President Yoon Suk-yeol Wednesday designated the southeastern cities of Pohang and Gyeongju as a special disaster zone after they were hit by Typhoon Hinnamnor. Yoon said he would carry out all procedures necessary for the designation as soon as possible and provide emergency funds to people in Pohang, about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. As a special disaster zone, Pohang and Gyeongju will...

Kang In-sun, a spokesperson for the presidential office, will become the administration's overseas public relations secretary and also serve as a spokesperson for foreign media, chief of staff said Wednesday. Kim Dae-ki, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s Chief of Staff, said at a press briefing on Wednesday that an overseas public relations secretary has been re-established under the senior public relat...

Government plans to inject 50 billion won in recovery work, designate Pohang special disaster zone

The Democratic Party of Korea is seeking a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon-hee while its leader, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, faces a growing risk of criminal charges. The party’s Floor Leader Rep. Park Hong-keun said Wednesday the party would propose a bill to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation into the first lady’s criminal allegations, the two highest-profile of whi...

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) is considering sending a letter to US Congress to voice concerns over the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that is feared to hurt South Korean automakers, a lawmaker said Wednesday. "The government and the ruling party are considering sending a letter to US Congress to request cooperation based on the spirit of the South Korea-US alliance to swiftly resolve th...

SUWON -- The wife of Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung has been asked to appear before prosecutors for questioning about allegations on her personal use of a provincial government's corporate credit cards years ago, informed officials said Wednesday. The Suwon District Prosecutors Office in Suwon, 50 kilometers south of Seoul, sent the summons to Kim Hye-kyung on the day, the official...

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) decided Wednesday to introduce a bill later in the day mandating an independent counsel probe of first lady Kim Keon-hee over allegations of stock manipulation and other irregularities, the party's floor leader said. The move is seen as a counterattack against the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol conducting a prosecution investigation of DP lead...

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has erupted over the escalating criminal investigation of its leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, who decided not to show up for questioning by prosecutors on Tuesday. The Democratic Party’s chief spokesperson Rep. Ahn Ho-young said in a statement Tuesday that Lee was not going to appear at the Seoul prosecutors’ office for the questioning session a...

The 2023 budget allocated for dealing with the contaminated wastewater from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant has been cut by 13 percent, compared to this year's allotment, data showed Tuesday. According to Rep. Kim Young-joo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the government has earmarked 2.6 billion won ($1.8 million) for the project, compared to 3 billion won for this year. ...

Lee Jun-seok, a former chairperson of the ruling People Power Party, has told police he will show up for questioning next week over sex bribery and other allegations, officials said Tuesday. The 37-year-old Lee has been accused of receiving sexual services paid for by Kim Sung-jin, CEO of the tech company I-kaist, in 2013 and attempting to cover it up by promising to pay off a whistleblower. Ki...

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung decided not to comply with a prosecution summons because he has answered all questions in writing, a party spokesperson said Tuesday. Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party has been asked to come to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office by 10 a.m. Tuesday for questioning over allegations that he violated the election law by making false statements ab...

President Yoon Suk-yeol held multiple meetings between Monday night and Tuesday morning to oversee the government's response to the powerful Typhoon Hinnamnor, his spokesperson said. Yoon stayed at the presidential office overnight as the typhoon approached the Korean Peninsula and made landfall in the southeastern city of Geoje at 4:50 a.m. During meetings at 9:30 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. Monday, Y...

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea reported President Yoon Suk-yeol to Seoul prosecutors on Monday, claiming that his denial of criminal allegations surrounding first lady Kim Keon-hee during the election campaign amounted to promulgation of false information. The Democratic Party filed a report asking the prosecutors’ office to look into whether Yoon had lied while he was a president...

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) decided Monday to file a complaint against President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of violating the election law by stating false information, days after the prosecution summoned DP leader Lee Jae-myung for questioning over similar charges. The DP plans to file the complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Monday afternoon in connection...

Police are expected to wrap up an investigation into academic falsification charges against first lady Kim Keon-hee this week without sending the case to the prosecution for possible indictment, sources said Monday. Kim has been accused of fraud, obstruction of business and document forgery for falsifying some of her academic and career credentials on resumes she submitted to several universitie...