Rep. Tae Yong-ho stepped down Wednesday from his leadership position in the ruling People Power Party amid political scandals involving one of his staffers and a senior presidential secretary. The resignation comes less than two weeks since the scandals first broke and about two months since Tae -- the first North Korean defector to be directly elected into South Korea’s National Assembly -- was chosen to serve as part of the People Power Party’s leadership at the March 9 party conve

Dozens of South Korean lawmakers submitted a petition Wednesday asking a Japanese court to acquit a Japanese labor activist charged with violence while campaigning for laid-off South Korean workers, a lawmaker said. A total of 68 lawmakers, including independent Rep. Youn Mee-hyang, sent the petition to the Saitama District Court, calling for a not-guilty sentence for the 73-year-old activist, Takashi Ozawa, according to Youn's office. Fifty-seven of the lawmakers are from the main oppositi

  Rep. Tae Yong-ho voluntarily resigned from the Supreme Council of the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday as the party's ethics committee was set to deliver disciplinary measures for him for making a series of controversial remarks. The North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker made the decision in an apparent attempt to get the panel to take his voluntary resignation into consideration and reduce the level of disciplinary measure for him so that he can seek reelection. He cannot run in th

South Korea’s formerly distant relationship with Japan under the preceding administration is getting back to normal with Yoon Suk Yeol in office, according to a former consul general to Osaka and ruling People Power Party lawmaker Rep. Kim Seok-ki. Kim, the ruling party’s executive secretary for the National Assembly foreign affairs committee, said the country’s relations with Japan, which he assessed as having “worsened dramatically” over the five years of the libe

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday blamed the main opposition party for impeding his push for reform, and hit out at the former Moon Jae-in administration for "leaving the country plagued by crimes due to its policies." Yoon also accused the Democratic Party of Korea, which controls parliament with 168 out of 300 seats, of using their legislative power to undermine his policy momentum. "It takes time to rebuild the system, to pick up the pieces and make tangible achievements, but

Foreign policy initiatives biggest accomplishment since inauguration: Yoon

Despite making bold moves diplomatically, president struggling to pursue policy agenda with hostile Assembly, low approval rating

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Hee-gon (People Power Party) ● In the current Act, the stockholders eligible for dividend payout are determined several months before the finalization of the actual dividend amount, which means that investors must invest in stocks without knowing the dividend amount. This system deviates from the global standard and discourages long-term investment, leading to the undervaluation of

Korean team to leave for nuclear wastewater inspection on May 23-24

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating inched up for the second consecutive week thanks in part to positive feedback on his recent state visit to the United States, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 1,504 adults aged 18 or older conducted by Realmeter from Tuesday to Thursday of last week, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 0.1 percentage point from the previous week to 34.6 percent. Yoon's disapproval rating was 62.5 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from t

The ruling People Power Party was set to hold an ethics committee meeting on Monday on two Supreme Council members accused of making a series of controversial remarks, with heavy disciplinary actions expected for both of them. Kim Jae-won and Rep. Tae Yong-ho could be barred from running in next year's parliamentary elections if they are given one-year party membership suspension or heavier disciplinary measures in Monday's ethics committee meeting. Kim was referred to the committee fo

President Yoon Suk Yeol invited Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to his residence for an official dinner after their summit on Sunday. Kishida, accompanied by his wife, first lady Yuko Kishida, was the second foreign leader to have been invited to Yoon’s Hannam-dong home in Seoul, after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last November. The dinner featured a variety of traditional Korean dishes, such as gujeolpan, japchae, tangpyeongchae, steamed Korean beef ribs, beef tripe, croak

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) lambasted President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday for turning a blind eye to history issues in his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The two leaders held a summit in Seoul on Sunday, marking their second summit in less than two months, as the neighboring nations are firmly on course to the full restoration of long-frayed relations. Bilateral relations have warmed significantly following Seoul's decision in March to compensate Korean victi

Yoon says Korea open to Japan's participation on Washington Declaration

One of the surviving South Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor has expressed an intent to accept the Seoul government's third-party reimbursement plan, an informed source said Sunday. The person, whose identity was withheld, recently reversed an earlier objection to the plan that the government announced in March to compensate victims through a government-affiliated foundation without contributions from Japanese firms, according to the source. The victim is among the three s