Moon holds expanded security meeting on prospects for threats from 2021 to 2030

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol leads his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung in a hypothetical two-way race, according to polls conducted before Yoon merged candidacies with Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party. According to a survey conducted by Embrain Public from Tuesday to Wednesday, Yoon led Lee 45.9 percent to 45 percent in a hypothetical two-way race. The gap of 0.9 percentage point was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confide

Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung asked Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung to work together to form a unified government when Sim criticized the ruling party for failing to create a safe working environment in a televised debate on Wednesday. Referring to Kim Yong-gyun, who died while working alone at the Taean Thermal Power Plant in 2018, Sim criticized the Democratic Party for failing to keep promises to hire subcontractor workers as full-time workers related to life and safety wo

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung by 3.2 percentage points or less just a week before the election, two polls showed Wednesday. In a Realmeter survey conducted Monday and Tuesday, Yoon of the conservative People Power Party earned 46.3 percent support against Lee of the liberal Democratic Party's 43.1 percent. The 3.2 percentage point gap was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confid

Kim Dong-yeon, the presidential candidate of the minor New Wave Party, dropped out of the race Wednesday to support ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung. Kim, who served as President Moon Jae-in's first finance minister, announced the withdrawal a day after he reached an agreement with Lee of the ruling Democratic Party to have policy coalitions and operation of a joint government. "It was not an easy decision for me," Kim said. "Please understand this was a difficult decisio

The four main presidential candidates are set to face off in their final TV debate Wednesday. The debate comes a week before the election and two days before the start of early voting over two days. The two-hour session will be hosted by the National Election Commission, the state election watchdog, and focus on social issues, such as welfare policies and the demographic crisis. All four candidates -- Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Po

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying it is shocking that a UN Security Council member carried out such an incursion in direct violation of the UN Charter. Lee of the ruling Democratic Party made the remark during a discussion hosted jointly by the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the French-Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, saying South Korea's government should join international sanctions o

Moon sends message to the North to resume dialogue

The two leading presidential candidates are expected to highlight their plans for relations with Japan on Tuesday as the country marks the anniversary of a 1919 uprising against Tokyo's colonial rule. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) are expected to use their campaign rallies in Seoul to outline how they will handle relations with Japan long plagued by history-related tensions. Lee will kick off his campaign sched

Candidates face headwinds after putting feet in mouth over security

President Moon Jae-in called for a powerful defense posture Monday, saying peace can be achieved only based on strong defense, as the world is reeling from Russia's shocking invasion of Ukraine. "The peace and prosperity we enjoy have been achieved on the foundation of strong security," Moon told a commencement and commissioning ceremony for the Korea Army Academy in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province. Based on strong defense capabilities, South Korea has pushed for peace efforts on

Presidential candidates on Monday kicked off their final full week of campaigning with polls still indicating a dead heat between ruling party nominee Lee Jae-myung and main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party is set to meet with voters in the southeastern region of the country, including in Pohang, Gyeongju and Daegu, as he seeks to woo the traditionally conservative base. In the evening, he is scheduled to visit his hometown of Andong to rally voters there.

The enforcement of vaccine passes at restaurants, cafes and other multiuse facilities will be temporarily lifted starting Tuesday to reduce the burden of health workers mobilized to issue negative test certificates, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said Monday. Speaking at an interagency COVID-19 response meeting, Jeon said the decision will help the government prioritize its administrative capacity toward dealing with the fast spread of the omicron coronavirus variant and high-risk virus patie

Liberal leaning presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justice Party bombarded Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party over security issues, citing the Ukraine crisis in a televised debate on Friday night. Over the topic of establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula and unification with North Korea, Sim criticized Yoon’s stance on South Korea’s possible participation in

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate for the minor opposition People’s Party, attacked Yoon Suk-yeol of the major opposition People Power Party for being unrealistic about leading a government in a situation where opposition parties are the majority. “If (the Democratic Party of Korea) attempts to disturb the government because it has 180 seats in the National Assembly, I believe it goes against the orders of the Constitution,” Yoon said during a TV debate held Friday,