Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers face loyalty test as court rules to jail leader

A rift appears to be forming within the Democratic Party of Korea after a Seoul court sentenced party leader and previous presidential candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung to a suspended jail term Friday for election law violations. The Democratic Party has officially denied that Lee’s conviction -- which, if confirmed by higher courts, could cost him his legislative seat -- would divide the party or necessitate a leadership shake-up. The party’s secretary-general, Rep. Kim Yun-duck, told re

Nov. 17, 2024

South Korean delegation in Peru to promote APEC 2025 Korea

A South Korean delegation preparing for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2025 is in Peru, abuzz with gatherings of leaders from 21 economies around the Pacific. The delegation includes Rep. Kim Seok-ki, the three-time lawmaker of Gyeongju where next year’s APEC meetings will be hosted, and its mayor Joo Nak-yong. Lee Cheol-woo, the governor of North Gyeongsang Province, which houses Gyeongju, also went. According to the ruling party lawmaker’s office, the delegation visited Peru to

Nov. 17, 2024

US, Korea urge China to act on NK troop deployment

The leaders of South Korea and the United States, respectively, urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to act to address the deepening concerns arising from North Korea's troop deployment to the Russia-Ukraine war, which is nearing its three-year mark. On Saturday local time, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in a briefing in Lima, Peru, that US President Joe Biden had pressured Xi in a meeting that same day to stop North Korea from continuing its military support to Rus

Nov. 17, 2024

Yoon says military cooperation between N. Korea, Russia aimed at maintaining leaders' power

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has said North Korea and Russia are "colluding" on military cooperation to maintain their leaders' grip on power, according to an interview published Friday. Yoon, who is in Lima to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, made the remark in a written interview with Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, after Seoul's spy agency confirmed North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia's Kursk region on the western frontline have

Nov. 15, 2024

Suspended prison term puts opposition leader’s Assembly seat, candidacy at risk

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was handed a suspended one-year prison sentence Friday for allegedly making false statements during the 2022 presidential campaign -- a ruling that, if upheld, could cost him his parliamentary seat and derail his presidential ambitions. Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and a prominent likely contender in South Korea’s 2027 presidential race, announced plans to appeal the ruling, saying the court’s conclusions were “n

Nov. 15, 2024

Yoon arrives in Peru to attend APEC summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Peru on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and meet world leaders to discuss security and economic issues. On Friday, Yoon will deliver a keynote speech as South Korea prepares to host next year's APEC summit and join the main session and CEO summit. On the same day, Yoon is scheduled to hold a trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the margins of the summit. On Saturday, he

Nov. 15, 2024

Yoon, Biden, Ishiba to discuss 'coordinated' response to NK troop dispatch to Russia: Sullivan

The upcoming trilateral summit between South Korea, the United States and Japan in Peru will be a chance for the three countries to discuss a "coordinated" response to North Korea's troop dispatch to support Russia's war in Ukraine, a senior US security official said Thursday. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the remarks as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba are set to hold a trilateral summit on

Nov. 15, 2024

Opposition leader set for sentence on election law violation charges

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is set to be sentenced Friday on charges of lying during the previous presidential campaign when he was a candidate, a decision that will affect whether he can run in the next presidential election in 2027. Lee, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is accused of lying during a media interview in December 2021 that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, a former executive of Seongnam Development Corp., which was behind a corruption-ridden development

Nov. 15, 2024

Opposition leader's wife fined for election law violations

A regional court on Thursday fined the wife of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung 1.5 million won ($1,070) for providing free meals during her husband's run in the party primary to select the candidate for the 2022 presidential election. Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee, was indicted after providing meals worth 104,000 won to the wives of three former and current party lawmakers and three of her aides at a restaurant in Seoul in August 2021, shortly after Lee declar

Nov. 14, 2024

S. Korean consul general in New York offers to resign amid speculation over his ties to first lady

South Korea's consul general in New York has offered to step down amid growing criticism from the opposition party in Seoul over his personal ties to first lady Kim Keon Hee. In a statement released to media on Wednesday (New York time), Kim Euy-whan said he had already submitted his resignation to the foreign ministry on Oct. 26, following the parliamentary audit where he came under intense scrutiny from opposition party lawmakers. Kim denied that his connection to the first lady was the r

Nov. 14, 2024

Delivery platform commissions to be lowered next year following talks

Delivery platforms and their partnered restaurants reached an agreement Thursday on reducing controversial commission fees to 2 to 7.8 percent from the current 9.8 percent starting next year, officials said. The decision came in the 12th round of a meeting held by a government consultative body overseeing the discussions, attended by representatives from Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, as well as smaller competitors Coupang Eats and Yogiyo, along with small business owners registered with these platfo

Nov. 14, 2024

Bill passed to compensate for damage from North Korean trash balloons

South Koreans who suffered damage from trash-filled balloons launched by North Korea will now be eligible for compensation. The National Assembly on Thursday passed changes to the laws on civil defense to allow the victims of damage caused by North Korea's trash balloons to seek compensation from the government. Under the revised laws, the government can provide partial or full compensation for those who suffered harm to their health or property as a result of the North Korean balloons. Nor

Nov. 14, 2024

Undercover probes of digital sex crimes permitted

South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday passed a revision to permit undercover investigations of digital sex crimes targeting adults, in a move to curb the spread of deepfake sexual images rampant online. At a plenary session of the 300-member National Assembly, the bill to revise the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes earned 272 votes in favor out of 273 lawmakers present. The bill expands the range of undercover police investigations from those targeting childr

Nov. 14, 2024

Bill to probe first lady passes again

A bill to appoint a special counsel to investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife Kim Keon Hee passed the National Assembly on Thursday. All 191 lawmakers present voted to pass the bill, which was tabled by the opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The entire ruling People Power Party abstained from casting a ballot. This was the third time a bill for a special counsel to investigate the first lady has been put to vote at the Assembly. The last two times the bill passed, the president veto

Nov. 14, 2024

[Security Forum] What US election watchers in Seoul missed about Trump

Cho Byung-jae, former chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy for training diplomats, says many watchers of the US presidential election in Seoul were caught off guard by Donald Trump’s victory because of a failure to grasp shifts in US conservatism. He was speaking at the Security Forum 2024 co-hosted by The Korea Herald at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. “Most election forecasts got it wrong this time again, like how they got it wrong in 2016 and then in 20

Nov. 14, 2024

[Security Forum] 'Korea-US alliance is never a tradable asset'

United States President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House next year signals the possibility that parts of the South Korea-US alliance or regional security-related matters could be negotiated away. South Korea must brace for any attempt by Trump to do so, even when dealing with nuclear-armed North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un, said Chung Duck-koo, founder and chair of Seoul-based think tank North East Asia Research Foundation, on Wednesday. "The Korea-US alliance is ne

Nov. 14, 2024

Yoon leaves for APEC summit; set for trilateral talks Friday

President Yoon Suk Yeol left South Korea on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, or APEC summit, in Lima, Peru, later this week. Lima will be the first stop of Yoon's first official visit to South America since he was inaugurated in May 2022. After attending the APEC summit, Yoon will fly to Rio de Janeiro for the Group of 20 summit. Yoon boarded Air Force One at 11:48 a.m. at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. In attendance were the ruling People Power Par

Nov. 14, 2024

Top court finalizes suspended prison term for ex-lawmaker in embezzlement case

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's suspended prison sentence for former lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang convicted of embezzling funds donated to help support women who were forced into wartime sexual slavery by Japan during World War II. The top court confirmed the Seoul High Court's 1 1/2-year prison term, suspended for three years, delivered to Youn in September last year, saying the verdict did not contain any errors or misunderstanding of the legal principles. The top cou

Nov. 14, 2024

Yoon set to depart for Peru to attend APEC summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to depart for Peru on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, with an eye on a possible meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump during the South America trip. Yoon will travel to Peru from Thursday to Friday for the APEC summit and head to Brazil on Sunday for the Group of 20 (G20) summit slated for the next two days. He plans to use the diplomatic stage to pledge South Korea's active role in global issues and call for internation

Nov. 14, 2024

Yoon to hold trilateral summit with Biden, Ishiba on sidelines of APEC in Peru

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will hold a trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru this week, according to Yoon's office and the White House. Yoon is set to depart for Lima on Thursday with the trilateral meeting scheduled for Friday, his office said. The three countries have pushed for the leaders' meeting to build on the progress in three-way cooperation sinc

Nov. 14, 2024