Govt. demands parliamentary reconsideration of pro-labor, cash handout bills

The Cabinet on Tuesday demanded the National Assembly reconsider two contentious bills aimed at enhancing the rights of workers and providing cash handouts to the entire population. A motion demanding parliamentary reconsideration was approved during a Cabinet meeting and will be sent to President Yoon Suk Yeol for endorsement. Yoon is widely expected to endorse the motion. One bill, known as the "yellow envelope bill," seeks to limit companies from making damage claims against workers

Aug. 13, 2024

Yoon hosts dinner for former President Lee Myung-bak

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a dinner meeting with former President Lee Myung-bak and his wife Monday, in what marked their first official dinner since Yoon took office. First lady Kim Keon Hee and Chung Jin-suk, Yoon's chief of staff who had served as a senior secretary to Lee for political affairs, also attended the dinner. The meeting came around a year after Yoon and Lee, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, briefly met at the funeral of Yoon's father in August 2023. In Decem

Aug. 12, 2024

Yoon vetoes bills for broadcast governance

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday vetoed a set of broadcasting bills sponsored by the main opposition that seeks to reduce his administration’s clout over public broadcasters, a week after the opposition-controlled parliament passed the contentious revisions. Upon returning from a weeklong summer vacation that wrapped up Friday, Yoon approved a Cabinet motion that requested the president to strike down four bills designed to tweak the governance structure of the Korean Broadcasting System,

Aug. 12, 2024

New chief of Independence Hall refuses to step down

Kim Hyoung-suk, the new chief of the Independence Hall of Korea, has refused to step down on Monday, despite accusations from critics that he is unfit for the position due to his alleged controversial view of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea. Kim, a former conservative professor, who took office as the chief of the national museum dedicated to the country’s independence movement, denied the claims that he is a supporter of the New Right political movement that justifies Japan

Aug. 12, 2024

Yoon names new defense chief, national security adviser

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named a new defense minister and national security adviser, while creating the new position of special adviser on foreign affairs and national security to the President, in a surprising shake-up of his foreign and defense policy team. Shin Won-sik, who had been serving as defense minister at the time of his appointment, has now been appointed as the new national security adviser, according to presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk. Shin, a retired three-star

Aug. 12, 2024

DP urges Yoon to withdraw appointment of new chief of Independence Hall of Korea

The main opposition Democratic Party urged President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday to withdraw the appointment of the new chief of the Independence Hall of Korea amid criticism of his controversial views accused of justifying Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The appointment of Kim Hyoung-suk as head of the museum focusing on the country's independence movement during the colonial rule has sparked criticism over some of his past remarks seen by critics as "New Right" and pro-Japanese

Aug. 12, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Bank branch closure notice, 'dark patterns' regulation

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Banking Act Proposed by Rep. Park Hong-bae (Democratic Party of Korea) ● As financial services move to online platforms, many banks have been closing their offline branches. This bill aims to prevent user inconvenience of digitally vulnerable people by mandating prior notice of bank branch closures. Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Minimum Wage Act Proposed by Rep. Song Eon-seog (People Power Party) ● The inflexible application of the minimum wage

Aug. 12, 2024

Conservatives split over Yoon potentially clearing key liberal to run

Conservatives are divided over reports President Yoon Suk Yeol may fully restore the political rights of once-prominent liberal politician Kim Kyung-soo, allowing him to run for public office. Kim, a key ally of former Democratic Party of Korea President Moon Jae-in, was already pardoned last December from serving the remaining five months of his two-year jail term. In 2021, he was sentenced to two years in jail in the Supreme Court for trying to sway voters online by manipulating comments on ne

Aug. 11, 2024

DP claims gov't pressure behind death of senior official of anti-corruption agency

The main opposition Democratic Party vowed Friday to reveal the truth behind the recent death of a senior official of the state anti-corruption agency, saying government pressure led to his death. Until recently, the official of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission had served as acting chief of the agency's anti-corruption bureau and oversaw inquiries into politically sensitive cases, including first lady Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury handbag and opposition leader Le

Aug. 9, 2024

Yoon visits military headquarters on last day of summer vacation

President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the headquarters of the armed forces in the central city of Gyeryong on Friday to inspect security posture and examine preparations for upcoming joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, his office said. Yoon's visit to the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, came on the last day of his five-day summer vacation. During the visit, Yoon met with the top commanders of the Army, Air Force and Navy at a wa

Aug. 9, 2024

President may grant liberal ex-governor clemency

  The Ministry of Justice on Thursday reportedly prepared a list of high-profile politicians convicted of crimes who would be eligible to be granted either special amnesty or rehabilitation by President Yoon Suk Yeol next week. Among them on the list is liberal bigwig Kim Kyoung-soo, formerly a lawmaker and South Gyeongsang Province governor. The 56-year-old Kim, convicted for his involvement in the high-profile "Druking" opinion-rigging scandal in July 2021, is likely to be rehab

Aug. 8, 2024

Defense chief apologizes over leak scandal

Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik apologized Thursday over high-profile allegations that a Defense Intelligence Command official leaked agents’ identities to Chinese hackers earlier this year. “I would like to apologize to the South Korean people for the public display of the (alleged) leak of military secrets and the bickering that ensued among senior intelligence officials,” Shin said at a National Assembly national defense committee meeting. At Thursday’s defen

Aug. 8, 2024

PPP leader vows to provide additional electricity support to 1.3m households

The leader of the ruling People Power Party announced plans Thursday to provide an additional 15,000 won ($11) in electricity support to 1.3 million vulnerable households to help them better cope with the hot weather. Han Dong-hoon made the announcement during a meeting of the PPP supreme council, pointing out that many families are suffering from the record-breaking heat wave this summer. He explained his support scheme will essentially cover the entire electricity bill for the vulnerable house

Aug. 8, 2024

Yonsei University revokes master's degree of Cho Kuk's son

Yonsei University has revoked the master's degree of a minor party leader's son following a court ruling related to the case, informed school officials said Thursday. The university recently decided to cancel the admission of Cho Won, the son of Cho Kuk, the chief of the Rebuilding Korea Party, into its graduate school of political science and diplomacy in 2018 and his master's degree earned from the same school in 2021, they said. The decision came after the Supreme Court confirm

Aug. 8, 2024

Justice ministry to review pardon beneficiaries, including ex-governor, ex-presidential secretary

The justice ministry on Thursday was scheduled to review beneficiaries of special presidential pardons to be granted on the occasion of Liberation Day next week, including a former South Gyeongsang governor and a former presidential secretary. President Yoon Suk Yeol will grant special pardons mostly to those convicted of livelihood-related crimes and others in commemoration of the Aug. 15 national holiday, the fifth round of such special pardons since his inauguration in 2022. The justice minis

Aug. 8, 2024

Yoon visits southern naval base during summer vacation

President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a major naval base in the southern part of the country this week as part of his summer vacation, his office said Wednesday. During the two-day visit to the naval base in Changwon, some 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Yoon spent time with service members, playing basketball with a group of Navy personnel and Marines on Wednesday, it said. On Tuesday night, Yoon had dinner with various service members at the base, including those who served during the sinking of

Aug. 7, 2024

Conflicts arise within liberal bloc over sell off of Kim Dae-jung’s residence

A recent move by one of former President Kim Dae-jung’s sons to sell his father’s residence in a bid to avoid a “hefty inheritance tax,” has sparked a conflict among the liberal bloc here in recent days, with some calling for the main opposition or the government to repurchase the property for its historic value. On Wednesday, several lawmakers of the main opposition liberal Democratic Party of Korea, which has repeatedly mentioned Kim’s “spirit of Democracy&r

Aug. 7, 2024

Ruling bloc urges repeal of taxation on investors' gains

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Wednesday called on the National Assembly to abandon a plan to implement the "financial investment income tax" scheme that is to come into effect in January 2025 in the face of the heightened domestic capital market volatility in recent days. The political standoff is expected to linger, as the liberal main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has insisted that the plan for taxation on investors' sales proceeds must proceed as planned. Desc

Aug. 7, 2024

PM says hospitals will extend application period for trainee doctor programs

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday the government will allow hospitals to extend the application period for trainee doctor programs this week to help them recruit more junior doctors. Han made the remark after only 104 candidates, or 1.4 percent of trainee doctor positions available at 126 hospitals, had applied for the training programs that begin next month amid a prolonged standoff between the government and the medical community. "Within this week, the government will extend the

Aug. 7, 2024

Yoon calls for swift responses to stock market volatility amid criticisms over vacationing

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday instructed the government to take swift and preemptive responses to heightened volatility in the financial market, his office said, refuting opposition criticisms over his vacationing despite a recent market rout. South Korean stocks suffered the worst sell-off since late 2008 on Monday, along with its global peers, on growing fears over an economic recession in the United States, before rising more than 3 percent Tuesday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Pr

Aug. 6, 2024