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Plan to give CIO authority to investigate insurrection could become Lee campaign pledge
The Growth and Cohesion policy think tank, launched Wednesday to support Democratic Party of Korea presidential hopeful Rep. Lee Jae-myung, is pushing to expand the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials' authority to investigate insurrection charges an official campaign pledge — advancing Lee’s broader plans for prosecution reform that separates the authority to investigate and prosecute. A judicial reform subcommittee under Growth and Cohesion recently submitted a proposal
April 18, 2025 -
Kim Doo-kwan exits race, setting stage for three-way Democratic Party race
Kim Doo-kwan, a former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and long-time presidential aspirant, announced Friday that he would not run for president and would instead lend his support to the party’s victory in the early election on June 3. Kim’s official exit has clarified the main liberal party's presidential contest, clearing up speculation that he might break away from the Democratic Party of Korea to run as an independent and streamlining the party’s primary into a three-person contest. “Kim
April 18, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Hong Joon-pyo pledges to resume executions, rejects antidiscrimination law
Hong Joon-pyo, former Daegu mayor and a presidential contender in the conservative People Power Party’s primary, pledged to resume executions under capital punishment for violent criminals if elected, as stated in a press release Friday. While South Korea maintains the death penalty system, it has not carried out an execution since 1997. Hong further vowed to root out corrupt politicians and what he called “legal cartels” as part of efforts to restore the rule of law. The pledge is part of his “
April 18, 2025 -
Yoon Suk Yeol's ex-lawyers drop ‘Yoon Again’ political party idea amid backlash
Two lawyers who represented former President Yoon Suk Yeol in his impeachment trial abruptly canceled a press conference Thursday, just hours after announcing plans to launch a new political party under the slogan “Yoon Again,” named after the disgraced ex-president. Attorneys Kim Gye-ri and Bae Ui-cheol — who had served on Yoon’s impeachment defense team — initially notified the press that they would hold a press briefing Friday in Yeouido, Seoul, to introduce the “Yoon Again” political party.
April 18, 2025 -
No first South Korea-US defense talks before election as Seoul’s chief skips Shangri-La
South Korean acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho is "highly likely" to skip the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he had been expected to hold his first meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Friday. Concerns are mounting among some in Seoul, as Kim’s absence at the global defense forum means there will be no defense ministerial talks with the US until after South Korea’s early presidential election on June 3. “We will have to review the matter
April 18, 2025 -
2 outgoing justices say Constitution must be abided by as prerequisite for democracy
Constitutional Court of Korea Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-son said the South Korea's Constitution and any ruling by the court must be abided by, as the order of the sovereign people, because otherwise social instability will ensue, as Friday marked the end of their six-year terms as justices on the bench, two weeks after the same court removed disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol from office in a unanimous 8-0 ruling. In a farewell speech, Moon, who served as the acting chief justice
April 18, 2025 -
Summer-like temperatures to persist into next week
High temperatures 2 to 6 degrees Celsius warmer than the average in previous years are expected to persist from Friday until April 21 due to warm southwesterly winds blowing into South Korea, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Friday. On Friday, average low temperatures nationwide ranged between 10 C and 16 C, while average highs ranged from 17 C to 29 C -- with Daegu in North Gyeongsang Province reaching 29 C. Based on average temperatures between 1991 and 2020, Daegu typic
April 18, 2025 -
‘Sever ties with Yoon’: PPP contenders seek distance from ex-president
With less than 50 days remaining before the early presidential election on June 3, calls are growing among contenders in the People Power Party to distance themselves from disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon — once the leader of the conservative bloc — has become a political liability, as criticism mounts over his impeachment following what the Constitutional Court ruled was an illegitimate declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year. This shift has prompted even Yoon's longtime al
April 18, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Lee Jae-myung targets conservative bastion Yeongnam with development pledges
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the leading presidential contender from the center-left Democratic Party of Korea, on Friday rolled out a series of campaign pledges aimed at boosting development in the Yeongnam region, a traditional conservative stronghold in southeastern South Korea. Lee said he would relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries from Sejong in South Chungcheong Province to Busan, a major port city in the region, to "elevate Korea into a leading maritime country and implement field-oriente
April 18, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Lee Jae-myung to double Korean culture industry revenue, exports in 7 years
Liberal Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate front-runner Rep. Lee Jae-myung said he would work to support Korea's content industries related to arts and culture, which he said could annually generate a total of 300 trillion won ($211 billion) in sales and 50 trillion won in exports by 2030. According to the latest government estimate unveiled in March, South Korea's content industries in 2023 generated a total revenue of 154.2 trillion won, while total exports stood at $13.3 billion
April 18, 2025 -
Acting president calls for swift passage of extra budget proposal without 'political considerations'
Acting President Han Duck-soo called on the National Assembly on Friday to swiftly pass the government's extra budget proposal without "political considerations." Han issued the call during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting held to review the 12.2 trillion-won ($8.6 billion) supplementary budget proposal aimed at protecting people from natural disasters and supporting businesses hit by an escalating trade war. "I earnestly plead with the National Assembly to hold broad-minded discussions and swif
April 18, 2025 -
S. Korea not to appeal court ruling on $32m payout to US hedge fund Mason
South Korea has decided not to appeal a Singaporean court's rejection of its lawsuit seeking to annul an investor-state dispute settlement ruling that ordered it to pay compensation to US hedge fund Mason Capital over losses from Samsung's controversial 2015 merger of two units, the Ministry of Justice said Friday. Following the decision, the Korean government will have to pay Mason approximately 86 billion won (about $60.5 million), including interest on delay. The case dates back to September
April 18, 2025 -
Army holds nighttime firing drills in border county of Goseong
The Army conducted a nighttime firing exercise in the border county of Goseong earlier this week, the armed service said Friday, in efforts to bolster readiness against potential North Korean provocations. About 300 troops from the Army's Third Corps took part in the exercise conducted Wednesday and Thursday in the coastal county of Goseong, some 160 kilometers northeast of Seoul, according to the Army. The drills mobilized some 40 pieces of key equipment, including the K9A1 self-propelled howit
April 18, 2025 -
Ex-Democratic Party leader vows to boost support for arts, culture sector
Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday vowed to make South Korea one of the world's top five "soft power" countries, pledging to boost exports in the culture sector to 50 trillion won ($35.2 billion). Lee, who declared his presidential bid last week and is leading opinion polls for the June 3 presidential election, made the pledge ahead of his visit to the southeastern city of Daegu to attend a roundtable meeting on promoting webtoons. "Our national budget on culture currently ac
April 18, 2025 -
People Power Party presidential aspirant urges Yoon Suk Yeol to leave party
A presidential hopeful from the People Power Party, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, on Friday urged former President Yoon Suk Yeol to leave the party, saying his departure is essential for the party to reform and win the upcoming presidential election. Ahn is the first contender in the conservative party to openly demand the former president's exit ahead of the June 3 election, which was triggered by Yoon's ouster over his failed martial law bid last December. "Yoon's departure would be the starting point f
April 18, 2025