Main opposition decides not to delay expansion of workplace safety law

The main opposition party on Thursday rejected the proposals from both the Cabinet and the ruling party to temporarily halt the enforcement of the wider implementation of the workplace safety law, which seeks to add accountability for small and medium-sized business owners for serious industrial accidents. The Democratic Party of Korea has decided not to accede to the request for a two-year extension of the grace period for companies with fewer than 50 employees. Following an initial two-year gr

Feb. 1, 2024

Parties look underground for solution to train noise

The main opposition leader on Thursday rolled out a set of pledges aimed at reducing subway and railway noise pollution, a day after the ruling party announced its own plans to resolve similar issues. Visiting Sindorim Station in Seoul, Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung pledged to launch a renovation project that would relocate several elevated railways across the country underground. The parties' pledges aim to win over voters suffering from noise from train and subway lines in

Feb. 1, 2024

Seoul’s defense chief to head to Middle East in first overseas trip

Shin Won-sik, the South Korean Minister of National Defense, on Thursday embarked on a trip to three Middle Eastern countries of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He will begin the trip with a meeting with his UAE counterpart, Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei on Friday. He will also visit the Akh unit, one of whose chief aims is to protect Korean nationals in the region in contingencies. He will then travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to attend the second World Defense Show in

Feb. 1, 2024

Yoon touts doctors' immunity to salvage shortage sectors

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday said the government would pursue legislation to alleviate the legal risks from medical accidents for medical staff. The conservative administration said that doctors' immunity from prosecution in relation to medical accidents could help doctors and other medical staff focus on their duty to take care of their patients. South Korea is suffering a chronic shortage of medical staff, including doctors. While restricting lawsuits seeking criminal punishment for med

Feb. 1, 2024

Opposition leader blames Yoon for struggling economy, low birth rate

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol and his policies, labeling them as the main contributing factors to the country's struggling economy and low birth rate. While expressing confidence of prevailing in the upcoming general election in April, Lee also called for the restoration of the inter-Korean hotline, which was cut off by North Korea since Yoon took office in May 2022. Reconnecting the hotline would help avoid further risks of war, Lee sa

Jan. 31, 2024

Yoon warns of NK election meddling

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday said that South Korean armed forces should brace themselves for any potential interference by North Korea in the general election, which is less than three months away. Yoon told an audience of some 170 people that the North Korean regime might intensify cyber warfare or spread misinformation in hopes of meddling in April's election, posing challenges to Seoul's democracy. "North Korea has constantly sought to instigate freedom and democracy in

Jan. 31, 2024

Yoon sends Itaewon probe legislation back to Assembly

President Yoon Suk Yeol shot down a bill that would have given the National Assembly the authority to initiate a new probe into the deadly crowd crush incident in Seoul during the Halloween weekend in October 2022, his office announced Tuesday. The decision came hours after the Cabinet passed a motion on Tuesday morning demanding the parliament reconsider a special bill and giving Yoon grounds to veto it, at the Government Complex Seoul. The conservative bloc has sought to reject the bill aimed

Jan. 30, 2024

Yoon, PPP head discuss bread-and-butter issues in 1st sit-down since clash

President Yoon Suk Yeol and ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon discussed ways to improve the people's livelihoods as they met over lunch on Monday, the presidential office said, their second meeting in less than a week amid efforts to repair their relationship after clashing over allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. Han of the People Power Party (PPP) attended the luncheon at the presidential office together with PPP floor leader Yun Jae-ok, and the three had lunch for two hours bef

Jan. 29, 2024

Tae Yong-ho announces second bid for Assembly

Ruling People Power Party Rep. Tae Yong-ho, who was formerly a senior diplomat for North Korea, said Monday he will run for a second term in the National Assembly in a Seoul district typically lenient toward the rival party. Tae, who is the first North Korean defector to be elected in a constituency, said he would vie for a second Assembly term in Guro against Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Youn Kun-young. “Gangnam has been my political hometown after I left North Korea and began a new lif

Jan. 29, 2024

Former first lady's Chanel jacket row revived as ruling party returns fire

Amid escalating tensions over graft accusations against first lady Kim Keon Hee involving a Christian Dior handbag, the ruling party on Monday called for an investigation into similar allegations surrounding the former first lady. The People Power Party brought up long-standing allegations that former President Moon Jae-in's wife Kim Jung-sook used taxpayers' money to purchase a custom-made Chanel jacket in around 2018. "What really needs to be addressed and questioned is the curr

Jan. 29, 2024

Yoon's office mulls action against JTBC for subtitle error

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office is considering taking action against broadcaster JTBC for a subtitled video it aired that the office says misrepresented his remarks. A JTBC news clip showed Yoon on Thursday telling vendors at a traditional market that he would put forward "effort to make the napa cabbage (price) go higher" in the subtitle, while Yoon's office contends the president had actually emphasized "effort to make their sales go higher." "There are many

Jan. 29, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Bills on construction defect liability, contracts

Proposed Bill: Special Act on the Change of Jurisdiction of Hanam-gu from Gyeonggi-do to Seoul Metropolitan City Proposed by Rep. Lee Yong (People Power Party) ● This proposed bill backs up the ruling People Power Party's "megacity" scheme that intends to incorporate cities near Seoul into the capital administratively. The "megacity" scheme attempts to "merge areas where people live with with the matching administrative jurisdiction," Seoul. The bill argues th

Jan. 29, 2024

DP leader Lee labels govt. 'cold-blooded' over anticipated rejection of Itaewon special bill

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung criticized the government Monday for its anticipated rejection of a special bill calling for a renewed investigation into the Itaewon crowd crush in 2022. The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a controlling majority in the National Assembly, railroaded the special bill on Jan. 9, following the breakdown of negotiations with the ruling People Power Party. However, the Cabinet is set to hold a meeting Tuesday to pass a motion demanding the National

Jan. 29, 2024

Yoon, PPP chief to have lunch amid signs of reconciliation

President Yoon Suk Yeol and ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon will have lunch at the presidential office Monday, an official said, their second meeting in less than a week after clashing over allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. Han of the People Power Party will attend the luncheon together with People Power Party floor leader Yun Jae-ok, presidential chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup and senior presidential secretary for political affairs Han Oh-seop, according to the official. The Yoon-Han

Jan. 29, 2024

Pressure mounting on Yoon to address first lady's bag scandal

President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing mounting pressure to clarify his stance regarding the revelation of an alleged graft case involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. A Gallup Korea's poll on Friday showed that 63 percent of South Korean people disapproved of Yoon's performance in the fourth week of January, up 5 percentage points from the week before. Yoon's disapproval rating has hit its highest point in nine months since April 2023, when his remarks suggested that the past during Japan's colonial occ

Jan. 28, 2024

Yoon critic vows to stay in PPP

Yoo Seong-min, a former four-term lawmaker, said Sunday he would not run in the April general election but rather protect his party, deflecting speculation that he would leave the party. Yoo, a former lawmaker who is considered a key critic of President Yoon Suk Yeol in the People Power Party, announced in a Facebook post that he will not apply for the election nomination and would continue to wait as he has done. "Twenty-four years ago, I joined the Grand National Party (the predecessor

Jan. 28, 2024

Ruling party lawmaker leaves hospital after brick attack by teenager

Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was discharged from the hospital Saturday, days after she was hit in the head with a brick by a teenager. Bae described the attack she suffered as an accident that can happen to anybody, vowing to work "harder than ever" to ensure the safety of the people as soon as she fully recovers. "I realized, after becoming a direct victim of an unimaginable incident, that this kind of a terrible thing is a fatal threat to which an

Jan. 27, 2024

Second attack on politician amplifies safety concerns as election looms

A teenager's attack against a ruling party lawmaker on Thursday, which came less than a month after a stabbing incident involving the main opposition leader, has fueled worries over the safety of politicians ahead of April's general election. People Power Party Rep. Bae Hyun-jin remained hospitalized as of Friday afternoon after the 41-year-old lawmaker was repeatedly struck in the head with a blunt object by a teenage assailant in Gangnam-gu the previous day. Bae was rushed to hospita

Jan. 26, 2024

Opposition leader accuses Yoon of covering up first lady's allegations

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung accused President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday of interfering in the affairs of the ruling People Power Party and covering up suspicions of wrongdoing involving the first lady. The comments followed Yoon's public clash with Han Dong-hoon, the chief of the ruling People Power Party, over allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee received a luxury bag as a gift in 2022 and concerns about party nominations for the upcoming general elections in April. "The pr

Jan. 26, 2024

Speaker blasts Yoon bodyguards' 'excessive' use of force

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo on Thursday criticized the president's bodyguards' use of force against a minor party lawmaker at a recent event. Calling the restraint "excessive," he warned that such actions should not be repeated and called for the Cabinet and the parliament to have mutual respect. "Appropriate solutions must be adopted, to prevent such excessive measures from the president's bodyguards," Kim said during a speech at Thursday's pl

Jan. 25, 2024