Pak Un-jong, who is tapped to head the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog, has ample experience in the fields of human rights and civic movements. The law professor at Seoul National University is the second female chief to lead the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, following her predecessor, Kim Young-ran, a former Supreme Court justice.Pak Un-jongShe took the chief director role at the Korea Human Rights Foundation in 2008. She was the head of the judicial watchdog center within Peop

Politics June 27, 2017

Ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday agreed to normalize the National Assembly, which has been deadlocked for over a week, resuming the necessary process for President Moon Jae-in’s government reorganization plan. The agreement, however, left out the most contentious issue, Moon’s 11.2 trillion won ($9.85 billion) extra budget proposal, due to strong resistance from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. It was signed by the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the conser

Politics June 27, 2017

Tapped to head the Justice Ministry, Park Sang-ki is an activist scholar who has been writing regularly on ways to reform the country’s powerful law enforcement authorities. “Prosecutors are not above the people. Their exclusive rights to indict are endowed by the people for them to serve the people,” is what the nominee, a law professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University, has written many times when prosecutorial reform is being discussed.Park Sang-kiIn other writings, Park, 64, has criticized those

Politics June 27, 2017

Rep. Lee Hye-hoon, a three-term lawmaker and once an ally of former President Park Geun-hye, was elected as the leader of the minor conservative opposition Bareun Party on Monday. “I will now think, speak and act as the chief of the Bareun Party. I will become a ‘blast furnace’ -- a leader who can listen to diverse opinions and melt away any kind of conflict,” the 53-year-old lawmaker said.  Rep. Lee Hye-hoon makes her acceptance speech (Yonhap)Lee also vowed to do her best to hold the party tog

Politics June 26, 2017

MUJU -- A veteran North Korean sports administrator visiting South Korea has expressed his misgivings about forming a joint Korean team for next year's Winter Olympics south of the border due to the time crunch.Chang Ung, the North's lone member of the International Olympic Committee, is in South Korea for the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships, which opened in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday. He traveled with a delegation from the North Korea-led Interna

National June 25, 2017

The nation’s political parties are preparing for another round of clashes over President Moon Jae-in’s Cabinet nominees, with opposition parties promising tough hearings for the six nominees set to take to the stand this week. The opposition parties have already called on three of the six candidates to voluntarily give up their nomination citing alleged ethical lapses. Starting with National Tax Service Director nominee Han Seung-hee on Monday, Defense Minister nominee Song Young-moo and Agricul

Politics June 25, 2017

President Moon Jae-in appointed Kim Hyun-mee as the minister of land and transport Wednesday, following the parliamentary committee’s adoption of a confirmation report earlier in the day. With Kim’s appointment, Moon has now filled six positions in his first Cabinet, with 12 more to go. Brightening the prospects of Moon completing the formation of his Cabinet quicker, leaders of four main parties in a meeting agreed to the National Assembly’s handling of the nominees.  Kim Hyun-mee (Yonhap)The r

Politics June 21, 2017

The chief of the People’s Party, a minor centrist group, on Wednesday vowed to help the liberal Moon Jae-in administration succeed. “The People’s Party will be reborn, upholding the spirit of Honam (Gwangju and Jeolla provinces),” Rep. Park Joo-sun, the party’s interim chief said during a visit to Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, the party’s home turf and a liberal stronghold. “We will duly play the role of an opposition party, but at the same time will boldly cooperate (on issues deemed right) f

Politics June 21, 2017

Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung plans to run in next year’s local elections, but is undecided on which office to seek, he said Tuesday. “I will run in the next year’s provincial elections. (On the question of which office to run for,) I will decide around this fall,” the mayor told reporters in the city just south of Seoul. Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung (Yonhap)A lawyer-turned-progressive politician, Lee was re-elected to the mayor’s office in 2014. During political turmoil sparked by the scandal in

Politics June 20, 2017

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing for a special law to investigate and confiscate assets illegally accumulated by Choi Soon-sil, the arrested confidante of former President Park Geun-hye. Revealed at a press conference Tuesday, the bill envisions the forming of a special investigative committee to look into the assets of not just Choi, but all those who played a role in the corruption scandal involving the former president. Once identified, illegal proceeds would be confiscated, with co

Politics June 20, 2017

Hong Joon-pyo, the 2017 presidential candidate for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, faces a possible lawsuit by a local media outlet after he openly denounced its former CEO on Monday.In a press briefing Sunday, the former South Gyeongang Province governor claimed that Hong Seok-hyun, former chairman of JoongAng Media Group which owns the broadcasting station JTBC and newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, traded his media conglomerate for a government position.Hong Joon-pyo, the 2017 presidential can

Politics June 19, 2017

Hong Joon-pyo, a former presidential candidate and provincial governor, on Sunday declared that he would be running for the chief position of the Liberty Korea Party, vowing to rebuild the nation’s right wing through a complete overhaul. 　“The new start of the Liberty Korea Party will come with innovation. I will lead comprehensive reform and revive the (fallen) party,” he told a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. With Hong in the contest, the race for the main oppos

Politics June 18, 2017

President Moon Jae-in had only three ministerial posts to fill in his Cabinet as of Wednesday. He has named 16 Cabinet members so far and two of them -- Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon -- have taken office. The remaining are pending parliamentary confirmation. Six are former or incumbent lawmakers. Twelve are men and four are women. Although the ratio of females is already higher than under the previous administration, which had two female

Politics June 14, 2017

National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday vowed to strive for an open and transparent process to revise the constitution. He also urged fellow parliamentarians to come up with an amendment bill within the year so that it can be put to a vote during local elections next June. “I will open up the process of the constitutional reform to the public and make sure that the revision plan is not swayed by political disputes,” Chung the reporters at a press briefing marking his first year in of

Politics June 13, 2017

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party is preparing to elect its new party leadership in early July, with the race widely expected to be a showdown between supporters and opponents of the party’s previous presidential candidate, Hong Joon-pyo. The former South Gyeongsang Province governor remains a divisive figure among party lawmakers. While he is credited for the party’s better-than-expected performance in the election -- Hong landed in second place despite the blow of President Park Geun-hye

Politics June 12, 2017