Political parties raised a unified voice against North Korea’s destruction of a joint liaison office, criticizing the provocation that jeopardizes relations and urging the North to return to dialogue. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Hae-chan said Wednesday that North Korea has crossed the line by blowing up the symbol of the Panmunjom Declaration, which was signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their first summit in April 2018 to pledg

Politics June 17, 2020

Partisan strife is back to cripple the newly minted National Assembly, following the ruling party’s push to go ahead with the appointment of a party member as the chief of a key parliamentary committee Monday. The main opposition United Future Party boycotted all parliamentary sessions scheduled for Tuesday in protest against the Democratic Party of Korea’s decision to appoint all six standing committee chief positions endorsed at a plenary session a day earlier. Committee me

Politics June 16, 2020

North Korea resurged as a point of division in the National Assembly on Monday, as ruling and opposition parties pushed starkly different resolutions on the 20th anniversary of the first inter-Korean summit. The ruling Democratic Party on Monday called on the two Koreas to abide by all inter-Korean agreements and reverse the tide of deteriorating relations. Meanwhile, the opposition party criticized Pyongyang’s recent harsh rhetoric and urged the South Korean military to maintain it

Politics June 15, 2020

The chief of the prosecution on Friday ordered a thorough review of the 2010 bribery case against former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, as speculation continues to run rampant that she was framed for political reasons. Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol ordered the expansion of an internal review team to determine whether prosecutors abused their power and forced jailed witnesses to give false testimony against Han in exchange for reduced sentences. Han was convicted of accepting bribes and

Social Affairs June 12, 2020

The Supreme Court upheld on Thursday an 18-year prison sentence against a longtime confidante of former President Park Geun-hye for her role in an influence-peddling scandal that eventually brought down Park’s presidency in 2017. The Supreme Court upheld on Thursday an 18-year prison sentence for a longtime confidante of former President Park Geun-hye for her role in the influence-peddling scandal that eventually brought down Park’s presidency in 2017. Choi Seo-won, formerl

Social Affairs June 11, 2020

The main opposition United Future Party urged the government Wednesday to reconsider its 2018 military pact with North Korea after Pyongyang decided to cut off all communication with Seoul. The pact was signed to prevent military confrontations on the Korean Peninsula. In an emergency security meeting at the National Assembly, party Floor Leader Joo Ho-young called on President Moon Jae-in to apologize over his “failed policy toward North Korea” and to conduct “a sweeping

Politics June 10, 2020

Prosecutors’ plans to wrap up a yearlong investigation of alleged financial fraud by Samsung Group affiliates faced a setback Tuesday, when a court denied arrest warrants for the group’s de facto chief and two other former executives. Now that the Seoul Central District Court has decided not to detain Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong or former Samsung executives Choi Ji-sung and Kim Jong-joong, the prosecution is weighing its options. It could seek the warrants

Social Affairs June 9, 2020

A Seoul court rejected Tuesday the arrest warrant for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong over the succession probe. The Seoul Central District Court turned down the prosecution's request to arrest Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, saying that there is not sufficient probable cause for his arrest. At a court hearing Monday, Lee tried his best to avoid another arrest over alleged corporate fraud surrounding a 2015 merger between two key affiliates. Ar

Social Affairs June 8, 2020

A South Korean court will decide Monday whether Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong should be arrested over his possible involvement in a series of alleged corporate frauds surrounding a 2015 merger between two key affiliates. The high-stakes courtroom battle will take place at the Seoul Central District Court from 10 a.m., which will be attended by Lee and two ex-executives of Samsung Group -- Choi Ji-sung, former future strategy office chief, and Kim Jong-joong, former head th

Social Affairs June 7, 2020

A Korean court has kicked off the process of liquidating seized local assets of a Japanese company that committed World War II-era forced labor, as the Japanese government and the firm have ignored the ruling ordering it to compensate victims.　 The Pohang branch of Daegu District Court decided Monday to give public notice of the court ruling made last year on seizing the Korean assets of Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel, previously known as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. The procedu

Social Affairs June 4, 2020

In an attempt to refresh its heritage brand, the United Future Party stressed forward-looking policies and protection of the weak, proposing its first bill for the new parliament on Monday. The conservative party launched a nine-member emergency leadership committee, led by veteran politician Kim Chong-in, with a mission to restore voter support by April next year. With the new slogan of “accompanying the weak,” the conservative faction plans to undergo drastic changes to depart

Politics June 1, 2020

The new parliament, now heavily tilted to the left, began its four-year term Saturday, with a full plate of work amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. And ruling Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Kim Tae-nyeon on Sunday called on opposition parties for cooperation to allow the 21st National Assembly to set out to handle pandemic-related legislation swiftly. “The Democratic Party will open the National Assembly on June 5 to pick the speaker and deputy speaker of the assembly,” K

Politics May 31, 2020

South Korea’s election watchdog demonstrated the ballot-counting process to the public in a mock version on Thursday, intent on debunking vote-rigging allegations raised by a lawmaker who lost his seat in the April 15 parliamentary election. The National Election Commission carried out the demonstration at its headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, setting up a hypothetical situation where 1,000 out of 4,000 eligible voters cast ballots in advance polls for four constituency can

Social Affairs May 28, 2020

The leader of the ruling Democratic Party has defended activist-turned-lawmaker-elect Yoon Mi-hyang, who came under fire over allegations of misappropriating funds during her years as head of an advocacy group that for many years has defended the rights of victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery. Democratic Party Chairman Lee Hae-chan said the 30-year-long campaign of the group -- the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan -- should n

Social Affairs May 27, 2020

Prosecutors summoned Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong as part of a probe into suspicions surrounding a 2015 merger between two key affiliates, which helped the scion secure control of the country’s largest conglomerate. Samsung Group’s heir apparent appeared before prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday morning to be questioned over the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015, as well as alleged accounting fraud

Social Affairs May 26, 2020