The medical standoff between the government and the medical community has impacted the nation's health care sector and been at the center of controversy since February. However, it was not generally included on campaign agendas, as rival parties feared triggering backlash due to the sensitivity surrounding the issue. Earlier in February, the government announced the state plan to boost the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 seats, claiming that it was to address a chronic shortage of

Young voters come prepared with voting proof photo materials, ranging from cutesy character postcards to K-pop star photos

  South Koreans on Wednesday went to the polls for the 2024 general election, selecting the lawmakers to represent them in the 22nd National Assembly. With stakes running high, a number of incidents at polling stations across the country were reported. Here are a few of the events that took place on the election day.   Father disapproves of daughter's vote, tears up ballot   A 52-year-old man and his 22-year-old daughter went to a polling station in Samhak-dong, Gunsan, North Jeo

April 10, 2024, 5 p.m. The nationwide voter turnout for the 2024 general election continues to be higher than the numbers at the same time in the previous parliamentary election, marking 64.1 percent as of 5 p.m. The figure was 1.5 percentage points higher than the 62.6 percent turnout at 5 p.m. during the 2020 general election. The final turnout of the previous parliamentary election was 66.2 percent. Votes submitted in the two-day early voting period last week, which saw a record turnout of

Interviews with voters on their criteria for choosing candidates, expectations for next parliament and more

South Korea’s two major parties traded barbs over their respective stance on China and foreign policies over the final days leading to the National Assembly election on Wednesday. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea leader, slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “touted value-based diplomacy” as having an adverse impact on the country’s economic partnerships with China. “Our economic domain is shrinking globally because the Yoon administration is too

Voters hit polls for 22nd general election, seen as confidence vote for Yoon

How big will liberal presence be, who among big shots will join Assembly and how will Cho Kuk’s new party fare ?

  South Korea's controversy-ridden first lady, Kim Keon Hee, reportedly cast her vote unbeknownst to the public or apparently the presidential office, raising questions and drawing attacks from President Yoon Suk Yeol's political opponents. Liberal YouTube channel "Park Yeol TV" revealed in a post in the channel's community section on Tuesday that Kim had voted during early voting on Friday at a polling station in Itaewon 1-dong of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, which is near the presidential

April 10, 2024, 2 p.m.   The nationwide voter turnout for the 2024 general election on Wednesday was 56.4 percent as of 2 p.m., 3.4 percentage points higher than the 53 percent recorded at the same time in the previous 2020 general election. The figure includes votes submitted in the two-day early voting period last week, which saw a record turnout of 31.28 percent of the electorate. Voter turnout for the election has been higher than the last general election for both the 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

  Lee Myung-bak, who was president of South Korea from 2008-2013, shared his views on the current state of Korean politics, after voting at a polling station in Seoul’s Gangnam district. “It's a challenging time," he began, as he sought to answer a question about the meaning of today’s elections, and before pointing out, "Korean politics don’t really match the overall level of Korea.” Kwon Yang-sook, wife of the late former president Roh Moo-hyun, vot

Two ballot papers, one 51.7 centimeters long with 38 political parties to choose from, your vote is priceless

Stay tuned to The Korea Herald's live coverage of the 2024 parliamentary elections. Opposition rejoices; Humbled ruling party says will watch election results till end April 10, 2024, 6:30 p.m. With exit polls predicting a bigger than expected victory for the liberal opposition Democratic Party and its allies, approaching the critical two-thirds majority, on Wednesday evening, the mood among the main two parties stood in stark contrast to each other. --------------------------------

Han Dong-hoon, the ruling People Power Party leader, said that a Democratic Party of Korea victory in the National Assembly election slated for Wednesday would “topple South Korea-US alliance” and turn the country “pro-China” during a final rally on Tuesday evening in Seoul. Speaking to a crowd of supporters, Han said that the Democratic Party would “weaken cooperation with the US, sour relations with Japan once again to ‘xie xie’ with China,” refe

President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed Tuesday that medical reform should not come at the expense of the public or medical personnel but be made to satisfy both sides. Yoon made the point during a visit to a cardiovascular hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, just southwest of Seoul, in his fourth such visit to a medical facility amid a prolonged walkout by junior doctors protesting a government plan to raise the medical school admissions quota. "Medical reform should be for all and not forcin