North Korea has hacked into smartphones owned by key members of the government, local media reported Monday. 　A government official was quoted as saying “considerably important” figures within President Park Geun-hye’s administration recently had their phones hacked by the North. Railroad-related organizations also came under cyberattacks, although the incident was hushed up by authorities, the official claimed. An offical looks at the screen desribing cyber attacks on websites based on Korea.

Defense March 7, 2016

　The nomination process for the upcoming general election is likely to see a more diverse pool of political aspirants, with the rival parties adopting new nomination rules that favor those who have been politically alienated. 　The ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea have announced that when they choose the candidates running in the April elections, they will give more points to “political underdogs” than established politicians. The beneficiaries include women, you

Politics March 7, 2016

　The main opposition party leader’s suggestion to align the opposition politicians ahead of the April general election continued to generate hubbub among the liberals Friday, with some prominent defectors toying with the offer.　The People’s Party co-chairmen Rep. Chun Jung-bae, who had left the Minjoo Party last year, indicated that the he would accept the proposal, if the party members endorsed it. “If the party makes a call, I think we have to follow it,” said Chun.　His remark reflected a chan

Politics March 4, 2016

　Rival parties are gearing up for a full-fledged battle for the next National Assembly, regrouping after spending more than a week in intense legislative deadlock brought about by the oppositions’ record-breaking filibuster.　While the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea seeks to use the filibuster as political leverage, the ruling Saenuri Party is set on putting the blame for the legislative lull on its rival. 　The Saenuri Party accused the opposition of derailing the passage of business l

Politics March 3, 2016

The National Assembly on Wednesday gave final approval to the legislation granting the intelligence agency enhanced capability to address terror threats with authority to monitor potential terror suspects. The lawmakers then approved other stalled bills such as those redrawing constituencies for the April general elections and addressing North Korea’s human right condition by allowing the government to set up a center tasked with investigating Pyongyang’s human right abuses. 　The bills cleared i

Politics March 2, 2016

South Korea will elect new National Assembly members in a general election on April 13. The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the candidate agendas, election trends and notable runners leading up to the race. This is the fourth installment. -- EdWhen former Samsung Electronics executive Yang Hyang-ja announced in January that she would enter politics as a candidate for the main opposition party, the high-school graduate tried not to hype up her past achievements in breaking the

Politics March 1, 2016

The rival parties on Monday collided over the ongoing opposition filibuster, with the ruling party threatening legal action and adding pressure to suspend the marathon debate so that imminent bills, including the new electoral map can be passed. 　The bill on new constituencies for the April 13 general election passed the public administration committee late Sunday to be put up for a plenary vote on Monday. 　Feeling the pressure, The Minjoo Party of Korea asked for a brief recess in its filibuste

Politics Feb. 29, 2016

With legislative standoff persisting over the disputed counterterrorism bill, opposition lawmakers staging filibuster continued to make headlines on Friday for poignant speeches that resonated with their supporters. The unlimited speech relay serves as a rare opportunity to make their case before the national audience, particularly for political rookies and those excluded from their parties’ nomination list for the April general elections. Among them was Rep. Kim Hyun of The Minjoo Party of Kore

Politics Feb. 26, 2016

　For Yoon Hee-won, a 31-year-old South Korean graduate student who studied political science in the United States for more than 10 years, the ongoing legislative standoff back home is quite different from what he saw while living overseas. 　“When I turned on the TV to watch news about Korean politics, the programs often reported about Korean lawmakers getting into fistfights, hiding gavels and throwing furniture in order to prevent the passage of laws. It is quite noteworthy that they don’t do t

Politics Feb. 25, 2016

 　The National Assembly speaker’s decision Tuesday to put an antiterrorism bill to a vote was seen as a show of support for the law, which the opposition has branded as unnecessary and politically motivated.　Ruling party lawmakers moved quickly upon the announcement by Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa that he would exercise his authority to bring the government-led security bill to a vote in a plenary session without sending them to a legislative committee. The Saenuri Party members of the Intellig

Politics Feb. 23, 2016

　South Korea announced Sunday that it would channel some 330 billion won ($267 million) into a government fund to compensate companies forced out of a joint factory park in North Korea’s border city of Gaesong. 　“In order to minimize economic losses suffered by the companies, we reached a consensus on the amount of compensation fund to make the payment as soon as possible,” an official from the Unification Ministry told reporters after the meeting to discuss the plan to compensate the hard-hit b

Politics Feb. 21, 2016

　Senior politicians and former lawmakers gathered Sunday in Seoul to pay final respects to Lee Ki-taek, late opposition leader who spearheaded the pro-democracy movement that led to the resignation of South Korea’s first president Syngman Rhee. 　The seventh-term lawmaker, who died on Saturday at the age of 79, entered politics after launching a student-led campaign in his college to topple the late president in the wake of his bid to extend the tenure beyond the constitution. 　“I heard that he l

Politics Feb. 21, 2016