Defense Jan. 12, 2017

Scrambling to deal with pending bills delayed by the sweeping political scandal and ensuing impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, the four major political parties on Friday agreed to hold an extraordinary parliamentary session in January. 　In their first four-way meeting since the governing Saenuri Party’s split earlier this week, the floor leaders from the ruling and opposition parties decided that the session will take place from Jan. 9-20.    They also agreed to accelerate efforts to build

Politics Dec. 30, 2016

Scrambling to deal with pending bills delayed by the sweeping political scandal and ensuing impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, the four major political parties on Friday agreed to hold an extraordinary parliamentary session in January. The session will take place from Jan. 9-20, decided the floor leaders from the ruling and opposition parties in their first four-way meeting since the governing Saenuri Party’s split earlier this week. They also agreed to accelerate efforts to build a parliam

Politics Dec. 30, 2016

Dozens of lawmakers defected from President Park Geun-hye’s governing Saenuri Party on Tuesday over the corruption scandal involving Park and her aides, pledging to create a new conservative party in the run-up to next year’s presidential election.The departure of 29 anti-Park lawmakers left Saenuri with 99 parliamentary seats, making it the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has now emerged as the biggest political party with 121 seats.

Politics Dec. 27, 2016

President Park Geun-hye’s jailed friend Choi Soon-sil on Monday told a group of lawmakers visiting her at the detention facility that she committed no crimes, denying all allegations surrounding her. 　Choi, who is currently detained for trial on allegations that she used her ties to Park to manipulate state affairs, is the central figure in a sweeping cronyism scandal that led to the president’s impeachment earlier this month. 　“Choi spent most of the time expressing frustration about the situat

Politics Dec. 26, 2016

With the United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon eyeing a return to his home country with a potential bid for next year’s presidential election, rival parties are scrambling to capitalize the situation in their favor amid political turmoil over President Park Geun-hye’s corruption scandal.  　The ruling Saenuri Party’s divided factions -- Park’s loyalists and their dissenters -- are competing to put the world’s top diplomat on their ticket, in an apparent effort to boost their record-low ap

Politics Dec. 25, 2016

Former presidential aide Woo Byung-woo flatly denied his involvement in the corruption scandal tied to President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil during a parliamentary inquiry Thursday on the case that led to Park’s impeachment. Woo, Park’s senior secretary for civil affairs from January 2015 to October 2016, claimed that he had never met Choi, the president’s longtime friend accused of meddling in state affairs. “Even at this moment, I don’t know of Choi Soon-sil. I only saw her

Politics Dec. 22, 2016

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged to devote his life to the advancement of South Korea on Tuesday, sending the strongest signal yet that he might run in next year’s presidential election. “If what I have learned, seen and felt during my 10-year service as UN secretary-general could help advance Korea, I am more than willing to sacrifice myself for this cause,” said Ban during a farewell press meeting with Korean reporters. His term ends on Dec. 31. Though Ban has not clarified his bid for

Politics Dec. 21, 2016

The main opposition party’s front-runner Moon Jae-in is stepping up his attack against major initiatives of the President Park Geun-hye government, but his assertive stance has unnerved moderate groups within opposition parties. In a series of remarks following Park’s impeachment -- who now awaits her impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court -- Moon laid out his vision for a “complete overhaul” of the nation and vowed to pursue “revolution” if the court decides to reinstate the president. W

Politics Dec. 20, 2016

Ever since the United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hinted at his potential bid for the 2017 presidential election, it has been speculated that he would run on a ticket led by President Park Geun-hye and her loyalists from the ruling Saenuri Party. But the political situation here has been working against such a scenario, as a corruption scandal has caused Park and her party to plunge to record-low approval ratings. The more Ban was associated with the president, polls suggested, the le

Politics Dec. 19, 2016

The ruling Saenuri Party’s chairman Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, a prominent loyalist of President Park Geun-hye, resigned Friday, leaving a newly elected floor leader with the task of navigating the embattled party through escalating factional strife following the impeachment of Park. 　Earlier in the day, Rep. Chug Woo-taik, a fourth-term lawmaker supported by the pro-Park faction, was elected as Saenuri’s new whip. Chung beat his contender Rep. Na Kyung-won, who represents Park dissenters, by 62 to 55

Politics Dec. 16, 2016

A parliamentary inquiry into the scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her close friend Choi Soon-sil produced a rare new testimony Thursday that the presidential office conducted a massive surveillance operation on the nation’s top justice. Cho Han-gyu, a former publisher of local daily Segye Ilbo, claimed to have documents that reveal the presidential office spied on senior members of the judiciary branch, including the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae.“It is a grave viola

Politics Dec. 15, 2016

Lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday scrutinized President Park Geun-hye’s handling of the rescue operation during the Sewol ferry disaster, questioning presidential aides about what the president was doing amid the nation’s worst maritime disaster in 2014. In the third parliamentary inquiry session on a scandal that led to Park‘s impeachment last week, the bipartisan panel of parliamentarians grilled former chief of the Presidential National Security Office, Kim Jang-soo, r

Politics Dec. 14, 2016

Woo Byung-woo, a former aide to President Park Geun-hye previously thought to be in hiding, said Tuesday that he would testify before lawmakers about the scandal that led to the president’s impeachment last week. “Given that there has been repeated requests (for my attendance), I will (attend the parliamentary hearing session and) respectfully and faithfully respond to the (lawmakers’) questions,” said Woo in an interview with Yonhap News Agency. Woo is among the witnesses being summoned for a p

Politics Dec. 13, 2016

Two rival factions within the ruling Saenuri Party continued to clash with one another Monday, as the conservative ruling camp’s factional strife reached a boiling point following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Adding more chaos to the conservative camp, which is on the verge of a breakup, the party’s Floor Leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk called it quits, saying he wanted to take responsibility for the president’s impeachment. “The governing party bears the same amount of responsibility a

Politics Dec. 12, 2016