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

The Korean government has decided to require all passengers on buses, taxis, subways and flights to wear masks, in order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The face-covering mandate, issued by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, comes as more drivers and passengers are disregarding mask-wearing recommendations amid rising temperatures. Under the new measure which goes into effect for buses and taxis on Tuesday, operators and drivers can temporarily refuse

Social Affairs May 25, 2020

South Korea reported 16 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the national’s total number of infections to date to 11,206, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The daily caseload of new infections dipped below 20 for the first time in four days, while health authorities are staying vigilant as cases linked to a cluster that appeared in Seoul’s nightlife district of Itaewon in early May continue to emerge. The number of cases linked to the Itae

Social Affairs May 25, 2020

The main opposition United Future Party is set to embark on a reform process, with an 80-year-old party outsider at its helm. The party on Friday voted Kim Chong-in, a veteran politician well-versed in economy, as the head of its envisioned emergency leadership body, ending weeks of internal strife over how to revive the faction’s political fortune after a crushing defeat in the April elections and who will map out strategies for it. Kim will serve until the parliamentary by-election

Politics May 24, 2020

The forces that shaped today’s Korea -- from its belated opening to the outside world in the late 19th century and its annexation by Japan in 1910 to the 1950-53 Korean War, dictatorships, rapid industrialization and blood-paved democratization -- are on exhibit at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. Located in Gwanghwamun Square, a site of historic and symbolic importance, the eight-story museum tells stories of the country’s politics, society, economy and culture

Culture May 23, 2020

Controversy surrounding the conviction of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, who served a two-year jail term for bribery, has been rekindled, after the ruling Democratic Party sought to revisit the case. Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party, on Thursday hinted that Han may have been politically targeted, referring to a 100-page diary written by a late businessman, the bribe-giver. He passed away in 2018. “The investigation was launched just ahead of the local e

Politics May 21, 2020