Reinvestigation ordered into 2 ex-presidential officials over 2018 Ulsan mayoral election meddling scandal

The prosecution has ordered a reinvestigation into two former high-ranking presidential officials over their suspected involvement in the election meddling scandal surrounding the 2018 mayoral election in the southeastern city of Ulsan, officials said Thursday. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office issued the order to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, determining that an additional investigation into former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok and former senior presidential secretar

Jan. 18, 2024

South Korea’s spy chief vows to restore public faith in agency

Cho Tae-yong was sworn in on Wednesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s second director of the National Intelligence Service, filling the vacancy since his predecessor, Kim Kyou-hyun, left the post about two months ago. In his first address Wednesday as the NIS chief, Cho vowed to turn the NIS into an agency “worthy of the trust of the South Korean people” during his tenure -- in an apparent reference to the internal power struggle at the agency, which had spilled over into public

Jan. 17, 2024

Main opposition leader returns, calls general election 'judgment time'

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday resumed his duties as the Democratic Party of Korea chairman, two weeks after being injured in a knife attack on Jan. 2. Lee kicked off his return by presiding over the party’s Supreme Council meeting in the morning. The chairman referred to the upcoming April parliamentary election as an opportunity to pass judgment on the current administration’s performance. “The upcoming election will work as a midterm evaluation ... on

Jan. 17, 2024

Yoon urges inheritance tax reform

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday said the excessive taxation on corporations trading on the stock market here could be outdated, hinting at easing the tax burden. Yoon claimed that easing tax burden on corporations was a prerequisite to boosting stock market value. More than a quarter of Korea's 50 million population trade shares -- more than double compared to five years before. "We need to find a new angle at which the inheritance tax and other types of extra taxes (on corporations) a

Jan. 17, 2024

Ex-PM questions main opposition's 'moral conscience'

Former Prime Minister and ex-main opposition leader Lee Nak-yon on Tuesday questioned "the moral conscience" of Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers as he moved one step closer toward the official launch of his own political party, planned for February. "The existing main opposition party fails to be a match for the current Yoon Suk Yeol administration," Lee said in a keynote speech at a national convention for promoters and supporters hosted by his followers in Seoul. "

Jan. 16, 2024

Yoon urges Assembly to delay application of workplace safety act

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday urged the National Assembly to pass a revision bill aimed at deferring the enforcement of a workplace safety act that would hold executives of a company criminally liable for a deadly incident at work. Yoon stressed that time is running out for the National Assembly to delay the implementation of the controversial Serious Disasters Punishments Act. The revision bill seeks to defer the implementation of the act by two years until 2026 for businesses with 49 empl

Jan. 16, 2024

People Power Party leader vows to downsize National Assembly to 250 seats after election victory

The leader of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday proposed reducing the number of lawmakers from 300 to 250 as part of political reforms, vowing to pass the proposal through the National Assembly after winning April's parliamentary elections. "The People Power Party will first initiate and pass the law revision ... after achieving victory in the upcoming general election," Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party's emergency committee, said during the party'

Jan. 16, 2024

Govt. to front-load record yearly state budget in first half

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Tuesday the government will administer more than 65 percent of this year's fiscal spending in the first half in a move to boost domestic demand and support vulnerable people. "It would be far from easy for the people to feel an economic recovery in the first half due to high inflation and interest rates," Choi said during an emergency economic-related ministers' meeting. "The government will administer more than 65 percent of this year

Jan. 16, 2024

Five more members leave DP to join new party ahead of general elections

A group of former lawmakers and mayors quit the main opposition Democratic Party on Monday, saying they would join a new party that former DP leader Lee Nak-yon is trying to launch, amid attention over how deep the DP's split will go. The departures of the five people -- former lawmakers Shin Kyoung-min and Choi Woon-youl, former Goyang Mayor Choi Sung, former Bucheon Mayor Jang Deog-cheon and former Jecheon Mayor Lee Keun-kyu -- came four days after Lee Nak-yon left the DP to create a new

Jan. 15, 2024

Yoon throws full weight behind W622tr chip cluster plan

President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Monday that the semiconductor chip cluster in southern Gyeonggi Province will draw combined investments of 622 trillion won ($471.4 billion) for facilities and create 3 million jobs. With the investments, South Korea plans to double the number of chip-producing plants across southern Gyeonggi Province to 37. The investments came along with South Korea‘s plan to consolidate chip plants -- including 16 new ones to be built by 2047 -- into a large chip cluster

Jan. 15, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Bills to detect deepfakes, promote biogas use

Proposed Bill: Whole Amendment to the Act on the Protection and Use of Location Information Proposed by Rep. Hong Suk-joon (People Power Party) ● With the expansion of the mobility market based on location information, location information is being used in various fields to provide customized services to users, but there are high barriers to entry for new companies. This amendment unifies the concept of personal location information and object location information and eases entry regulations by

Jan. 15, 2024

Ex-heads of rival parties talk possible union against political establishment

The former leaders of two rival parties spoke over coffee Sunday morning on possibly uniting against establishment politics ahead of the April general election to fill the National Assembly. Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jun-seok -- who once led the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, respectively -- met at a Starbucks near the National Assembly in Yeouido, central Seoul, for a brief chat on their potential political union. Rep. Kim Jong-min, who quit the Democratic Party last week, was

Jan. 14, 2024

PPP's Han hints at measures to ease college tuition costs

Interim leader of the ruling People Power Party Han Dong-hoon on Sunday called for "groundbreaking" policy measures to help students alleviate the burden of college tuition costs. At a meeting of government representatives, the ruling party and President Yoon Suk Yeol's office, Han asked meeting participants to devise more policies to tackle tuition costs for tertiary education. South Korea's annual average tuition fees are estimated to be the eighth-highest among the 27 memb

Jan. 14, 2024

Opposition leader unable to attend trial over health concerns after stabbing attack: lawyer

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will not be able to attend hearings in his corruption trial for the time being because he has yet to recover from a stabbing attack, his legal representative said Friday. "It seems it will be hard (for Lee) to attend the trials for now," Lee's lawyer said during a preparatory hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court. "On the face of it, he seemed to have trouble even speaking." Lee is standing trial on breach of trust and other cor

Jan. 12, 2024

Ruling party recruits scientists, legal experts for April election

The ruling party on Friday announced its recruitment of two scientists and a legal expert as three new candidates to run in the April parliamentary election. Lee Re-na, a professor of biomedical engineering at Ewha Womans University; Kang Chul-ho, Chairman of the Korea Association of Robot Industry and Jun Sang-bum, former judge who served at the Uijeongbu branch of the Seoul District Court were the latest batch of candidates tapped by the People Power Party. “The three new candidates have

Jan. 12, 2024

[News Focus] Will Yoon veto Halloween disaster probe?

The ball is in President Yoon Suk Yeol's court after the passage of a special bill to give the National Assembly the power to launch a new probe into the Itaewon crowd crush incident in October 2022 that killed 159 people. Opposition lawmakers called for a renewed investigation so that a wider range of decision-makers would face consequences for the failure to put in place measures to deal with overcrowding as people flocked to the nightlife district for Halloween. The presidential office, howev

Jan. 12, 2024

Spy chief nominee says NIS won’t meddle in politics

Cho Tae-yong, who was nominated by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month for the National Intelligence Service’s top post, said Thursday he would steer clear of meddling in politics if he is confirmed as its director. During the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly, Cho was asked to give his stance on the NIS’ history of getting involved in domestic politics, for which several of its high-level officials had been convicted. “I recognize that there had been such incid

Jan. 11, 2024

Ex-prime minister quits main opposition to launch new party

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Thursday officially announced that he is leaving the main opposition party and would launch a new party of his own, saying his mission is to reform the Korean political landscape. “I will walk on the path of serving my country in a new way by leaving the Democratic Party of Korea, where I have served for the past 24 years,” Lee said in a press conference held at the National Assembly in Seoul. “The Democratic Party has transformed into a per

Jan. 11, 2024

First lady's unique presence a double-edged sword

First lady Kim Keon Hee has arguably been the most active spouse to a South Korean president to date, advocating strongly for the protection of the environment and animal rights, as well as for the global promotion of Korean culture. The 51-year-old had built a successful career as an art exhibition investor and organizer before her husband took office in 2022. Since Yoon took office, she actively engaged with the public, but controversies surrounding her have become the opposition's late

Jan. 10, 2024

Yoon names new security office deputy, vice foreign minister

President Yoon Suk Yeol tapped his secretary dedicated to economic security as the new deputy of the presidential National Security Office on Wednesday. Wang Yun-jong, secretary for economic security, was promoted to third deputy director of the NSO. Ahn Se-hyun, an international affairs professor at the University of Seoul, will take Wang's post. The 62-year-old Wang and 52-year-old Ahn will both begin in their positions on Thursday, according to Yoon's office. Wang has shaped the direction for

Jan. 10, 2024