President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday expressed condolences over the passing of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, saying, "Her kind heart and good deed will remain in our memories." "Deepest condolences to the people of the United Kingdom for the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She had a strong belief in the cause of human freedom and left great legacies of dignity," Yoon said in a message posted in English on Twitter. He posted another message in Korean on Facebook appl

Suwon prosecutors on Thursday indicted Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung in an investigation into the controversial city development project he pursued as mayor of Seongnam in 2015. The indictment comes less than two weeks after police referred Lee’s case over to the Suwon prosecutors’ office on Aug. 29. Police said they found no evidence to support his claims that the Ministry of Land was behind the change in the Seongnam project that allowed private investors to

Ex-chair responds by filing another injunction with court

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he is not in a situation to pay attention to the main opposition party's push to launch a special investigation into alleged irregularities involving first lady Kim Keon-hee. Yoon's comment came a day after the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) introduced a bill mandating a special counsel probe into the first lady's alleged involvement in stock manipulation and falsification of academic records. "I have no particular stance," Yo

South Korea's unification minister on Thursday proposed talks with North Korea to discuss the issue of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Kwon Young-se issued a statement offering inter-Korean dialogue on the eve of the Chuseok holiday, which is one of the biggest annual celebrations for both South and North Koreans. (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk-yeol Wednesday designated the southeastern cities of Pohang and Gyeongju as a special disaster zone after they were hit by Typhoon Hinnamnor. Yoon said he would carry out all procedures necessary for the designation as soon as possible and provide emergency funds to people in Pohang, about 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. As a special disaster zone, Pohang and Gyeongju will be eligible for financial support from the government for recovery work, relief funds for victims an

Kang In-sun, a spokesperson for the presidential office, will become the administration's overseas public relations secretary and also serve as a spokesperson for foreign media, chief of staff said Wednesday. Kim Dae-ki, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s Chief of Staff, said at a press briefing on Wednesday that an overseas public relations secretary has been re-established under the senior public relations office, and the current presidential spokesperson Kang In-sun will be assigned at the

Government plans to inject 50 billion won in recovery work, designate Pohang special disaster zone

The Democratic Party of Korea is seeking a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon-hee while its leader, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, faces a growing risk of criminal charges. The party’s Floor Leader Rep. Park Hong-keun said Wednesday the party would propose a bill to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation into the first lady’s criminal allegations, the two highest-profile of which include her involvement in the Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation scandal and he

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) is considering sending a letter to US Congress to voice concerns over the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that is feared to hurt South Korean automakers, a lawmaker said Wednesday. "The government and the ruling party are considering sending a letter to US Congress to request cooperation based on the spirit of the South Korea-US alliance to swiftly resolve the issue," Rep. Han Moo-kyung, the PPP's leader on the parliamentary trade and industry

SUWON -- The wife of Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung has been asked to appear before prosecutors for questioning about allegations on her personal use of a provincial government's corporate credit cards years ago, informed officials said Wednesday. The Suwon District Prosecutors Office in Suwon, 50 kilometers south of Seoul, sent the summons to Kim Hye-kyung on the day, the officials said, adding the requested attendance date has yet to be confirmed. Kim is reportedly facing a

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) decided Wednesday to introduce a bill later in the day mandating an independent counsel probe of first lady Kim Keon-hee over allegations of stock manipulation and other irregularities, the party's floor leader said. The move is seen as a counterattack against the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol conducting a prosecution investigation of DP leader Lee Jae-myung, which the party has denounced as "political revenge" against the form

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has erupted over the escalating criminal investigation of its leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, who decided not to show up for questioning by prosecutors on Tuesday. The Democratic Party’s chief spokesperson Rep. Ahn Ho-young said in a statement Tuesday that Lee was not going to appear at the Seoul prosecutors’ office for the questioning session and that he would opt to give written responses instead. Ahn then characterized th

The 2023 budget allocated for dealing with the contaminated wastewater from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant has been cut by 13 percent, compared to this year's allotment, data showed Tuesday. According to Rep. Kim Young-joo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the government has earmarked 2.6 billion won ($1.8 million) for the project, compared to 3 billion won for this year. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission had initially requested 3.8 billion won, but it was reduced

Lee Jun-seok, a former chairperson of the ruling People Power Party, has told police he will show up for questioning next week over sex bribery and other allegations, officials said Tuesday. The 37-year-old Lee has been accused of receiving sexual services paid for by Kim Sung-jin, CEO of the tech company I-kaist, in 2013 and attempting to cover it up by promising to pay off a whistleblower. Kim's side claimed Lee had promised to set up a meeting with then President Park Geun-hye in return.