Yoon's office vows to press ahead with reforms after ruling party's by-election wins

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Thursday to push for major reform agenda items after the ruling People Power Party won crucial by-elections on its home turf. The PPP secured victories in its traditional stronghold constituencies -- Busan's Geumjeong District and Incheon's Ganghwa County -- in Wednesday's by-elections as the party seeks to recover from waning approval ratings for both Yoon and the party following its crushing defeat in the April 10 parliamentary electio

Oct. 17, 2024

Ruling party chief again calls for first lady's withdrawal from public activities

Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon on Thursday called again for first lady Kim Keon Hee to withdraw from public activities following the party's wins in crucial by-elections the previous day. Han of the People Power Party also reiterated his call for a presidential office reshuffle to remove those considered close to Kim and exercising undue influence on state affairs. "First lady Kim Keon Hee should refrain from public activities in keeping with her promise during the presidential elec

Oct. 17, 2024

Finance minister calls for thorough preparations for uncertainties over US politics

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Thursday called for thorough preparations for uncertainties stemming from the upcoming presidential election in the United States. Choi made the remarks during a ministerial meeting on external economics, also pointing to escalating tensions in the Middle East as major external challenges, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "The US presidential election is just about 20 days away, and there is a possibility of a wider conflict in the Middle E

Oct. 17, 2024

[News Focus] By-election, small yet crucial for Han

In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s by-elections for Seoul’s new education superintendent and four local government heads, ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon has been exceptionally busy. Han has visited Busan six times since Sept. 11, so far, in a bid to sway voters into backing the conservative candidate and tax accountant-turned-politician Yoon Il-hyun for the next Geumjeong district head. Busan has been considered the conservative party’s home turf for decades,

Oct. 16, 2024

‘North Korea can’t afford war while sending shells to Russia’: ex-Yoon adviser

Rep. Lim Jong-deuk, former deputy national security adviser to President Yoon Suk Yeol and lawmaker on the National Assembly National Defense Committee, on Wednesday allayed concerns of North Korea waging war on account of its arms trade with Russia. “North Korea is in a difficult position to start a war at this point for a number of reasons. One is that North Korea is already sending large quantities of artillery shells and missiles to Russia, and likely to send troops as well,” he

Oct. 16, 2024

S. Koreans head to polls in local by-elections

South Koreans voted Wednesday to elect the education chief of Seoul and four local government heads, with the result expected to serve as a litmus test of public sentiment since the April general elections. Up for grabs in Wednesday's by-elections are five local administrative seats — the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, as well as the heads of Busan's Geumjeong District, Incheon's Ganghwa County, and the Yeonggwang and Gokseong counties in South

Oct. 16, 2024

Seoul education chief by-election pits conservative ex-lawmaker against progressive professor

Voters in Seoul headed to the polls on Wednesday to select the city's new education superintendent in a by-election, with a close race expected between a conservative former lawmaker and a progressive honorary Seoul National University sociology professor. The superintendent seat of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is one of five local administrative positions up for grabs in Wednesday's by-elections, with voting running from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The position was vacated when lef

Oct. 16, 2024

'Respect each other as human beings’: Hanni testifies at National Assembly audit

NewJeans member Hanni appeared as a reference witness at a National Assembly audit of the Environment and Labor Committee on Tuesday, where she expressed her concerns about workplace bullying. "I hope that no one -- whether seniors, juniors, peer artists or even trainees -- has to experience what I went through,” Hanni said during the audit session. “If we respect each other as human beings, there would be no workplace bullying or ostracism.” The Vietnamese Australian sing

Oct. 15, 2024

Jeju Island plans to expedite screening of cruise passengers

The government plans to spend 5.2 billion won ($3.8 million) to set up an automated security screening system next year to expedite the embarking and disembarking process for foreign cruise ship passengers at sea ports on South Korea's southern Jeju Island. According to Bae Sang-up, commissioner of the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the automated security checkpoints will be set up by October next year at two ports -- Jeju International Passenger Terminal and Seogw

Oct. 15, 2024

Rival parties clash over allegations involving first lady, Moon's daughter

The rival parties engaged in heated exchanges over two high-profile incidents involving President Yoon Suk Yeol's wife, first lady Kim Keon Hee, and Moon Da-hye, daughter of former President Moon Jae-in, during a parliamentary audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police on Thursday. The Democratic Party of Korea and other opposition lawmakers have raised concerns over first lady Kim Keon Hee's visit to Mapo Bridge on Sept. 10, an area notorious for frequent suicide attempts. The visit, made

Oct. 15, 2024

Yoon floats plan for tertiary hospital on Jeju Island

South Korea's southern Jeju Island could have its first tertiary hospital in 2027. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the government is considering easing policy hurdles for the self-governing province to have an accredited general hospital, which currently requires a population of 1 million in the region. The island is home to nearly 700,000, remaining far short of the requirement, but Yoon said such a "policy hurdle" needed to be addressed as part of a medical reform driv

Oct. 15, 2024

Yoon calls for bipartisan efforts to scrap financial investment income tax

President Yoon Suk Yeol urged Tuesday bipartisan efforts to abolish the planned financial investment income tax and instructed the government to prepare lifting a temporary ban on short selling in March 2025 to shore up the stock market. During a Cabinet meeting, Yoon addressed the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the financial investment income tax, which would impose a 20 percent tax on capital gains exceeding 50 million won ($38,000) from stock investments, or a 25 percen

Oct. 15, 2024

[Exclusive] South Korean defense companies lacking cyber security workforce

Even South Korea’s largest defense companies do not have adequate cyber security workforce in place, and their contractors exempt from government monitoring, leaving loopholes for cyber threats, Rep. Lim Jong-deuk said Monday, citing Defense Acquisition Program Administration data. According to DAPA data submitted to Lim’s office, as of this year, just 0.6 percent or 124 of 18,043 defense-related employees across 18 largest defense companies in South Korea were in charge of cyber sec

Oct. 14, 2024

Yoon's former chief of staff named ambassador to China

Kim Dae-ki, who was President Yoon Suk Yeol's chief of staff during the first two years of Yoon's term, has been named the ambassador to China. Kim, a 68-year-old career bureaucrat, will replace the incumbent Chung Jae-ho, who served in the position since August 2022. Kim has expertise in handling trade-related affairs countering China and has a good command of Chinese, Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk told reporters Monday. Seoul is awaiting China's approval of Kim's nomination,

Oct. 14, 2024

Rival parties lock horns over N. Korean provocations

The tension between the two largest political parties in South Korea escalated Monday as the main opposition criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s response towards a recent series of provocations from North Korea. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday announced the list of members for its own intra-party security committee through former director of the National Service Intelligence Rep. Park Jie-won. The announcement comes a day after Democratic Party Chair Rep.

Oct. 14, 2024

Yoon-Han meeting to take place next week

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office said Monday that a meeting between Yoon and ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon will be held next week. According to Yoon's office, the meeting of the conservative ruling bloc's two prominent leaders will take place sometime early next week, following Wednesday's by-elections this week. The office also said it was coordinating with the ruling party. The meeting is drawing keen attention over whether Yoon and Han are able to fully mend fences. Han, Yoon'

Oct. 14, 2024

[News Focus] Momentum builds for 3-way summit by end of year

South Korea, the United States and Japan are accelerating efforts to convene a trilateral summit by the end of this year to bolster deterrence against North Korean threats and enhance regional security in light of rising Sino-US tensions. President Yoon Suk Yeol's National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said in an interview with KBS Sunday that the three parties are "moderately building a consensus" for a standalone three-way summit "as soon as possible after" multilatera

Oct. 13, 2024

Yoon returns home from 3-nation Southeast Asia trip

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Friday from his trip to the Philippines, Singapore and Laos that focused on diplomacy to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations and draw support for his policy on North Korea. During the six-day trip, Yoon attended a series of annual summits involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos on Thursday and Friday, and made state visits to the Philippines and Singapore. It marked Yoon's third consecutive year attending

Oct. 11, 2024

Early voting begins for Seoul education superintendent by-election with low turnout

As early voting kicked off Friday in the by-election to fill the Seoul education superintendent post, polling stations across Seoul remained relatively quiet, with public interest in the election low on the weekday. According to the Election Commission, voter turnout by 3:40 p.m. was 2.48 percent, with 206,317 ballots cast out of 8.32 million eligible voters. The election, featuring four candidates, is expected to influence the future of education in South Korea. While the superintendent's

Oct. 11, 2024

Yoon expresses S. Korea's appetite for Australia's Project Sea 3000

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday expressed South Korean companies' appetite for Australia's frigate replacement project known as Project Sea 3000 to upgrade its maritime defense capability, during his talks with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. At the bilateral meeting on the margins of the ASEAN Summit, Yoon "highlighted South Korean firms' willingness" to participate in Australia's program to acquire 11 general-purpose frigates

Oct. 11, 2024