South Korea’s legislative branch could be on course to return to work soon, as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is mulling unilaterally electing a new National Assembly speaker with negotiations between the rival parties stalling without much progress. Reps. Jeon Yong-gi and Oh Yeong-hwan of the Democratic Party submitted a request to the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon to open a provisional assembly in July following the party’s announcement earlier that it woul

Politics June 28, 2022

A large-scale police search is underway for a family of three that went mysteriously missing on a remote island last month. Ten-year-old Cho Yu-na and her parents in their 30s went missing in Wando, South Jeolla Province, from May 31 after they entered the island in a silver-colored Audi sedan two days earlier. The family stayed at a guesthouse near a beach on the island after arriving, but cell phone signals of Cho and her mother were last found at a location near the guesthouse at around 1 a

Social Affairs June 27, 2022

South Korea could observe the first Constitution Day next month without a National Assembly speaker in 24 years, as the legislative branch remains stalled from rival parties failing to reach agreement on who should take key legislative posts. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday criticized the ruling People Power Party for rejecting its offer to let the People Power Party take the chair seat of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee instead of having the ruling party partici

Politics June 27, 2022

People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok is at risk of penalty from an ethics panel next month in connection to sexual bribery allegations, after the committee ruled that it would punish his close aide for attempting to silence Lee’s accuser in exchange for an investment. The party’s internal ethics panel on Wednesday deferred until July 7 a decision whether to penalize Lee for “failing to maintain dignity” and “coercing to destroy evidence” in relation to a

Politics June 24, 2022

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense flip-flopped on its announcement in regards to the case of a South Korean man killed by North Korean troops in 2020, in response to orders from a top official from the National Security Council, a lawmaker claimed Thursday. Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the People Power Party told reporters Thursday that Suh Choo-suk, former first deputy director of the NSC under the Moon Jae-in administration, had an official document sent to the Defense Ministry with in

North Korea June 24, 2022

Former Deputy Prime Minister Cho Soon, a renowned economics expert who served as the first publicly elected mayor of Seoul, died of natural causes on Thursday at the age of 94. Cho died at around 3:38 a.m. Thursday while under treatment at the Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul. His funeral will be held at the medical center, and he will be buried in his hometown of Gangneung, Gangwon Province. Born in February 1928, Cho graduated from Seoul National University in 1949 to later

Politics June 23, 2022

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party’s internal strife continues, with members polarized on the internal ethics panel’s proposal to suspend Rep. Choe Kang-wook’s party membership over sexual misconduct allegation. The ethics panel ruled Monday to suspend Choe’s party membership for six months after he allegedly made questionable comments in an online meeting of party officials held in April. He reportedly used a slur that could be used to refer to masturb

Politics June 22, 2022

The ruling People Power Party could see a possible shift in power dynamics Wednesday as Chairman Lee Jun-seok could be penalized by the internal ethics panel over sexual bribery allegations. The ethics panel is scheduled to convene at 7 p.m. Wednesday to continue discussions on whether to penalize Lee for “failing to maintain dignity” and “coercing to destroy evidence” in relation to a sexual bribery case that is also under police investigation. The panel may reach a de

Politics June 21, 2022

South Korea’s legislative branch has been stalled for weeks as the ruling and main opposition parties have failed to come to a compromise on which party should take over key legislative posts. With the key posts remaining empty for 23 days, the legislative branch has failed to vet bills and party negotiations have not made much progress, primarily on which party would take certain chair posts for the latter half of the 21st National Assembly. The ruling People Power Party has asked for t

Politics June 21, 2022

Internal strife is continuing within South Korea’s ruling and main opposition parties as factions jockey for power. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is set to elect its new chairperson at the national convention scheduled in August and finally conclude the battle between supporters of Rep. Lee Jae-myung and those with close ties to former President Moon Jae-in. From the pro-Moon circle, Rep. Sul Hoon expressed his intent to run for the chair, and Rep. Hong Young-pyo is also

Politics June 20, 2022

A suspected arson attack has left seven dead and dozens injured in Daegu on Thursday. A fire erupted on the second floor of a building in Soosung-gu, eastern Daegu, at around 10:55 a.m., fire authorities said. Seven people were found dead at the scene, and 46 people were injured from inhaling smoke from the fire. The fire was brought under control 20 minutes after 160 firefighters and 64 fire trucks were dispatched to the scene. Officials are working to identify the cause of the fire upon rec

Social Affairs June 9, 2022

A feud is deepening within the ruling People Power Party over plans to overhaul the candidate nomination process ahead of the legislative elections in 2024. Rep. Chung Jin-suk has been publicly resisting party chairman Lee Jun-seok’s move to install a special committee to reform the party’s nomination guidelines, and include figures close to him. Chung argues that Lee is trying to tilt nominations in his favor at the cost of the party’s long-term interests. Highlighting that

Politics June 9, 2022

National Assembly proceedings are in a gridlock, with the ruling and main opposition parties locking horns over control of key legislative posts. The ruling People Power Party wants to take the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chair post, as part of the compromise it reached with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea last year. In the compromise, the two parties agreed on which party would take certain chair posts in the latter half of the 21st National Assembly. “If the Demo

Politics June 9, 2022

The chief of South Korea’s ruling party met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ways for South Korea to increase aid for Ukraine and cooperate on its post-war reconstruction projects. People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok held a meeting with Zelenskyy on the third day of his visit to Ukraine as head of the party’s 10-member delegation to the country, the ruling party said in an announcement Wednesday. The party said exact details on when and where the meeting took

Politics June 8, 2022

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is facing criticism over the appointment of Rep. Woo Sang-ho as the leader of the new emergency steering committee, as many denounce the party for essentially deciding to make no formidable changes, despite losing three elections in a row. Even though many hoped for the party to steer away from the so-called “586 Generation” and let young politicians have a chance to lead, the party still decided to keep the traditional heavyweights on s

Politics June 8, 2022