The Democratic Party of Korea ratcheted up its attack on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s Cabinet nominations, raising allegations against a second nominee. Kim In-chul, the nominee for deputy prime minister and education minister, has been accused of improperly holding an additional position while he was president of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. According to Rep. Park Chan-dae from the Democratic Party, Kim worked as a nonexecutive director of Lotte Chemical, then Lotte

The leaders of six high prosecutors’ offices gathered on Monday morning to discuss response measures on the Democratic Party of Korea’s legislative push to strip investigative power from the prosecution, continuing the law enforcement agency’s vocal opposition to the controversial move. At 9:30 a.m. at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, the six senior prosecutors entered an undisclosed meeting held just 10 days after the last such meeting took

Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo submitted his resignation on Sunday in protest of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s push for the bill to strip prosecutors of their investigative powers. “I feel responsible for the legislative process of abolishing the prosecution’s investigation function as the prosecution was again pointed out as a target of reform,” Kim said in a written statement released on the day. “As the prosecutor general, I submitted my resignation

Military officials accused of downplaying the case and botching initial investigation

Yoon’s office says president-elect will pay more attention to Ahn, who said recommendations were ignored President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and transition committee chief Ahn Cheol-soo resolved their differences following a fallout over Cabinet nominations, Yoon’s spokesperson said Friday. “The dinner meeting took place in a very friendly atmosphere for the two (Yoon and Ahn) to reaffirm of their joint goal for a coalition government,” Bae Hyun-jin, Yoon’s spokesper

People Power Party warns to fight back with filibuster

US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim will travel to Seoul on Monday for a five-day trip to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the joint response to North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile provocation, the US State Department said Thursday. 　 “During his visit, Special Representative Kim will meet with Republic of Korea (ROK) Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk and other senior ROK officials t

Yoon says he provided sufficent explanations on Cabinet appointments to Ahn Cheol-soo

Top prosecutor doubles down on protecting investigative powers; ruling party lashes out at justice minister pick

Gyeonggi governor hopeful Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party has said that voting rights of Chinese nationals with permanent residence here should be restricted on the grounds of reciprocity. “Over 120,000 foreigners, among which are nearly 100,000 Chinese people, will have voting rights in the upcoming local election,” the politician said in a Facebook post on Thursday. “If our citizens cannot vote in a certain country, it makes sense for us to restrict the same rights. I

Concerns rise over conservative bloc merger and plans for local elections

Health and Welfare Minister nominee Chung Ho-young has come under fire over allegations surrounding his children's admissions into a medical school in the southeastern city of Daegu years ago. According to the Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday, Chung's daughter entered Kyungpook National University's medical school to earn her second bachelor's degree in 2017, when he was serving as vice head of the affiliated Kyungpook National University Hospital. Chung's son was also admitted to the same medi

A delegation of President Yoon Suk-yeol met with executives of Pfizer in New York to discuss cooperation on the supply of the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid to South Korea, Yoon's spokesperson said Thursday. During the meeting last week, Pfizer agreed to closely cooperate with the Korean government for an early supply of the antiviral treatment, Yoon's spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin said at a press briefing. Pfizer also pledged to cooperate with Yoon's incoming government to smoothly supply Paxlovid to South

Transition team Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo canceled his public schedule Thursday, a source said, after President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol bypassed his recommendations for Cabinet nominees. Ahn was scheduled to visit the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters in the morning but has informed the transition team that he will not be going, the source said. The press has also not received the usual notification of Ahn's daily public schedule. Speculation is rife the chairman is weighing his options

Rep. Park Jin, the foreign minister nominee, is a seasoned politician who began his career in the diplomatic corps. Park has been instrumental in laying the foundations for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s foreign affairs and security policies since the presidential transition team took shape. Park headed Yoon’s delegation to the US, and laid the groundwork for building cooperation with Seoul’s incoming administration and Washington. 　 During his trip to the US, Park met w