President Yoon Suk-yeol and the ruling People Power Party are set on a collision course with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea over the Democratic Party’s push to revise the National Assembly Act, which would give lawmakers the right to amend presidential and prime ministerial decrees. When asked by reporters on his way to work on Monday about how he sees the opposition party’s push to amend the act, he said, “It is highly unconstitutional (for the National Assembl

Politics June 13, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol faces his first test in multilateral diplomacy if his visit to an upcoming NATO summit is confirmed. It would also provide an opportunity for him to deepen South Korea’s relationship with the US and its allies amid diplomatic pressures with China and Russia. If Yoon participates in the NATO summit held in Madrid in late June, he would be the first Korean president to attend the meeting. NATO has invited leaders from four Asia-Pacific countries -- nonmembers So

Foreign Affairs June 9, 2022

Korea and Vietnam will seek to elevate bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the two sides’ leaders agreed in a videoconference, Seoul officials said Wednesday. According to a press release from the presidential office, President Yoon Suk-yeol and Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong held a video call in the morning to exchange views on ways to develop Korea-Vietnam relations, Korea-ASEAN cooperation and international issues. The two leaders ev

Foreign Affairs June 8, 2022

Seoul should mend ties with Tokyo to resolve North Korean challenges and the first step is to have Korea-US-Japan military operations, the Heritage Foundation think tank founder Edwin Feulner says. North Korea fired eight short-range ballistic missiles on Sunday. It was Pyongyang’s 18th armed provocation this year and the most missiles fired in a day. The founder of the US conservative think tank believes strengthening ties among South Korea, the US and Japan is crucial to solving the u

Foreign Affairs June 8, 2022

UN-HABITAT PARTNERS WITH OCEANIX -- The UN-Habitat Korean National Committee signed a memorandum of understanding with Oceanix, a New York-based “blue tech” company, at its Yeouido office in Seoul on Tuesday. This agreement was designed to realize the world‘s first sustainable sea city pilot model, “Oceanix Busan,” unveiled at the UN headquarters in New York on April 26 as a successful business at the international level. From left are UN-Habitat Korean National Co

Foreign Affairs June 7, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol named ambassadors to the United Nations, Japan, China and Russia on Tuesday. Yoon appointed Hwang Joon-kook (62), former ambassador to the United Kingdom, as ambassador to the United Nations, and Yun Duk-min (63), former head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, as ambassador to Japan. Chung Jae-ho (62), a professor of foreign affairs at Seoul National University, was appointed ambassador to China, while Chang Ho-jin (61), a chair professor at Korea Maritime &

Politics June 7, 2022

Senior foreign affairs officials of South Korea and Ukraine met privately to discuss the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, officials said Tuesday. It is the first time that a high-level Ukrainian official made a public visit to Korea since the Russian invasion in February. Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon met with Ukraine’s Vice Foreign Minister Dmytro Senik on Tuesday and exchanged views on the recent situation in Ukraine, support for the country, economic cooperation between the tw

Foreign Affairs June 7, 2022

Henry Kissinger, a former US national security adviser, said South Korea and the US should work together to solve multiple challenges the world faces, in an international conference held in Seoul Friday. The Asan Institute for Policy Studies held the Asan Symposium “Celebrating Korea-US Relations: 140 Years and Beyond” to commemorate the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the US. In the virtual congratulatory remarks, Kissinger said South Korea has built

Foreign Affairs June 3, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol said South Korea seeks to develop the relationship with the US into a comprehensive strategic alliance at the global level and to expand its role based on their strong alliance, in talks with US academic figures on Friday. His remarks reaffirm the agreement made in a summit with US President Joe Biden last month to upgrade the Korea-US alliance. At the meeting with former and current members of US academia groups in the presidential office, Yoon said, “We pl

Foreign Affairs June 3, 2022

The main opposition Democratic Party took a major loss in the local elections, but Kim Dong-yeon’s narrow victory for Gyeonggi Province governor came as a partial relief and possible sign that all may not be lost for the party. Although the party lost 12 of the 17 seats in the elections of metropolitan government to the ruling People Power Party, it won in the biggest battleground Gyeonggi Province. According to the National Election Commission on Thursday, Kim got 2,827,593 votes, de

Politics June 2, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol and the ruling People Power Party’s political clout is growing, following a landslide victory in the June 1 local elections despite the opposition dominating the National Assembly. Yoon vowed to dedicate all his energy to stabilizing people’s livelihoods. The local elections are crucial for Yoon, as they determine the political direction of the first two years of his administration before the 2024 general election takes place. In the elections held 22 day

Politics June 2, 2022

Former President Moon Jae-in has sued four people, including members of conservative groups, for protesting in front of his residence on charges of defamation and death threats. Moon’s legal representative visited the Yangsan Police Station on Tuesday and filed a complaint on behalf of Moon and his spouse Kim Jung-sook against the four people from three protest groups. The accusations include abusive language, repeated dissemination of false information, defamation, threats murder a

Politics June 1, 2022

The presidential office has backtracked on its stance on abolishing the role of an independent inspector general as criticism arose even within the ruling bloc, saying it would not get rid of the position. A senior official from the presidential office told reporters Tuesday, “We are sorry that it seemed like we were discussing the premise of abolishing (the position of) the independent inspector general.” “We are reviewing a good system -- including an independent inspect

Politics May 31, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday nominated two female experts to fill remaining Cabinet seats after being criticized for a lack of female representation. Yoon also appointed a female expert to co-head the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Yoon nominated Seoul National University professor Park Soon-ae for education minister and former lawmaker Kim Seung-hee as health minister. He also nominated Seoul National University professor Oh Yu-Kyoung as vice minister of food and drug safety. Wit

Politics May 26, 2022

Seoul is closely monitoring North Korea for a possible nuclear test, with authorities having detected the testing of nuclear warhead detonation devices, a top security official said Wednesday, following a National Security Council meeting to address North Korea’s three ballistic missiles launches early the same morning. When asked about the possibility of the North’s nuclear test, Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, said, “It is unlikely th

Foreign Affairs May 25, 2022