The presidential office said Tuesday the opposition party was spreading “fake news” concerning first lady Kim Keon Hee's involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, saying her accounts were not deliberately used for the price inflation of Deutsche Motors stock and she was not the figure behind the scheme. “In the course of the investigations and trials, dozens of people were intensively investigated, but not a single person stated that they had been in contact with or

The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Tuesday passed a resolution on relief efforts for quake-struck Turkey and Syria. The resolution, adopted at the committee’s plenary session convened the same day, urged the South Korean government to provide sufficient emergency relief and recovery support for damages suffered due to the earthquake. The resolution also called on measures to ensure the safety of Korean residents there as well as travelers in the even

Pro-Yoon vs non-Yoon rivalry simmers in Jeju, a key conservative battleground

South Korea will send a second group of rescuers to quake-hit Turkey on Thursday, as well as a separate group of 29 medical staff within a week. Korea will also establish a separate unit within state ministries to organize relief and fundraising activities to support Turkish people who lost homes and families, the presidential office said Monday. The 29 medical staff are a part of 372 people who signed up for the medical treatment mission to Turkey, presidential spokesperson Lee Do-hoon said, ad

The Democratic Party of Korea has called for a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee, as its chair, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, appeared before prosecutors Friday for the third time this year in one of several criminal investigations facing him and his aides. The party is now considering fast-tracking a bill to name a special counsel against the first lady, whose stock transactions have come under scrutiny in connection with a Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation investigation. &ldqu

Yoon press office warns legal action against ‘fake news’ surrounding president and family

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was set to appear before prosecutors for questioning Friday as part of a development corruption investigation that he condemned as politically motivated. Lee is scheduled to show up at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office at 11 a.m. in connection with the investigation into corruption-ridden property development projects in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul, launched while he was mayor. It marks the third time in about a month that Lee, the chair of th

The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Thursday that at least 150 fishers who returned home from a North Korean abduction more than 50 years ago were abused by the South Korean police during a series of interrogations. In a preliminary report released Thursday, the commission said that the 150 fishers were detained without a warrant and interrogated by the police after they were sent back to the country on May 28, 1969. The commission made the determination after looking into a to

President Yoon Suk Yeol offered condolences Thursday to Salih Murat Tamer, Turkish ambassador to South Korea, over the deadly earthquake that has killed close to 16,000 people in northern Turkey and southern Syria as of Thursday afternoon. According to Yoon’s office, the president reaffirmed his readiness to help the Turkish people in “every way possible” during a visit to the Turkish Embassy in Seoul. There, Yoon promised to field a second rescue team following a 118-member te

A Korean rescue team on Thursday pulled a man in his 70s from the rubble in Antakya, southernmost Turkey, ravaged by the region's worst earthquake in modern history. The team also recovered four bodies from the same site during the rescue and search mission, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul. The survivor was conscious and in relatively good health by the time he was rescued, the ministry added. He was found hours after the Korean team set up base camp at a high school i

The National Assembly was set to submit on Thursday a motion calling for the impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over last year's Itaewon crowd crush, a day after the main opposition railroaded the motion in a vote. Rep. Kim Do-eup of the ruling People Power Party, who leads the parliamentary legislative committee, said the committee will submit a resolution on the impeachment to the Constitutional Court at 10 a.m. On Wednesday, the main opposition-controlled Assembly passed the motion

Lee's fate remains uncertain as he awaits Constitutional court ruling

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the ruling People Power Party has reclaimed the front-runner position in the race for party leader in the wake of a row between his rival Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol, a poll showed Wednesday. In the survey of 402 PPP supporters conducted by Realmeter on Monday and Tuesday, Kim earned 45.3 percent of support, up 9.3 percentage points from last week, while Ahn fell to second place with 30.4 percent, down 12.9 percentage points. The poll had a m

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who ran as one of the major candidates in the 2022 presidential election, on Tuesday vowed to stay in the ruling People Power Party's leadership race. Ahn denied reports that he may bow out before the March 8 party convention, where new leaders are due to be elected. His main rival, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, is believed to be backed by President Yoon Suk Yeol. “I’m definitely not dropping out. I’m winning in the polls,” he told reporters after delivering

Could ChatGPT measure up to be an impartial referee on political debates? Apparently, a South Korean lawmaker thought so. Rep. An Byung-gil of the country’s ruling People Power Party cited the artificial intelligence chatbot to criticize a legislative proposal pushed by his liberal opponents on how to manage South Korea’s leftover rice, stressing that the bot “clearly predicts” negative side effects. In a press release Tuesday, the politician said he had asked ChatGPT to