National Police Agency Commissioner General Kim Chang-yong offered to resign Monday, days after President Yoon Suk-yeol strongly chastised police over a recent personnel reshuffle flip-flopping. Police released the names of new senior superintendents general a week earlier, only to reverse seven of the selections two hours later. Yoon rebuked police, calling the flip-flopping a "serious disturbance of national discipline." The resignation offer also came as police have protested the in

President Yoon Suk-yeol spent Sunday preparing for his first overseas trip as president on the eve of his departure to Spain for a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), officials said. Yoon plans to attend the NATO summit in Madrid on Wednesday and Thursday (local time), which will mark his debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage since taking office last month. South Korea is not a member of the military alliance but has been invited as a partner nation, along with other co

Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, a Samsung Electronics executive-turned-lawmaker, said Sunday she decided to accept an offer from the ruling People Power Party to chair an envisioned special parliamentary committee on semiconductors. The decision drew attention because Yang is considered an opposition figure though she left the main opposition Democratic Party and became an independent last year amid allegations one of her aides sexually harassed a colleague. "Semiconductors represent the economy and na

Ethics panel to reach decision on July 7

A group of Ukrainian lawmakers will pay a reciprocal trip to Seoul next month, a ruling party official said Thursday, to discuss South Korea's humanitarian assistance to the war-torn nation. The anticipated visit will come around a month after the ruling People Power Party (PPP) delegation led by Chairman Lee Jun-seok paid a weeklong visit to Kyiv and other cities earlier in June. They met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for discussions on various support measures. "

The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday announced its policy plans, which are expected to increase labor market flexibility. During the first press briefing held after his inauguration at the government complex in Sejong, President Yoon Suk-yeol‘s first Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik focused on two issues, the country’s 52-hour workweek policy and seniority-based pay models adopted by the majority of companies in South Korea. According to Lee, the government will review opt

Cho served as first publicly elected Seoul mayor and headed Grand National Party as first chief

President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed outrage Thursday that a reshuffle of senior police officials was announced prematurely before receiving his approval, saying it amounted to a "disturbance of national discipline." Police released the names of new senior superintendents general on Tuesday evening, only to reverse seven of them two hours later. The flip-flopping led to suspicions that the interior ministry, which oversees the police, was exerting undue control over the law enforcement ag

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo returned home on Thursday after a five-day trip to Paris where he appealed for international support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southern port city of Busan. During his first overseas trip since taking office last month, Han attended a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), an intergovernmental body in charge of overseeing World Expos. Han delivered a presentation on South Korea's bid to bring the e

The ethics committee of the ruling People Power Party has deferred a decision until next month on whether to take disciplinary action against party chairman Lee Jun-seok over allegations he received sexual services as a bribe about 10 years ago and attempted to cover up the case. The committee, however, decided at Wednesday's meeting to begin the process of reprimanding Kim Cheol-geun, a key aide to Lee, over allegations that he met with Lee's accuser earlier this year and attempted to

Internal feud deepens over ethics panel’s rule over sexual misconduct

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has called for drastic reform of the loss-making Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), saying that the state-run electricity firm's self-rescue plans are insufficient. Han made the remarks at a meeting with Korean reporters on Tuesday after delivering a presentation on South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo at a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which is an intergovernmental body in charge of overseeing World Expos. &qu

The ethics committee of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday was scheduled to look into allegations that party Chairman Lee Jun-seok tried to destroy evidence related to an alleged sexual bribery case. The PPP ethics committee will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. at the National Assembly to decide whether to seek disciplinary action against Lee. Lee has been facing allegations that he received sexual services paid for by a businessperson in 2013. While a police investigation is ongoing, the

Ethics panel set to meet Wednesday over party head’s alleged sexual misconduct

Parties wage in fruitless negotiations over who should take key committee chair posts