President Moon Jae-in instructed officials Tuesday to make thorough preparations for a safe presidential election and swiftly execute a newly approved extra budget amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Moon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae as daily COVID-19 cases have reached 100,000 in recent days with two weeks to go until the election on March 9. "The election management authorities and health authorities must prepare thoroughly to ensure our people can vote with as

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) has said the resumption of a shuttered inter-Korean joint industrial complex in North Korea is possible through conditional relief of sanctions and in-kind payment of wages, officials said Tuesday. Rep. Song Young-il made the remarks during a meeting Monday with Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation, as they discussed ways to improve the human rights situation in the North, according to the DP. Quintan

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) will push for another extra budget to support pandemic-hit small businesses, the party's floor leader said Tuesday. Rep. Yun Ho-jung said the DP plans to swiftly draft a second supplementary budget for this year after the March 9 presidential election and will even consider using an emergency order if necessary. His remarks came a day after the National Assembly passed a 16.9 trillion-won ($14.2 billion) extra budget bill, which was up 2.9 trillion won from the g

President Moon Jae-in will preside over a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, Cheong Wa Dae said. The meeting, set to take place at Cheong Wa Dae at 11 a.m., comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in Ukraine after recognizing their independence. Moon is expected to use the meeting to discuss measures to protect South Korean nationals and minimize damage to South Korean businesses b

The inheritance tax bill faced by Samsung Group’s leader Lee Jae-yong was again mentioned in the televised debate among key presidential candidates on Monday as People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol and Justice Party’s Sim Sang-jung quarreled over Yoon’s pledge to abolish capital gains tax on stocks. Sim first asked Yoon, “Do you know why the tax was introduced?” When Yoon said no, Sim said, “The introduction of the tax stems from Samsung Lee Jae-yong&rs

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, apologized to small business owners and self-employed people who sustained losses from the social distancing measures, drawing a clear line with the Moon Jae-in administration’s quarantine policies. “The first duty of the state is to protect the lives and safety of the public, and protecting the lives of the people from infectious disease is also a part of the state’s responsibility,” Lee said in a te

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for unvaccinated people to get Novavax Inc's vaccine, as the nation started administering fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines amid a surge in omicron infections. Moon made the remarks at a meeting with senior aides as the government is grappling with a new wave of infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. Starting Monday, health authorities began administering fourth doses of shots to high-risk groups, such as elderly people in nursing homes

Two former top executives of Samsung Group have been included among candidates for the upcoming independence movement day parole, sources said Monday. Choi Gee-sung, former head of Samsung's now-disbanded control tower Future Strategy Office, and Chang Choong-ki, former deputy chief of the office, are among those who may be granted parole by the Ministry of Justice in celebration of the March 1 Independence Movement Day, the sources told Yonhap News Agency. The ministry plans to discuss whether

Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party on Monday renewed his resolve to finish the presidential race on his own after scrapping a potential merger with main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. Ahn revealed in a Facebook post that he visited a museum dedicated to revered Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun on Sunday just hours before he held a press conference to announce the withdrawal of his offer to merge campaigns with Yoon of the People Power Party

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Monday that establishing a special committee for emergency COVID-19 relief will be his No. 1 executive order if he wins the March 9 presidential election. Lee of the Democratic Party (DP) also promised that South Korea's virus response will "definitely change" from March 10 as he distances himself from the current government's COVID-19 scheme in an effort to win public support ahead of the election. "The presidential transitio

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is neck and neck with main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol with 43.7 percent against 42.2 percent, a survey showed Monday. In the survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), Lee of the liberal Democratic Party gained 3.3 percentage points from last week, while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party lost 1.3 percentage points. The 1.5 percentage-point gap is within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage

SEOUL/SUWON -- Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Sunday he will push back the COVID-19 curfew on cafes, restaurants and other multiuse facilities to midnight on the first day after the March 9 election. "On March 10, I will put a stop to unnecessary, excessive quarantine and let businesses operate freely until midnight for those fully vaccinated with booster shots," Lee said during a campaign speech in Suwon, south of Seoul. Lee said COVID-19 has "evolved to b

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung with 42.9 percent public support to 38.7 percent, a survey showed Sunday. Yoon of the People Power Party gained 1.3 percentage points from a week ago, while Lee of the Democratic Party lost 0.4 percentage point, according to the Realmeter survey conducted on 3,043 adults from last Sunday to Friday. The gap between Yoon and Lee widened to 4.2 percentage points from the previous week's 2.5 percenta

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Sunday North Korea could undertake provocations, like missile launches, while the United States is distracted by tensions in Ukraine as he called for ensuring watertight security posture with the US "As the US focuses on Europe, among others, North Korea may carry out a strategic provocation like an intercontinental ballistic missile test, or a local provocation near the border," Yoon of the conservative People Power Party wrote

President Moon Jae-in on Friday stepped up calls for the National Assembly to swiftly approve an extra budget bill, citing "desperate" hardship facing small merchants hit by the COVID-19 restrictions. "As the situation of small merchants and self-employed people is desperate, the National Assembly should actively cooperate to resolve the difficulties of people's livelihoods by approving an extra budget bill as soon as possible," Moon told a meeting with his aides earlier in t