The South Korean opposition’s escalation of combative rhetoric on Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant is “unseemly,” the ruling party's floor leader said Wednesday, Eastern European Time. “My colleagues across the aisle have chosen to abandon the longstanding courtesy of stepping back from domestic political attacks on the president while he is on a trip meeting foreign leaders,” Rep. Yun Jae-ok of th

Politics July 12, 2023

South Korea’s main opposition party on Sunday asked the International Atomic Energy Agency director general to halt Japan’s plan to discharge treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and to find alternatives to the ocean disposal. In a meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, five Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers accused the United Nations atomic watchdog of bias and described its final assessment on the safety of the Japanese plan as “shoddily concluded&rdquo

Politics July 9, 2023

The South Korean government released the English version of its report on North Korean human rights Friday, but it omitted a controversial clause included in an earlier edition that stated it would not bear responsibility for the report’s accuracy. In April, the English report by the Ministry of Unification was taken down from the website after wide criticism over the disclaimer, which denied responsibility for the report's accuracy. The original Korean report did not contain such dis

Politics July 7, 2023

South Korean inquiry found Japan’s plan to discharge treated wastewater from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant to be “consistent with international safety standards,” the government announced Friday. Bang Moon-kyu, the government policy coordination minister, said the plan proposed by the Japanese government met international standards, including those of the International Atomic Energy Agency. “If the plan is kept as outlined, no violation of safety stand

Politics July 7, 2023

A government plan to build a highway connecting Seoul with a county near the capital city was rescinded Thursday, after the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea raised allegations of possible favors having been granted to the family of the first lady. Earlier this week, the Democratic Party suggested the construction plan was tweaked so that the highway passes by a piece of land owned by the first lady’s family. After a meeting with ruling People Power Party lawmakers Thursday morning

Politics July 6, 2023

South Korean opposition rejected the International Atomic Energy Agency approval of the Fukushima water discharge on Tuesday, warning of a series of actions at home and abroad to stop the water from flowing. In a joint statement, Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers said “the IAEA report is no excuse for Japan dumping radioactive waste into the sea.” “The Japanese government must retract its plan to discharge the Fukushima radioactive wastewater immediately,” the statement

Politics July 5, 2023

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday delivered its final verdict on Japan’s planned discharge of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant as maintaining safety standards, ending a two-year review conducted amid concerns over its possible impact to marine life and human lives. Concluding that the Japanese plan to release the water into the sea was “consistent with the relevant international safety standards, IAEA said in its report that the discharge of t

Politics July 4, 2023

South Korea does not plan on lifting its restrictions on imports of seafood from Japanese prefectures around the site of the 2011 triple meltdown of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant until Koreans feel safe regardless of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s final findings on safety. After a meeting with officials from the Foreign Affairs, Food Safety and other concerned ministries held a meeting on Monday, the ruling People Power Party said the ban on Japanese seafood will stay intact

Politics July 3, 2023

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Friday unilaterally passed a resolution calling for the Japanese government to scrap its plan to discharge the treated wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant into the sea. As of now, over 1.3 million cubic meters of wastewater used to cool three of the plant's reactors after meltdowns during the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 are being stored in some 1,000 giant tanks on the site. The resolution urges the Japa

Politics June 30, 2023

South Korean National Assembly on Friday passed legislation requiring workers at medical institutions to register newborns starting a year from now. The newly passed legislation is aimed at preventing children from going unregistered. Previously, only parents had the authority to register the birth of their child. According to the Board of Audit Inspection report released last week, at least 2,236 children born 2015-2022 in medical institutions were not registered with the government. Children w

Politics June 30, 2023

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party is seeking to pass legislation allowing women to give birth anonymously at hospitals as a part of a strategy to reduce the number of children denied registration and promote safe maternal care. Rep. Park Dae-chul, the head of the People Power Party’s policy committee, said his party agreed to back legislation to introduce an “anonymous birth” system, where women unwilling to disclose their identity at childbirth will have the option

Politics June 28, 2023

South Korea’s ruling party leaders and government officials on Tuesday agreed to expand the energy bill support scheme as the weather agency has forecast a hotter than average summer for much of the country. The measures announced on this day at a meeting of the People Power Party leaders and officials of the Energy and Education Ministries focused on schools and vulnerable households, with possible further support on the way. Schools across the country will be each afforded with an extra

Politics June 27, 2023

Two former Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers are launching new parties with the general election less than a year away. The move to new parties seek to attract a niche of swing voters who don’t lean toward either of the two major parties -- the conservative People Power Party in power and the liberal main opposition, Democratic Party of Korea. Recent polls indicate about 30 percent of South Korean voters identify as “politically independent.” Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, an independen

Politics June 26, 2023

Onetime presidential hopeful Lee Nak-yon on Saturday announced his return to politics after being out of the public eye for about a year. He was welcomed back by a handful of Democratic Party of Korea dissenters, whose support for Rep. Lee Jae-myung -- the main liberal opposition party’s leader mired in legal scandals -- has waned, signaling a possible split within the party. “The world is worried about South Korea right now,” Lee Nak-yon told a crowd of supporters at Incheon A

Politics June 25, 2023

Leaders of South Korea’s ruling party are set to visit the US next month to follow up on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s April summit with US President Joe Biden. The People Power Party said Thursday that its chairperson Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon and the rest of the leadership will be heading to Washington on July 10 to meet with US Congress members and “reinvigorate” bilateral parliamentary dialogue as the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance. Rep. Kang Min-kuk,

Politics June 22, 2023