The plausibility on the ruling Saenuri Party splitting took shape Tuesday as reformist nonmainstreamers gestured at defecting, following the pro-presidential group’s refusal to compromise over the interim party leadership.It is the claim of the reformists, who seek to distance themselves from the impeached President Park Geun-hye, that the party should tap Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a ranking non-Park figure, to steer the distressed party until the election of an official party leader.But the pro-Park

Politics Dec. 20, 2016

The ongoing parliamentary probe into the influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil was hit Monday by allegations that lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party conspired perjury with one of the witnesses at last week’s parliamentary hearing. While the Saenuri’s reformist members demanded clarification, the opposition circle argued that the disputed members should be ousted immediately from the related parliamentary committee.The ruling Saenuri Part

Politics Dec. 19, 2016

Moon Jae-in, the current front-runner in the race for the next presidency of South Korea, vowed Thursday to reconsider several key foreign policies of impeached President Park Geun-hye, should he be elected. They include the controversial deployment here of a US-led missile defense system and the agreement with Japan about former sex slaves for the Japanese Army during World War II. “Any decision regarding the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system) should b

Politics Dec. 16, 2016

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Saturday instructed the military to step up vigilance against threats or any attempt to instigate national division from North Korea, his office said.The direction comes a day after the parliament impeached President Park Geun-hye for her alleged involvement in a high-profile corruption scandal.Hwang took over as acting president while the Constitutional Court has 180 days to determine whether to endorse the impeachment or not. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks

Politics Dec. 10, 2016

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A secret CIA assessment has found that Russia sought to tip last month's US presidential election in Donald Trump's favor, The Washington Post reported Friday, a conclusion that drew an extraordinary rebuke from the president-elect's camp."These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," Trump's transition team said, launching a broadside against the spy agency."The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College vict

World News Dec. 10, 2016

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- The US Defense Department said Friday that it expects "policy consistency and continuity" on various issues with South Korea in the wake of the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross gave the comment in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency whether the impeachment could have any impact on the planned deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to the South."We look forward to working with Prime Minister Hwang in his new ca

Diplomatic Circuit Dec. 10, 2016

To impeach the embattled head of state, at least 200 lawmakers from the 300-member National Assembly need to support the motion. Currently, opposition parties, which led the impeachment drive, together have 172 seats including those of like-minded independent members. To get Assembly approval, the impeachment bill is required to attract at least 28 lawmakers from Park’s ruling Saenuri Party. The ruling party, the largest political bloc in the Assembly with 129 seats, has been divided on whether

Politics Dec. 9, 2016

South Korea’s parliament will decide Friday whether to impeach President Park Geun-hye, with opposition lawmakers threatening to quit en masse if the vote fails. In their full-fledged efforts to push to remove Park from office, the three main opposition parties -- the Democratic Party of Korea, People’s Party and Justice Party -- pledged to resign from the National Assembly if the motion is rejected. “We are determined to pass the motion to take Park down from office, and tendered our resignatio

Politics Dec. 8, 2016

Jang Si-ho, the niece of President Park Geun-hye’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, appeared at parliamentary hearing Wednesday about 3:30 p.m. after previously refusing to attend, citing poor health.The National Assembly summoned 27 witnesses with 14 of them, including the key figure Choi, refusing to attend prior to the hearing.Jang was the only one among the absentees to respond to the parliament‘s order which was issued earlier in the morning. Jang Si-ho, the niece of Choi Soon-sil (Yonhap)Currentl

Politics Dec. 7, 2016

The second day of the parliamentary inquiry into President Park Geun-hye’s scandal on Wednesday produced little new information about Park and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil who is accused of meddling in state affairs. Almost half of key witnesses were absent at the hearing, including Choi. Those who were in attendance spent most of their time denying allegations or claiming no knowledge or memory. Former chief presidential secreatry Kim Ki-choon testifies at a parliamentary hearing on Wednes

Politics Dec. 7, 2016

Former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon on Wednesday claimed no knowledge of any irregularities in the country’s highest office during a parliamentary hearing on a sweeping scandal that threatens to end Park Geun-hye’s presidency. Kim, who was the conservative president’s right-hand man for 16 months until February 2015, said he had never met Choi Soon-sil, the now-infamous friend of Park accused of manipulating power from behind the scenes. Former chief presidential secreatry Kim Ki-cho

Politics Dec. 7, 2016

CJ Group Co-chairman Sohn Kyoung-shik said Tuesday that Cheong Wa Dae had pressured its Vice Chairman Lee Mie-kyung to quit. Testifying before a bipartisan panel of lawmakers in a hearing at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Sohn admitted to having received the message purportedly from President Park Geun-hye via Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Cho Won-dong. “Cho asked to meet (me), and said ‘Vice Chairwoman Lee Mie-kyung should step down from office. This is a word from the p

Politics Dec. 6, 2016

Tension is mounting in South Korea’s political arena, with the crucial vote on President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment scheduled for Friday. The opposition coalition is vowing to spare nothing to ensure the impeachment bill’s safe passage, but what if it fails?  Words from opposition politicians offer few concrete details as to an alternative plan, except that an outpouring of public anger seems highly likely.    (Yonhap)“We have crossed the Rubicon,” Rep. Park Jie-won, the floor leader of the Peo

Politics Dec. 5, 2016

Newly married couples in rural areas are more likely to have children than those in cities, a study showed Sunday. According to an award-winning paper released by Jeon Sae-ran and Lee Myeong-hoon of Korea University, those in rural areas were 1.37 times more likely to have plans for children than those living in cities, when comparing on equal income conditions.The paper studied 2,207 couples who registered for marriage from 2010 to 2014 with their annual average income standing at 48 million wo

Social Affairs Dec. 4, 2016

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have become the target of public anger for their collective failure to cope with a scandal engulfing President Park Geun-hye.  Above all, lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party are being scrutinized for not heeding the public’s demand to impeach the scandal-ridden president. They complain of receiving hundreds of phone calls and text messages from angry voters. The Saenuri Party on Friday filed a legal complaint against a lawmaker from the main opposition, R

Politics Dec. 4, 2016