South Korea’s Supreme Court faces an unusual vacancy for the first time in 30 years as the National Assembly motion to appoint a replacement for the retiring chief justice was delayed amid turmoil over an arrest warrant request for the main opposition party leader. Ahn Chul-sang, the most senior of the 13 Supreme Court justices, will serve as acting chief justice starting Monday until the motion is considered and passed at the next Assembly plenary session. In a meeting also held Monday, t

Politics Sept. 25, 2023

Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Friday made pleas to "salvage democracy" from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, a day after the National Assembly passed a motion to let the court decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for him. In a written statement, he called attention to the country’s history of fighting military dictatorships, and the monthslong protests that led to the impeachment of the Park Geun-hye administration. “As history is a guide, it

Politics Sept. 22, 2023

The National Assembly on Thursday voted to pass the motion for a possible arrest warrant that removed the protective immunity of Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung on day 22 of his hunger strike against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The motion’s passage gives the court the Assembly’s permission to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Lee, who is a criminal suspect in three corruption cases and a defendant in two ongoing criminal trials. In a plenary sess

Politics Sept. 21, 2023

Another motion for an arrest warrant for Democratic Party of Korea’s leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, who is in hospital from his 19-day hunger strike, awaits a vote by the National Assembly, possibly on Thursday. President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the request for the opposition leader’s arrest warrant, which was referred to the Assembly for a vote, his office said Tuesday. The presidential approval comes a day after Seoul prosecutors filed an arrest warrant request after Lee over three sepa

Politics Sept. 19, 2023

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the bedridden leader of the Democratic Party of Korea on a strike against what he calls President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “tyrannical rule,” is wanted by prosecutors on an arrest warrant request for the second time this year. Seoul prosecutors said Monday they filed a request for an arrest warrant against Lee, who is already a defendant in two corruption trials, on three different counts of accusations. One is that he colluded with a policy aide while he was mayor o

Politics Sept. 18, 2023

South Korea’s main opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung has been on an indefinite hunger strike, having consumed nothing other than salt and fluids for 18 days straight. The chair of the Democratic Party of Korea says he is forgoing food to protest the way President Yoon Suk Yeol is running the country, which he has characterized using two keywords -- “tyranny” and “incompetence.” He insists he would not give up unless his demands are met, one of which is that Yoon

Politics Sept. 17, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly reaching a deal over military cooperation with Russia's Vladimir Putin is like “making a deal with the devil,” South Korea’s ruling party chief said Thursday. Speaking at a meeting of the party leadership, the People Power Party’s chair, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, said the two “who are regarded by many in the international community as the most dangerous leaders, are being criticized all over the world for the demonic trade.&r

Politics Sept. 14, 2023

South Korea’s ruling party is preparing a resolution to stop the possible forced repatriation of more than 2,600 North Korean defectors detained in China. The People Power Party said Wednesday that it has begun a discussion to adopt the resolution as the party platform, and submit what would be a party-wide resolution to the National Assembly as soon as possible. Speaking at a party leadership meeting Tuesday, Rep. Ji Seong-ho, a former North Korea escapee, said that the repatriation of No

Politics Sept. 13, 2023

Rep. Shin Won-sik of the ruling People Power Party was nominated as the minister of national defense on Wednesday. He is a former three-star general with 35 years of military service who built an extensive experience in both policy crafting and operations. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s chief of staff Kim Dae-ki said in a briefing on this day he was the “most qualified candidate to complete building South Korea’s security capabilities against escalating nuclear and missile threats.&

Politics Sept. 13, 2023

A lawmaker from South Korea’s ruling People Power Party is leading a resolution to mourn the lives lost in the recent Morocco earthquake​ and to mobilize support for recovery efforts in devastated communities. Rep. Jung Hee-yong, who heads the ruling party’s committee for natural disaster preparedness, said Tuesday he had introduced a resolution to recognize the victims of the the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night, and to support their recovery. The resolut

Politics Sept. 12, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was spotted Monday traveling by his family train on his way to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The third-generation Kim diverged from his famously flight-phobic father in his past summit trips, in June 2018 flying Air China to get to Singapore for the landmark meeting with then-US President Donald Trump. This time he chose to travel 20 hours on the train that is speculated to be bulletproof and multifunctional, with luxurious decors. Rep. Tae Yong-

Politics Sept. 12, 2023

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday demanded that President Yoon Suk Yeol replace his entire Cabinet, starting with Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, who the party is accusing of being behind the alleged cover-up of the death of a marine soldier in July. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s chair who is on day 12 of his hunger strike against what he calls “Yoon's tyranny,” said in a statement released Monday that the president, by refusin

Politics Sept. 11, 2023

[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 국민의힘이 태영호 국회의원에게 “쓰레기” 발언을 한 박영순 더불어민주당 의원에 대한 윤리특별위원회 징계안을 제출할 예정이다. 7일 여권 고위관계자에 따르면 국민의힘은 박 의원에 대한 징계안을 이르면 8일 오전 국회에 제출한다. 박 의원은 지난 6일 국회 본회의장에서 태 의원에게 “북한에서 온 쓰레기” “빨갱이” “공산당 부역자” 라고 외쳤다. 이에 대해 태 의원이 사과를 요구하자 박 의원은 입장문을 통해 “윤석열 대통령과 태 의원이 먼저 야당을 향한 비난과 모욕에 대해 사과한다면 저 또한 사과하겠다”고 맞섰다. 〈원문 기사〉 Defector-lawmaker gets called ‘commie’ by opposition colleague at Assembly Ruling People Power Party Rep. Tae Yong-

한국어판 Sept. 7, 2023

Ruling People Power Party Rep. Tae Yong-ho, who defected from North Korea about six years ago before he was elected to the National Assembly in 2020, was publicly insulted by a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker during Thursday’s plenary session of the National Assembly. Tae, who is the first North Korean defector to be directly elected into the Assembly, was called “scum from North Korea,” “commie” and “traitor” by main opposition Democratic Party Rep.

Politics Sept. 7, 2023

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party on Thursday reported six current and former members of the press to the police for defamation over “fake news” on then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. Among those reported to the police is Kim Man-bae, a longtime reporter known as an ally of Yoon’s onetime presidential rival and the Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung. He is a major stakeholder of an asset management company that invested in an urban developmen

Politics Sept. 7, 2023