Another ruling party lawmaker quit the party's Supreme Council on Sunday amid speculation it could lead to the party switching to a collective leadership system from the one-man leadership of acting chairman Kweon Seong-dong. Rep. Cho Su-jin of the People Power Party (PPP) told reporters that she stepped down as a council member, two days after the resignation of Rep. Bae Hyun-jin from the council. "I am stepping down as Supreme Council member to take responsibility for the stern warni

Starting as early as 2025, all children in South Korea will likely be allowed to enter elementary school one year earlier, according to an education ministry report Friday. Reporting this year's key policy plans to President Yoon Suk-yeol, the ministry said it will soon begin full-fledged discussions on lowering the school starting age from six to five. Yoon told Education Minister Park Soon-ae during the policy report to "quickly come up with measures to lower the school starting age

A ruling party lawmaker quit the party's Supreme Council on Friday amid speculation it could lead to the party switching to a collective leadership system from the one-man leadership of acting chairman Kweon Seong-dong following the embarrassing disclosure of his texts with President Yoon Suk-yeol. Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party said she will step down as a council member, saying the party has failed to live up to people's expectations for the past 80 days since the inaugu

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating fell to a new low, going below 30 percent for the first time, amid soaring inflation and controversy over personnel appointments, a poll showed Friday. In the poll of 1,000 voters nationwide conducted by pollster Gallup Korea between Tuesday and Thursday, 28 percent said Yoon was doing well on state affairs, while 62 percent gave a negative assessment. It was the first time that Yoon's approval rating has sunk below 30 percent since he took office in May

The main opposition Democratic Party on Thursday announced that it shortlisted three candidates, including the party's former presidential candidate, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, for its new chairperson.  Rep. Park Yong-jin and Rep. Kang Hoon-sik were also shortlisted as candidates seeking to be the DP's new leader, the party said, without disclosing the number of votes they received.  Lee told reporters his shortlisting "understands that our DP means to become a competent alternative p

The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized suspended prison terms handed down to two former presidential officials for destroying the minutes of the 2007 inter-Korean summit to cover up then President Roh Moo-hyun's alleged offer to surrender the de facto western sea border. Upholding a lower court's ruling, the top court sentenced Baek Jong-chun and Cho Myoung-gyon -- national security aides for the late former president -- to one year in prison, suspended for two years. The ruling comes

Poland is set to purchase an estimated 10 trillion won ($7.6 billion) of South Korean arms, including FA-50 light attack aircraft, a Defense Ministry joint press corps report said Wednesday. This will be the first time Korean military aircraft have been sold in Europe. Poland will also purchase K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers. The Polish government said Wednesday that it signed a framework agreement to acquire 980 K2 tanks and 648 K9 self-propelled guns, including 48 FA-50 light a

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday launched a presidential committee tasked with promoting national unity across all sectors, including politics, the economy and culture.    The Presidential Committee of National Unity is the first panel directly under the president to be launched since Yoon's inauguration in May. It is headed by former Democratic Party leader Kim Han-gil and composed of 24 members, including professors, former lawmakers and artists.    "National un

In private conversation, Lee Jun-seok described by president as “picking fights”

The acting chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has apologized after a text conversation he had with President Yoon Suk-yeol was caught on camera, in which Yoon was seen backbiting about suspended party chief Lee Jun-seok. PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong took over as acting chair of the party early this month after the party's ethics committee suspended Lee's party membership for six months over allegations of sexual bribery and a cover-up. On Tuesday, Kweon was caught on

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday collective action by police officers against the planned establishment of a police bureau under the interior ministry could amount to a "serious breach of national discipline." The remark came as the ministry and front-line police officers have clashed head-on over the police bureau plan, with senior superintendents gathering in protest and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min likening the collective action to a "coup." "Like the people, I

    The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Monday that it is planning to set up a shelter for male victims of sexual and domestic violence in its first move to keep up with a rising number of men subject to such crimes. In its work plan reported to President Yoon Suk-yeol, the ministry said the new institution's purpose is to provide protection, medical and legal support to male victims of five offenses including digital sex crimes, domestic violence, dating violence and sta

Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s first interpellation began on Monday afternoon at the National Assembly, with the ruling and opposition parties clashing over multiple pending issues ranging from the economy to national security. Pending issues, such as the launch of a new “police bureau” under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the repatriation of North Korean fishermen and Yoon’s controversial personnel appointments were put on the table. The first part of the p

The slide in President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating has slowed, a survey showed Monday, with 33.3 percent of people giving a positive assessment of his performance, only 0.1 percentage point down from a week earlier. The disapproval rating also rose only 0.1 percentage point in the Realmeter survey of 2,527 voters from Monday to Friday last week. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. It marked the eighth consecutive week Yoon�

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday he expects the interior ministry and the National Police Agency to take "necessary steps" to deal with police officers taking collective action to protest the planned establishment of a police bureau under the ministry. The remark came after a senior superintendent based in the southeastern port city of Busan was put on "standby" in a preliminary disciplinary action for organizing a general meeting of senior superintendents from across the