More lawmakers leave Democratic Party of Korea, accusing chief of crony politics

Three lawmakers on Wednesday said they were leaving the Democratic Party of Korea, marking yet another departure of longtime lawmakers from the main opposition that controls a clear majority in the National Assembly. Announcing their decision to leave the Democratic Party they had long been part of, Reps. Lee Won-wook, Kim Jong-min and Cho Eung-cheon cited their disagreements with the party’s chair, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, and the way he is running the party. The lawmakers, prominent members o

Jan. 10, 2024

Attacker says stabbing was to stop Lee from becoming president

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said Wednesday that the political ideology of the suspect in the stabbing of the main opposition leader led to the knife attack. “The attacker had vented resentment toward the Democratic Party leader and wanted to stop Lee from becoming president and prevent him from securing a majority of seats in the upcoming general election by giving nominations to specific persons,” said Woo Cheol-moon, head of the Busan Police Agency, as he briefed the press

Jan. 10, 2024

Yoon vows to remove hurdle for housing redevelopment projects

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that his administration would push to ease regulations concerning the redevelopment of apartment buildings aged 30 years or older, by allowing projects to go ahead even if the existing buildings are safe for habitation. Any residential complex built before 1994 may apply for reconstruction. Previously, owners of the apartment units had to get a municipality's approval that the buildings in the complex were dangerous to live in, no matter how old they w

Jan. 10, 2024

Yoon's approval rating inches up to 35%: Yonhap survey

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating rose slightly from a month ago to 35 percent, a survey commissioned by Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV showed Wednesday. The rating rose 2 percentage points from last month, while the negative assessment dipped 1 percentage point to 59 percent, according to the survey conducted by Metrix on 1,000 people aged 18 and older Saturday and Sunday. The survey also showed that 35 percent of the respondents said they would vote for the ruling People Po

Jan. 10, 2024

Yoon vows not to interfere with arts and culture fields

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday that his government will not interfere with anything that the arts and culture industries do, but only work to provide full support for the fields. Yoon made the pledge at a New Year's gathering of South Korean artists and celebrities, noting the achievements of Korean culture and entertainment content, such as K-pop, in recent years. Speaking at the event, Yoon brought up the question he was asked by a reporter about the reason for the popularity of Ko

Jan. 9, 2024

National Assembly passes dog meat consumption ban

The National Assembly on Tuesday decided to completely root out the practice of butchering dogs for consumption by passing a special bill that punishes such activities. The bill seeks to impose a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,800) or a maximum jail term of three years on dog farmers or butchers who are caught killing dogs for consumption. Those who are caught illegally farming, breeding and distributing dogs will face a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine of up to 20 million won.

Jan. 9, 2024

Presidential office introduces 3rd NSO deputy

A legal revision approved by South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday would allow the presidential National Security Office to create a new deputy director position to be tasked with economic security and technological supremacy in the face of frequent industrial supply chain disruptions. As a result of the reorganization, the newly appointed deputy director of the NSO will be dedicated to stabilizing the supply chain, handling matters related to nuclear power plant exports and minimizing impacts f

Jan. 9, 2024

Future, current leaders of new political parties jointly call for reform

Four future and current leaders of political parties jointly called for political reform Tuesday, criticising the current two-party dominance. Former Prime Minister and ex-Democratic Party of Korea Lee Nak-yon, Former People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok, New Party Co-Chairman Keum Tae-sup and Hope of Korea Chairman Yang Hyang-ja gathered at Yang’s new book launch event, in a show of solidarity against the current political system. “We have gathered with the shared concern that K

Jan. 9, 2024

Yoon vows to focus on living standards in 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol reiterated his policy focus on Tuesday, saying that the new year should be a year to achieve a "recovery of ordinary people's livelihoods," during the first Cabinet meeting of the year he presided. According to Yoon, measures are being undertaken to help ordinary people refinance their mortgages via mobile apps, effective Tuesday, aimed potentially at offering a new term with a lower interest rate. In addition, a greater portion of the vulnerable will recei

Jan. 9, 2024

Rift within main opposition party widens

An existing fissure within the main opposition party is projected to widen ahead of the April general election, with several current and former heavyweight members parting ways from the party. Former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and ex-Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Monday that he would officially announce his departure from the main opposition party through a press conference at the National Assembly scheduled for Thursday. The former premier had hinted on Sunday that the announceme

Jan. 8, 2024

Presidential office weighs erasing small business owners' late payment records

South Korea is considering removing late payments from the credit history of individuals or vendors who fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic's economic fallout, possibly before the Lunar New Year's holiday in mid-February. President Yoon Suk Yeol's office "is in talks with the financial authorities to map out the timing of (the removal of delinquency on the credit reports) and the scope of its beneficiaries," said a source from the presidential office on Monday. In Korea, individuals f

Jan. 8, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Bills to promote climate action, corporate restructuring

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Sung-joo (Democratic Party of Korea) ● As climate change responsiveness increasingly becomes an essential part of business operations, this amendment requires companies to disclose climate-related information, including risks related to climate change and corresponding response plans, greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming and goals for reduction, and the implementa

Jan. 8, 2024

Police to decide whether to disclose identity of opposition lawmaker's assailant

Police plan to decide this week whether to disclose the identity of the suspect in the stabbing attack against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, officials said Monday. The 67-year-old suspect, known only by his family name Kim, was formally arrested Thursday on charges of stabbing Lee, the chairman of the Democratic Party, in the neck with a camping knife in the southeastern port city of Busan two days earlier. Lee is recovering following surgery at Seoul National University Hospital to repair a

Jan. 8, 2024

Rival parties clash over revote on investigation into first lady

Korea's two main rival parties have been engaged in a tug-of-war in recent days over the scheduling of a revote for two special investigation bills vetoed Friday by President Yoon Suk Yeol. One of the bills pushes for an investigation into alleged stock manipulation by first lady Kim Keon Hee. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is currently considering filing for an adjudication with the Constitutional Court, for the court to decide whether Yoon's veto infringes on their po

Jan. 7, 2024

20 student activists nabbed after attempting to enter presidential office

Police arrested 20 university students affiliated with a progressive group Saturday after they attempted to enter the presidential office in central Seoul, officials said. The members of the Korean University Progressive Union were caught at the site for allegedly attempting to trespass on the presidential office compound by entering through its western gate and climbing over its fences, according to the officials. Before the attempt, the students had staged a protest outside the compound, deman

Jan. 6, 2024

South Korea tells Russia to stop getting arms from North Korea

South Korea on Friday called on Russia to halt its arms deal with North Korea following a White House announcement that North Korean ballistic missiles were used in Russian attacks against Ukraine. A senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul said on this day that by hauling arms from North Korea, Russia was “contradicting” the United Nations Security Council resolutions despite being a permanent member. The official said that the Foreign Ministry, together with its

Jan. 5, 2024

Presidential office mulls revival of first lady's office

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Friday hinted at establishing an office dedicated to first lady Kim Keon Hee, reneging on a campaign pledge not to operate such an office during his term. The president is "considering the option to set up the office in case it wins public consent over the matter," said a source from the presidential office who declined to be named. The source did not elaborate on how to gauge public approval of the establishment. Earlier Friday, Yoon vetoed a specia

Jan. 5, 2024

Yoon vetoes bill to investigate his wife

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday exercised his veto power to strike down a bill that would let the opposition-controlled National Assembly order a special investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee's alleged involvement in stock manipulation. "(We) express a deep regret over the opposition bloc's unilateral move (to pass the bill to investigate the first lady) without bipartisan consent," presidential chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup told reporters. "Yoon has the obligation

Jan. 5, 2024

Late Chun’s 5.5 billion won in assets to be confiscated, overdue fines down to 86.7 billion won

The unpaid fines of former President Chun Doo-hwan, who died in November 2021, are likely to be set at 86.7 billion won ($66.2 million), following a lawsuit that enabled authorities to confiscate an additional 5.5 billion won, marking the final indemnity payment from the former dictator. This would bring the total collected fines to 132.72 billion won out of the 220.5 billion won imposed in relation to his 1997 conviction for rebellion and bribery. Local media outlets and legal sources reporte

Jan. 4, 2024

S. Korea plans W11tr inflation relief, picks immigration boost as key goal

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday reiterated his pledge to support the livelihoods of South Korean citizens, including 11 trillion-won ($8.4 billion) in funding to curb consumer inflation. Yoon's office expressed its intention to slow inflation, as measured by the monthly consumer price index, to less than 3 percent by June. The consumer price index in December jumped to 3.6 percent in 2023, compared with 5.1 percent in 2022. "We anticipate the price stability with the consumer price inde

Jan. 4, 2024