Lee Jae-myung, Ahn Cheol-soo speculated to join the race

South Korea's defense minister nominee on Wednesday vowed efforts to cement "cohesion" in the country's alliance with the United States and sharpen deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. During a parliamentary confirmation hearing, Lee Jong-sup, a former three-star Army general, highlighted his vision of a "robust national defense and sturdy military based on science and t...

Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon said he will look for ways to minimize any negative impacts that the recently enacted laws on prosecution reform could have on ordinary people, according to a lawmaker Wednesday. Han made the remark in a document submitted to independent Rep. Yang Hyang-ja for his confirmation hearing, stressing ordinary people will take the brunt of the legislation centeri...

Prosecution left with power to investigate just two types of crimes

Tasks to require 209 trillion won, some policies of Moon in nuclear, real estate, prosecution to be reversed

President Moon Jae-in, in his final days in office, is set to hold his last Cabinet meeting Tuesday, in a bid to promulgate two controversial bills on prosecution reform. The Cabinet meeting will be held at 4 p.m., hours after the ruling Democratic Party (DP) railroaded the last-remaining bill on prosecution reform through the National Assembly amid opposition protest, completing its push to red...

The ruling Democratic Party railroaded the last-remaining bill on prosecution reform through the National Assembly amid opposition protest Tuesday, completing its push to reduce and ultimately remove the prosecution's investigative powers. The revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, the remaining half of the ruling DP's prosecution reform legislation, was passed in a 164-3 vote, with seven abste...

The transition team of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol denied allegations Monday that Yoon's wife ordered the foreign minister's wife to leave her residence while she took a look inside to determine whether it was fit for a presidential residence. Rep. Woo Sang-ho of the ruling Democratic Party made the claim on TBS radio Monday, saying the wife of Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong had to stand outs...

Greater Seoul area draws most attention with less than a month until election day

Nominees face a barrage of questions from ruling party lawmakers

President Moon Jae-in pledged Monday to work together with the international community to conserve forests. Moon made the remark in a keynote speech at the opening of the 15th World Forestry Congress in Seoul, saying South Korea experienced forest destruction during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea and the 1950-53 Korean War. "Based on our experience of restoring forests through solidarit...

More than half of South Koreans oppose granting a pardon to former President Lee Myung-bak, a poll showed Monday, amid rising speculation outgoing President Moon Jae-in may use his clemency powers to set Lee free before he leaves office. The Korea Society Opinion Institute survey of 1,012 adults, conducted between Friday and Saturday, showed 51.7 percent of respondents are against pardoning Lee,...

New presidential office to be streamlined to two offices and five secretaries

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday stressed the government's efforts in enhancing labor rights as he thanked workers for their dedication in the fight against the novel coronavirus. In his message marking the 132nd Labor Day, Moon said his government worked hard on guaranteeing fundamental labor rights in the past five years. "We ratified key International Labor Organization conventions, raised mi...

The ruling party-dominated National Assembly on Saturday passed one of two controversial bills on prosecution reform amid strong protest from the main opposition party, heralding bipartisan standoff down the road. For the past weeks, the Democratic Party (DP) has vowed to pass the two bills on prosecution reform which would immediately deprive the prosecution of all investigative powers. Early ...