This month’s provisional session of the National Assembly is set to kick off on Monday, but the opposition-led Assembly has yet to decide when to cast a revote on the special probe bill against the first lady. The rival parties in recent weeks have locked horns over the timing of the revote after President Yoon Suk Yeol, on Jan. 5, vetoed a bill that would allow the Assembly to order a special investigation into the stock manipulation allegations surrounding his wife Kim Keon Hee. The bill

Politics Feb. 18, 2024

Disgraced former Justice Minister Cho Kuk on Tuesday officially announced to launch his own political party ahead of the general election scheduled for April 10. “I plan to fight on the front line of the battle to bring an early end to the incompetent 'dictatorship of prosecutors,' and the restoration of the values of a democratic republic,” Cho said in an announcement made at his hometown of Busan, pointing at the current Yoon Suk Yeol administration. “I will create

Politics Feb. 13, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol faced a firestorm of criticism from the main opposition and several minor parties on Thursday, a day after he opened up about the luxury bag scandal involving the first lady. The parties either demanded a solid apology from Yoon on behalf of his wife or brushed off his explanation as insincere. In a special New Year's interview with KBS aired late Wednesday, Yoon called the anti-graft violation accusations made against first lady Kim Keon Hee a "political maneuv

Politics Feb. 8, 2024

The ruling party leader on Wednesday criticized the usage of a hidden camera against the first lady for 2022 footage that shows a Korean American pastor giving her a luxury bag, which has sparked suspicions of anti-graft law violations. “The incident is quintessentially a vulgar operation involving a spycam,” People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon said during a debate hosted by the Kwanhun Club, an association of senior journalists in Seoul. In footage uploaded by liberal news outlet

Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2024

The ruling party on Tuesday announced a set of pledges aimed to improve the lives of senior citizens here, which includes tax benefits and an expanded free lunch system, as the country grapples with the issue of entering a super-aged society. In its sixth pledge announced ahead of the general election on April 10, the People Power Party said it plans to expand the role of the government and taxpayers' money in taking care of Korea's older population. "The government plans to launc

Politics Feb. 6, 2024

The main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday hinted he would launch satellite parties ahead of this year's general election scheduled for April 10, by upholding the current mixed-member proportional representation system. Lee said the Democratic Party of Korea plans to stick with the electoral system introduced to South Korea ahead of the previous general election in 2020, which critics lambasted for failing to serve its purpose of supporting minor parties. The system was initially ad

Politics Feb. 5, 2024

The rival parties in recent weeks have fired off a flurry of competing pledges and proposals as they head into a general election in April, but critics denounced several of those promises for being populist. The ruling People Power Party interim Chair Han Dong-hoon on Thursday indirectly proposed to slash lawmakers' salaries to almost half of what they are now. During a meeting with other decision-makers in the party, Han suggested to "level the amount of tax the lawmakers pay to the amount

Politics Feb. 4, 2024

The main opposition party on Thursday rejected the proposals from both the Cabinet and the ruling party to temporarily halt the enforcement of the wider implementation of the workplace safety law, which seeks to add accountability for small and medium-sized business owners for serious industrial accidents. The Democratic Party of Korea has decided not to accede to the request for a two-year extension of the grace period for companies with fewer than 50 employees. Following an initial two-year gr

Politics Feb. 1, 2024

The main opposition leader on Thursday rolled out a set of pledges aimed at reducing subway and railway noise pollution, a day after the ruling party announced its own plans to resolve similar issues. Visiting Sindorim Station in Seoul, Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung pledged to launch a renovation project that would relocate several elevated railways across the country underground. The parties' pledges aim to win over voters suffering from noise from train and subway lines in

Politics Feb. 1, 2024

Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol and his policies, labeling them as the main contributing factors to the country's struggling economy and low birth rate. While expressing confidence of prevailing in the upcoming general election in April, Lee also called for the restoration of the inter-Korean hotline, which was cut off by North Korea since Yoon took office in May 2022. Reconnecting the hotline would help avoid further risks of war, Lee sa

Politics Jan. 31, 2024

Amid escalating tensions over graft accusations against first lady Kim Keon Hee involving a Christian Dior handbag, the ruling party on Monday called for an investigation into similar allegations surrounding the former first lady. The People Power Party brought up long-standing allegations that former President Moon Jae-in's wife Kim Jung-sook used taxpayers' money to purchase a custom-made Chanel jacket in around 2018. "What really needs to be addressed and questioned is the curr

Politics Jan. 29, 2024

A teenager's attack against a ruling party lawmaker on Thursday, which came less than a month after a stabbing incident involving the main opposition leader, has fueled worries over the safety of politicians ahead of April's general election. People Power Party Rep. Bae Hyun-jin remained hospitalized as of Friday afternoon after the 41-year-old lawmaker was repeatedly struck in the head with a blunt object by a teenage assailant in Gangnam-gu the previous day. Bae was rushed to hospita

Politics Jan. 26, 2024

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo on Thursday criticized the president's bodyguards' use of force against a minor party lawmaker at a recent event. Calling the restraint "excessive," he warned that such actions should not be repeated and called for the Cabinet and the parliament to have mutual respect. "Appropriate solutions must be adopted, to prevent such excessive measures from the president's bodyguards," Kim said during a speech at Thursday's pl

Politics Jan. 25, 2024

  People Power Party Rep. Bae Hyun-jin was struck multiple times in the head with a blunt object by a teenage assailant on Thursday, police said. Bae was entering a building in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, when she was attacked at around 5:18 p.m., according to a report filed with the police. The report identified the blunt object as a stone. The 41-year-old TV broadcaster-turned-lawmaker was immediately rushed to the hospital. Bae suffered a "1-centimeter laceration" on her scalp,

Politics Jan. 25, 2024

The main opposition party on Wednesday rolled out a set of pledges aimed at improving the livelihoods of soldiers here, including raising their night and weekend shift payments. The pledges were announced by Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung during his visit to the Second Marine Division in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, in the morning. The party plans to help the Ministry of Defense raise the weekday late shift pay for soldiers from the current 10,000 won ($7.50) to 30,000 won per shif

Politics Jan. 24, 2024