His call for relief grant is at the center stage of November budget talks

President Moon Jae-in on Monday attended a christening ceremony for a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility set to head to Mozambique, saying the platform will expand energy cooperation between the two nations. The christening ceremony of the Coral-Sul floating facility came about four years after Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major Korean shipyard, won a $2.5 billion deal to build the offshore facility. Moon said the floating LNG facility will become a symbol of friendly cooperati

Ruling party lawmakers are gearing up to adjust details of South Korea’s capital gains taxation program to match the rising price level of housing units and thereby make up for their continued losses in public support. The National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee is on track to hold a sub-committee meeting Monday to discuss details of a bill aimed at revising the guidelines on imposing capital gains tax for real estate properties. The bill was proposed by Rep. Yoo Dong-soo of t

Parties discuss lowering age requirement for electoral posts ahead of elections

Presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl on Friday said he is open to providing economic support in return for Pyongyang’s progress toward denuclearization, while pledging to change the current “master-servant” relationship between the two Koreas. Yoon, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, elucidated his camp’s approach to North Korea and foreign and security policies at a news conference hosted by the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), said Friday the United States played a part in Korea losing its sovereignty to Japan, as it consented to the colonization in a 1905 secret deal with Japan. Lee made the remarks during a meeting with Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), referring to the Taft-Katsura Agreement between then US Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Taro in which the US condoned Japanese rule over Korea at that time.

President Moon Jae-in is set to attend this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit Friday to meet with 20 other Pacific Rim leaders and discuss a path to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. APEC members from Pacific Rim nations including New Zealand, Russia, the US and Chile meet annually to ease trade barriers and expand growth. Their economies account for nearly 40 percent of the world’s population and about 60 percent of its gross domestic product. But for a second

Battles loom large over timing, scope of investigation, ahead of presidential elections

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl met with the top US diplomat for East Asia and a US senator Friday, saying a firm alliance between the two countries has become ever more important. The meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and US Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) was held at the People Power Party's headquarters as part of their separate visits to Seoul. "I can't stress enough the importance of the South Korea-US alli

President Moon Jae-in on Friday emphasized independence and political neutrality of state auditors as he appointed a new head of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI). The appointment of Choe Jae-hae, a former senior official at the BAI, came about two months after Moon nominated him to lead the key state agency. During an appointment ceremony, Moon stressed the importance of independence and political neutrality of the audit agency and asked Choe to ensure the discipline of public officia

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was admitted to an emergency room Friday due to a sudden acute stomachache, officials said. Oh moved to the hospital at 11:30 a.m. after experiencing pain while on the way to an event organized by the Korea Senior Citizens Association in Seoul, city officials said. The mayor canceled all scheduled public events for the rest of the day, officials said. Oh had been scheduled to attend a foreign investment consultation meeting organized by Seoul City Hall in the afternoon.

The campaign of ruling party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung on Friday released photos of Lee holding his wife's hand as she was taken to a hospital in an ambulance earlier this week. Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of the Democratic Party nominee, was admitted to a hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Tuesday after sustaining injuries from a fall at their home, according to the party. Lee canceled his campaign activities that day, saying he wanted to be by her side. "This shows Lee Jae-m

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Friday for violating social distancing rules when he met with his college alumni last week. "I am deeply sorry," Kim said at the start of a state affairs coordination meeting. "I promise that I will look after myself thoroughly so that this kind of incident never happens again." Kim came under fire after media reported that a total of 11 people, including Kim himself, had a luncheon at the prime minister's residence in Seoul last Sat

President Moon Jae-in has appointed a new secretary in charge of economic affairs, the presidential office said Thursday. Park Won-joo, a career economic bureaucrat who previously served as head of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, will replace An Il-hwan as the senior presidential economic secretary. An had tendered his resignation for health reasons, a presidential official said. With half a year in office remaining, Moon has vowed do everything possible for a complete return to norm

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, on Thursday promised to delay taxation of virtual assets and increase its deduction limits, a move that is seen as targeting young voters in the upcoming presidential election. "The foundation of taxation is trust, and we need to make a taxation system which people can trust," Lee wrote on his Facebook page. "Rushed taxation without preparation cannot earn justification, and could cause tax resistance and co