President Moon Jae-in called Thusday for greater efforts to protect women from violence and abuse as he marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women days after a woman was killed by her ex-boyfriend despite being under police protection. "My heart aches, as there are still women falling victim to violence," Moon said in a Facebook posting marking the UN-designated day. "I will keep improving the system ... and do my best to root out violence against

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug met with the World Health Organization (WHO) chief to discuss cooperation on vaccines and humanitarian aid to North Korea, his office said Wednesday. During the meeting with WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Park also emphasized that South Korea is the "optimal location" for a bio and vaccine workforce development hub planned by the WHO, the office said. "Korea is equipped with the educational infrastructure and global v

Democratic Party election committee officials resign en masse to support Lee

Senior officials of the ruling Democratic Party offered to resign en masse on Wednesday, saying they hope to inject fresh vigor into the flailing campaign of its presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung. Rep. Youn Kwan-suk, the party's secretary-general, said the decision involved himself and four other lawmakers in political posts who wished to "put the party before self." The others are chief policymaker Park Wan-joo, deputy chief policymaker You Dong-soo, chief spokesperson Koh Yong-jin

Prosecutors questioned a former chief secretary to Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, on Wednesday in connection with a far-reaching corruption scandal surrounding a development project undertaken in the city of Seongnam when Lee was mayor. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office summoned Lim Seong-min, who served as Lee's chief of staff while he was serving as Seongnam mayor, for questioning as a witness earlier in the day, according to officials.

Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl is leading his ruling Democratic Party rival, Lee Jae-myung, by a smaller margin than before in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Wednesday. Yoon garnered 44.1 percent support against Lee's 37 percent in the survey of 1,011 adults conducted Monday and Tuesday, according to Realmeter. The difference was down to 7.1 percentage points from 9.8 points two weeks ago after Yoon lost 0.3 point and Lee gained 2.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday the country's virus situation is worse than expected, especially in the capital area, urging health authorities to beef up containment measures. Kim pointed out that the Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the country's population, is in an urgent situation and needs to consider imposing an emergency COVID-19 response plan based on health authorities' virus risk assessment. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, health authorities and local governments had repo

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday had a lengthy message to share about K-pop group BTS’ winning of three trophies at this year’s American Music Awards. But he apparently had little to say about Chun Doo-hwan, Korea’s president from 1980 to 1988, who died on Tuesday morning. “Rest in peace. Condolences to the family members,” his spokesperson said during a press briefing late in the afternoon. Chun’s passing was earlier in the morning. The Korean sentences wer

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate for the main opposition People Power Party, is struggling to finalize his election committee, with Kim Chong-in hinting at a possible rift within the ranks. Kim, a veteran election campaigner who was asked to lead Yoon’s election committee, said on Tuesday he “does not want to talk about politics anymore” and that he would “return to his daily life,” hinting that he will not play a role in supporting Yoon in March’s

Ruling Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday pledged to create more than 2 million jobs through the country’s “digital transition.” Lee, a former Gyeonggi Province governor, announced his plans for the digital transition at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Although Lee had shared election pledges on social media on multiple occasions, it was his first official announcement through his election campaign committee. “As technolo

Gwangju massacre and military coup overshadow Chun’s achievements

Two leaders agree to boost partnerships in economy, environment, technology

GWANGJU -- A libel trial against former President Chun Doo-hwan is expected to come to an end with his death Tuesday. Chun has been on trial for allegedly defaming a late priest, Cho Pius, who claimed he witnessed Chun's troops shooting from helicopters at pro-democracy demonstrators in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980. Chun called the priest a "shameless liar" in his controversial memoir published in 2017. In November last year, the Gwangju District Court sentenced Chun to e

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has ruled out the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle in the final months of the current administration amid rumors some Cabinet members could quit to run in next year's local elections. "It makes no sense," Kim said during his press meeting Monday in the central city of Sejong. "There are only six months left of this government's term, so how can we do a reshuffle?" Rumors have been circulating recently that Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki may run

Politicians want to show their political legitimacy, experts say