Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has called for simultaneously pursuing North Korea's denuclearization and sanctions relief, while his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to strengthen the extended deterrence provided by the United States. Lee of the liberal ruling Democratic Party and Yoon of the conservative People Power Party detailed their plans for dealing with No...

Jailed former President Lee Myung-bak was admitted to a hospital on Monday for an unspecified chronic illness, the justice ministry said. The 81-year-old was transferred to the Seoul National University Hospital in central Seoul from the Anyang Correctional Institution where he is serving a 17-year sentence for embezzlement and bribery convictions, according to the ministry. Lee will undergo me...

President Moon Jae-in on Monday named a new senior secretary for civil affairs after the previous secretary resigned over ethical issues related to his son. Kim Young-sik, a former secretary for legal affairs under the Moon administration, was appointed to succeed Kim Jin-kook, who stepped down last month after his son was found to have leveraged the father's position on job applications. "(Kim...

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 40.6 percent public support against Lee's 36.7 percent, a survey showed Monday. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) gained 6.5 percentage points from the previous week, while Lee of the Democratic Party lost 3.4 points, according to the Realmeter survey conducted on 3,031 adults from Jan. 9...

The scheduled talks between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan were canceled due to an "unforeseen matter of state" of the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a senior Seoul official has said. Moon, who is in Dubai for a three-day visit as part of his weeklong trip to the Middle East, had been scheduled to hold talks with the ...

Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday it will continue to lease a presidential jet, called Air Force One, an official said Tuesday in response to a news report that it is considering buying a new one. The presidential office has leased a modified Boeing 747-400 airliner from Korean Air under a 10-year contract. It's slated to expire this year. Cheong Wa Dae is planning for another long-term lease, and a r...

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol by 37 percent public support to 31 percent, a survey showed Friday. Lee's support rose 1 percentage point from last week, while Yoon's rose 5 points, according to the Gallup Korea survey conducted on 1,001 adults from Tuesday to Thursday. In third place was Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candid...

A court is expected to make its ruling Friday on an injunction seeking to stop a TV station from broadcasting the recordings of phone calls between the wife of opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and a reporter. The injunction was filed by Kim Keon-hee, Yoon's wife, to stop MBC from airing recordings of her phone conversations with a staff member of the YouTube channel Voice of Seoul...

Ahn raises suspicion about Lee Jae-myung could be behind recent deaths of key figures in corruption scandals

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Thursday to scrap the government's planned electricity rate hike if elected in March. Electricity prices are set to increase in April and October under a government scheme announced last month, leading to a 5.6 percent annual average increase in households' electricity bills. Yoon said the decision to raise the rate after the March 9 ...

Moon presides over first meeting for cooperation between central and local governments

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol with 37 percent public support against Yoon's 28 percent, a survey showed Thursday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party gained 1 percentage point from last week, while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party stayed put, according to the poll conducted on 1,000 adults from Monday to Wednesday ...

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday sought an injunction to stop a TV station from broadcasting the recordings of alleged phone calls between the wife of its presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and a reporter. According to news reports, Yoon's wife Kim Keon-hee spoke by phone with the person who works for the YouTube channel Voice of Seoul for a total of seven hours last ye...

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered aides to come up with measures using excess tax revenue to help small merchants and self-employed people suffering from the economic fallout of COVID-19. Moon gave the instruction after he was briefed about last year's excess tax revenue, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters. In the first 11 months of last year, tax revenue rose 55.6 ...

President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences Thursday to the family of an Air Force pilot who died after his F-5E fighter crashed into a mountain earlier this week. "I pray for the repose of Major Shim Jeong-min, who died in the line of duty while defending the nation's sky, and offer my deep condolences to the family members," Moon said in a message posted on social media. The aircraft cras...