Ex-spy chief pushed to return two North Korean defectors as peace offering: prosecutors

Former National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon pushed to repatriate two North Korean men who attempted to defect to the South in a bid to restore ties with Pyongyang, according to Seoul prosecutors. In an indictment released Thursday, prosecutors said that then-NIS director Suh ordered the two fishers from North Korea to be sent back, going against the policy that requires any decision to repatriate North Korean defectors to be backed by their intentions to return home. Prosecutors found

March 10, 2023

MIKTA speakers vow expanded role of parliaments in diplomacy

Parliamentary speakers from MIKTA -- an informal middle power partnership between Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Austria – gathered in Istanbul on Thursday and issued a joint declaration making a case for strengthening the role of parliaments. In the declaration, speakers highlighted the importance of national parliaments in diplomacy in the face of the complex security challenges. The declaration was issued at the MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation, a forum for member countrie

March 10, 2023

Yoon underscores US firepower to contain N. Korea

President Yoon Suk Yeol doubled down on bolstering extended deterrence, a US pledge to use all resources including nuclear weapons to deter and respond to attacks on its allies, amid deepening Seoul-Washington ties to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats The two allies are pursuing a more united front on Pyongyang, as they return to full-scale military exercises Monday following a five-year hiatus meant to give room for diplomacy on North Korea’s denuclearization. The efforts had yi

March 10, 2023

Anyang mayor commits to make city young

Choi Dae-ho, the mayor of Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, has specific ideas for the future of the city. “I aim to continue to promote projects to create a city that will prosper for over 100 years,” Choi proclaims. The agenda pursued by Choi focuses on more initiatives for the city's young people. Choi said over his term he hopes to build a city that is women-friendly and safer for children to grow up in. “Anyang is first in the country to increase rewards to couples that have

March 10, 2023

Ruling party’s new leaders stress better ties with democracies, especially Japan

The first message from the ruling People Power Party’s freshly elected leaders highlighted stronger ties with other democracies, most notably Japan, with which the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration is determined to mend relations. Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, who won the chairpersonship with 52.9 percent of the votes from registered party members, said in a first meeting of the new party leaders on Thursday that Yoon’s plan to compensate South Koreans enslaved by colonial Japan with lo

March 9, 2023

Yoon lures foreign-invested firms as Saudi project kicks off in Ulsan

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday the government will provide more incentives and ease regulatory hurdles for foreign-invested companies, as he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the $7 billion Shaheen petrochemical project in Ulsan. Calling the Shaheen project a symbol of "special friendship and trust" shared between South Korea and Saudi Arabia, he also said the project’s success would result in job creation, stimulate the regional economy and further solidify the c

March 9, 2023

Yoon ally takes ruling party leadership

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, who campaigned on his ability to work closely with President Yoon Suk Yeol, was elected to lead the People Power Party on Wednesday. Kim, who earned 52.9 percent of more than 460,000 votes cast, said in an acceptance speech that he would commit to lead the party to victory in next year’s general election. “To do that our party has to work for the people, and show that we are making the lives of South Koreans better,” he said. The runner-up to Kim was Rep. Ahn

March 8, 2023

Yoon-Biden April summit to mark 70th anniversary in alliance

A highly anticipated summit scheduled between the leaders of South Korea and the US in April is expected to mark a turning point in their 70-year-old alliance, which faces various challenges from the Indo-Pacific region, including nuclear threats from North Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol has been invited by US President Joe Biden to make a state visit to the US with the aim of further strengthening the already strong economic and security ties between the two countries. This invitation follows S

March 8, 2023

Ruling party set to hold national convention to pick new leader

The ruling People Power Party was set to hold a national convention Wednesday to pick a new leader to head the party through next year's general elections and help move President Yoon Suk Yeol's agenda forward. Yoon plans to attend the convention expected to draw as many as 10,000 party members, an indication of his keen interest in the race. It will mark the first time for the president to attend a national convention of the ruling party since former President Park Geun-hye did so in

March 8, 2023

North Korea may hold major exercises between March, April: lawmakers

The lawmakers on the National Assembly’s intelligence committee said Tuesday that North Korea may hold large-scale military exercises between March and April, in response to planned joint drills between South Korea and the US. More specifically, intelligence committee member Rep. Youn Kun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea told reporters in a closed-door briefing that North Korea may conduct an ICBM test on a normal trajectory as well as test-fire a new solid fuel-based ICBM sometime t

March 7, 2023

South Korean speaker embarks on tour to Turkey, Italy, Israel

South Korea National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo is heading to Turkey on Wednesday for the eighth MIKTA parliamentary speakers’ meeting. MIKTA is the informal grouping of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia. In a release on Tuesday, the National Assembly speaker’s office said that at the MIKTA meeting, Kim would “seek joint responses at the parliamentary level” on issues such as sustainable development. The office also said the speaker would “appea

March 7, 2023

Opposition lawmakers support US bill to end Korean War

South Korean opposition lawmakers on Tuesday signed a statement welcoming the re-introduction of the US House of Representatives bill calling for efforts to achieve a formal end to the Korean War. “We, 166 lawmakers of South Korea, thank the members of the US Congress for their insight on and dedication to building peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the South Korean lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party and the minor progressive Justice Party said in the statement. “

March 7, 2023

Yoon to set off on back-to-back Japan, US tours

President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to meet with his Japanese and US counterparts as early as next week and next month, respectively, as the South Korean leader seeks stronger three-way ties he says are required to counter global challenges, the biggest of which involves containing North Korea. For a summit with Japan, Yoon’s office has yet to reveal the exact date, saying it was “closely looking at options.” Japanese news agency Kyodo News said the meeting will take place Thursday

March 7, 2023

Work longer, rest longer: Korea to add flexibility to 52-hour workweek

The government on Monday unveiled a set of plans to revise the current 52-hour workweek to give workers greater flexibility in their working hours. The current system, introduced in 2018, limits workers to working up to 52 hours a week. The new plan will allow them to manage the time they work not only on a weekly basis but also on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, giving them the option to work up to 69 hours in a week, provided they work fewer hours in other weeks. This means that during

March 6, 2023

Govt. overhauls 52-hour workweek system to provide more flexibility

The government announced a set of measures on Monday to reform the controversial 52-hour workweek system by giving more flexibility and choice in work hours. Under the system introduced in 2018, employers must limit overtime work to 12 hours per week to ensure the total number of hours worked remains at 52. The revision, however, will allow companies to manage overtime not only weekly but on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly basis so that employers can choose more hours during weeks

March 6, 2023

Yoon's approval rating rises to 42.9 %: poll

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has stayed over 40 percent for a third straight week on the back of strengthened efforts to handle economic and livelihood matters, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 2,006 adults conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 2.5 percentage points from a week earlier to 42.9 percent. Yoon's disapproval rating fell 3.8 percentage points to 53.2 percent in the same period. Realme

March 6, 2023

Ruling party leadership race descends into proxy presidential approval vote

The race to be the new chairperson of the ruling People Power Party is turning into a contest between candidates who have President Yoon Suk Yeol’s apparent backing and those who do not. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, the three-time presidential contender who is now vying to lead the People Power Party, said Sunday he was competing on an “uneven playing field,” citing the latest allegations of the presidential office’s behind-the-scenes push for another leading candidate, Rep. Kim G

March 5, 2023

Opposition leader appears in court, denies charges of violating election law

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung denied charges of violating election law during the presidential election campaign in 2021 during a court appearance Friday. It was Lee's first court appearance since he was narrowly defeated by President Yoon Suk Yeol in March 2022 election and later was voted chair of the opposition party that controls the National Assembly with 169 seats out of 299. Lee reiterated his claim that the prosecution's charge against him is "unre

March 3, 2023

Opposition leader attends court hearing over alleged election law violations

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung appeared in court Friday to stand trial on charges of violating the election law by making false statements during his presidential campaign in 2021. In his first court appearance as the chair of the main opposition Democratic Party, Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul at about 10:30 a.m. to attend his trial over the allegations that he made false statements related to two land development projects in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. Le

March 3, 2023

Prosecution clears first lady’s bribery allegation

Prosecutors cleared Covana Contents, an exhibition agency run by first lady Kim Kun Hee, of allegations that it received bribes disguised as sponsorships from companies on Thursday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office said that it has dismissed Kim's bribery charges for lack of evidence. As CEO of Covana Contents, Kim has curated several art exhibitions, including an exhibition of artworks by Alberto Giacometti in 2018 and an exhibition of Fauvism in 2019, which were sponsor

March 2, 2023