Controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee are likely to top the agenda at the upcoming second meeting between the leaders of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party, observers said Sunday. People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party Rep. Lee Jae-myung recently agreed to hold a second round of talks, following up on their first official meeting in early September. The date for the second meeting, however, is yet to be announced. The agreeme

Politics Oct. 27, 2024

This year's National Assembly audit was slammed by critics on Thursday as the worst to date, with civic groups denouncing both sides of the political sphere for failing to carry out a proper audit. A monitoring group consisting of 270 different local civic groups here graded this year’s National Assembly audit a near-failing score of D-minus. The National Assembly Audit NGO Monitoring Group called this year’s parliamentary audit, which kicked off Oct. 7 and is set to wrap up Fri

Politics Oct. 24, 2024

The South Korean government is stepping up its efforts to make the country more foreigner-friendly by building an accessible database system of the country's laws and legislation, the minister of government legislation told the Korea Herald earlier this month. As South Korea pushes to embrace foreign workers and immigrants to address population decline, the Ministry of Government Legislation -- a body focused on making the nation's legal system clear, consistent, and accessible both do

Social Affairs Oct. 23, 2024

South Korea's conservative ruling bloc on Friday was divided over the prosecutors' recent decision to not indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scandal involving a local BMW dealer. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Thursday dismissed the charges that the first lady violated the Financial Investment Services And Capital Markets Act. The announcement came some four years after the probe into allegations that Kim's stock trading ac

Politics Oct. 18, 2024

Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon on Thursday stepped up his call for first lady Kim Keon Hee to refrain from public activities and explain multiple allegations against her, which include claims of her illegal involvement in the April 10 parliamentary elections. Han’s remarks come a day after the conservative bloc won two of the five seats in the regional by-elections in its respective strongholds -- Busan's Geumjeong District and Incheon's Ganghwa County – as President Yoo

Politics Oct. 17, 2024

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,

Politics Oct. 16, 2024

The World Health Organization, when asked about the monthslong medical standoff in South Korea, said Tuesday that expanding the primary health care workforce is needed to cope with future challenges. "Challenges of the future -- including aging, prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and new patterns of accessing health services -- require expanding the supply of services, particularly at primary health care settings, where most health needs should be addressed," said the UN agency

Social Affairs Oct. 15, 2024

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.

Politics Oct. 14, 2024

This year’s annual National Assembly audit kicked off Monday with the rival parties locking horns over a slew of legal issues surrounding Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung and multiple allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. Seventeen parliamentary standing committees will audit a total of 802 government institutions over 26 days. Ten of the 17 standing committees were scheduled to hold hearings Monday, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Foreign Af

Politics Oct. 7, 2024

The three bills blocked by President Yoon Suk Yeol, including one for a special investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee, were scrapped Friday after failing to get the National Assembly votes required to override Yoon's veto. The bills were voted on for a second time during an afternoon plenary session, but neither got the two-thirds majority support needed to force them through. The bill for a special counsel investigation into the first lady, passed by the Assembly on Sept. 19, is an up

Politics Oct. 4, 2024

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Friday decided to let its leadership make the final decision on whether to postpone the adoption of the financial investment income tax, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1. The decision made during a general meeting of party lawmakers in the morning, comes as the ruling People Power Party has been calling for the Democratic Party, which currently holds the majority of seats in the 300-member Assembly, to agree on the abolition or a postponement

Politics Oct. 4, 2024

In a startling revelation, a leaked phone conversation in which a former presidential official urged a YouTube news channel reporter to discredit the current leader of the ruling People Power Party during the party's leadership race has alarmed the conservative bloc in recent days. Voice of Seoul, a far-left YouTube-based news channel, recently uploaded an apparent recording of a phone conversation between Kim Dae-nam, formerly the acting secretary for public communication at the presidenti

Politics Oct. 3, 2024

The Cabinet passed a motion Monday demanding that the opposition-led National Assembly reconsider three contentious bills, including the one that mandates a special counsel investigation into several allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. The motion was passed during a morning Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, 11 days after the parliament passed the bills pushed through by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea amid a ruling party boycott. "We will d

Politics Sept. 30, 2024

South Korea's main opposition party, whose lawmakers occupy a strong majority of the seats at the National Assembly, is leaning toward delaying the adoption of the financial investment income tax, observers said Sunday. The Democratic Party of Korea will likely agree with ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon's request last month to agree on postponing the implementation of the new investment tax policy set to take effect next year. During a press briefing Sunday, Democratic Pa

Politics Sept. 29, 2024

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a total of 70 bipartisan bills, including legislation that imposes stricter punishments on people who possess and view deepfake pornography knowingly. The revision to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes, seeks to penalize those who possess, purchase, store or view deepfake porn content with up to three years in jail or a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,500). After debate, lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party

Politics Sept. 26, 2024