The planned parliamentary ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade accord is set to put to test the solidarity of opposition groups, gauging how far they could go in forming an alliance to beat the ruling party in next year’s key elections, political observers note.The Cabinet approved a new ratification bill for the trade agreement last Friday after fixing translation errors in its Korean text a

    LOS ANGELES (Yonhap) -- A South Korean lawmaker and businessman, internationally known for his role in the football governing body FIFA, said Monday that he has set his sights on next year's presidential election.   "Personally, I have much to improve (about myself) but I will try hard to become the presidential candidate of the Grand National Party (GNP)," Rep. Chung Mong-joon said in a meeti

   The presidential office called for caution Monday in parliament's handling of a proposal to scrap an elite investigation team in the prosecution, as the chief prosecutor warned that the proposal, if adopted, would seriously undermine the prosecution's power to battle corruption.   The move was seen as a de-facto opposition to the parliament's move to abolish the Central Investigation Department

President Lee Myung-bak on Monday urged North Korea to end its hostility and seek peace and prosperity, less than a week after Pyongyang apparently rejected Seoul’s behind-the-scenes proposal for summit talks.“North Korea should break away from the path of confrontation and conflict, and come out onto the path of peace and prosperity,” Lee said during a Memorial Day speech at the National Cemetery

Leading members of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee are to have one-on-one meetings with U.S. Congressional counterparts to boost prospects for the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement’s ratification, officials said Monday.Reps. Nam Kyun-pil, Gu Sang-chan and Jungwook Hong ― all members of the committee and strong supporters of the KORUS FTA ― will leave for the U.S. within the week.The lawmakers will focus on individual communication with influential Congress members instead of their usua

Grand National Party factions are set for another fight on Tuesday over rules on the election of its new party chairman. The role is to be filled through an election at the ruling party’s national convention in July.“We are to reach an overall agreement, if not a final one, through a general meeting on how to elect our chairman,” said Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, floor leader and acting party chairman. A g

Probe team focuses on one area at U.S. baseThe allegations that a large amount of Agent Orange was buried at Camp Carroll, a U.S. base in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province, in 1978 are expected to be confirmed after June 21, experts said Sunday.A Korea-U.S. joint probe team has been investigating the camp, a key logistical support center for the U.S. troops here, since late last month following t

Lawmakers blasted the Cabinet Thursday over North Korea’s disclosure that the South had proposed in clandestine meetings to hold a summit with the North.On the second day of the parliamentary interpellation, the ruling Grand National Party called into question the administration’s covert approach to the North while keeping a tough stance overtly. The main opposition Democratic Party rebuked the go

President Lee Myung-bak should take moral responsibility for a snowballing influence-peddling scandal in which a troubled savings bank allegedly bribed influential government officials and politicians to avoid punishment for its irregularities, his prime minister said Thursday."President Lee, who appointed top officials in charge of supervising the bank, is morally responsible for the scandal, not