A presidential petition against the president-elect’s plan to relocate the presidential office had garnered over 500,000 signatures of support Friday. The petition on the presidential website operated by the Moon Jae-in government claims that President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s election pledge to relocate the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno, Seoul about 6 kilometers south to the Defense Ministry compound in Yongsan poses a threat to national security and is a waste of

A delegation for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol led by Rep. Park Jin will depart for the United States on Sunday, before the US Congress breaks for recess. “The delegation team is to depart on April 3, and it will be a five-night, seven-day trip,” Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a press briefing Friday. The delegation is expected to meet with leading officials of the US administration, members of the US Congress and think tanks to discuss a wide range of topics, inc

Presidential transition committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo announced Wednesday he will not take a post in the Cabinet of the incoming government, to “take the pressure off” President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. “I have thought a lot about my next move (after the transitional committee). ... And I made the personal decision that it would be better to open up room for the president-elect to spread his wings,” Ahn said in a press briefing at the presidential transition committee hea

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to announce his nominee for prime minister by early April to make sure the entire appointment procedure is completed before the launch of the new government in May, his spokesperson said Tuesday. “Considering the schedule of the parliamentary hearing (for ministerial appointments), we expect to announce the prime minister nominee by early April to meet the launch of the new government,” Kim Eun-hye, Yoon’s spokesperson, said in a pres

From impending state affairs and national security to their pet dogs, President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol discussed a wide range of issues in their belated meeting Monday, which came after weeks of tension. On Monday evening, Moon and Yoon first greeted each other in the front garden space of Sangchunje guest house at Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office. The meeting, which began at 6 p.m. and lasted for two and a half hours, was also attended by Moon’s Chief of St

With just over 40 days left to go to inauguration, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will soon choose a candidate for the prime minister’s post for his administration, with a short list reportedly being compiled. On Monday, Yoon’s spokesperson said that the president-elect’s office plans to select the final candidates by early April, as it takes about a month to go through the appointment process. “When we choose the final nominee for prime minister, we would request for

The presidential transition committee is reviewing several ways for governmental reorganization, including abolishing the Gender Equality Ministry without eliminating its essential functions. Yoon has pledged to abolish the Gender Equality and Family Ministry, which is the Ministry of Women and Family in Korean. Yoon considers the ministry as obsolete, and has questioned the existence of systematic gender discrimination in Korea. A committee official reportedly said they will bring out a ro

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will send a consultation delegation to the United States to discuss issues regarding the US-South Korea alliance and current affairs before his inauguration, Yoon’s office said on Sunday. “Yoon will send a Korea-US policy consultation delegation to hold comprehensive and practical consultations with the US administration,” Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a statement. The delegation will be led by Yoon’s foreign policy advis

Former President Park Geun-hye was discharged from hospital on Thursday and took residence in her new home, after spending four years and nine months in prison for a series of corruption charges. Appearing in front of the Samsung Medical Center where she was treated for chronic illnesses from November, Park said she has recovered and expressed gratitude to the medical staff. “I offer my greetings to the public in five years. With all your care, I was able to recover my health. I would

The presidential inauguration ceremony in May will be held in the front garden of the National Assembly compound in Seoul following the custom, the chief of the presidential inauguration ceremony preparation committee said Wednesday. While the preparation committee reviewed several options, they concluded that the National Assembly was the proper venue and received approval from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, the committee’s chief, Park Joo-sun, said in a press briefing. “We have

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug met with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and shared his knowledge on South Korea’s experience on building an administrative capital, and discussed ways for the two countries to enhance bilateral cooperation, Sunday. Their meeting came during Park’s trip to Bali, Indonesia to attend the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly, which kicked off Sunday and runs to Tuesday. As Indonesia is currently preparing

Incumbent President Moon Jae-in’s office on Monday raised concerns over the plans to relocate the presidential office, adding to the controversy surrounding the plans. “President Moon Jae-in pledged to open the Gwanghwamun era in the past presidential election, and we do agree on the idea of returning Cheong Wa Dae to the public,” Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication for Moon, said after the government’s National Security Council meetin

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday stressed that managing the COVID-19 pandemic is the utmost priority for the presidential transition team, as the committee began its 53-day run. Speaking in the first general meeting of the committee, Yoon requested the special committee in charge of handling the COVID-19 crisis to focus on the damage compensation system for sole proprietors, and preventive measures to control the spread of the disease, citing the surging COVID-19 cases here. “No

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is pushing hard with his plan to relocate the presidential office, with transition committee officials now saying there is zero possibility of him going to the current Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House due to its iconic blue-tiled roof. From the start of his presidential campaign, Yoon has vowed to relocate the presidential office for “better communication” with the public, seeing Cheong Wa Dae as closed off from the public and a symbol of em

As the presidential transition team takes shape, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said he would pursue change in the personnel vetting process, using the United States as reference. Yoon said he plans to abolish the Office of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, which handles discipline for public officials, and transfer its functions that include vetting nominees for Cabinet posts to other entities, such as the Justice Ministry and police, in a bid to avoid criticisms of “closed-door”