Ruling party warns leadership contenders to halt mudslinging

The ruling party People Power Party’s election management committee formed to handle the ongoing race to select its next leader said Friday it issued a warning to two of its contenders, requesting them to halt their “personal attacks” against each other. The committee revealed that it had sent warning letters to former Justice Minister and party interim leader Han Dong-hoon and former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong – two of four candidates for the chairman position –

July 12, 2024

NATO slams NK-Russia arms trade as Yoon moves to bolster security cooperation

Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Wednesday expressed "great concern" about the deepening ties between North Korea and Russia, shown in the pact signed in June, and condemned North Korea's weapons exports to Russia, as President Yoon Suk Yeol, who traveled to the United States to attend the NATO summit, moves to bolster security cooperation with NATO member states and other allies. In a communique released Wednesday, the Washington Summit Declaration, the 32 NAT

July 11, 2024

Lee Jae-myung formally announces rerun for DP chairmanship

Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday officially announced he will run again to be the leader of the main opposition here, with observers saying he is likely to be reelected at the party's convention next month. The announcement comes two weeks after Lee resigned as chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party. Lee had taken office as the party leader in 2022 after winning 77.77 percent of the vote at the national convention in August that year. At a press conference

July 10, 2024

Indo-Pacific Command's role key to 'rock-solid' Korea-US alliance: Yoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed the United States Indo-Pacific Command's role in taking the alliance between Seoul and Washington to a new level, amid growing geopolitical tensions beyond the Korean Peninsula. Yoon on Tuesday local time visited the headquarters of the Indo-Pacific Command at Camp H. M. Smith in Halawa, Hawaii, near Honolulu. The last time a South Korean head of state visited the base was then-President Kim Young-sam 29 years ago. "Among many other important missions,

July 10, 2024

Yoon pledges to enhance combined readiness with US against N. Korea

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to bolster South Korea's combined defense readiness with the United States to deter North Korea's growing threats during his visit to the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii on Tuesday. Yoon made the remark during his meeting with Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of Indo-Pacific Command, and Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of US Forces Korea, and other US military leaders. "North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile capabilities and continued provocations

July 10, 2024

National Assembly launches forum for potential nuclear armament

The National Assembly forum for potentially arming South Korea with nuclear weapons, the Mugunghwa Forum, kicked off Tuesday. The ruling People Power Party Rep. Yu Yong-weon, the Mugunghwa Forum’s founding president, said in remarks delivered at the inaugural ceremony that the forum will discuss policies and strategies for cultivating what he has termed the country’s “nuclear potential.” “I am pleased that the forum is taking off on this day at the National Assembly

July 9, 2024

Quarrel over first lady’s text messages opens new rift in ruling bloc

Rumors that former ruling party interim leader Han Dong-hoon ignored a total of five text messages from first lady Kim Keon Hee have opened a new rift within the conservative bloc, with some questioning the intention behind the alleged texts by the wife of the president, who is expected to remain politically neutral. The intra-party rift intensified after the Telegram text messages reportedly sent by Kim to former ruling party interim leader and ex-Justice Minister Han, ahead of the April 10 gen

July 9, 2024

Assembly committee to hold hearings on petition to impeach Yoon

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly approved a plan to hold two rounds of hearings later this month on the online petition on the parliament's website calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The committee, controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, also decided to summon Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, to testify before the National Assembly on July 26. This is the first time in modern Korean history that the parliament has summoned a fir

July 9, 2024

Bill sought for enforcing UN Security Council resolutions

Rep. Kim Gunn of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require the government to take steps to implement United Nations Security Council resolutions. The bill establishes a legal framework for ensuring that the UN Security Council resolutions can take effect here, so that South Korea can fulfill its obligations as a member, the first-time lawmaker said. Explaining the rationale behind the bill, he pointed to the Supreme Court ruling from two years ago which said t

July 9, 2024

Yoon again vetoes special probe bill over Marine's death

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday again vetoed the Democratic Party of Korea-led bill to launch a special counsel to investigate allegations that the Yoon administration, including the president himself, exerted external pressure on an internal military probe into the death of young Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun in July 2023. Yoon's veto is his 15th since his inauguration in May 2022, as he has exercised his constitutional power to block the passage of bills pushed by the opposition parties who

July 9, 2024

Cabinet again passes motion requesting reconsideration of bill on special probe into Marine's death

The Cabinet again passed a motion Tuesday demanding the National Assembly reconsider a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military's response to a Marine's death, the second time it did so in less than two months. The bill calls for the appointment of a special counsel to look into allegations the presidential office and the defense ministry inappropriately interfered in the military's investigation into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who was killed during a search mission

July 9, 2024

[Herald Interview] Korea’s 1st American Korean lawmaker eyes key role in immigration policy

A loud, booming voice bellowed throughout the room in the National Assembly members’ office building in western Seoul. As he spoke with The Korea Herald, switching between fluent English and Korean, Rep. Ihn Yohan of the ruling People Power Party pointed to a Hanja idiom framed and hung on the wall of his office that translates as: “There is no place where more milk and honey flows than Suncheon.” The city of Suncheon, the largest in South Jeolla Province, holds a special place

July 8, 2024

Yoon urges Russia to make 'sensible' decision over Koreas

President Yoon Suk Yeol is poised to address military cooperation between North Korea and Russia that the West believes is aggravating the war situation in Ukraine, as he departed for the United States to visit the US Indo-Pacific Command and attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit during his five-day trip. South Korea's approval of weapons for Ukraine will be determined at "the level and substance of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea," Yoon was quot

July 8, 2024

First lady text allegations rekindle tensions between Han, Yoon's office

Tensions between former ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon and the presidential office have surfaced again following allegations Han snubbed text messages from first lady Kim Keon Hee early this year, a development that threatens to consume the party's national convention just weeks away. Han, who served as interim leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) ahead of the April 10 general elections, reportedly ignored five Telegram messages the first lady sent to him in January to offer to r

July 8, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Shareholders protection, offshore wind power support

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Kang Hoon-sik (Democratic Party of Korea) ● Most acquisitions and mergers of listed companies in Korea are carried out through stock acquisitions, where controlling shareholders privately contract to sell stakes and controlling interest. During these transactions, majority shareholders of the target company sell their stakes at a high price, which includes control premiums. However, gen

July 8, 2024

Ruling party asks Yoon to veto special probe bill on Marine's death

The ruling People Power Party on Monday publicly proposed that President Yoon Suk Yeol veto a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military's response to a Marine's death. PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho made the appeal during an emergency committee meeting, saying that his party cannot accept such an "unconstitutional" bill that was railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). "We strongly ask that the president exercise his veto rights on

July 8, 2024

Yoon set to travel to US for NATO summit with focus on Russia-N. Korea ties

President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to embark on a trip to the United States on Monday to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Washington, where he will address concerns over deepening defense cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Yoon will visit Washington from Wednesday and Thursday to meet with NATO leaders for discussions on the ongoing war in Ukraine and enhancing cooperation between the transatlantic security alliance and the Indo-Pacific region. South Korea was invited t

July 8, 2024

Partisan gridlock to intensify over contentious bill

Partisan gridlock is expected to dominate the National Assembly in upcoming weeks, fueled by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s expected veto of a contentious bill that mandates a special counsel investigation into the death of a young Marine last year. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which railroaded the bill that was passed by the opposition-led Assembly on Thursday, is gearing up to respond to a presidential veto that is likely to be announced by July 19, according to its acting c

July 7, 2024

Govt. borrows record W91.6 tr in temporary loans from BOK in H1

The government borrowed over 91 trillion won ($65.8 billion) from the Bank of Korea in temporary loans in the first half of the year to fill its fiscal shortfall, data showed Sunday. According to the BOK data submitted to Rep. Yang Boo-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, the total amount of the government's temporary loans from the central bank during the January-June period came to 91.6 trillion won. Compared with the same period in previous years, it marked the largest amount of

July 7, 2024

PM orders containment measures against African swine fever

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday instructed officials to take emergency containment measures as authorities confirmed more cases of African swine fever at a pig farm in a southeastern county. The instruction came after the sixth case of the virus, which is deadly to pigs but not harmful to humans, was confirmed at the farm in Yecheon County, 161 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Han ordered authorities to take relevant measures, including culling, a standstill order and an epidemiological anal

July 7, 2024