Ruling party agrees to negotiate further through joint committee

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday rolled out his administration’s last budget plan worth 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) that aims to cement the economic recovery, reduce deepening income disparity and prepare for post-pandemic policy initiatives. The big spending plan for 2022, up 8.3 percent from this year’s 558 trillion won, is set to be submitted to the National Assembly on Friday for approval. “At a time when the coronavirus crisis has greatly dampened the private sect

Rival parties on Tuesday tentatively agreed to process a controversial media reform bill led by the ruling party in a plenary parliamentary session next month, party officials said. Reps. Yun Ho-jung and Kim Gi-hyeon, floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), respectively, made the consensus during a meeting earlier in the day to table the bill in a plenary parliamentary session set for Sept. 27. The bill, championed by the DP, is desi

South Korea plans to spend about 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) next year on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and responding to the climate crisis to pursue carbon neutrality, the government said in its 2022 budget plan released Tuesday. The plan calls for allocating 8.3 trillion won to low-carbon projects in four major sectors -- energy, industry, mobility and land -- and establishing a climate response fund worth 2.5 trillion won. The government has selected the transition to carbon neutra

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday kicked off a 41-day nationwide voting process to choose its final candidate to run in next year's presidential election, party officials said. The primary election voting on six DP presidential contenders started off on the inaugural leg of the central city of Daejeon and surrounding South Chungcheong Province earlier in the day. It will then move to 10 additional legs across the country, including the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 25, to wrap up

Filibuster threat from opposition disrupts ruling party from unilaterally passing bill

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that South Korea's successful operation to evacuate Afghan people last week is expected to serve as a chance to further enhance its global stature. In the emergency move, codenamed Operation Miracle, South Korea brought nearly 400 Afghans fleeing the Taliban-controlled nation to its territory on its military aircraft. They have been allowed to stay here with legal status on par with that of a refugee. It is unprecedented in South Korea's diplomatic history to

President Moon Jae-in on Monday suggested that coronavirus vaccine booster shots will be available here soon, with health care workers and older adults the first to receive the extra shots. “Based on guidance from health authorities and experts, the government will start offering booster shots for high-risk groups like elderly people and health care workers and expand the recipients in phases,” the president said in a weekly meeting with his aides at Cheong Wa Dae. His remarks ca

South Korea's trade ministry on Monday launched a new task force that will establish a long-term strategy to help Asia's No. 4 economy emerge as a global vaccine production hub amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic. "Based on South Korea's various free-trade networks with 57 countries, the country will bolster ties with major partners in terms of the global vaccine supply chain," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said in a statement during a meeting with related organizations. During the me

The National Assembly on Monday is set to vote on a string of contentious bills in a plenary session. The ruling Democratic Party (DP), holding an absolute parliamentary majority, initially planned to push a highly contested media reform bill through the meeting scheduled for 5 p.m., but the prospect of its imminent passage remains slim amid the main opposition's threat to launch a filibuster. Among the bills likely to be submitted to the session are one to block US tech giant Google's upcomin

Opposition warns to mount a filibuster and fight the controversial bill from being enacted

The floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the main opposition People Power Party are expected to debate the contentious “fake news” bill one last time before Monday’s plenary session. National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug had arranged a meeting of the two sides on Sunday, for the second time in less than a week to help settle their differences over the bill that would impose drastically higher penalties on media organizations for “fake news.&rdq

A group of ruling party lawmakers have withdrawn a controversial bill designed to curb slander of former wartime sexual slavery victims and their advocacy groups, in the face of strong criticism from opposition parties. According to a National Assembly website tracking legislative bills, the proposal to revise the act on protecting so-called comfort women was withdrawn on Wednesday after its submission 12 days ago. "Comfort women" is a euphemistic term for those who were sexually ens

Lee Seok-hyun, former six-term lawmaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, has been tapped as executive vice chairman of the presidential National Unification Advisory Council, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday. Lee is replacing Jeong Se-hyun, former unification minister, to assume the minister-level post. The council, chaired by President Moon Jae-in, is a constitutional body to help establish and implement bipartisan policies on democratic and peaceful unification. Moon also appointed

Media organizations concerned over future of most press-friendly nation in Asia