Moon presides over first meeting for cooperation between central and local governments

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol with 37 percent public support against Yoon's 28 percent, a survey showed Thursday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party gained 1 percentage point from last week, while Yoon of the conservative People Power Party stayed put, according to the poll conducted on 1,000 adults from Monday to Wednesday by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research. In two other surveys publish

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday sought an injunction to stop a TV station from broadcasting the recordings of alleged phone calls between the wife of its presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and a reporter. According to news reports, Yoon's wife Kim Keon-hee spoke by phone with the person who works for the YouTube channel Voice of Seoul for a total of seven hours last year and criticized the Moon Jae-in government, among other things. The phone calls were recorded and

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered aides to come up with measures using excess tax revenue to help small merchants and self-employed people suffering from the economic fallout of COVID-19. Moon gave the instruction after he was briefed about last year's excess tax revenue, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee told reporters. In the first 11 months of last year, tax revenue rose 55.6 trillion won ($46.5 billion) on-year to 323.4 trillion won, according to the finance ministry. The a

President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences Thursday to the family of an Air Force pilot who died after his F-5E fighter crashed into a mountain earlier this week. "I pray for the repose of Major Shim Jeong-min, who died in the line of duty while defending the nation's sky, and offer my deep condolences to the family members," Moon said in a message posted on social media. The aircraft crashed into a mountain in Hwaseong, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, minutes after taking of

Sixteen Cabinet members resumed their schedules on Thursday after they all tested negative for the coronavirus after attending the same meeting with an infected member. The members had to take virus tests and cancel their schedules on Wednesday after they attended the same Cabinet meeting with Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon, who tested positive for COVID-19, in Seoul the previous day. Those who attended the meeting included Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol, Defense Minister Suh Wo

President Moon Jae-in will use his trip to the Middle East later this week to explore opportunities for South Korean businesses in hydrogen, defense and other industries, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday. Moon is set to depart Saturday for an eight-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. "The three nations are our traditional friendly states in the Middle East and Arab world and strategically important countries that play a key role for stable global energy su

Three people in connection to candidate’s scandals have died so far

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday ordered a thorough investigation into a construction site accident that left six people unaccounted for, his spokesperson said. Moon's order comes a day after the facade of a high-rise apartment building under construction in the southwestern city of Gwangju collapsed, leaving six workers missing. "Thoroughly investigate the fundamental cause of the recent series of safety accidents," Moon said during a meeting with his aides, according to his spoke

President Moon Jae-in expressed concern Tuesday over North Korea's repeated missile launches ahead of South Korea's presidential election in March, his spokesperson said. Moon made the remark after being briefed on the results of a National Security Council meeting held earlier in the day following the North's firing of a suspected ballistic missile into the East Sea, Park Kyung-mee said during a press briefing. "It is concerning that North Korea test-fired missiles in succession ahead of

President Moon Jae-in attended the groundbreaking ceremony for an LG Chem cathode plant in the southeastern city of Gumi on Tuesday, saying he hopes the 475 billion won ($397 million) project will boost South Korea's competitiveness in the electric vehicle (EV) battery sector. Moon traveled to the city 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul to meet with officials involved in the construction of the plant for the key battery component. The project was launched under a jobs program led by LG Chem and

When Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin wrote “Annihilate communism” on his Instagram along with a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, it is unlikely that he intended to start a fad.  But for some conservatives salivating over a chance to slam the ruling camp’s guiding philosophy of diplomacy known as strategic ambiguity, the half-joke was just too spot on. A day after Chung’s post, Yoon Suk-yeol, presidential candidate of the conservative Pe

President Moon Jae-in will visit three countries in the Middle East -- the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt -- on an eight-day trip beginning Jan. 15, according to the presidential office on Monday. Moon will first visit the UAE between Jan. 16-17 at the invitation of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. It is Moon‘s first visit to the country in four years. After the UAE, he will visit Saudi Arabia for two days to hold talks with Saudi Arabia‘s de

President Moon Jae-in called for senior aides to do everything possible to employ anti-epidemic measures against the spread of the omicron variant, saying it is only a matter of time before the omicron becomes the dominant strain in South Korea. While emphasizing the government's urgency in coping with the omicron, Moon convinced people the nation could overcome the highly transmissible variant if it makes utmost efforts to curb the spread of the variant. "It will only be a matter of ti

People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has rapidly gained on his ruling and main opposition rivals in recent weeks, as he is appearing to absorb voters peeling away from People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol. Ahn came out on top in a Realmeter poll of 3,042 people released Monday in a hypothetical alliance with the main opposition party. The poll, requested by local media outlet Oh My News, was held from Jan. 2 to Friday. Some 35.9 percent answered they would vote for hi