The ruling and main opposition parties agreed Saturday to cancel the National Assembly plenary session initially expected to be held later in the day to deal with an extra budget bill.    The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party tentatively agreed to hold the session at 7:30 p.m. Sunday instead.    The PPP and the DP have been at loggerheads for weeks over the size of the supplementary budget for compensating small businesses hit by the COV

South Korea’s political circle is yet to reach a compromise over the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s supplementary budget proposal made earlier this month, with prospects remaining unclear whether the proposal will pass the final vote at the National Assembly this month. Floor leaders of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea announced Friday that the two failed to reach a deal on the budget proposal despite holding a two-hour discussion over

Heavyweights head to polling stations across the country to rally support for their flagbearers

President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Kim Kyou-hyun, a former deputy national security adviser and career diplomat, as his first spy chief Friday. Yoon presented Kim with a letter of appointment a day after the National Assembly approved him as director of the National Intelligence Service. Kim takes over at a time when tensions run high in the wake of a series of weapons tests by North Korea. During his confirmation hearing Wednesday, the director vowed to reinforce the country's intelligence

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday that the government will encourage doctors to prescribe COVID-19 treatment pills for high-risk patients on the day their infections are confirmed. "For high-risk COVID-19 groups, including people aged 60 or older, test, treatment and prescription of medicine will be carried out in one day," Han told a virus response meeting. The government will also allow high-risk patients to swiftly be admitted to hospitals responsible for COVID-19 treatment, H

National integration committee launched at Yoon’s first Cabinet meeting

Gangwon Province has been underdeveloped, limited by heavy regulations, says Lee Kwang-jae, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s Gangwon Province candidate for governor. Lee, who held the post of Gangwon Province governor for a short period in 2010 before he was removed due to involvement in a large political scandal, believes a new future awaits the province. According to Lee, the new Special Act on the Establishment of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, likely to p

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the peak wage system introduced by a large number of local companies to gradually cut the salaries of senior workers several years before retirement. The top court said the peak wage system is an illegal discrimination against workers on the basis of age, making the first ruling of its kind in a lawsuit filed by a former employee of a local research institute. The plaintiff who joined the institute in 1991 retired honorably in 2014. The institute intro

With the local elections less than a week away, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has found itself battering with an internal feud amid concerns the infighting may hinder its chances in the elections. The turmoil began earlier this week when the DP's co-interim chief Park Ji-hyun promised self-reflection and called for a sweeping reform of the party in a press conference aimed at drumming up support ahead of the local elections. The 26-year-old upped the ante Wednesday after she cal

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday named his nominees for education and welfare ministers, picking women for both positions following criticism that his Cabinet is male-dominated. Park Soon-ae, a professor of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University, was named education minister, while Kim Seung-hee, a former lawmaker, was named welfare minister. Earlier in the day, a senior presidential official said Yoon had planned to pick women as his nominees for education

  Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Wednesday defended a reported nominee for the head of government policy coordination, citing his rich experience as an economic bureaucrat. President Yoon Suk-yeol has been reportedly considering nominating Yoon Jong-won, chief executive of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea, as the minister for the Office for Government Policy Coordination, which is in charge of assisting the prime minister. The ruling People Power Party voiced opposition to his nom

With just a few days left until the June 1 local elections, 26-year-old rookie politician Park Ji-hyun dropped a bombshell on the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday, openly calling on the party’s old guard to retire. Park, who is only four months into partisan politics yet leads the main opposition party’s interim leadership as its co-head, said the party is in need of drastic reforms, attributing its failure to win over voters to a culture of tolerance tow

Last available poll results hint landslide win for People Power Party

Ex-party chief on mending ties with North Korea, China in ways the conservative president can’t

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday he would try to create “bold opportunities” for women when appointing public officials, amid growing criticism over a lack of women serving in his government. “I will work hard to give bold opportunities to women when it comes to public personnel appointments,” Yoon was quoted as saying during a meeting with outgoing leaders of the National Assembly at his office in Seoul, according to presidential spokesperson Kang In-sun. The remar