Korean, Egyptian leaders to meet in bid for ‘strategic partnership’

President Lee Jae Myung will hold a summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Thursday to advance Korea-Egypt ties toward a “strategic partnership,” Cheong Wa Dae said. The summit will take place on the second day of Sissi’s three-day state visit to South Korea, made at Lee’s invitation, and will mark his first visit to the country in a decade, following his previous trip in 2016. The two leaders are meeting again about 11 months since Lee visited Egypt in November last year. “Thro

2026-10-06 18:07:49:00

Once rallying cry, prosecution reform now tests liberal unity

Prosecution reform is exposing fault lines across the liberal camp as an unprecedented overhaul takes shape, splitting the camp over a cause that has united the bloc for decades. President Lee Jae Myung and the minor progressive Rebuilding Korea Party are locked in an unusually public confrontation over how far the overhaul should go, whether a career prosecutor should lead the new investigative agency and whether the reform can now be considered largely complete. Signs of friction had surfaced

2026-10-06 14:58:28:00

Left, but elegant: How ‘leftlegant’ came to define Lee’s struggle within liberal bloc

A newly coined word circulating among President Lee Jae Myung’s supporters has come to capture his struggle with managing conflict within the liberal bloc during his presidency. The challenge has grown more urgent as some of the fiercest battles over Lee’s reform agenda, particularly prosecution reform, have increasingly unfolded not across the traditional left-right divide, but among liberals themselves. The Korean term is jwa-ahada — roughly, “leftlegant” in English — a playful political twist

2026-10-02 18:04:44:00

Lee warns of further action unless Ukraine apologizes, admits secrecy of POW deal

President Lee Jae Myung warned Ukraine of further measures unless Kyiv publicly apologizes for its unilateral disclosure of North Korean soldiers’ transfer to South Korea and subsequent denial of a confidentiality agreement. Lee’s warning marked an escalation in a diplomatic dispute that began after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the previously undisclosed transfer of the two North Korean prisoners of war during his Sept. 23 address to the UN General Assembly. “If Ukraine conti

2026-10-02 12:43:13:00

Lee pushes ahead with serious crimes agency chief pick despite backlash

President Lee Jae Myung has decided to press ahead with the appointment of Kim Ji-yong as the inaugural head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, despite opposition from within the ruling party and the broader progressive bloc. The presidential office said Thursday it planned to ask the National Assembly to hold a confirmation hearing for Kim as early as Thursday or Friday, reviving an appointment process that had been stalled since mid-September while the nominee underwent additional vet

2026-10-01 15:23:24:00

After DMZ blasts, Lee stresses dialogue, tension-easing with North

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday urged North Korea to return to dialogue and pledged continued efforts to ease military tensions, maintaining a focus on engagement despite tension from two land mine blasts in the Demilitarized Zone last week. Marking Armed Forces Day, Lee opened his address by expressing sympathy for the three South Korean soldiers wounded in the Sept. 21 explosions, before stressing that lasting security ultimately lies in creating “a peace in which there is no need to fight

2026-10-01 13:57:39:00

Lee eyes next chapter upon completion of Aegis fleet

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday marked the completion of South Korea’s decadeslong Aegis destroyer buildup by setting out the next steps for the country’s shipbuilding and defense industries. Presiding over the launch ceremony of the ROKS Daeho Kim Jong Seo in Ulsan, Lee also stressed the need to strengthen South Korea’s ability to defend itself with capabilities of its own across land, sea and air. Built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the vessel is the sixth and final ship in a 24-year pr

2026-09-30 15:27:16:00

Lee visits soldiers wounded in DMZ mine blasts, pledges full support

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday visited soldiers wounded in the Demilitarized Zone land mine explosions, pledging support for their recovery and continued military service. Lee visited the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where three injured soldiers are receiving treatment, according to the presidential office in Seoul. Lee first visited the soldiers in their hospital rooms, offering words of comfort and urging them to focus on their recovery, presidential spok

2026-09-30 14:53:52:00

Lee orders earlier Gwangju Air Base relocation, calls 2028 ‘too late’

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday ordered officials to accelerate plans to vacate Gwangju Air Base, bringing forward the existing mid-2028 target as much as possible to speed development of a semiconductor cluster. Lee issued the directive while convening the third public-private review of his administration’s flagship megaprojects, which focus on semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence and AI data centers. The order followed a Defense Ministry briefing on plans to temporarily relocate

2026-09-29 19:28:20:00

Lee warns against abuses of power day before police take over prosecution probe powers

President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that police who manipulate cases should face penalties that could cost them their jobs as they take charge of investigations and gain the power to close cases. The warning came days before prosecutors are stripped of their investigative powers and limited to indictments, a fundamental restructuring of South Korea’s criminal justice system 72 years after the Criminal Procedure Act was enacted in 1954. Under the revised system taking effect Friday, police will

2026-09-29 14:38:47:00