Independent Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s political group Sunday convened the first major gathering of founding members and key leadership, accelerating its efforts to build a new opposition party ahead of the April general elections.   　With 1,978 members and eight incumbent lawmakers attending the event in Seoul, the group forged a consensus over party platforms and key regulations. Ahn’s new “People’s Party,” its provisional name in English, is slated for launch on Feb. 2.　Under the slogan of “bold ch

Politics Jan. 10, 2016

 With fewer than 100 days until South Korea holds its April general elections, debates have erupted regarding whether or not the ruling party can seize a supermajority status in the National Assembly.The ruling Saenuri Party has reiterated that it would win 180 out of the 300 parliamentary seats, a number that allows the party to pass contentious legislation without reaching a consensus with the minor ones. According to the National Assembly Act Articles 85 and 86, pending bills cannot be put to

Politics Jan. 10, 2016

     The debate over gifted education in Korea has often played out between two sides: Opponents argue the special education program is tailored for the select few and undermines the principle of equal opportunity, while others see the programs as a chance to foster smart minds who can lead the nation.　A prominent expert in gifted education agrees with the latter. Suh Ye-won, director of the state-run National Research Center for Gifted and Talented Education says that the education can achieve

Social Affairs Jan. 8, 2016

　North Korea’s fourth nuke test rekindled a debate Thursday about South Korea’s decades-long commitment to forgo its nuclear ambitions, with some lawmakers urging the government to reconsider it. 　The ruling Saenuri Party’s whip Rep. Won Yoo-chul demanded the government obtain nuclear weapons for self-defense and shift away from its pledge not to seek nuclear ambition. 　South Korea is banned from developing nukes under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty -- which it signed in 1975. It is also a

Politics Jan. 7, 2016

　Nuclear weapons are classified into atomic, neutron and hydrogen bombs. Among them, hydrogen bombs, also known as thermonuclear bombs, are known to be the most powerful due to their unique structure that expresses explosive power. 　Unlike atomic bombs that derive their energy from nuclear fission -- the splitting of atoms -- hydrogen bombs obtain their explosive power from both nuclear fission and fusion, the process of forming a heavier nucleus from two lighter ones, such as the nuclei of the

Defense Jan. 6, 2016

Nuclear weapons are classified into atomic, neutron and hydrogen bombs. Among them, hydrogen bombs, also known as thermonuclear bombs, are known to be the most powerful due to their unique structure that expresses explosive power. Unlike atomic bombs that derive their energy from nuclear fission – splitting of atoms -- hydrogen bombs obtain their explosive power from both nuclear fission and fusion, the process of forming a heavier nucleus from two lighter ones such as the nuclei of the hydrogen

North Korea Jan. 6, 2016

　Preliminary candidates for the April general elections on Monday filed a lawsuit against the National Assembly and incumbent lawmakers for violating their rights, as it appeared unlikely for the lawmakers to determine the new constituencies by the end of the grace period this Friday, already well past the deadline.　The three candidates from the Saenuri Party -- Im Jeong-seok, Jeong Seung-yeon and Min Jeong-sim -- claimed the Assembly violated the law since it had abandoned its obligation to red

Politics Jan. 4, 2016

A debate over a constitutional amendment is likely to expand this year as calls have been cropping up to revise the basic law. The Constitution has often been at the center of political discourse, especially near the end of a presidential term, since South Korea last changed it in 1987.While Cheong Wa Dae has yet to announce that it will seek to change the law anytime soon, some senior lawmakers began to float the idea that the 20-year-old law should be replaced with a new one that reflects the

Politics Jan. 3, 2016

Rep. Kim Han-gil announced Sunday his departure from the main opposition party he had once jointly led, further deepening the party’s factional crisis aggravated by a recent series of defections, including one by another former cochairman, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo. Since Ahn left the New Politics Alliance for Democracy -- a precursor to the Minjoo Party of Korea -- on Dec. 13, eight other lawmakers, including Kim, have followed suit, reducing its number of parliamentary seats to 118. Ahn, along with K

Politics Jan. 3, 2016

Another opposition lawmaker on Wednesday left the New Politics Alliance for Democracy to follow Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, foreshadowing the division of the main opposition party ahead of next year’s general elections. Rep. Lim Nae-hyun announced that he defecting from the NPAD to join a new political group spearheaded by Ahn. His split brings the number of defectors from the embattled party to five since Ahn left the party on Dec. 13.  Lim Nae-hyun. (Yonhap)“Together with Ahn’s new party, I will clear

Politics Dec. 23, 2015

A negotiation impasse at the National Assembly is proving hard to break, as rival parties refuse to yield their position on provisions embedded in a set of controversial economic bills aimed to relax regulations on business activity. National Assembly Speaker Chung Ui-hwa (third from right) convenes a meeting of standing committee chairpersons on Tuesday. The NPAD members did not attend. YonhapThe bills in question are the Service Industry Development Act and Special Act for Boosting Business (b

Politics Dec. 22, 2015

　South Korea’s state-run corporations recently jumpstarted the process of filling the leadership posts that have been vacated for several months, stocking speculation that the government has been delaying the process to keep time with the political schedule, including next year’s general election.　According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the nation’s four major state-funded energy companies -- Korea National Oil Corp, Korea Midland Power Co., Korea South Power Co. and Korea East-

Politics Dec. 20, 2015

Three main opposition lawmakers Thursday bolted from the New Politics Alliance for Democracy following the defection of Rep. Ahn Cheonl-soo, who had left the party over a power struggle with the current party leader Rep. Moon Jae-in. 　They were the first to follow behind Ahn in leaving the party after several other dissenters retracted their initial decisions to defect and decided to stay for the sake of an opposition victory in next year’s general elections. 　Reps. Moon Byung-ho, Yoo Sung-yop,

Politics Dec. 17, 2015

The National Assembly’s speaker Wednesday rejected Cheong Wa Dae’s demand to call a vote for contentious pending bills that President Park Geun-hye has been urging the legislative body to push through as soon as possible. 　However, Speaker Chung Ui-hwa reiterated that he would use his authority to call a vote on a bill that would determine new rules for next year’s general election unless the rival parties’ lawmakers reached an agreement by the end of this year. 　His remark came as President Par

Politics Dec. 16, 2015

　Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday prodded the National Assembly speaker to exercise his authority to independently propose pending bills related to business regulations and counterterrorism that have been stuck in parliamentary committees.  　Hyun Ki-hwan, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, demanded Speaker Chung Ui-hwa put the overdue bills to the vote if the two main parties failed to resolve the deadlock over the contentious bills. Chung had refused to propose them by himself, except

Latest News Dec. 15, 2015