President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating rebounded following his trip to the Czech Republic to clear hurdles before finalizing a 24 trillion won ($18 billion) nuclear export contract, a poll showed Friday. According to Gallup Korea's poll, Yoon's job approval rating during the period between Tuesday and Thursday came to 23 percent, up 3 percentage points from the previous poll unveiled on Sept. 13. The figure in the previous poll hit the lowest point since Yoon's inauguratio

Politics Sept. 27, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday pledged to ramp up his administration's push to enhance the country's artificial intelligence capabilities through the creation of Presidential Committee on AI, as South Korea's private-sector tech companies also vowed to invest 65 trillion won ($49 billion) in AI-related projects through 2027. Companies investing in the upcoming AI projects will likely get tax benefits in return, according to Yoon's office. South Korea will also work to se

Politics Sept. 26, 2024

South Korea's prosecution is facing a dilemma over the high-profile luxury Dior bag case involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, as the investigation review committee for the nation's top prosecution body gave the upper hand to the pastor who wishes to be indicted in the graft case in hopes of bringing the first lady to the court. A 15-member independent review committee for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Tuesday night recommended that Korean-American pastor Choi Jae-young be indicted for his allege

Politics Sept. 25, 2024

South Korea is reviewing an emergency evacuation plan to ensure the safety of South Korean citizens in the Middle East as the region on Monday suffered the deadliest conflict in almost two decades with Israel's airstrike in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The measure was discussed at the emergency meeting on Tuesday to monitor the situation in the Middle East in terms of national security and economy, presided over by President Yoon Suk Yeol's aides, National Se

Politics Sept. 24, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday criticized liberal politicians, including his predecessor Moon Jae-in, for advocating the recognition of North and South Korea as separate states, denouncing the proposal as "unconstitutional." "North Korea is now threatening a nuclear attack while recognizing its relationship with South Korea as belligerent. In this context, how can someone dare to bring up the concept of the peaceful coexistence of the two Koreas?" Yoon said at a Cabinet m

Politics Sept. 24, 2024

The scenario of North Korea conducting a nuclear test is "possible," and Pyongyang could conduct such a test for the first time in seven years either before or after the United States presidential election in November, President Yoon Suk Yeol's national security aide said Monday. Shin Won-sik, Yoon's national security adviser, told Yonhap News TV in a televised interview that North Korea could potentially conduct its seventh nuclear test given its need to advance its nuclear weapon cap

Politics Sept. 23, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned to Seoul on Sunday following a three-day official trip to the Czech Republic, setting the stage for a South Korean consortium to finalize a nuclear energy deal worth 24 trillion won ($18 billion) in the central European country next year. Laying the groundwork for further discussions and procedures before the final signing of the contract, hopefully in March 2025, Yoon, Czech President Petr Pavel and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala "reaffirmed their commitme

Politics Sept. 22, 2024

PRAGUE -- South Korea is poised to inject $37 million in joint research and development projects with the Czech Republic in the next decade, according to President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Friday. Park Sang-ook, senior presidential secretary for science and technology, told reporters in a briefing in Prague that Seoul's estimated annual R&D budget spending will translate into a 20-fold surge compared with the level in the past from 1995 to 2015. Park added that the spending will g

Politics Sept. 21, 2024

PRAGUE -- South Korea and the Czech Republic will increase nonstop flights for the first time since 1998, as President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Prague is expected to offer people from the two countries more opportunities for exchanges. The growing potential of strengthened ties between the two countries -- partly with a South Korean group being selected as the preferred bidder for the 24-trillion won nuclear export deal in the Central European country in July -- led to a decision to "i

Politics Sept. 21, 2024

PRAGUE -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and the Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Friday adopted action plans to implement the strategic partnership between the two countries for the next three years, seeking a wider range of cooperation beyond South Korea's potential nuclear export to the Czech Republic. Under the new action plan, effective 2025 -- or the 10th anniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership -- the area of cooperation between Seoul and Prague will no longer be limited t

Politics Sept. 21, 2024

PRAGUE -- The governments, state-run firms and private-sector companies of South Korea and the Czech Republic signed 13 memoranda of understanding to team up with one another for the entire process and delivery of the nuclear power unit construction project. According to the presidential office, these documents will allow South Korean and Czech entities to collaborate on the preconstruction, construction and postconstruction stages of nuclear power units, if a group of South Korean firms clinch

Politics Sept. 20, 2024

PRAGUE -- The presidential office denounced claims by opposition parties that the South Korean consortium, which became a preferred bidder to build at least two nuclear power units in the Czech Republic in July, had proposed an extremely low bidding price that could waste taxpayers' money following a rise in construction costs. The administration instead claimed that the pricing of the South Korean consortium, led by the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, was made at a reasonable level. It

Politics Sept. 20, 2024

PRAGUE -- President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Thursday denounced liberal politicians' emphasis on the peaceful coexistence of two Koreas, reiterating the conservative administration's goal of achieving ultimate peace through reunification as enshrined in the "Unification Doctrine" in August. Contrasting reunification of the separated nations with coexistence, an official of the South Korean presidential office said in Prague on condition of anonymity that the peaceful reunification of

Politics Sept. 20, 2024

PRAGUE -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and Czech President Petr Pavel agreed to strengthen diplomatic, economic and security ties between the two countries, at a time when South Korea is working to finalize the contract with Czech authorities over its 24 trillion won ($18 billion) nuclear export deal. "(To jointly counter global crisis and threats of authoritarianism), our two countries have decided to bolster cooperation in key areas including politics, economy, culture, technology, diplomacy a

Politics Sept. 20, 2024

    President Yoon Suk Yeol departed for the Czech Republic Thursday to attend summits with Czech leaders taking place at a time when South Korea is working to finalize its 24 trillion won ($18 billion) nuclear export deal with the country. Yoon told Reuters in a written interview Thursday that the Czech project holds "paramount importance," adding that his trip was partly meant to solidify Prague's commitment to the signing of the deal planned for March 2025. Yoon is also ex

Politics Sept. 19, 2024