President Yoon Suk Yeol announced plans to expand senior welfare in South Korea, where a fifth of the population is aged 65 or older, at yet another policy debate he presided over Thursday morning. Yoon laid out support packages for senior citizens in the country, which is experiencing fast-paced population aging, as 1 in 4 South Korean citizens will be aged 65 or older by 2030. "Comprehensive measures ranging from living, food, medical services and nursing are needed for senior citizens,

Politics March 21, 2024

Hwang Sang-moo, the senior presidential secretary for civil society, resigned from his post amid growing criticism concerning his conversation with a group of reporters in which he implied that any journalist refusing to be tamed by the Yoon administration could potentially face physical retaliation. Hwang's resignation was accepted by President Yoon Suk Yeol, his office said, but it did not confirm when it was accepted. Also, the government said that Lee Jong-sup, the embattled ambassador

Politics March 20, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday pledged a total of 10 trillion won ($7.46 billion) to carry out housing redevelopment in older urban centers of Seoul. Single-family freestanding homes or "dandok jutaek," and low-rise apartment buildings called "villa" will be turned into brand-new buildings, and half of the cost for their development will be through low-interest loans given to land developers by the state-run Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corp. In Korea, land developer

Politics March 19, 2024

Kim Keon Hee is nowhere to be seen. South Korea's first lady has been out of the public eye for four months, and her absence shows no signs of ending. Kim, 51, was last seen in public upon her return from the Netherlands, along with her husband, President Yoon Suk Yeol, in mid-December last year. The presidential office has remained silent about the reason behind Kim's absence, as well as about her whereabouts. No health issues have been mentioned. Her continued absence seems remarkabl

Politics March 19, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday pledged to lay out contingency measures to stem the acute food price hikes in South Korea. Beginning Monday, at least 150 billion won ($112.5 million) of emergency funds will be deployed to stabilize the price partly by reducing or lifting tariffs on imported fruit, on a limited amount of agricultural goods or processed foods. If the plan as of Monday goes full-fledged, a total of 29 types of fruit will be subject to "tariff quotas" -- permission to im

Politics March 18, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Monday released a statement over mounting calls for presidential aide Hwang Sang-moo to step down after his controversial remarks about press freedom were disclosed by a media outlet. The presidential office said in a statement that it "respects press freedom" and the responsibilities that come with that freedom. Yoon's office also denied that it has ever attempted to suppress the media's freedom of expression. "The presidential o

Politics March 18, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol's senior secretary Hwang Sang-moo has come under fire for controversial remarks about the freedom of the press and the spirit of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. An association representing journalists from South Korean television network MBC on Friday demanded Hwang, the senior presidential secretary for civil society, apologize publicly and immediately step down. It described Hwang's stance on journalism as "shocking." Rep. Ko Min-jung of the main op

Politics March 15, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to introducing a 47-kilometer superhighway with no speed limit in South Jeolla Province worth 2.6 trillion won ($1.97 billion), in a bid to construct a "Korean-style Autobahn." The new highway will connect the city of Gwangju with the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam-gun, South Jeolla Province, enabling cars to operate at speeds above 200 kilometers per hour along its 47-kilometer length. Yoon said his conservative adm

Politics March 14, 2024

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled plans to set up a new space industry cluster in the next eight years that is not only capable of manufacturing satellites and rockets, but also astronaut training. To aid the goal of space exploration, some 1.5 trillion won ($1.14 billion) of the budget will be allocated in 2027, up from the 836.2 billion won budget this year. The funding will lay the cornerstone for South Korea's aerospace industry to bloom, Yoon said. He envisioned South Korea's boos

Politics March 13, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday unveiled a project worth 360 billion won ($274 million) to build a cluster of data centers in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, and set up a mechanism to use freshwater from behind the dam for cooling. By 2027, the cluster that comprises seven data centers with a combined peak power use reaching 220 megawatts, smart farm facilities and the cooling mechanism using water behind Soyang Multipurpose Dam in Chuncheon is to complete construction, according to Yoon. The pro

Politics March 11, 2024

Amid the ongoing standoff between the South Korean government and medical professionals, a new criticism has been raised from within medical circles that the back-to-work order imposed on junior doctors in teaching hospitals violates international labor standards. The doctors' walkout in South Korea began in mid-February as a boycott of the government's plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota by at least 2,000 places each year, from 3,058. As of Thursday, nearly 12,000 jun

Social Affairs March 10, 2024

Construction work for the GTX Line B suburban rail network broke ground in Incheon on Thursday, as the 6.84-trillion-won ($5.14 billion) project aims to connect the port city to Seoul and Gyeonggi Province via express train services. President Yoon Suk Yeol said the combined population of 13 million people in Incheon and Seoul will enjoy 30-minute commutes once construction of the 82-kilometer railway is complete as planned by 2030. "The transportation revolution in Incheon has just begun t

Politics March 7, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday refused to concede to some 9,000 trainee doctors' walkout, defining their collective action as "illegal" and insisting it must be met with stern actions guided by law and principle. Yoon denied the accusations that the government's measures against defiant doctors, such as its decision to suspend the medical licenses of some 7,000 trainees, were meant to suppress doctors' freedom and rights. Instead, these should be construed as actions "to mee

Politics March 6, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday announced plans to expand state-backed scholarship programs to woo South Korea's young generation. Yoon told some 460 participants in a policy debate held in the city of Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, that the government "has the responsibility to help the talented young generation live up to their capacity." Yoon said the number of students eligible to get state-sponsored scholarships, provided by the state-run Korea Student Aid Foundation, wil

Politics March 5, 2024

The general election on April 10 will not only be an election for a new parliament of 300 legislators but also a decisive moment for the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been struggling to advance his agenda since his narrow election victory two years ago. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, led by Yoon's presidential election opponent Rep. Lee Jae-myung, currently holds a simple majority. The ruling party, on the other hand, has only 113 out of the 300 parliamentary seats. T

Politics March 4, 2024