President Yoon Suk Yeol is considering delivering a speech to the nation over a set of domestic reform agendas to address crises in the fields of education, labor, medicine, and population, as well as the public pension's sustainability later this month, according to the presidential office Monday. According to the presidential office, Yoon will make public remarks after he returns to his post from his summer vacation next week, and before the first regular session of the 22nd National Asse

Politics Aug. 5, 2024

The number of patients hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19 surged fivefold in three weeks to late July, government data showed Friday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 during the fourth week of July reached 465, up over five times from the first week of the month at 91. Through the first four weeks of July, 929 patients were hospitalized for the highly contagious disease affecting the human respiratory sys

Politics Aug. 2, 2024

A bill to dole out cash-equivalent vouchers universally to every South Korean citizen gained parliamentary approval at the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Friday, about four months after opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung proposed the scheme. The 13 trillion-won ($9.4 billion) bill, designed to offer 250,000 won cash coupons to the entire 50 million population across the country, won 186 votes from 187 lawmakers present at the National Assembly. In South Korea's political lands

Politics Aug. 2, 2024

Han Dong-hoon, chair of the ruling People Power Party, nominated four-term lawmaker Rep. Kim Sang-hoon as the new policy chief of the ruling party, which would also make him one of the nine members of the party's supreme council, in an apparent move to tighten his grip on the party's decision-making body. The nomination of Kim will likely be confirmed at a general assembly of the People Power Party lawmakers next week. Han told reporters Friday that Kim is "highly competent."

Politics Aug. 2, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol told the ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon to embrace his political allies as they sat down for closed-door talks for about 1 1/2 hours Tuesday morning, the president's office said Wednesday. It was among the agenda items discussed at the highly anticipated meeting of Yoon and Han that took place in the presidential office from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. -- 30 minutes longer than initially planned. Yoon's chief of staff Chung Jin-suk was also in attendanc

Politics July 31, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol nominated Kim Moon-soo, a seasoned conservative politician and a former labor activist who recently served as the governor of Gyeonggi Province, as the new labor minister on Wednesday. Kim, who is currently a chair of the presidential advisory body the Economic, Social and Labor Council, will succeed Lee Jung-sik once he gets Yoon's final approval after going through a parliamentary hearing. Yoon is likely to push for appointing the former Gyeonggi governor without t

Politics July 31, 2024

Kim Ju-ae, the 12-year-old daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is seen as being groomed for succession, a lawmaker who attended a meeting of the intelligence committee of the National Assembly told reporters Monday. "(According to the National Intelligence Service,) Kim Ju-ae is being suggested as the most likely successor in the regime, as her succession training is currently underway," said Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party, who attended the meeting Monda

Politics July 29, 2024

Controversy has rekindled in South Korea over whether the government's decision to support Japan's bid for the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Sado Island gold and silver mines will compel Tokyo to acknowledge the forced labor of Koreans there. Among the criticisms is Japan's failure to recognize an estimated over 1,500 workers from the Korean Peninsula at the Sado mine as forced labor, as well as its omission of a museum featuring exhibitions on the Korean workers and the harsh, discrimina

Foreign Affairs July 28, 2024

The International Olympic Committee apologized to President Yoon Suk Yeol, the government, and the country's athletes for the error made during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics Friday afternoon local time, at which the South Korean delegation was mistakenly identified as representing North Korea, with which South Korea is technically still at war. According to the Sports Ministry on Sunday, IOC President Thomas Bach apologized for the "mistake in the audio broadcast of the op

Politics July 28, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that local governments' cooperation with the state was crucial in encouraging foreign residents to settle here to address the population crisis in South Korea. At a meeting held in Hongseong-gun, South Chungcheong Province, Yoon, who presided over a meeting with heads of the autonomous governments, said the central and local governments should take preemptive actions to support foreign nationals to settle and work in Korean society, as the country faces a gr

Politics July 25, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office announced Thursday it has established a new senior presidential secretary position dedicated to addressing South Korea's population crisis. Yoon's office also said You Hye-mi, an economics professor at Hanyang University, was appointed as the inaugural senior secretary tasked with tackling South Korea's low birth rate and addressing the nation's demographic challenges. Chung Jin-suk, Yoon's chief of staff, told reporters that You's position will serve as a "

Politics July 25, 2024

The new ruling People Power Party leadership kicked off its first day by highlighting unity amid concerns over lingering tensions between President Yoon Suk Yeol and newly elected party Chair Han Dong-hoon. The two met for dinner at the presidential office in Yongsan-gu in Seoul at the invitation of the president, Yoon's office said, noting that the meeting was intended to nurture "a grand harmony." Han was invited along with some other contenders at the party's national conv

Politics July 24, 2024

A series of conflicts between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his political lieutenant Han Dong-hoon have come under renewed focus as Han was elected as the new chair of the ruling People Power Party in a resounding victory at the party's National Convention on Tuesday. Han was constantly at odds with Yoon's office in Seoul as he led the campaign for the April 10 general election as the ruling party's interim leader. On the latest occasion, earlier in July, Han zeroed in on the presidential office b

Politics July 23, 2024

Lawmakers of the minor liberal opposition Rebuilding Korea Party proposed a bill Tuesday to launch a special counsel probe into both President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee. This is the latest development following disputes and the prosecution's internal strife concerning the legal enforcement institution's decision to interrogate Kim outside of its office, in what Yoon's political enemies have depicted as preferential treatment for the president's wife. Led by Rep. Park Eun-jung, a

Politics July 23, 2024

Prosecutor General Lee One-seok on Monday apologized for the prosecution's secretive questioning of first lady Kim Keon Hee over the weekend, saying that investigation principles were neglected while interrogating her. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office questioned Kim as a suspect at an undisclosed venue believed to be somewhere other than a prosecutors' office. The prosecution general, whose Supreme Prosecutors Office oversees the Seoul office, said he was not briefed

Politics July 22, 2024