Yoon sends condolence message to Turkish president, promising all possible assistance

The floor leader of the ruling People Power Party warned Tuesday that the main opposition Democratic Party should bear all responsibility for any confusion that could arise from an impeachment motion against the interior minister. Rep. Joo Ho-young made the remark a day after the DP submitted an impeachment motion against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min to hold him responsible for the government's alleged bungled response to last year's Itaewon crowd crush. The DP plans to pass the moti

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government on Monday to come up with active measures to provide humanitarian assistance to Iran and Turkey hit hard by recent earthquakes, his office said.    Yoon gave the instruction to the presidential National Security Office and the foreign ministry.    A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Turkey early Monday, killing at least 912 people and injuring more than 5,000, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.  &nbs

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon said Monday Democratic Party of Korea chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung’s alleged interaction with North Korea in 2019 would be “a clear violation of the law.” “These are still allegations under investigation. But unauthorized contact with North Korea is a clear violation of the law,” said the justice minister in response to a lawmaker's question at the plenary session held on the day. Lee faces allegations that he got in touch with Nor

Ahn Cheol-soo, who merged his presidential candidacy with Yoon Suk Yeol last year, has distanced himself from the president ahead of a March election that picks the new leader of the ruling People Power Party, after the presidential office blasted him for using the term "Yoon-Ahn solidarity" for the race. Yoon has warned Ahn not to use the term "solidarity," with presidential aides calling it "wrong" and "inappropriate," drawing a clear line that the two

South Korea’s opposition parties on Monday tabled a motion to impeach Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min over the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, a neighborhood in central Seoul, on Oct. 29 last year. The impeachment motion was submitted on the grounds that Lee failed to implement measures to prevent crowd congestion and work with concerned government agencies in the event of mass disasters. The safety minister also failed to respond in time as the crowd surge turned into a mass-c

In Seoul’s central Gwanghwamun, a memorial event was held over the weekend to mark 100 days since the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon on Oct. 29 last year. Saturday’s event, meant to be a time for remembering victims of the disaster, was quickly marred by altercations with police and politicians using the occasion to push their own agenda. At least one family member of a victim was rushed to the hospital at around 2 p.m. after collapsing during a standoff with police. Squads of poli

Former journalist Lee Do-woon was appointed as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s new spokesperson after the position had been left empty for five months, the presidential office said Sunday. The position has been vacant since early September after former spokesperson Kang In-sun moved to the role of public relations secretary for the foreign press. Lee graduated from Yonsei University’s political science and diplomacy department and began his career as a reporter at the daily newspaper Seoul

The presidential office said Friday it has filed a complaint against a former spokesperson for the Defense Ministry for libel, accusing him of making a false claim that its decision to relocate President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence to Yongsan, central Seoul, was linked to a fortune teller whom the opposition party suspects the president of having ties with. The office also sued for libel two other reporters -- from News Tomato and Hankook Ilbo -- for writing about the ex-spokesman's clai

South Korea and the United States are in talks over a possible state visit to Washington by President Yoon Suk Yeol in the first half of the year, a diplomatic source said Friday. If it materializes, it would be the first state visit to the United States by a South Korean president in 12 years. President Lee Myung-bak was the last president to pay such a visit to Washington in 2011. The source said the allies are keeping other options open, such as an official visit or a working visit. April is

A lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party on Friday countersued the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol for accusing him of libel after he raised stock manipulation allegations involving the first lady. Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom, the Democratic Party spokesperson, filed a complaint against the presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on charges of making false accusation. Earlier this week, Yoon's office sued the Democratic Party spokesperson on charg

North Korea is already prepared to conduct another nuclear test, but is biding its time to gain leverage in negotiations with China and other powers, according to Rep. Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who was elected into the South Korean parliament after defecting in 2016. At a press conference on Thursday, Tae said that whether North Korea decides to test its nuclear weapons for the seventh time was “between Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping.” “The question of the next nu

Candidate registration opened Thursday for the ruling People Power Party's leadership election, with two main contenders, Reps. Kim Gi-hyeon and Ahn Cheol-soo, running neck and neck in the race to head the party through next year's general elections. The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol is watching the race closely as it wants a Yoon loyalist to lead the party through the parliamentary elections that will determine whether Yoon would be able to push his agenda in the National Assembly

The push by the administration of previous President Moon Jae-in to take away investigative powers from the National Intelligence Service is being rolled back under President Yoon Suk Yeol, Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers claimed Wednesday. Opposition party Reps. Youn Kun-young and Kim Eui-kyeom of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee reiterated in a conference that the top spy service should not be allowed to continue investigations of North Korean espionage and meddling. Yo

The government announced a set of measures Wednesday to help the country's vulnerable people to cope with a spike in heating and energy bills. The move came amid a mounting public outcry over higher heating bills caused by a global surge in gas and energy prices. The measures, among other things, call for doubling the value of energy vouchers for vulnerable people and the amount of heating bill discounts for them. Nearly 1.7 million underprivileged households and some 400,000 lower-income f