Special Counsel Park Young-soo, who has led an investigation into a corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye, resigned Wednesday amid allegations he accepted a Porsche car from a fishery businessman. Park said in a statement to reporters that he submitted his letter of resignation in the belief that it became "difficult" for him to carry out his duties as special counsel. "I feel a strong moral responsibility for such things as introducing a controversial figu

Party wants people to look back on Moon’s legacy and associate it with inter-Korean detente to come, critics say

Choe Jae-hyeong, former head of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), on Wednesday officially expressed his intent to enter politics. The former BAI chairman told Yonhap News Agency that he "has determined to participate in politics" but added that he will need more time to streamline his future plans, possibly including whether to run in next year's presidential race. Choe resigned in late June in a move widely viewed as a prelude to joining the presidential election race. The re

President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Wednesday to step up efforts to speedily trace COVID-19 infections amid a sharp hike in confirmed cases. He called for the establishment of more temporary testing centers in areas with many residents or visitors and swift mobilization of military personnel, police officers and civil servants to that end, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The president ordered "preemptive" steps to expand testing on people related t

South Korea's main opposition party leader on Tuesday thanked the acting US ambassador to South Korea for his country's COVID-19 vaccine provision. Lee Jun-seok, head of the People Power Party (PPP), noted that he was one of the beneficiaries, during his meeting with Robert Rapson, the acting US ambassador to Seoul, at the National Assembly. "I was among those who benefited from the US' recent provision of 1 million doses of the Janssen vaccine," Lee said. "It is something that

The leaders of South Korea and Fiji have exchanged letters on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the two sides establishing diplomatic ties, Cheong Wa Dae said. In a letter to his Fijian counterpart, Jioji Konousi Konrote, President Moon Jae-in pointed out that bilateral relations have constantly developed since 1971, according to Moon's spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon expressed hope that the two countries will expand cooperation in various fields, including politics, business and cultu

Former prime minister says Korea-US relations becoming more diverse and equal

Gyeonggi Province governor and presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung asked in a televised debate “shall I pull down my pants again?” when asked to explain his scandal with an actor. During the debate among eight candidates for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s primary for next year’s presidential election Monday evening, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun asked Lee to explain a previous scandal, saying the morality of a president is very important. Lee explaine

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged to play a bigger role in the international community, touting the nation’s recent status upgrade as an “advanced nation” as recognized by an UN agency last week. “I’m very proud that the status change is the first of its kind since the establishment of the UN Conference on Trade and Development in 1964,” the president said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. “We will continue to move for

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl maintained his lead over Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung in two polls on presidential hopefuls released Monday. In a Realmeter survey conducted over the weekend, Yoon came out on top with 33.9 percent of support, with Lee trailing at 26.3 percent. Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon was a distant third at 12.5 percent, with others who have thrown their hats into the ring only garnering single digits of support. Realmeter polled 1,015 South Koreans ag

With a 36-year-old leader in charge, the main opposition People Power Party selected a pair of 27-year-olds as its new co-spokespeople. The party will continue to serve the youth, with Lim Seung-ho and Yang Jun-woo having finished first and second in the final round of the open audition for the PPP spokespeople positions. Lim is a former deputy youth spokesman for the central-right Bareun Party. Yang was previously unemployed and, in his own words, "was playing video games at home and tak

President Moon Jae-in warned Monday again that the government will take stern measures against the violation of social distancing rules. He made clear that illegal massive rallies cannot be an exception, apparently referring to collective action by the members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major umbrella labor union, last weekend. "(The government) can't help taking stern legal steps against collective actions, including illegal large-scale rallies, that violate so

Rival parties agreed Monday to advance the latest COVID-19 response extra budget bill through the National Assembly by late July. The agreement was made during a meeting earlier in the day between Rep. Han Byung-do and Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, deputy floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party, respectively. Under the agreement, the parties will work toward approving the supplementary budget bill in a plenary parliamentary meeting by July 23 and host a re

With Lee’s announcement, race among ruling bloc’s ‘Big Three’ begins in earnest

The leaders of South Korea and the Netherlands will hold virtual summit talks this week on bilateral ties and global issues, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday. President Moon Jae-in plans to have the summit with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The summit, the first between the two sides in three years, comes amid an increasing need for them to cooperate, especially on semiconductors, renewable energy and other future industries