The main opposition’s goal to bring President Yoon Suk Yeol to “judgment” through the upcoming April 10 legislative election, now faces major hurdles due to Yoon’s and the ruling party’s growing popularity, observers said Friday. Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung in recent weeks has repeatedly stressed the party’s goal to bring the Yoon Suk Yeol administration to “judgment” by winning the election. In his visit to the political symbolic

Politics March 8, 2024

The police on Friday launched a probe into the alleged assault on former soccer player Lee Chun-soo while he was participating in former Land Minister and ruling party candidate Won Hee-ryong’s street campaign ahead of the April 10 general election. The Incheon Gyeyang Police Station received a report from Won’s office at 10 p.m. on Thursday claiming that Lee, who recently endorsed the former land minister for the upcoming election, was “physically assaulted.” Lee was att

Politics March 8, 2024

The rate of respondents willing to vote for main opposition party candidates in the upcoming April 10 legislative election dropped by a whopping 9 percentage points from the previous month, poll results showed Wednesday. In a survey conducted by local pollster Metrix on 1,000 Koreans aged 18 or older on March 2-3, when asked which party they would vote for "if the election was held tomorrow," some 26 percent of respondents chose candidates from the main opposition Democratic Party of K

Politics March 6, 2024

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday met former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who recently launched a political party of his own, exhibiting the possibility of an alliance. The meeting follows Cho’s move to launch the National Innovation Party on Sunday against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration ahead of the upcoming general election, which some critics say is an attempt to avoid jail time. The Seoul High Court in early February decided to uphold a lower court ruling to sentence the 5

Politics March 5, 2024

The ruling party chief on Monday called on the main opposition leader to engage in a televised debate ahead of the April 10 legislative election, saying that it’s “what many people want.” People Power Party Interim Chair Han Dong-hoon told reporters that he is ready to face off against the Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung in a debate, while hinting that the opposition leader has been avoiding it on purpose. “I believe it is what several media and many people

Politics March 4, 2024

The overwhelming majority of candidates from the two main parties picked to run in the upcoming legislative election so far are viewed as part of the parties’ respective mainstream factions, data showed Sunday. The outcome contradicts earlier pledges made by the two parties to select more candidates from their respective nonmainstream pools for the April 10 general election in order to promote fairness. According to data provided by the ruling party, the majority of the candidates from

Politics March 3, 2024

The floor leaders of South Korea's two main parties on Thursday agreed to hold a revote on the two special investigation bills vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 5. The revote on the two bills, one of which pushes for a probe into a stock manipulation scandal linked to first lady Kim Keon Hee, was to take place during a plenary session scheduled in the afternoon. “We plan to deal with the revote of the two special investigation bills (during the plenary session scheduled later

Politics Feb. 29, 2024

The main opposition party on Wednesday was grappling with a mass exodus of non-mainstream faction lawmakers, as many of them questioned the authenticity of its candidate nomination process for the April 10 general election. Five-term lawmaker Sul Hoon announced he would leave the Democratic Party of Korea after being placed in the bottom 10 percent of the party leadership's performance review for legislative activity. The leadership has claimed they made fair decisions on candidate nominati

Politics Feb. 28, 2024

An existing fissure within the main opposition party has widened as several lawmakers have taken steps in response to conflict over the party’s candidate nomination process for the upcoming general election. Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Ko Min-jung on Tuesday announced her resignation as a member of the party’s Supreme Council, saying that she believes the party should openly discuss its election candidate nomination process, which has been criticized as biased towards the pro-Lee

Politics Feb. 27, 2024

Actor and K-pop singer Cha Eun-woo is undoubtedly one of the most popular Korean celebrities at the moment. It is no surprise that Cha has often generated buzz in the entertainment news section and among fans of Korean music and drama. But in recent days, his name was mentioned multiple times among a most unexpected group of people here: politicians. It started with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s decision last week to nominate its deputy spokesperson Ahn Gwi-ryeong to run

Politics Feb. 27, 2024

A woman in her 60s went into cardiac arrest and died after falling from a bungee jumping platform on Monday afternoon, officials said. The victim, whose name and exact age were withheld, jumped from the platform only to plummet 8 meters below to a concrete floor at a sports facility located within Starfield Anseong Mall in Gyeonggi Province, around 4:20 p.m., according to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police. She was rushed to the hospital after emergency services performed CPR on her, but she did n

Social Affairs Feb. 26, 2024

The launch of the Overseas Korean Agency raised expectations that overseas Korean nationals could play a bigger role in this year's general election, but experts are skeptical. With polling indicating a weak turnout and parties showing little interest, they say the impact of overseas voters is likely to be very small. "The interest in the upcoming election is obviously lower than the 2022 presidential election," Lee Jean-young, director of Inha Center for International Studies s

Politics Feb. 26, 2024

The ruling party's floor leader on Wednesday called for the establishment of a trilateral security council formed of members of the Cabinet and the two major parties to counter threats from North Korea. “North Korea is projected to step up its provocations ahead of our general election (scheduled for April 10) and the US presidential election (in November),” People Power Party Floor Leader Yun Jae-ok said in a keynote speech at a meeting of the National Assembly’s floor ne

Politics Feb. 21, 2024

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Tuesday announced his departure from the New Reform Party and resignation from its leadership, following signs of a growing rift with his co-chair, Lee Jun-seok. The announcement which comes merely 11 days after the ex-PM and his own political party, the New Future Party, merged with the Reform Party, which was launched by the former ruling party leader, Lee Jun-seok, last month. “I plan to return to the New Future Party and reorganize the party to prep

Social Affairs Feb. 20, 2024

As South Korea heads into the general election scheduled for April 10, a group of recently launched parties have formed a coalition, a so-called “big tent” that has managed to make waves in the polls, despite the differences in approach and ideology of its constituent parts. The New Reform Party, launched by former ruling party leader Lee Jun-seok last month, is at the forefront of the coalition. Recently having absorbed four other distinct minor parties, the majority of its lawmaker

Politics Feb. 19, 2024