to up the ante by threatening to sever inter-Korean relations and even use military action. Seoul's top security officials, led by Chung Eui-yong, director of national security at the presidential office, reviewed the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as Seoul's response to the recent harsh rhetoric by Pyongyang, according to Cheong Wa Da

June 14, 2020

Opposition calls on govt. to rethink 2018 military pact with North

The main opposition United Future Party urged the government Wednesday to reconsider its 2018 military pact with North Korea after Pyongyang decided to cut off all communication with Seoul. The pact was signed to prevent military confrontations on the Korean Peninsula. In an emergency security meeting at the National Assembly, party Floor Leader Joo Ho-young called on President Moon Jae-in to apologize over his “failed policy toward North Korea” and to conduct “a sweeping

June 10, 2020