South Korea's southern Jeju Island could have its first tertiary hospital in 2027. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the government is considering easing policy hurdles for the self-governing province to have an accredited general hospital, which currently requires a population of 1 million in the region. The island is home to nearly 700,000, remaining far short of the requirement, but Yoon said such a "policy hurdle" needed to be addressed as part of a medical reform driv

President Yoon Suk Yeol urged Tuesday bipartisan efforts to abolish the planned financial investment income tax and instructed the government to prepare lifting a temporary ban on short selling in March 2025 to shore up the stock market. During a Cabinet meeting, Yoon addressed the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the financial investment income tax, which would impose a 20 percent tax on capital gains exceeding 50 million won ($38,000) from stock investments, or a 25 percen

Contractors go unmonitored, leaving loopholes for North Korean hackers to exploit, lawmaker says

Kim Dae-ki, who was President Yoon Suk Yeol's chief of staff during the first two years of Yoon's term, has been named the ambassador to China. Kim, a 68-year-old career bureaucrat, will replace the incumbent Chung Jae-ho, who served in the position since August 2022. Kim has expertise in handling trade-related affairs countering China and has a good command of Chinese, Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk told reporters Monday. Seoul is awaiting China's approval of Kim's nomination,

Main opposition to launch its own intra-party security committee against threats from Pyongyang

President's approval rating matches all-time low: Realmeter

South Korea, the United States and Japan are accelerating efforts to convene a trilateral summit by the end of this year to bolster deterrence against North Korean threats and enhance regional security in light of rising Sino-US tensions. President Yoon Suk Yeol's National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik said in an interview with KBS Sunday that the three parties are "moderately building a consensus" for a standalone three-way summit "as soon as possible after" multilatera

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Friday from his trip to the Philippines, Singapore and Laos that focused on diplomacy to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations and draw support for his policy on North Korea. During the six-day trip, Yoon attended a series of annual summits involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos on Thursday and Friday, and made state visits to the Philippines and Singapore. It marked Yoon's third consecutive year attending

As early voting kicked off Friday in the by-election to fill the Seoul education superintendent post, polling stations across Seoul remained relatively quiet, with public interest in the election low on the weekday. According to the Election Commission, voter turnout by 3:40 p.m. was 2.48 percent, with 206,317 ballots cast out of 8.32 million eligible voters. The election, featuring four candidates, is expected to influence the future of education in South Korea. While the superintendent's

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday expressed South Korean companies' appetite for Australia's frigate replacement project known as Project Sea 3000 to upgrade its maritime defense capability, during his talks with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. At the bilateral meeting on the margins of the ASEAN Summit, Yoon "highlighted South Korean firms' willingness" to participate in Australia's program to acquire 11 general-purpose frigates

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday unveiled plans to provide $23 million to Myanmar in humanitarian aid this year, as he attended the East Asia Summit before ending his Southeast Asia trip. According to Yoon's office, the president said in the closed-door multilateral meeting that Myanmar could provide a proving ground for East Asia Summit members from across the Indo-Pacific region, saying their collaborative efforts and dialogue could contribute to tackling the humanitar

Former Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu is expected to be appointed the new South Korean ambassador to Indonesia, diplomatic sources said Friday. An internal personnel review process is under way for Bang to fill the post that has been vacant since July, sources said. The previous ambassador, Lee Sang-deok, left the position after he was tapped to lead the state agency for overseas Koreans. Bang's likely appointment would reflect the importance South Korea attaches to its partnership with th

Kim Dae-jung, then South Korean president, was recognized for 1st inter-Korean summit in 2000

Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party clashed Thursday over allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee was involved in nominating candidates for a 2022 by-election and the April 2024 parliamentary elections. During a parliamentary audit of the National Election Commission, the state election watchdog, the People Power Party lawmakers dismissed the allegations, which have been raised by the media and the opposition bloc, as having nothing to do with the

VIENTIANE, Laos -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba discussed a new bilateral travel agreement that would allow their citizens' free movement between the two countries through a streamlined immigration process, according to Yoon's office on Thursday Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, said in a briefing in Vientiane, Laos that Yoon and Ishiba pledged to accelerate discussions for the new tr