Former president opens mouth about illicit political fundraising, a safe at Blue House Former President Roh Tae-woo claims to have given billions of won in political funds to Kim Young-sam, then a leading presidential candidate from the ruling party and his eventual successor, to help his presidential campaign in 1992. In the two-volume memoir titled “Autobiography of Roh Tae-woo: Political fun...

Government opposes plan to compensate depositors beyond statutory limit Lawmakers from rival political parties are pushing to fully compensate the financial losses of depositors at nine savings banks that collapsed this year, stirring another round of controversy over populism. Representatives of the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democratic Party reached a tentative agreem...

Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, feels the most heat from Moon Jae-in’s rise in political stature, but his aides say their potential rivalry will not harm the DP leader. They hope that any competition between Sohn and Moon galvanized through next year’s parliamentary elections would see the whole opposition camp basking in a synergy effect. “We expected the a...

Confidant to late President Roh raises profile as potential opposition standard-bearer It was supposed to be a gathering of senior civic and religious leaders to call for the merger of liberal and progressive opposition parties in preparation for the parliamentary and presidential elections next year. But the media focused upon a single person, who remained silent throughout the meeting on July...

Justice-minister nominee Kwon Jae-jin faced a parliamentary grilling, particularly over whether he would maintain political neutrality in next year’s elections despite his close ties to the president. “I will by all means defend the prosecution’s political neutrality and independence,” Kwon said at the parliamentary judicial committee’s confirmation hearing on Monday. “I will make sure that the...

Free school lunch vote to set tone for welfare policy, impact Seoul mayor’s political future The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s announcement last week that it will hold a referendum on Aug. 24 on how much to expand its free school lunch program has signaled the start of a fierce campaign. In the vote requested by conservative civic activists trying to invalidate a Seoul City Council ordinance ...

Rival political parties reached an agreement Friday on the schedule of the parliament’s disputed August provisional session, but the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement bill will not be included in the agenda, party officials said. Reps. Hwang Woo-yea and Kim Jin-pyo, respectively floor leaders of the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democratic Party, agreed to hold three general ...

Ruling camp pushes to sell 15 percent stake to low-income earners The government’s plan to sell a stake in Incheon International Airport Corp. has reignited a years-old controversy as to why the well-performing airport should be handed over to private hands. The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, the ruling Grand National Party and the Finance Ministry have decided to sell a 15 percent stake...