The government should consider asking Pfizer whether it would be possible to produce copies of its COVID-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid in South Korea in exchange for royalties, the chairman of the transition team said Tuesday. Ahn Cheol-soo said the possibility was discussed during a meeting of the transition team‘s special COVID-19 committee the previous day. “We’re experiencing a severe shortage of Paxlovid and other oral treatment pills,” he said during a press briefin

The plan to move the presidential office is bringing the incumbent and incoming administrations to a loggerhead, with each side raising concerns and complaints. President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday stressed the need to maintain readiness, in an apparent reference to President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s plans to relocate the offices of the president, Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Saying that the country currently faces a dire situation “inside and outside,” M

President Moon Jae-in called Tuesday for watertight national security and vowed to fulfill his duty as commander-in-chief until his term ends, a day after his office voiced concern successor-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate the presidential office could leave a security vacuum. Moon, whose term ends on May 9, said during a Cabinet meeting that his "last mission" is to "fulfill duties as head of state, chief of the administration, and commander-in-chief of the military that

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday that North Korea's recent artillery firing was a violation of an inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement. Yoon made the remark during a meeting with members of his transition team, two days after South Korea's military said North Korea fired four shots from multiple rocket launchers into the Yellow Sea. (Yonhap)

About 58 percent of South Koreans are against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, while some 33 percent support the idea, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the poll of 1,018 adults, conducted by pollster Mediatomato on Saturday and Sunday, 58.1 percent said the presidential office should remain at Cheong Wa Dae and 33.1 percent said they back the relocation plan. On Sunday, Yoon officially announced his decision to move the presidential of

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug met with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and shared his knowledge on South Korea’s experience on building an administrative capital, and discussed ways for the two countries to enhance bilateral cooperation, Sunday. Their meeting came during Park’s trip to Bali, Indonesia to attend the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly, which kicked off Sunday and runs to Tuesday. As Indonesia is currently preparing

More than 400,000 people have signed petitions against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s plans to move the presidential office from the current location to the National Defense Ministry’s building in Yongsan, central Seoul. “The term of office for president is only five years…the public cannot accept spending billions of taxpayer’s money on President-elect Yoon’s office for his single five-year term,” read one petition on the president office’s web

As public is divided on Yoon’s relocation plan, Moon also stands at odds

People Power Party at an advantage, but close-fought presidential race raises hope for Democratic Party

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday named a former Washington correspondent as his spokesperson for foreign press. Kang In-sun, former chief of the Washington bureau for the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, is expected to help promote Yoon's administrative philosophy overseas, based on her diverse experience covering political, social and cultural affairs, Yoon's spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing. Yoon also named Kim Il-bum, former vice president at SK Supex Council Global Growth C

 President Moon Jae-in is expected to hold comprehensive discussions about successor-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae when they hold a meeting, a senior aide to Moon said Monday. Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, made the remark to YTN radio, stressing that Cheong Wa Dae remains unchanged in its position to respect Yoon's election pledges and the direction he's going to steer state affairs. "If th

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said he plans to meet with officials of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team to ensure a smooth transfer of the administration. Kim made the remark to reporters before departing from Doha for Seoul following a five-day visit to Turkey and Qatar when asked what he is going to take care of first after returning home. Kim, who is scheduled to arrive back home later Monday, did not provide details on how he is going to meet them and when, but he is expected to

Yoon vows to end "imperial" presidency and return Cheong Wa Dae to people

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday visited the foreign ministry building and the defense ministry compound, which are candidate sites for his planned relocation of the presidential office. He met with ministerial officials there and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the two places as locations for the next presidential office, according to Yoon's secretariat. Yoon is expected to announce his choice as early as Sunday, sources said. The former prosecutor general was elected

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday stressed that managing the COVID-19 pandemic is the utmost priority for the presidential transition team, as the committee began its 53-day run. Speaking in the first general meeting of the committee, Yoon requested the special committee in charge of handling the COVID-19 crisis to focus on the damage compensation system for sole proprietors, and preventive measures to control the spread of the disease, citing the surging COVID-19 cases here. “No