Talks begin in Korea for easing 52-hour weekly work cap

South Korea is likely to begin a trilateral discussion on the 52-hour weekly work cap, with the government moving to resume talks as the labor umbrella union returns to the dialogue for the first time in five months. The discussion will include the government's latest proposal on allowing exceptions to the legally set maximum of 52 hours of work per week. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday that employers may be given more flexibility in arranging the work schedules on a weekly

Nov. 13, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Tackling poor construction practices, promoting SME carbon neutrality

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Construction Technology Promotion Act Proposed by Rep. Heo Jong-sik (Democratic Party of Korea) ● The recent collapse of an underground parking lot has brought to attention the need to remedy poor construction practices. This amendment reinforces the liability of constructors for managing the quality of construction projects by making the appropriateness examination for quality management mandatory by law and requiring the documentation of such examination

Nov. 13, 2023

Ruling party urges Yoon to veto opposition-led labor, media bills

  South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Monday asked President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto recent bills passed by opposition parties, which the Democratic Party of Korea claims are aimed at protecting workers and shielding Korea's terrestrial broadcasters from political influence. Voices against the bills both in political and business circles are adding to expectations that Yoon will veto the bills. "We hereby ask President Yoon to veto the bills for the country and its citizens' livel

Nov. 13, 2023

Yoon's approval rating falls for first time in 3 weeks to 34.7%

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating fell for the first time in three weeks to 34.7 percent, a poll showed Monday. The survey, conducted by the polling agency Realmeter, showed the positive assessment of Yoon's performance went down by 2.1 percentage points from the previous week, while 62.2 percent of respondents disapproved of his performance, up 2 percentage points. Yoon's approval rating had previously risen for two weeks in a row from 32.5 percent to 35.7 percent and 36.

Nov. 13, 2023

Two-thirds of Gyeonggi residents opposed to megacity proposal

Two-thirds of residents in Gyeonggi Province are opposed to the proposal to incorporate satellite cities near Seoul into the sprawling capital, a poll showed Sunday, amid the ruling party's push for a megacity project. The survey, conducted by Realmeter from Nov. 2-5 on 3,004 Gyeonggi residents aged 18 and older, showed that 66.3 percent oppose the idea, while 29.5 percent are in support of it. The remaining 4.2 percent said they have no idea. By region, the opposition was highest among res

Nov. 12, 2023

S. Korea to make final pitch for hosting 2030 World Expo

South Korea will make a final pitch for the country's bid for hosting the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern city of Busan, two weeks before the crucial vote, with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo set to travel to Paris in the coming weeks to bolster the campaign. Han was set to leave for Paris later Sunday for a four-day trip in an effort to drum up support to host the quadrennial event in Busan, according to his office. Member states of the Bureau International des

Nov. 12, 2023

DP calls Yoon to promulgate contentions bills passed this week

The main opposition Democratic Party called on President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday to promulgate a pro-labor bill and three other contentious measures that were passed earlier this week. On Thursday, the DP-controlled National Assembly passed revisions to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act and three other bills on broadcasting laws after the ruling People Power Party called off its plan to use a filibuster to block their passage. "President Yoon Suk Yeol should promulgate th

Nov. 11, 2023

S. Korean lawmaker, US Congress members meet over China’s forced return of North Korean defectors

Rep. Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat, met with five members of the US congress during his trip to Washington on Nov. 7-8 to jointly raise concerns about China forcibly repatriating North Koreans who defected into its territories. The South Korean lawmaker with the ruling People Power Party said in a release Friday that he discussed the issue of China’s forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in meetings with Sen. Ted Cruz and House of Representatives members Chris Smith,

Nov. 10, 2023

South Korean lawmakers join global human rights alliance against China

South Korea’s National Assembly recently became the 32nd legislature to be represented in the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an association of lawmakers concerned about Beijing’s increasingly hostile behaviors. The first South Korean lawmakers to join the cross-parliamentarian alliance are the ruling People Power Party’s Rep. Ji Seong-ho and the opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Oh Yeong-hwan. The two lawmakers will serve as inaugural co-chairs until the

Nov. 10, 2023

Democratic Party of Korea threatens another impeachment of Yoon appointee

The Democratic Party of Korea said Friday it would file a second motion to remove the chief of the country’s broadcaster regulator, after withdrawing the first one. In Thursday’s National Assembly plenary session, the Democratic Party introduced and passed the contentious motion to impeach Lee Dong-kwan, who heads the Korea Communications Commission, only to retract it a day later amid public outcry. The Democratic Party, which holds enough seats in the Assembly to pass motions witho

Nov. 10, 2023

‘Obstruction of justice’: Opposition retracts impeachment vs prosecutor after backlash

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Friday rescinded the impeachment motion targeting a senior incumbent prosecutor overseeing criminal investigations into the party's leader, Rep. Lee Jae-myung. The retraction came one day after the Democratic Party filed and passed a motion to impeach Prosecutor Lee Jung-seop during Thursday's Assembly plenary session, triggering public backlash. The senior prosecutor has been leading the ongoing investigations into some of the more high-profile c

Nov. 10, 2023

Yoon orders tough punishment for illegal private lenders

President Yoon Suk Yeol called Thursday for imposing tough punishments on illegal private lenders who charge interest rates of thousands of percent, saying it is the state's duty to protect ordinary and vulnerable citizens from such "vicious criminals that suck the blood of the weak." Yoon made the remarks during a meeting on illegal private financing, which was attended by some 30 people, including victims of the practice, workers at a victims' call center, and government an

Nov. 9, 2023

Top prosecutor blasts main opposition party for attempting to impeach prosecutors

Prosecutor General Lee One-seok on Thursday slammed the main opposition Democratic Party for proposing a motion to impeach two active prosecutors on corruption charges, saying the party is out to protect its leader. Lee told reporters outside the Supreme Prosecutors Office building in Seoul that the DP is trying to intimidate the prosecution in retaliation for its probe into allegations surrounding DP leader Lee Jae-myung. "If they are trying to impeach prosecutors because they don't l

Nov. 9, 2023

Opposition party passes contentious labor, broadcasting bills

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday afternoon passed a contentious pro-labor bill and three broadcasting bills during a plenary session at the National Assembly, a move that comes after the ruling People Power Party announced that it would withdraw threats of a filibuster. The partial amendments to all three broadcasting bills and the pro-labor “yellow envelope bill” were unilaterally passed, with all participating members voting in favor. Members of the ruling

Nov. 9, 2023

Yet another Yoon appointee faces impeachment threat

President Yoon Suk Yeol is again being pressured by the main opposition to remove one of the minister-level heads in his Cabinet. The Democratic Party of Korea, which has the majority in the National Assembly, on Thursday adopted a motion to impeach Lee Dong-kwan as the head of the country’s broadcasting regulator, the Korea Communications Commission. The opposition party said that Lee, who was appointed on Aug. 25 to lead the KCC, the mission of which is to monitor broadcasting content an

Nov. 9, 2023

Unionized subway workers in Seoul to go on strike starting Thursday

Unionized workers of Seoul Metro, the operator of Seoul subway lines No. 1-8, will stage a strike starting Thursday in protest of the company's manpower reduction plan, officials said Wednesday. The labor union has threatened to take the collective action after the company announced a plan to reduce its workforce by 2,212, or 13.5 percent, by 2026 to overcome its chronic deficit and normalize management. The labor and management of the company, run by the Seoul city government, have held ro

Nov. 8, 2023

S. Korea, IAEA discuss N.K. nuclear program in high-level policy talks

South Korea and the International Atomic Energy Agency held regular high-level policy talks Wednesday and discussed North Korea's nuclear program and other areas of cooperation, the foreign ministry said. Park Yong-min, the deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, met with Massimo Aparo, deputy director general of the IAEA, in Seoul for their 12th round of the meeting earlier in the day, the ministry said in a release. The two sides discussed joint efforts to strengthen

Nov. 8, 2023

Vatican's top diplomat to visit S. Korea this month

The top diplomat of the Vatican will visit South Korea later this month for talks on bilateral ties and issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, Seoul's catholic bishops' institution said Wednesday. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's secretary for relations with states, is scheduled to make a four-day visit to South Korea starting Nov. 20, according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea. During the envisioned trip, he plans to meet with South Korea'

Nov. 8, 2023

Yoon's approval rating rises to 37%: Yonhap News survey

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating increased to 37 percent from a month ago, according to a survey conducted jointly by Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV on Wednesday. The survey also showed that the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party would secure 33 percent and 32 percent of the vote, respectively, if the parliamentary elections scheduled for next April were held tomorrow. Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV jointly commissioned the survey to gauge p

Nov. 8, 2023

Gov't vows to cut red tape to expedite 46 tln-won corporate investment projects

The South Korean government vowed Wednesday to ease regulations and reduce administrative procedures to promote the swift and smooth implementation of major corporate investment projects, including S-Oil Co.'s petrochemical plant project and the US Sphere Entertainment Co.'s K-pop arena construction plan. The government presented a set of tailored deregulatory measures for a total of 18 projects led by private companies worth 46 trillion won ($35.06 billion) combined as part of efforts

Nov. 8, 2023