The chief of the South Korean intelligence agency Kim Kyou-hyun believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s possible summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin could be carried out in a manner that counters earlier media speculations. Speaking at a closed-door briefing Thursday, the executive secretary for the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, Rep. Yoo Sang-bum, said he was briefed by the National Intelligence Service director that the two leaders “could make a surprise move

Politics Sept. 7, 2023

A former reporter has become the center of a media bias debate in South Korean politics after accusations emerged that he paid a journalist working for an independent news outlet last year to carry a damaging story against then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. The ex-reporter, Kim Man-bae, is described by political insiders as being close to Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the current leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea who rivaled Yoon in the 2022 presidential election. He is also a key

Politics Sept. 6, 2023

The Yoon Suk Yeol office said Tuesday a story featuring a former reporter suspected of having close ties to onetime presidential candidate and opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung was “the worst fake news” from last year. Days before the presidential election in March 2022, Kim Man-bae, the reporter in question, suggested that then-People Power Party candidate Yoon was behind a controversial urban development project in which key Lee aides are suspected of illicitly profiting from. K

Politics Sept. 5, 2023

South Korean intelligence agency believes Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu proposed a joint military drill with North Korea and China during his visit to Pyongyang about a month ago. It was likely Shoigu who suggested a three-way maritime drill when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, National Intelligence Service Director Kim Kyou-hyun was quoted by ruling People Power Party Rep. Yoo Sang-bum as telling the National Assembly intelligence committee on Monday. The Russian defense m

Politics Sept. 4, 2023

South Korean Rep. Youn Mee-hyang, formerly with the Democratic Party of Korea, has come under scrutiny for attending an event organized by a North Korea-affiliated group based in Japan last week. Youn was referred to the National Assembly’s ethics committee on Monday for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding her participation in the pro-North Korea event. According to a document obtained by Rep. Ha Tae-keung’s office, the opposition lawmaker had requested the Assembly secreta

Politics Sept. 4, 2023

The Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China agreed to join efforts to stop China from forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors detained there over a summit in Prague, the Czech Republic. In a resolution adopted on the last day of the three-day summit, the Alliance’s member lawmakers said they would resolve to “press (their) governments to make diplomatic efforts to the People’s Republic of China, urging them to cease repatriating North Korean defectors.” South Korean ru

Politics Sept. 3, 2023

Japan’s disposal of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant has politicians in South Korea responding in contrasting fashion, with one side fasting to protest the Japanese government's actions and the other side feasting to promote seafood consumption. Democratic Party of Korea head Rep. Lee Jae-myung, on the fourth day of a hunger strike, said he would call on the international community to join his party’s protests against the Japanese government over the wat

Politics Sept. 3, 2023

South Korean lawmaker Rep. Ji Seong-ho attended this year’s summit of the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China in Prague on Thursday to call on Beijing to stop forcibly deporting North Korean defectors. While South Korea is not a member of the IPAC, Ji was invited to attend the summit to deliver a keynote speech on the situation facing North Korean defectors in China. The IPAC is composed of more than 240 lawmakers from 24 countries and aims at working on approaches to Beijing. With North

Politics Aug. 31, 2023

South Korea’s legally troubled main opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung announced he was going on an indefinite hunger strike on Thursday, his first anniversary in office as chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying President Yoon Suk Yeol was “ruining the country.” At a press conference, Lee said stopping Yoon from “undermining democracy, destroying the Korean middle class and failing to stand up against the Japanese government” was a “life or death

Politics Aug. 31, 2023

A row has broken out in South Korea over how to describe the water being discharged from the crippled nuclear power plant in Japan’s Fukushima. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea says the water from the plant is “nuclear waste,” while the ruling People Power Party would rather call it “treated wastewater,” as does the International Atomic Energy Agency. The People Power Party on Wednesday said that the wastewater from Fukushima, while still slightly radio

Politics Aug. 30, 2023

After a series of seemingly random stabbings swept across South Korea in the past month, a bill was proposed on Wednesday to reduce liability for police officers when they use force at certain crime scenes. Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party said he would introduce a bill to reduce liability for police officers should they cause harm to another individual while engaging in physical interactions with offenders if there is no intent or gross negligence on the part of the officer.

Politics Aug. 30, 2023

With the 2024 elections approaching, South Korea’s ruling party on Monday vowed to spread of misinformation in an apparent aim at the opposition’s attacks on the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s response to the ocean release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by the Japanese government. The People Power Party said it would expand efforts to curb "fake news" and conspiracy theories in a resolution adopted at the end of a two-day session to make

Politics Aug. 29, 2023

INCHEON -- South Korea’s two major parties each embarked on two-day preparation sessions from Monday, to plan for the last regular session of the National Assembly before legislative elections in April. The ruling People Power Party’s retreat in Incheon was attended by the entire party, as well as President Yoon Suk Yeol and some members of the Cabinet. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho gave the lawmakers a special lecture on challenges facing the country’s economy and policy mile

Politics Aug. 28, 2023

South Korea’s main opposition party warned it would take a series of actions condemning the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s policies on Japan as Tokyo began a phased release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Thursday afternoon. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the head of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in an emergency meeting gathering all of the party’s lawmakers that Yoon, with his “leniency with Japan,” was “no less responsible for the

Politics Aug. 24, 2023

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, has been named a suspect in an investigation into illicit transfers of money to North Korea in 2018. This makes Lee, who is already facing separate trials over corruption controversies from his time as head of Gyeonggi Province and the city of Seongnam, a possible defendant in yet another criminal case. According to prosecutors in Gyeonggi Province’s Suwon, Lee is suspected of having played a major role in paying

Politics Aug. 23, 2023