“New Republic of Korea with Moon Jae-in. If you don’t vote, shy-shy-shy.” The familiar tune from K-pop girl group Twice blares from a loudspeaker atop a remodeled truck in a Seoul street, apparently being used for the campaign of presidential candidate Moon. The verse has been rewritten to encourage voters to support the liberal aspirant. A bigger truck, with a makeshift stage, is parked in the middle of a wide street in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, with a large crowd gathered in front. On the sta

Politics May 5, 2017

The first-ever early voting in a presidential election will begin Thursday, ahead of the main vote Tuesday. This is the first time early voting, in which voters can use any polling station, is being provided in a presidential election. According to the National Election Commission, there are 3,507 advance polling stations across the country, including Seoul Station, Yongsan Station and Incheon Airport.  National Election Commission officals install advance polling facilities in a community cente

Politics May 3, 2017

The South Korean presidential race will enter its final week Wednesday, during which the publishing of poll results is banned. Under local regulations, the results of polls conducted from six days prior to the voting day cannot be published over concerns that opinion polls may “impede fairness and affect the election results.” However, polls can be conducted during the six-day period, provided that results are not published and the National Election Commission has been informed beforehand. Viola

Politics May 2, 2017

Bareun Party presidential candidate Rep. Yoo Seong-min is facing increasing pressure from his own party to form a three-way conservative-centrist coalition.On Friday, 20 of the party’s 33 lawmakers released a statement calling for three presidential candidates-- Yoo, Liberty Korea Party’s Hong Joon-pyo and Ahn Cheol-soo of People’s Party -- to form an alliance to stop front-runner Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea.  Bareun Party’s Reps. Kim Sung-tae (right), Kim Hack-yong (center) and

Politics April 28, 2017

Two presidential candidates on opposite ends of the political spectrum are making unusual progress in their popularity: Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party. A Realmeter poll, released Thursday, showed the hard-line conservative Hong with 13 percent support, up 2.5 percentage points from the previous week. This is in spite of the controversy of an anecdote in his autobiography that he helped a friend with a failed sexual assaul

Politics April 27, 2017

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles that try to capture the voter sentiment in key regions. The following is the third installment on Seoul, the nation’s capital. -- Ed.Nearly half of the nation’s 50 million population resides in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and the number of votes up for grabs here is proportionally great -- roughly 17 million. Like other metropolitan cities of the world, the “greater Seoul area” also boasts diverse communities. Many residents here came

Politics April 25, 2017

Leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea said he feels he is “nearing victory” in text messages sent to his camp staff and party members Monday. “I can visualize and hear your warm comradeship. I feel victory nearing us,” read the message revealed by Moon’s spokeperson Park Kwang-on. “I am certain of my victory.”Leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yonhap)Moon expressed gratitude to his party members for their campaigning

Politics April 24, 2017

Just one day after coming under fire for refusing to label North Korea “the main enemy” on live TV, leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in was dragged further into controversy Friday over his stance on Pyongyang -- South Korea’s communist neighbor, brethren and foe. A former top diplomat renewed his claim that Moon had in 2007 suggested the Seoul government consult Pyongyang before deciding its position on a UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses. Song at that time served

Politics April 21, 2017

Just one day after coming under fire for refusing to label North Korea “the main enemy” on live TV, leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in was dragged further into controversy over his stance on Pyongyang, South Korea’s communist neighbor, brethren and foe. A former top diplomat Friday renewed his claim that Moon had in 2007 suggested the Seoul government consult Pyongyang before deciding its position on a UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses. Song at that time served a

Politics April 21, 2017

North Korea lashed out at Japan Thursday for trying to remove girl statues symbolizing women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II.Minju Joson, the mouthpiece of North Korea’s cabinet, said Japan’s actions will not cover up the “hideous unethical crimes” it committed during the war, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency.“Japan’s action related to the girl statue for peace reminds one of mere child’s playing to get the sun eclipsed by palms,” KCNA said i

North Korea April 20, 2017

Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s friend at the center of a bribery scandal, has been banned for life from equestrian competitions following her irregularities, an official from the sport’s national governing body said Thursday. An official at the Korea Equestrian Federation said that its discipline committee had a meeting on Monday and decided to permanently ban Chung, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, which prevents her from competing in any equestrian

Social Affairs April 20, 2017

Britain’s top envoy to Seoul pledged Thursday to continue close cooperation with the South Korean government to induce North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, the Foreign Ministry here said Thursday.Ambassador Charles Hay made the remark during a meeting with Second Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-ghee amid heightened regional tensions over another possible nuclear test by the North. Ambassador Charles Hay (Yonhap)Hay told Ahn the British government will maintain close cooperation with Seoul

North Korea April 20, 2017

The “Moon Fund,” Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Moon Jae-in’s fundraising vehicle, reached three times more than its initial target within an hour of going public Wednesday.The fund’s website, www.moonfund.co.kr, opened at 9 a.m. The amount collected was 33 billion won ($28 million), far above the targeted 10 billion won, in 61 minutes.The website for the “Moon Fund” shows a closing message that reads, “The account has closed. Thank you for all your support.” (Screen Capture)

Politics April 19, 2017

The five presidential candidates backed by the main parliamentary parties will participate in the second round of live televised debates Wednesday.Hosted by the Korean Broadcasting System, the two-hour debate will be conducted in the form of a standing debate for the first time, during which the participants will debate standing up. The candidates cannot be aided with any reference materials, but paper will be provided for note taking.  The five major presidential candidates Tuesday campaign nat

Politics April 18, 2017

Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Moon Jae-in’s fundraising vehicle “Moon Fund” will open for public donations from Wednesday. Moon’s campaign aides said Sunday that the fund will be launched at 9 a.m. Wednesday on the official website -- www.moonfund.co.kr. Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)According to campaign officials, the fund comes as part of Moon’s plan to make politics more transparent, seeking to “prepare campaign funds from the citizen

Politics April 17, 2017