The National Assembly on Thursday passed a long-stalled bill that prohibits public officials, including lawmakers, from seeking personal gains using information related to their job responsibilities. The so-called conflict of interest prevention law was approved during a parliamentary plenary session following its passage through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee earlier in the day. Similar anti-graft bills were proposed over the past eight years in vain before a massive land speculation

An independent panel created to review the validity of an ongoing investigation into the Seoul prosecution chief on charges of abuse of power will convene on May 10, judiciary sources said Thursday. Lee Sung-yoon, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, is being probed over allegations he exercised undue influence in 2019 to stop an inquiry into the alleged illegal exit ban imposed on a former senior official. The Supreme Prosecutors Office last week accepted Lee's request for

Construction of President Moon Jae-in’s post-presidency residence has been halted recently faced with resistance from residents of the area, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources Thursday. Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook plan to relocate to Habuk, a small town in the rural city of Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, after retiring in May 2022. They purchased a 2,630-square-meter property in the area for 1.06 billion won ($870,000) last year. Following the purchase, the Presidential Sec

President Moon Jae-in paid respect to the late cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, former archbishop of Seoul, on Thursday. Moon visited Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul, together with first lady Kim Jung-sook, to pay his last respects to Cheong. He passed away Tuesday at age 89, having suffered an unspecified illness. His funeral will be held at the cathedral on Saturday. Moon wrote on his social messaging accounts Wednesday that, "He left us a teaching on sharing and coexistence&quo

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke by phone with his Vietnamese counterpart on Wednesday and discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, including Japan‘s planned release of radioactive Fukushima water. In the phone talks with Bui Thanh Son, Chung asked for Vietnam’s close cooperation in strengthening the economic and other ties between South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the five Mekong countries -- Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Ca

President Moon Jae-in has maintained a prudent approach to issuing pardons, and no exception is expected for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is serving jail time on bribery charges. “We never discussed the issue and have no plans to do so for now,” a Cheong Wa Dae official flatly told reporters Tuesday in response to a petition filed by the nation’s major business lobby groups seeking a pardon for Lee. Former presidents often issued pardons for chaebol

President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences Wednesday over the death of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, a former Catholic archbishop of Seoul. Moon described Cheong as a "big hill" of South Korea's Catholic community and a "guru of the nation." "The passing of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, who delivered peace not only to Catholics but also to all of the people throughout his life, is deeply regrettable," Moon wrote on his social media accounts. "He

A court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for the founder of cash-strapped budget carrier Eastar Jet on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. Lee Sang-jik, an independent lawmaker, is suspected of colluding with a senior company official who was indicted in February for causing about 43 billion won ($38.47 million) in financial damage to the airline by paying off long-term loans early and underselling company shares to a specific subsidiary. Judge Kim Seung-gon of the Jeonju Distric

President Moon Jae-in and Novavax CEO Stanley Erck have agreed to expand the current partnership on the local production of the US drugmaker’s new vaccine, including the possible extension of a licensing deal to share manufacturing technology, according to Cheong Wa Dae sources Tuesday. The two held a face-to-face meeting at the presidential office earlier in the day. In their first video conversation in January, the South Korean government secured 40 million doses of the new Novavax va

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Tuesday he will continue the expansion of Gwanghwamun Square despite opposition from some citizens and simultaneously seek improvements to the landmark structure. Oh said at a press briefing that the remodeling project, which began in November before he took office, is already 34 percent complete and has incurred a cost of 25 billion won ($22.5 million). "Following a careful review and debate, the city of Seoul has decided to continue the restructuring of Gwang

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a condolence letter to his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, over the deadly sinking of the country's naval submarine, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Moon expressed regret about the deaths of 53 crew members and delivered a message of condolences and sympathy to the Indonesian people, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. He hoped that the Indonesian people will overcome grief from the tragic accident at an early date, she added. Indone

President Moon Jae-in's public disapproval rating hit an all-time high, a poll showed Monday, as the ruling bloc continues to struggle with fallout from its recent crushing defeat in local by-elections. In the five-day Realmeter survey conducted through last Friday, Moon's disapproval rating hit 63 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from a week earlier. The latest poll canvassed 2,532 people, aged 18 or older, nationwide. This marks Moon's highest disapproval rating since he took office in May

President Moon Jae-in asked South Koreans on Monday not to "politicize" the COVID-19 vaccine issue, as his government is striving to assure them that the country has already secured deals for enough supply of doses and that the overall inoculation program is on track. Doubts have grown over the government's stated scheme to get at least 12 million people here vaccinated in the first half of this year for the sake of achieving herd immunity by November. "If you watch (the situati

President Moon Jae-in is expected to hold a face-to-face meeting with Novavax CEO Stanley Erck on Tuesday amid the pending production of the US drugmaker's new COVID-19 vaccine here, according to Cheong Wa Dae on Monday. “The president will exchange opinions on the expansion of the vaccine production partnership with Novavax and discuss ways to advance the adoption, including an earlier regulatory approval,” presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. Moon and Erck held

The Seoul metropolitan government said Friday it has seized the cryptocurrencies of hundreds of top tax delinquents who hid their assets in digital form, becoming the country's first local government to do so. The city government said its tax collection department found the cryptocurrencies of 1,566 individuals and heads of companies in three cryptocurrency exchanges and seized more than 25 billion won ($22 million) in virtual assets from 676 of them. These 676 owed the government 28.4 billion