SUWON -- Prosecutors on Wednesday arrested former Vice Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Hwa-young on charges of taking bribes from an underwear company in return for business favors, officials said. Lee, currently the head of the convention and exhibition center KINTEX, was accused of pocketing some 250 million won ($175,315) worth of bribes from Ssangbangwool in the forms of a corporate credit card and luxury vehicles between 2018 and early 2022 while he was serving as vice Gyeonggi governor for peac

Yoon’s hot mic moment ‘feared to weaken alliance with US,’ opposition claims

Yoon concerned about alliance with US but experts say media should still fulfill its role

President Yoon Suk-yeol has denied the controversy surrounding his use of vulgar language during his recent US trip, saying the incorrect reports damage South Korea's alliance with the US and put people in danger. On his way to work on Monday morning, Yoon responded to the controversy, “Damaging the alliance with reports that are different from the facts is putting the people at risk." He added, "The rest of the related stories should be clarified more clearly first, such

The meeting between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly after much controversy and led to few immediate results. While Seoul's presidential office touted the meeting as “meaningful,” some critics say the bilateral meeting was unnecessary and that it has put Yoon in a more difficult position. Yoon told reporters on the way to his office Monday morning that Seoul-Tokyo relations were a complicat

Lacking faith in traditional media, more people turn to YouTube for political news despite flimsy verification process

President Yoon Suk-yeol saw his approval rating dip slightly at the end of last week, a survey showed Monday, after he was caught on video using foul language during a visit to New York. In the poll of 2,533 voters conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, 34.6 percent positively assessed Yoon's job performance, up 0.2 percentage point from the previous week. Yoon's disapproval rating was 62.2 percent, down 1 percentage point. Yoon's approval rating, however, showed

President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to hold a summit with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday in Ottawa, Canada, during the last stop of his five-night, seven-day trip, with a focus on strengthening economic cooperation. The bilateral summit is the first since President Yoon's inauguration at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Madrid, Spain, in late June. The two countries' leaders will discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation, including key mineral s

Yoon Suk-yeol's multilateral diplomacy is overshadowed by multiple controversies, with his approval dropping again on Friday. Yoon's five-day overseas trip is coming to the end, with a summit with Canada still remaining. He has been mired in a number of controversies during his trip, including failing to visit the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London, holding summits with the US and Japan that failed to meet expectations, and being caught on a hot mic insulting the US Congre

TORONTO -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday called on the National Assembly to render active cooperation for the execution of a pledge to contribute $100 million to a global fund for fighting infectious diseases. Yoon wrote in a Facebook message that he attended the Global Fund's Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York on Wednesday and committed $100 million from South Korea for the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria over the next three years. "Solidarity

Opposition blasts summit with Japan as humiliating

President Yoon Suk-yeol held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the first time in New York on Wednesday, where the two agreed on the need to improve relations by resolving pending issues between the two countries. The presidential office said in the afternoon, "President Yoon had a brief meeting with Prime Minister Kishida at a conference building near the United Nations General Assembly for 30 minutes from 12:23 p.m." It is the first meeting between the leaders of So

Yoon office avoids comment on reports Kishida unhappy with summit announcement

Yoon’s not mentioning NK is a deliberate disregard, critics say

‘North Korea’ not mentioned once in the address to UN General Assembly in New York