The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing for special legislation to look into possible irregularities into the college admissions of the children of lawmakers and senior public officials.The minor opposition Justice Party and Bareunmirae Party and ruling Democratic Party Chairman Lee Hae-chan had earlier proposed an inquiry into how all legislators’ children obtained their university admissions, to which the main opposition Liberty Korea Party agreed.The rival parties had difference

The Cabinet on Tuesday passed revised labor bills that allow the unemployed, dismissed workers, retired public officials, teachers, firefighters and college faculty members to join unions, in a bid to comply with international labor conventions.The Cabinet has approved revised bills on labor unions, public officials’ unions and teachers’ unions to ratify three conventions of the International Labor Organization, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said.The three ILO conventions are

Prosecutors grilled Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s younger brother on Thursday over alleged irregularities involving the Cho family’s private school foundation.Cho’s brother left the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at around 11:40 p.m. Thursday after more than 13 hours of questioning about the lawsuit he and his ex-wife filed against Ungdong School to collect receivables for a construction project.  Cho’s father ran the construction firm Goryeo Construct

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said Thursday that there is a possibility conflicts of interest may be present with the justice minister overseeing the prosecution while his wife is under investigation by the prosecution.The commission said if a justice minister’s spouse is being investigated by the prosecution, the spouse can be seen as a person connected to the minister’s duties. The commission made the statement in response to an inquiry by Rep. Lee Tae-gyu of the

Results of a poll released Wednesday showed that 49.1 percent of respondents believe the prosecution’s ongoing investigation into Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family is excessive, while 42.7 percent called it adequate.The gap of 6.4 percentage points was within the margin of error, according to Realmeter, which conducted the survey of 501 adults on Tuesday. The remaining 8.2 percent declined to answer or said they did not know.The poll, conducted at the request of online news website O

Questions about the prosecution’s ongoing investigation into Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family are expected to dominate the four-day parliamentary interpellation session starting Thursday.Opposition parties are likely to focus on issues surrounding Cho during the session, while the ruling party plans to defend Cho and emphasize prosecutorial reform and other government policies.The first day of the session will center on political issues, followed by national security and foreign aff

An investigation into Justice Minister Cho Kuk is now a possibility as dozens of prosecutors are looking into his suspected involvement in his family’s investment in a private equity fund and alleged attempts to destroy evidence. A number of prosecutors and other staff with expertise in investigating financial crime cases have joined the team scrutinizing Cho’s family at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. They include a prosecutor who investigated stock trade irreg

President Moon Jae-in’s job approval rating tumbled to its lowest point since he took office, pollster Realmeter said Thursday.In a survey of 2,007 eligible voters conducted between Monday and Wednesday by Realmeter, 43.8 percent of the respondents said Moon was doing a good job, down 3.4 percentage points from last week.Realmeter attributed the decline to continued media reports on the ongoing investigations into Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family.The weekly poll was commissioned by

The ruling Democratic Party and the Justice Ministry agreed on Wednesday that the public disclosure of information about ongoing investigations should be banned after the case against members of Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family is closed.The ministry is taking steps to revise media guidelines to restrict prosecutors from disclosing information concerning ongoing investigations. Under the new guidelines, the justice minister will be able to order an inspection of any prosecutor who leaks s

South Korea raised concerns at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on Monday about Japan’s plans to dispose of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.Seoul’s First Vice Minister of Science and ICT Mun Mi-ock brought attention to Tokyo’s handling of radioactive water during her keynote speech at the IAEA’s 63rd General Conference.“Issues concerning the disposal of Fukushima contaminated water still remain unanswered

The Cabinet on Tuesday passed a bill on government support for job seekers in the low-income bracket who do not have employment insurance. Under the new program, the government will provide 500,000 won ($420) per month for up to six months to job seekers between 34 and 64 years old from households that earn less than 60 percent of the median income and have less than 600 million won in assets. For those between 18 and 34 years old, the condition is less than 120 percent of the median income

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un highlighted the importance of science and technology education, saying people educated abroad should be hired as university professors in the North, Pyongyang’s state media said Wednesday. Kim made the statement during a meeting with leading officials of the North’s Workers’ Party last month. The message was delivered to a national conference of teachers held Tuesday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said.“Science and technology

US Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams is set to attend a three-day annual multilateral security forum in Seoul that kicks off Wednesday, officials said Tuesday, dispelling concerns about South Korea-US relations. Abrams, who is also commander of the Combined Forces Command, will be the highest-ranking US official to attend the eighth edition of the Seoul Defense Dialogue. The US had earlier declined the South Korean Defense Ministry’s request for the attendance of an assistant

North Korea revised its constitution Thursday to further solidify its leader Kim Jong-un’s authority during its rubber-stamp parliamentary session.The second session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly convened Thursday and “made some amendments and supplements to the Socialist Constitution,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. This included a stipulation about the status of the chairman of the State Affairs Commission, a position held by Kim.Kim

Police on Thursday questioned Yang Hyun-suk, former chief of YG Entertainment, over allegations of overseas gambling and solicitation of sex services for foreign investors.Yang is suspected of gambling in hotel casinos in Las Vegas, and violating foreign exchange rules by borrowing US dollars in the US to gamble and paying it back in Korean won at home. Korea prohibits gambling by its nationals even in countries where it is legal.Police grilled Seungri, a former member of boy band Big Bang, for