Amid ongoing probe, Moon and Lee feed election neutrality concerns

The meeting between President Moon Jae-in and presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party was probably inevitable. Quite a number of party members still have bitter feelings toward him in the aftermath of the race to select a presidential candidate, and Lee may have felt the urgent need to create a united front. He wasted no time, visiting Cheong Wa Dae about an hour after registering with the National Election Commission as a preliminary presidential candidate. Of cours

Changes in trade environment push South Korea to seek CPTPP membership

South Korea is hastening work to apply to join a regional trade bloc called the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. It plans to hold a meeting of external economy-related ministers early next month to make a formal decision to pursue CPTPP membership. The meeting was scheduled to be held Monday, but has been postponed due to the need to coordinate on differences among government agencies. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, who doubles as deputy prime minister for economic affai