Construction work for the GTX Line B suburban rail network broke ground in Incheon on Thursday, as the 6.84-trillion-won ($5.14 billion) project aims to connect the port city to Seoul and Gyeonggi Province via express train services. President Yoon Suk Yeol said the combined population of 13 million people in Incheon and Seoul will enjoy 30-minute commutes once construction of the 82-kilometer railway is complete as planned by 2030. "The transportation revolution in Incheon has just begun t

Politics March 7, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday refused to concede to some 9,000 trainee doctors' walkout, defining their collective action as "illegal" and insisting it must be met with stern actions guided by law and principle. Yoon denied the accusations that the government's measures against defiant doctors, such as its decision to suspend the medical licenses of some 7,000 trainees, were meant to suppress doctors' freedom and rights. Instead, these should be construed as actions "to mee

Politics March 6, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday announced plans to expand state-backed scholarship programs to woo South Korea's young generation. Yoon told some 460 participants in a policy debate held in the city of Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, that the government "has the responsibility to help the talented young generation live up to their capacity." Yoon said the number of students eligible to get state-sponsored scholarships, provided by the state-run Korea Student Aid Foundation, wil

Politics March 5, 2024

The general election on April 10 will not only be an election for a new parliament of 300 legislators but also a decisive moment for the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been struggling to advance his agenda since his narrow election victory two years ago. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, led by Yoon's presidential election opponent Rep. Lee Jae-myung, currently holds a simple majority. The ruling party, on the other hand, has only 113 out of the 300 parliamentary seats. T

Politics March 4, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol hailed Seoul's thawing relationship with Tokyo as a chance to move the two East Asian countries toward a "new world," stressing that now is the time for South Korea to leave historical grievances in the past. Yoon described Japan, which ruled South Korea for 35 years until the end of World War II, as South Korea's "partner in the pursuit of common interests for global peace and prosperity," at the March 1 Independence Movement Day celebration held at Y

Politics March 1, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday remained set on his push for an increase in the annual medical school enrollment quota of 2,000, saying the number "is non-negotiable." "No excuses can justify (doctors') collective action of taking people's health hostage and posing a threat to people's lives," Yoon told some 100 participants including mayors and provincial governors at the Central and Local Government Cooperation Council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential of

Social Affairs Feb. 27, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday pledged to remove restrictions near military bases regarding land use for private purposes such as construction, in yet another apparent move to appeal to voters ahead of the April parliamentary election. Yoon's conservative administration has decided to ease land regulations on a total of 339 square kilometers of land across the nation -- equivalent to 47,480 soccer fields, or 0.3 percent of South Korea's land area -- mostly near military airfields an

Politics Feb. 26, 2024

An internal rift in the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has widened amid accusations from current and outgoing party members that the candidate nomination process for the April legislative election is unfair and lacks transparency. Both the ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party have been gradually selecting their candidates to run in South Korea's 253 constituencies. Lawmakers are either elected directly by the constituency or through a proportional representation system t

Politics Feb. 25, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday pledged to spend 4 trillion won ($3 billion) on nuclear energy research and development projects during his five-year term until 2027, bolstering his earlier commitment in July 2022 to reverse the nuclear phase-out policy. Yoon also set the goal of planning nuclear power projects that would earn the domestic nuclear energy industry a combined 3.3 trillion won, and promised to extend a total of 1 trillion won in special loans for industrywide support. Moreover,

Politics Feb. 22, 2024

South Korea is poised to ease regulations on greenfields protected by the government and permit land development projects in such conservation areas in provincial areas. President Yoon Suk Yeol said the eased rules related to protected areas designated as "greenbelt" could create economic value during the 13th session of the policy debate held in Ulsan on Wednesday. "The one-size-fits-all land regulations concerning the greenbelt designation will be addressed for the first time in

Politics Feb. 21, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol called by phone his counterparts in Germany and Denmark Tuesday to provide an explanation for postponing his trip to the two European countries, according to his office on Wednesday. Yoon asked German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen for understanding for delaying his previously scheduled visit. Yoon had been set to depart Seoul this Sunday for a weeklong trip including a state visit to Germany. Yoon told Steinmeier and Frederi

Politics Feb. 21, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday said the collective action of trainee doctors to quit their jobs at teaching hospitals cannot be tolerated, and the government has the "constitutional responsibility" to manage medical resources to prevent the nation's medical system from collapsing. "We are seeing scheduled surgeries being scaled down or suspended, as the (trainee doctors') collective action to halt the provision of medical services was expected," Yoon told the Ca

Politics Feb. 20, 2024

Dozens of alumni from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday accused the presidential security of abusing its power and exerting violence by forcibly removing a student from the graduation ceremony venue. The bodyguards of President Yoon Suk Yeol ejected an attendee, named Shin Min-gi, from the ceremony in Daejeon when he protested the budget cut in scientific technology research and development for this year during Yoon's commencement remarks on Friday. The alumni, co

Politics Feb. 20, 2024

Kim Keon Hee appeared to have resumed her engagements as South Korea's first lady, albeit unofficially, for the first time in over two months. Kim reportedly joined a lunch meeting with Netflix Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos and "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae, who had been received by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday at the presidential residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The initial statement from the presidential office about the meeting did not indicate that Kim was presen

Politics Feb. 19, 2024

A student was physically removed on Friday as he protested a research budget cut as President Yoon Suk Yeol delivered a speech at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology's commencement ceremony in Daejeon. A clip of the student being carried out with his arms and legs lifted by bodyguards has gone viral in online communities. The video appeared to show some of the bodyguards were clad in graduation gowns. The student, identified as Shin Min-gi, one of some 3,000 graduates tha

Politics Feb. 16, 2024