President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will not adopt a gender or regional quota for his presidential transition committee or his Cabinet when he begins his presidency. A key official on Yoon’s team has said that his personnel will be based on their talent and ability, Yonhap reported Sunday. “To serve the public, you need to look at their talent, not their story,” the official was quoted as saying by the news agency. The move is a departure from a gender quota during the Moon Jae-i

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s strategy of practically alienating the female population in pursuit of male voters nearly cost him the election, and local women’s groups are urging him to be aware of this before carrying out his “anti-feminist” pledges. On the coattails of Wednesday’s presidential election, the Korea Women’s Associations United released a statement criticizing Yoon’s campaign, in which he escaped with Korea’s smallest-ever margin

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday he hopes South Korea, the United States and Japan will further strengthen coordination on Korean Peninsula issues as he spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Yoon talked with Kishida two days after his election, saying he hopes the two sides will work together to promote "friendly cooperative" ties between their countries. "South Korea and Japan have many future tasks on which we need to work together, such as securi

A first-term lawmaker, who led the opposition's attack on a land development scandal surrounding the ruling party's presidential candidate, has been named a spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, his aide said Friday. Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party (PPP) will serve as a spokeswoman for the president-elect, according to Yoon's chief secretary Chang Je-won. Kim, who was elected in a district in Seongnam, south of Seoul, led a public affairs unit of the PPP's campaign committee

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday he is certain South Korea-China relations will develop further as he met with Beijing's top envoy to Seoul. Yoon made the remark during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming two days after his election, noting China is South Korea's largest trading partner and South Korea is China's third-largest. "I'm certain South Korea-China relations will develop further," he said at the People Power Party headquarters, recalling this year

Yoon looks to install office in Seoul Government Complex instead

Former chief of the national audit agency Choe Jae-hyeong was among the winners of the March 9 elections, as he garnered over 50 percent of the vote in a legislative by-election held in central Seoul’s Jongno. According to the National Election Commission on Thursday, Choe of the conservative opposition People Power Party had 52.09 percent of the vote and independent candidate Kim Young-jong, a three-term mayor of Jongno-gu, marked just 28.41 percent. Choe was one of the contenders in

Political novice elected on back of regime change desire now needs to prove capacity to handle domestic, external challenges

Yoon expected to launch committee sooner than usual

Kim says she will assist Yoon quietly in the background

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday he will trust and follow the will of the people as he vowed to close any national divisions. "I will solely trust the people and follow the people's will," Yoon said in his remarks given at the National Assembly Library in western Seoul. "(The election results) constitute a call for reform, and the restoration of justice and common sense as well as the people's desperate appeal to do politics of unity, not division," Yoon noted.

As South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol received a congratulatory call from US President Joe Biden hours after his election victory Thursday, drawing keen attention is when they will meet. Observers say they may hold their first summit talks as early as in late May. Biden is reportedly considering a visit to Japan in late May for a Quad summit, which will offer a chance for him to make a stopover in South Korea. Yoon is slated to be inaugurated on May 10. If they meet before the end of the

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday congratulated President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on winning the presidential election as they held a telephone conversation, Moon's spokesperson said. Moon told Yoon that they need to hold a meeting to discuss a smooth transition of power and his administration will provide support for the next administration's inauguration, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters. Moon asked Yoon to restore national unity and heal national division shown in the ele

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reportedly congratulated South Korea's President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol Thursday on his election win and expressed hope to work together to improve Seoul-Tokyo ties. He was quoted as saying the strained relations between the neighbors need to improve, especially as "healthy" bilateral ties are "indispensable" amid major challenges in the international community. There has been no report of Yoon and Kishida having a direct phone conv

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol held a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden on Thursday, during which they reaffirmed the strong alliance against North Korea's repeated launches of ballistic missiles, according to officials in Yoon's party. Biden congratulated Yoon on winning the presidential election and invited the conservative president-elect of South Korea to the White House, officials of the People Power Party (PPP) said. During the 20-minute conversation, Yoon emphasized the need