Han Dong-hoon, chief of the ruling People Power Party, reiterated his call for an independent inspector general's probe into first lady Kim Keon Hee in a party meeting Wednesday, saying such a probe is a crucial step for the ruling bloc to restore public trust. Han's proposal, however, immediately prompted opposition from within the ruling conservative party. "We have promised the people that we will start working to recommend candidates for a special inspector general," Han

Politics Oct. 23, 2024

South Korea's attempts to make its immigration rules more restrictive to reduce the number of unregistered immigrants here could easily backfire, a veteran diplomat said, adding that the current popularity of the Korean Wave is far from everlasting. Kim Jae-shin, secretary-general of the ASEAN-Korea Center, noted much interest among people in Southeast Asia in learning about South Korea and its culture. However, he cautioned that making immigration procedures for citizens of the 10 countrie

Foreign Affairs Oct. 22, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to implement a staff shakeup at his office if issues involving his aides emerge, while promising that his wife Kim Keon Hee will limit her public role, according to Yoon's office on Tuesday. Yoon’s remarks followed a highly sensitive meeting with Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party and his estranged political protege. Han, the former justice minister, urged Yoon to address the growing controversies surrounding First Lady Kim, as politic

Politics Oct. 22, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon at the presidential office amid escalating tensions with the ruling party over allegations of state meddling involving his wife, on the same day his approval rating hit yet another low. The meeting, requested by the ruling party chair and former justice minister, was expected to focus on recent allegations surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee. Han, a longtime colleague of Yoon from their days as prosecutors, urged a significa

Politics Oct. 21, 2024

More reported evidence points to North Korean troops' presence in Russia's Far East region, as intelligence authorities of Seoul and Kyiv claim that North Korea is preparing to deploy soldiers to the front line in Ukraine in what could be Pyongyang's first major intervention in an international conflict. Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security on Saturday released a video via its official X account showing what it claimed were North Korean soldie

Politics Oct. 20, 2024

The South Korean prosecution on Thursday announced it would not indict first lady Kim Keon Hee for her alleged involvement in a 63.6 billion won ($46.6 million) investment fraud case, effectively clearing her remaining legal risks. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said in a press release it would not pursue charges against the first lady as there was a lack of evidence that Kim had been aware of what was found to be a pump-and-dump scheme when trading stocks of the targeted compani

Politics Oct. 17, 2024

The government plans to spend 5.2 billion won ($3.8 million) to set up an automated security screening system next year to expedite the embarking and disembarking process for foreign cruise ship passengers at sea ports on South Korea's southern Jeju Island. According to Bae Sang-up, commissioner of the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the automated security checkpoints will be set up by October next year at two ports -- Jeju International Passenger Terminal and Seogw

Politics Oct. 15, 2024

South Korea's southern Jeju Island could have its first tertiary hospital in 2027. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the government is considering easing policy hurdles for the self-governing province to have an accredited general hospital, which currently requires a population of 1 million in the region. The island is home to nearly 700,000, remaining far short of the requirement, but Yoon said such a "policy hurdle" needed to be addressed as part of a medical reform driv

Politics Oct. 15, 2024

Kim Dae-ki, who was President Yoon Suk Yeol's chief of staff during the first two years of Yoon's term, has been named the ambassador to China. Kim, a 68-year-old career bureaucrat, will replace the incumbent Chung Jae-ho, who served in the position since August 2022. Kim has expertise in handling trade-related affairs countering China and has a good command of Chinese, Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk told reporters Monday. Seoul is awaiting China's approval of Kim's nomination,

Politics Oct. 14, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office said Monday that a meeting between Yoon and ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon will be held next week. According to Yoon's office, the meeting of the conservative ruling bloc's two prominent leaders will take place sometime early next week, following Wednesday's by-elections this week. The office also said it was coordinating with the ruling party. The meeting is drawing keen attention over whether Yoon and Han are able to fully mend fences. Han, Yoon'

Politics Oct. 14, 2024

South Korea, the United States and Japan are accelerating efforts to convene a trilateral summit by the end of this year to bolster deterrence against North Korean threats and enhance regional security in light of rising Sino-US tensions. President Yoon Suk Yeol's National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said in an interview with KBS Sunday that the three parties are "moderately building a consensus" for a standalone three-way summit "as soon as possible after" multilatera

Politics Oct. 13, 2024

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday expressed South Korean companies' appetite for Australia's frigate replacement project known as Project Sea 3000 to upgrade its maritime defense capability, during his talks with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. At the bilateral meeting on the margins of the ASEAN Summit, Yoon "highlighted South Korean firms' willingness" to participate in Australia's program to acquire 11 general-purpose frigates

Politics Oct. 11, 2024

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday unveiled plans to provide $23 million to Myanmar in humanitarian aid this year, as he attended the East Asia Summit before ending his Southeast Asia trip. According to Yoon's office, the president said in the closed-door multilateral meeting that Myanmar could provide a proving ground for East Asia Summit members from across the Indo-Pacific region, saying their collaborative efforts and dialogue could contribute to tackling the humanitar

Politics Oct. 11, 2024

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba discussed a new bilateral travel agreement that would allow their citizens' free movement between the two countries through a streamlined immigration process, according to Yoon's office on Thursday Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, said in a briefing in Vientiane, Laos that Yoon and Ishiba pledged to accelerate discussions for the new tr

Politics Oct. 10, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol and ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon might hold talks after the Oct. 16 by-election next week, according to the presidential office on Thursday. The Yoon administration and the ruling party "are communicating with each other over the matter," a source at the presidential office said on condition of anonymity. Also, the presidential office is reportedly open to a one-on-one meeting with Han, a format Yoon has long disapproved of. The meeting would oc

Politics Oct. 10, 2024