Top prosecutor orders speedy investigation into first lady's alleged acceptance of luxury handbag

South Korea's top prosecutor has instructed his staff to create a team dedicated to investigating allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee accepted a luxury handbag in 2022, legal sources said Friday. Prosecutor General Lee One-seok made the call during a regular meeting with Song Kyung-ho, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, on Thursday, according to the sources. First lady Kim has come under fire after a local media outlet released video footage last November that show

May 3, 2024

Rival parties appoint new leadership to brace for next parliament

The rival parties appointed new leadership roles on Friday, with the main opposition electing its new floor leader, while an ex-deputy minister took the helm of the ruling party, as they brace for the next parliament. The Democratic Party of Korea elected Rep. Park Chan-dae, a current two-term lawmaker reelected for another term in the April 10 parliamentary elections and a close aide of main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, as its new floor leader at an intra-party general meeting held around n

May 3, 2024

Loyalist to DP leader Lee elected as party's new floor leader

The main opposition Democratic Party on Friday elected a lawmaker closely aligned with Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung as its new floor leader. Rep. Park Chan-dae, a member of the DP's Supreme Council who was reelected for a third term in the general elections, was named floor leader at a general meeting of party lawmakers, becoming the party's first floor leader under the current 22nd National Assembly. Park was the sole candidate for the post. Announcing his run for the floor l

May 3, 2024

Yoon's office to set up task force to keep growth momentum

The presidential office will establish a pangovernmental task force dedicated to protecting the country's strategic industries and encourage concerted efforts among government bodies, following the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's projection of South Korea's economic growth this year, Thursday. "(South Korea) won't be able to sustain victory in the battlefield of countries pouring efforts on key industries, without removing barriers between ministr

May 2, 2024

Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death

  The opposition-led National Assembly unilaterally passed a special bill on Thursday to open an investigation into suspicions that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration abused its power to disrupt a probe into the death of a young Marine last year. Of the current total 296 members of the single-chamber National Assembly, all 168 who participated in the vote moved in favor of passing the bill, which seeks to launch an investigation into suspicions that the Yoon administration coerced an investig

May 2, 2024

Yoon vows to protect 'value of labor' on Labor Day

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to protect the "value of labor" as he marked Labor Day on Wednesday. Yoon also said in a Facebook post that South Korea's remarkable growth was thanks to the "sweat and efforts" of its 28.4 million workers. "The government and I will protect the precious value of labor without fail," he wrote. "We will make your workplaces safer and fairer, and thoroughly see to it that you can find the meaning of life through labor." Mea

May 1, 2024

[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea

In this series, The Korea Herald sits down with newcomers who were chosen by South Koreans to serve on the National Assembly for the next four years, to talk about their visions and takes on issues in Seoul and beyond. -- Ed. The complete denuclearization of North Korea is not only the ultimate goal but also a viable aim of the security efforts of South Korea and the US, according to Kim Gunn, who was until recently Seoul’s top nuclear envoy. Kim, who was elected by proportional representa

May 1, 2024

Leaders of S. Korea, Angola agree to boost economic, trade cooperation

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Angolan counterpart, President Joao Lourenco, agreed Tuesday to enhance economic and trade cooperation during their talks in Seoul, resulting in the signing of a strategic framework tailored to promote trade and investment. Lourenco became the second Angolan president to have visited South Korea, following Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who visited here in 2001. Korea and Angola established diplomatic ties in 1992. Yoon's office said agreements signed

April 30, 2024

Rival parties lock horns over state pension reform plan

The rival parties clashed on Tuesday over the possibility of adopting a new state pension reform plan, which pushes for an increase in contributions for a bigger future benefit. The new pension reform plan is based on a survey conducted and released by the parliamentary special committee on pension reform on April 21. The survey, which involved 500 respondents across the country aged 18 or older, showed that 56 percent preferred to pay significantly larger contributions to the National Pension S

April 30, 2024

[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue

In their first meeting ever after President Yoon Suk Yeol seized power in 2022, main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday told the conservative president that his two years in office has been a "time of dominance and ruling with the absence of politics." Ahead of their first official one-on-one meeting held Monday afternoon behind doors, Lee kicked off the event by thanking Yoon for setting up the meeting and expressed hope that it would become a cornerstone to present "

April 29, 2024

Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more

President Yoon Suk Yeol held talks Monday with Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung for the first time since taking office in May 2022, seeking the possibility of bipartisan cooperation after the opposition party's sweeping victory in the general election earlier this month. Lee, Yoon's former presidential rival, said his party would cooperate with the ruling bloc with regard to thorny issues such as the government's standoff with the medical circles that has left th

April 29, 2024

Ex-deputy prime minister takes helm of troubled ruling party

Hwang Woo-yea, who was deputy prime minister for former President Park Geun-hye, was tapped Monday as the temporary leader of the ruling People Power Party that is still reeling in the aftermath of its painful defeat in the April 10 general election for the National Assembly. Hwang, 77, is to take the helm of the People Power Party leadership until a new one is picked at a party convention that remains at least a few months away. The new ruling party leader-to-be was a judge in Seoul before he s

April 29, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Multilateral off-board trading, industrial transformation support

Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Yun Chang-hyun (People Power Party) ● Under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, only regulations concerning issuance apply to investment contract securities due to their atypical characteristics and limited distribution potential. However, unlike before, online transaction platforms have made it easier for investors to trade investment contract securities. Therefore,

April 29, 2024

Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting

Tensions between the rival parties escalated Sunday ahead of the first-ever official meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung over multiple pending and contentious bills slated for 2 p.m. Monday. As the high-profile meeting unfolds amid substantial divisions between the ruling and main opposition parties on multiple fronts, considerable attention is directed toward which topics Lee will prioritize from a lengthy list of tasks during his talks wit

April 28, 2024

New chief named to anti-corruption body

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday named a new chief prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, after a vacancy of about three months. Oh Dong-woon, formerly a judge and attorney, was nominated to lead the CIO, which is currently spearheading a high-profile investigation into the death of a Marine in July last year. Cpl. Chae Su-geun died at the age of 20 when he was swept away in moving water during a search and rescue operation to find people who had gone miss

April 26, 2024

First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, have finally decided on a date for their first-ever meeting, after days of back and forth since the National Assembly election on April 10. The Democratic Party said Friday Lee is set to speak with the president over tea at 2 p.m. on April 29, in what will be the first meeting between the two rivals since the Yoon administration took office nearly two years ago. Lee’s chief secretar

April 26, 2024

DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said Friday he will meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol without preconditions, after the two sides struggled unsuccessfully to set the agenda for what would be their first-ever talks since Yoon came into office. Yoon proposed a meeting in a phone call with Lee last Friday, after the ruling People Power Party was routed in the April 10 parliamentary elections, leaving the National Assembly under the control of Lee's Democratic Party. Details of the meeting,

April 26, 2024

Aides fail to coordinate agenda for Yoon-Lee meeting

Aides to President Yoon Suk Yeol and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung held their second meeting Thursday to coordinate the agenda for what would be the first-ever meeting between Yoon and Lee, but failed to reach an agreement, both sides said. Yoon proposed the meeting in a phone call with Lee last Friday, after the ruling People Power Party was routed in the April 10 parliamentary elections, leaving the National Assembly under the control of Lee's Democratic Party (DP). Thursday's prep

April 25, 2024

Lee Jun-seok hints at presidential run

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the minor conservative New Reform Party, hinted on Thursday at a future run for president of South Korea, though “he has a lot to learn before he gets there.” The 39-year-old politician, who was elected in the April 10 parliamentary elections to represent a constituency in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, did not rule out the possibility when asked whether he has plans to run for president during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Clu

April 25, 2024

Yoon deserves Nobel Peace Prize for resolving historical issues with Japan: Campbell

Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of state for the United States, lauded President Yoon Suk Yeol's effort to settle the historical conflicts with Japan and mend bilateral ties, which paved the way for the three-way relationship of Seoul, Washington and Tokyo as enshrined in the Camp David summit in August. Campbell, formerly the White House's top Asia aide in the Joe Biden administration, stressed the role of Yoon and Kishida in overcoming the plight of Japan's atrocities toward Sou

April 25, 2024