Controversy has intensified over the government’s bill to allow abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy, as progressive groups say the new law would remain in violation of women’s rights and the Constitution. As a follow-up to the Constitutional Court‘s landmark ruling last year to revise the ban on abortion, the government unveiled its plan on Oct. 7 to press no criminal charges against those...

Lawmakers began the parliament’s annual inspection of state affairs on Wednesday with the ruling and opposition parties bickering over the selection of witnesses. The recent killing of a South Korean civil servant by North Korean troops, along with the row over special treatment for the justice minister’s son in the military, overshadowed other issues. On the first day of the parliamentary audi...

A lawmaker has given rise to debate by revealing classified information to the public regarding the recent killing of a South Korean civil servant by North Korean forces. The discussion centers on the proper balance between national security and the people’s right to know. The Ministry of Defense is considering legal action against lawmakers who “indiscreetly” disclosed details of the South Kore...

Lawmakers will hold the parliament‘s annual inspection of state affairs this week with North Korea’s recent killing of a South Korean civil servant and a row over special treatment for the justice minister’s son expected to be key agenda items for the three weeks of hearings. The parliamentary audit will start Wednesday and runs until Oct. 26, covering more than 640 government organizations. Th...

The push for tougher legislation requiring labels on consumer products that contain genetically modified organisms has struggled to gain momentum for years in South Korea, which depends heavily on imports to satisfy its demand for corn and soybeans. Calls to introduce stricter GMO labeling rules have been persistent, but President Moon Jae-in has yet to fulfill his campaign promises to stop the ...

Rep. Lee Nak-yon, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has faced myriad challenges to consolidate his foothold in the liberal party and prove his mettle as a presidential candidate. His return to the partisan politics had been smooth sailing after serving as prime minister under the liberal Moon Jae-in government, winning a seat in the Jongno district in central Seoul -- a symbolic ...

Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday it will provide 300 billion won ($255.6 million) in soft loans to small business owners hit hard by COVID-19 containment measures. Facilities that have been suffering financial losses due to shut down or operational restriction orders by the government are eligible to apply for loans up to up to 100 million won with interest rates ranging from 0.03 perce...

Opposition lawmakers are stepping up attacks on President Moon Jae-in over the killing of a South Korean civil servant by North Korea, framing the incident as a case of mishandling or even neglect of duty by the top office. Five members of the People Power Party took turns holding one-person protests outside Cheong Wa Dae, each staging an hourlong rally with a sign that read “President Moon Ja...

Police are making a last-ditch effort to ensure that they will be on equal footing with prosecutors as the government moves to finalize the revised laws that would reorganize the jurisdictions of police and prosecutors in criminal investigation procedures. As part of President Moon Jae-in’s drive to reform the prosecution, which has a monopoly on indictment powers and investigation oversight, th...

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called on the government to step up efforts to complete the reform of the prosecutors’ office, police and state intelligence agency, saying that remaining tasks will require more effort despite the progress made so far. “Our government‘s reform of the power institutions is making irreversible progress,” Moon said at the meeting with government and ruling Democrati...

The government decided Sunday to extend its current social distancing guidelines for another week as the country seeks tighter control of the new coronavirus ahead of a long holiday week approaching next week. Areas outside Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon have been under Level 2 social distancing measures for a month since Aug. 23. They were initially planned to end Sunday at midnight. Wit...

Yoon Ji-oh, an actor who has been engulfed in donation fraud and defamation allegations related to late actress Jang Ja-yeon, denied the Justice Ministry’s statement that the investigation against her had been suspended because her location was unknown. The Korean-Canadian has been in Canada since April last year, after several lawsuits were filed against her including damage suits filed by thos...

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug on Wednesday suggested holding the presidential election and local elections simultaneous in 2022. “I hope that we can conclude this issue next year as the two elections will be held three months apart in the first half of 2022, which could lead to quite a bit of waste of national resources,” he said during a press conference held to mark his 100-day an...

The government announced Tuesday that it had decided to make an upfront payment worth 172 billion won ($146 million) as part of its plan to secure COVID-19 vaccines to administer to 30 million people, or roughly 60 percent of the total population. The country will take a two-track approach. For 20 million doses for 10 million people, the government will look to the COVAX Facility, the global vac...

The country’s highest court decided to strengthen sentencing guidelines for digital sex crimes Tuesday, enabling producers of child pornography to be punished by up to 29 years in prison. The decision from the Supreme Court’s sentencing commission came following public outcry over lenient punishments handed down to offenders involved in child pornography here, compared to those in other countrie...