President Moon Jae-in articulated his resolve Monday to bear fruit in efforts to cement a COVID-19 vaccine partnership with the United States during his visit there later this week. Moon was referring to his plan to hold summit talks with President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday (local time), speaking at a weekly meeting with his senior Cheong Wa Dae aides. "I will use this visit to the US as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation on vaccines and (for South Korea) to move toward

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) voiced hope Monday that the upcoming South Korea-US summit can help resolve various bilateral issues, including Seoul's COVID-19 vaccine procurement. "I expect that momentum can be created by the historic South Korea-US summit to relieve the (Korean) people's anxieties over vaccine issues, (foment) cooperation on semiconductors and a joint response to climate change, and resolve North Korean issues," DP Chairman Song Young-gil said during

South Koreans appear to be almost evenly divided on whether to remedy the current parliamentary confirmation hearings for minister nominees, a poll said Monday, as the ruling party and the presidential office are pushing to shift the focus of the system to their job performance ability. In the Realmeter poll of 500 adults nationwide conducted Friday, 47.9 percent agreed to the need to refurbish the present confirmation hearing system, while 45.5 percent expressed an opposite view. The remaining

Uncommitted voters without preference for a particular political party outnumbered respective supporters of the two biggest rival parties, a poll showed Sunday. According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,000 people aged 18 or over from Tuesday through Thursday, 30 percent of the respondents said they do not support any party, up 1 percentage point from the previous week. Twenty-eight percent threw their support behind the ruling Democratic Party (DP), down 2 percentage points from

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday slammed President Moon Jae-in for appointing the new prime minister and two other Cabinet members despite opposition objections. "The Moon Jae-in administration does not budge a bit no matter how hard it is hit by (souring) public opinion. Its DNA of arrogance and self-righteousness has never been cured," PPP floor leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said during an emergency plenary meeting of the party. PPP staged the meeting in front of

President Moon Jae-in on Friday emphasized the importance of close cooperation between his Cheong Wa Dae team and the ruling party in handling major policy issues during the remainder of his tenure. Meeting with the leaders of the Democratic Party (DP) at Cheong Wa Dae, he recalled frequent rifts between South Korea's ruling parties and lame-duck presidents. When a presidency was on the home stretch, there used to be a chasm between a ruling party and the government, Moon pointed out. "T

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung has overtaken Yoon Seok-youl, the former prosecutor general, for the first time in a hypothetical two-way presidential hopeful poll released Friday. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,007 adults nationwide from Tuesday to Wednesday, 42 percent picked Gov. Lee, affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party (DP), as their favored candidate for the next presidential election slated for March 2022. Yoon, who has led the presidential hopefuls' race in various pol

New Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on his first day of work that the nation would have new social distancing rules from July if the coronavirus situation stabilizes. Kim, who took office Friday, presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Seoul Government Complex. “We will do our best to ensure that more than 13 million people complete their first vaccinations without a hitch in the first half,” Kim said. He added that t

President Moon Jae-in appointed Kim Boo-kyum as new prime minister and two others to lead the science and land ministries Friday. They were picked in last month's Cabinet shake-up coming on the heels of the ruling party's rout in major by-elections. The president conferred the certificates of appointment on Prime Minister Kim, Science Minister Lim Hye-sook and Land Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk as well as two other minister nominees -- Commerce Minister Moon Sung-wook and Labor Minister An Kyung-duk

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday that he will work toward pursuing national unity in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, as he began his official term as the administration's third prime minister. "I will become a prime minister who thoroughly aims for national unity," Kim said while arriving at the government complex in Seoul on his first day as prime minister. "The current struggle can be overcome only if we work together," Kim added, referring to the ongoing

The National Assembly dominated by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday gave its nod to President Moon Jae-in's pick for prime minister. Parliament passed the confirmation bill on Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum, clearing the way for Moon to appoint the ex-interior minister as his third prime minister. The bill was approved in a 168-5 vote, with one abstention and two votes invalidated. The DP commands 174 of the 300 parliamentary seats. The confirmation bill ran into resistance

The US State Department detailed the South Korean government’s limitations on in-person worship to contain COVID-19, and conflicts that arose in the process in its annual International Religious Freedom report released Wednesday. The report mentioned that the South Korean government placed restrictions on the number of persons who could gather together for any purpose, including for religious worship, to minimize exposure to the virus since February last year, following a COVID-19 outbrea

WASHINGTON -- Two lawmakers from South Korea's main opposition People Power Party arrived in the United States on Wednesday for talks on possible US assistance to help relieve South Korea's COVID-19 vaccine shortage. Rep. Park Jin stressed the need to quickly secure vaccines for his country, calling his trip a bipartisan effort. "There is a need to strengthen the South Korea-US alliance and enhance their relations in various areas including vaccine cooperation," he said. "We wil

JEONJU -- Police raided the North Jeolla Province government office Wednesday over alleged land speculation by a public servant. The Jeonbuk Police Agency said it searched the office and the home of the employee hired by the provincial government, located in Jeonju, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul. The suspect's computer files, mobile phone and related documents were seized in the process. The police said the public servant is suspected of using insider information to buy a plot of land ne

President Moon Jae-in gave Cheon Dae-yeop, a veteran judge, a certificate of appointment as a new Supreme Court justice on Wednesday. The president took note of Cheon's "firm faith in judicial independence, a guarantee of basic rights and the protection of the socially underprivileged," according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. "As the Supreme Court's ruling has a profound impact on our society and future generations, the burden will be heavy as a Supreme Court jus