With just seven days left until the local elections and parliamentary by-elections on June 1, latest public opinion surveys are hinting a clear lead for the ruling People Power Party and its candidates in many regions. Out of 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial elections, the People Power Party has shown a strong lead in 10 of the posts, comparted to four for the main opposition Democratic...

Byun Seong-wan, representing the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in the Busan mayoral election, faces a steep uphill battle against his rival Park Heong-joon of the People Power Party. After former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don of the Democratic Party was found to have sexually harassed female employees of the city government, public sentiment toward the liberal party has turned ice cold in t...

Heo Hyang-jin, the candidate for the ruling People Power Party in the upcoming Jeju Province gubernatorial election, bids to transform the island into a global tourism hub by adding new attractions for travelers with diverse tastes. Revitalizing the island’s tourism sector, he believes, is one of the most important tasks for the next governor, as the province and its residents have sustained los...

While Jeju Island is loved by many for its appeal as a tourist destination, the province has also incurred sizable damage for years from much of its areas overhauled for new hotels, resorts and attractions. Even though the island invites more than 15 million visitors a year, such a strategy is no longer viable, raising the need to find new ways to promote sustainable growth, argues Oh Young-hun ...

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s chances in the local elections appear to be dimming, with many opinion surveys favoring candidates from the ruling People Power Party while major political events work in favor of the ruling bloc. A survey of 880 voters of a constituency in Gyeyang-gu of Incheon from Thursday to Friday found Lee Jae-myung, chief of the Democratic Party’s local elec...

The official campaigning period has kicked off for the upcoming local elections in South Korea, with the ruling People Power Party appearing to be at an advantage over the larger opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Many opinion surveys expect the People Power Party to prevail in the elections, with many experts saying that the political party that wins the presidential election is likely to ex...

Whether Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo will join the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is to be decided Friday, as the parliament is slated to vote on his appointment as the last part of the confirmation process. The National Assembly has scheduled a plenary session at 2 p.m. Friday to vote on whether to approve Han’s appointment to the office of prime minister. The Democratic Party holds sway o...

The National Assembly has started reviewing the 59.4 trillion won ($46.5 billion) supplementary budget proposal from the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, with ruling and main opposition parties clashing over how much of the budget should be used to assist pandemic-hit small-business owners as promised. The debate between the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Kore...

As global warming intensifies due to climate change, coastal regions will be among the areas worst hit. The rise in sea level is expected to cause severe disturbance to coastal ecosystems and ignite catastrophic socioeconomic problems with natural disasters. Countries are working together to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in a belief that problems hinted to stem from climate change will be p...

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is yet again dealing with a sexual harassment controversy as it readies for an important election in less than three weeks. Legislators with the Democratic Party on Monday approved Rep. Park Wan-joo’s expulsion from the party over allegations that he sexually harassed a female staff member late last year. The party requested the National As...

South Korea is preparing to propose holding talks with North Korea on providing COVID-19 assistance, as Pyongyang recently acknowledged that it is undergoing a virus outbreak and is believed to be struggling with a lack of test kits and medical supplies. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday morning 15 new COVID-19 deaths and 296,180 additional people with fever symp...

The upcoming local elections on June 1 have already become a historic event for South Korea, with the country seeing younger candidates than ecer running for public office while the competition rate hit rock-bottom. The National Election Commission at 6 p.m. Friday stopped accepting candidate registrations for the local elections, where voters will choose 17 new metropolitan mayors and provincia...

South Korea officially entered another election season Thursday, with candidate registrations being accepted for the local elections on June 1. The National Election Commission is receiving applications from candidates seeking to run for local government posts until Friday. Those aged 18 or above – those born before June 2, 2004 – as of election date are eligible to register as candidates. It i...

A secretary for recently inaugurated President Yoon Suk-yeol is under fire for his past comments on sexual slavery victims and sexual minorities, where he called homosexuality a “treatable” mental illness and labeled victims of sexual slavery under Japanese colonial rule as prostitutes. Kim Seong-hoe, the presidential secretary for religion and multiculturalism for Yoon, said in a Facebook post ...

South Korea’s conservative People Power Party has become the ruling political party as of Tuesday with President Yoon Suk-yeol starting his five-year term, but the party faces a steep uphill battle at the parliament with weak legislative power and comparatively small foothold. The People Power Party is outnumbered and essentially has no power to push any legislative agenda on its own. It was onl...