Chief auditor, prosecutors to face Assembly impeachment vote

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday submitted motions to the National Assembly to impeach the head of the state audit agency and three prosecutors involved in two different scandals surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee. The Assembly will put the motions to a vote during a plenary meeting scheduled for Wednesday, in accordance with plans announced by the main opposition, which holds the majority in the 300-seat parliament. By law, an impeachment motion must be put to a vote bet

Dec. 2, 2024

Classified spending at center of govt budget battle

This budget season, the Democratic Party of Korea is leading a push to cut government funds for classified purposes with the stated aim of preventing waste of taxpayer money. In the latest amendment to the 2025 budget bill submitted by the Democratic Party, classified funding for some of the country’s law enforcement and security agencies -- the police, the prosecution and President Yoon Suk Yeol’s National Security Office -- was slashed completely. Reducing secret government expendi

Dec. 2, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Enhancing AI safety, regulating MVNO dominance

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Sang-hoon (People Power Party) ● This amendment seeks to innovate the trust system by allowing liabilities, like mortgages, to be included in trusts. Currently, trust assets are limited, which complicates managing assets tied to debt. This change enables trusts for mortgaged properties, ensuring comprehensive asset management. Proposed Bill: Act on the Promotion of Artificial Inte

Dec. 2, 2024

Assembly speaker postpones vote on 2025 budget proposal

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Monday postponed a parliamentary vote on the 2025 budget bill by one week, amid the main opposition’s push to unilaterally pass its proposed budget cuts. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a majority in the 300-seat National Assembly, had been gearing up to put the downsized budget bill to a vote during Monday’s plenary session. The opposition proposal would cut over 4 trillion won ($2.86 billion) from the initial 677.

Dec. 2, 2024

Education Ministry firm on keeping medical quota expansion

The Ministry of Education said Monday that it regretted the suspension of operations by the medical standoff consultation body, adding that the government is open to talks for the school year 2026, not 2025. Koo Yeon-hee, a ministry spokesperson, made the remarks at a briefing at the Sejong Complex, responding to the medical community's decision to cease the council on Sunday. The ministry also reiterated its stance on keeping the increased quota and noted that the 2025 quota for medical sc

Dec. 2, 2024

Assembly speaker postpones putting forward downsized 2025 budget bill, calls for agreement by next week

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Monday urged the ruling and opposition parties to reach an agreement on the 2025 budget bill by next Tuesday, while postponing putting forward the downsized budget bill. "After much consideration, we have decided not to present the budget bill at today's plenary session," Woo said during a press briefing. "I sternly urge the two parties to pass the budget by Dec. 10, the final day of the regular session," he added. Tensions had been e

Dec. 2, 2024

Finance minister accuses opposition party of politicizing 2025 budget bill

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Monday expressed strong regret over the main opposition party railroading a downsized budget bill for next year, accusing the party of politicizing the proposal despite ongoing bipartisan negotiations. The revised budget, passed by a parliamentary special committee controlled by the Democratic Party last week, offers 677.4 trillion won ($485.3 billion) for the national budget for 2025, 4.1 trillion won less than the government's initial proposal. Rival part

Dec. 2, 2024

Rival parties to gird for clash over downsized 2025 budget bill

Rival parties are likely to clash during a plenary parliamentary session Monday as the main opposition seeks to introduce a downsized budget bill for next year despite resistance from the ruling party. The proposal, railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) at a plenary session of the parliamentary special committee on budget and accounts last week, puts next year's budget at 677.4 trillion won ($485.3 billion), down 4.1 trillion won from the initial plan proposed by the gover

Dec. 2, 2024

4-way body on medical standoff pauses over differences

A consultative body involving the ruling People Power Party, the government, and representatives from the medical community suspended its activities after just 20 days of operation. The group was established to find a resolution to the prolonged standoff over health care reform, including contentious plans to increase medical school quotas. The decision to pause discussions indefinitely was announced Sunday, following the body’s fourth plenary meeting. “The medical community has cons

Dec. 1, 2024

Assembly clash looms as opposition pushes vote on W4tr budget cut

The National Assembly is on a collision course as the parliament, where the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea holds the majority of seats, pushed through a budget cut proposal that would strip authorities in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration of their confidential funds. This came along with another high-stakes opposition-led move to impeach the head of the state-run Board of Audit and Inspection and three prosecutors who found Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee not guilty of her alleged involvement

Dec. 1, 2024

Russian defense chief leaves North Korea after high-level talks

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov left Pyongyang on Saturday after holding talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang-chol, in the latest show of deepening cooperation between the two countries. The Russian delegation led by Belousov departed from the North Korean capital at the end of his two-day visit laden with meetings with the country’s political and military leaders, the North’s Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday. The Ru

Dec. 1, 2024

Both parties agree to delay crypto tax

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has agreed to delay taxes on profits from cryptocurrency trades, floor leader Rep. Park Chan-dae said Sunday. “We have decided to agree to a two-year moratorium on the implementation of the cryptocurrency taxation proposed by the government and ruling party,” Park said in a press conference. The law taxing cryptocurrency income is set to come into effect from January. The government earlier proposed postponing the law by two years, and th

Dec. 1, 2024

S. Korea, Portugal hold working-level talks on battery, supply chains

South Korea and Portugal have held economic talks to explore cooperation in the battery industry, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday. During the seventh joint economic committee meeting in Lisbon on Friday, Kim Hee-sang, deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, met with his Portuguese counterpart, Joao Ferreira, to discuss strategies for cooperation, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to enhance economic ties in supply chains, trade and investment to address growing uncertainties

Nov. 30, 2024

Presidential office criticizes opposition-led state auditor, prosecutor impeachment motions

The presidential office on Friday criticized the main opposition party's plan to report impeachment motions for the head of the state audit agency and three prosecutors involved in two different scandals surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee. “(The impeachment proposal against the chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection) marks the first of such case in our constitutional history and damages the foundation of the constitutional order,” presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon said du

Nov. 29, 2024

Rebuilding Korea Party spokesperson’s law license revoked

Minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party spokesperson and now ex-prosecutor Lee Kyu-won was disbarred from the practice of law for failing to uphold his duties to the profession and engaging in political activities while on duty, officials said Friday. The Ministry of Justice announced that they have officially revoked Lee’s license on Tuesday for “refusing to come to work following the April 10 general election without any justifiable explanation” and “violating the prose

Nov. 29, 2024

DP leader says possibility of US-NK talks up after Trump election

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said Friday the possibility of dialogue between North Korea and the United States seems to be high under the incoming Donald Trump administration, calling on the government to come up with a strategy to prevent South Korea from being bypassed. Lee, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, made the remarks at a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, noting media reports that Trump's transition team is considering direct talks with North K

Nov. 29, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Promoting chip sector growth, fair LLC audits

Proposed Bill: Special Act on Strengthening Competitiveness and Promoting Innovative Growth in the Semiconductor Industry Proposed by Rep. Lee Chul-gyu (People Power Party) ● Amid the intensifying global competition for semiconductor dominance, this bill introduces measures to bolster Korea’s semiconductor industry. It establishes legal grounds for providing subsidies for infrastructure development and forming administrative bodies to support semiconductor policy formulation and execution.

Nov. 29, 2024

Assembly passes bills to limit power of ruling bloc

The opposition-led National Assembly on Thursday passed two bills that could limit the authority and the power of the current ruling bloc. The Assembly, in a 179-102 vote, passed a bill that strips the current ruling People Power Party of the right to recommend candidates for a special counsel when investigating allegations against the president or the president’s family members. The revision to the Act on the Appointment of Independent Prosecutor bans the political party that the presiden

Nov. 28, 2024

Ukrainian delegation in Seoul did not request South Korean weapons: minister

The delegation from Ukraine did not request that South Korea provide defensive weapons during a series of high-level meetings held Wednesday in Seoul. Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who spoke with his visiting Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov for 30 minutes on Wednesday, said he “did not receive any proposals” from the delegation about buying the Cheongung air defense system, as some reports had speculated. The South Korean defense minister was speaking Thursday in re

Nov. 28, 2024

Ishiba's potential visit to S. Korea in Jan. not yet decided: presidential office

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's possible visit to South Korea in January for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol has not yet been decided, the presidential office said Thursday. Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun earlier reported that Ishiba has been coordinating the visit to Seoul in early January for a summit with Yoon. "Nothing has been decided. The two leaders have agreed to continue advancing shuttle diplomacy," a senior presidential official at Yoon's office said.

Nov. 28, 2024