Candidate registration began Thursday for the June 1 local elections and parliamentary by-elections amid expectations that the results could serve as an early bellwether for the new government of President Yoon Suk-yeol. The National Election Commission (NEC) will receive candidacy registration on Thursday and Friday before the official 13-day campaign period kicks off May 19. Up for grabs in the local elections are mayoral and gubernatorial posts, local council seats and education board chiefs

Tuesday did not just mark the start of a new government led by President Yoon Suk-yeol. It also marked the first official debut -- at least in the eyes of the public -- of first lady Kim Keon-hee, who has been ostensibly missing on the campaign trail. Kim, 49, has been keeping a low profile for months after being embroiled in various controversies surrounding her past, including an allegation that she falsified credentials to take a part-time lecturer seat at a local university. She delivered

President tells senior secretaries to keep close eye on economic indicators

People Power Party seeks to wield influence with public opinion

The government has drawn up an extra budget bill aimed at compensating pandemic-hit small merchants and will submit it to the National Assembly later this week, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Wednesday. Choo made the remarks at the first consultative meeting between the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the government, a day after President Yoon Suk-yeol took office. Choo said the extra budget plan is mainly aimed at compensating financial damage of pandemic-hit small merchants and stabil

Chinese President Xi Jinping invited President Yoon Suk-yeol to visit China at a mutually convenient time, a Chinese official said Tuesday. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan extended the invitation during a meeting with Yoon after attending Yoon's inauguration ceremony earlier in the day. "President Xi Jinping welcomes and invites the president to visit China at a mutually convenient time," he said through an interpreter. "President Xi Jinping told me specially to attend the p

Four facts about the S. Korean presidency

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday made his diplomatic debut following his inauguration ceremony, holding a summit meeting and greeting delegates from key neighbors. Foreign dignitaries at the ceremony included Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan -- the highest-level official Beijing has sent to a Korean president’s inauguration -- Douglas Emhoff, the husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. Other foreign dignitaries included Sing

Yoon starts with one of the lowest popularity ratings for new presidents

President Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn into office Tuesday with the kind of large inauguration ceremony that his predecessor missed out on. The event was held at the National Assembly, with some 41,000 people in attendance, including former President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, former President Park Geun-hye, officials from the government and National Assembly, diplomatic delegations and more. After paying his respects at Seoul National Cemetery in the morning, Yoon arrived at the N

Yoon Suk-yeol was officially sworn in as the 20th president of South Korea on Tuesday, kicking off his five-year term with the inauguration ceremony at 11 a.m. at the National Assembly in the nation’s capital. He has some distinct features that make him a unique leader in a number of ways. Here are five facts about the country’s new leader. 1) The first president since the 50s to work outside Cheong Wa Dae Yoon’s presidency has brought about a noticeable change to South K

My fellow Koreans, seven and a half million fellow compatriots living overseas, fellow citizens around the world, I stand before you today, humbled by the trust and responsibility that you have given me and mindful of my solemn duty to rebuild this great nation. It is our generation’s calling to build a nation that espouses liberal democracy and ensures a thriving market economy, a nation that fulfills its responsibility as a trusted member of the international community, and a nation tha

Yoon says door to dialogue open for the North to resolve nuclear threat

President Yoon Suk-yeol plans to formally ask the National Assembly to approve Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo on Tuesday after he takes the oath of office, the floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said. PPP floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong told CBS radio that Yoon plans to file his first motion to ask the National Assembly to approve Han later in the day. "Under the National Assembly law, the National Assembly should hold a plenary session as soon as possible to approv

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday visited Seoul National Cemetery to pay his tribute to fallen patriots before attending his inauguration ceremony. Yoon was accompanied by his wife Kim Keon-hee and aides, including presidential chief of staff designate Kim Dae-ki, at the Seoul National Cemetery, where he laid flowers and burned incense for the national heroes. Yoon wrote a message in the guestbook that read, "Upholding the sacrifice and the devotion of the patriotic martyrs, I will make th