Complaints grow over pitfalls, trash problem of 'excessive' political banners

Hardline stance provides political momentum for ex-prosecutor as he attempts to tame 'corrupt' unions; but critics say it shouldn't be unilateral

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government on Tuesday to review its proposed reform of the 52-hour workweek system by paying particular close attention to the opinions of young generations, his office said. Under the reform measures announced by the labor ministry last week, companies will be allowed to increase the maximum weekly work hours to 69 while keeping the average work hours with...

President Yoon Suk Yeol and the freshly elected chairperson of the ruling People Power Party, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, will meet twice a month. Yoon hosted Kim and the rest of the new People Power Party leadership for dinner at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Monday to celebrate their election at the party convention last week. Over the private dinner, the president and the part...

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed officials to come up with projects aimed at bolstering relations with Japan, ahead of the two-day summit starting Thursday with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo. The push for closer ties is meant to foster a “future-oriented Seoul-Tokyo relationship,” Yoon’s office said Monday. Yoon’s remarks came at a time when South Korea is looking to use the recent thaw in...

Ahead of summit, main opposition party goes on offensive against Yoon's compensation plan for wartime forced labor victims

Similar desecration of grave sites has also been claimed by relatives of other would-be presidents. The tomb of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s grandfather was also claimed to have been defaced with human excrement, knives and a lock of hair in May 2021, but the case remained uninspected, as the police were not able to find the alleged evidence. There was another fuss in 1999 over metal stakes spotte...

Rep. Lee Chul-gyu will be named the ruling People Power Party's new secretary general, officials said Monday, as the party fills key posts with those close to President Yoon Suk Yeol after Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon was elected new leader last week. Reps. Park Seong-min and Bae Hyun-jin, who are also considered part of the pro-Yoon faction, will take over as vice secretary-general for strategic planning,...

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating fell to 38.9 percent, dropping below 40 percent for the first time in four weeks, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 2,508 adults conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance declined 4 percentage points from the previous week. The figure had stayed in the low 40 percent range for three straight ...

SEONGNAM, South Korea -- A former chief of staff to opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who was found dead in an apparent suicide, urged the Democratic Party (DP) chair to quit politics in his suicide note, informed officials said Friday. The deceased, surnamed Jeon, is also said to have complained about being investigated by prosecutors in connection with Lee's corruption allegations. Jeon had se...

Former National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon pushed to repatriate two North Korean men who attempted to defect to the South in a bid to restore ties with Pyongyang, according to Seoul prosecutors. In an indictment released Thursday, prosecutors said that then-NIS director Suh ordered the two fishers from North Korea to be sent back, going against the policy that requires any decision t...

Parliamentary speakers from MIKTA -- an informal middle power partnership between Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Austria – gathered in Istanbul on Thursday and issued a joint declaration making a case for strengthening the role of parliaments. In the declaration, speakers highlighted the importance of national parliaments in diplomacy in the face of the complex security challenges. T...

President Yoon Suk Yeol doubled down on bolstering extended deterrence, a US pledge to use all resources including nuclear weapons to deter and respond to attacks on its allies, amid deepening Seoul-Washington ties to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats The two allies are pursuing a more united front on Pyongyang, as they return to full-scale military exercises Monday following a five-year hia...

The key part of Choi’s plans to improve Anyang involves technology. “These (plans) would include building an AI big data analysis platform to create safer school zones,” he said. He added he would attract more companies to base their headquarters in the city. Last year, Anyang secured a total of 3.7 billion won in financial incentives by winning 66 awards and accepting 104 applications. Choi s...

The first message from the ruling People Power Party’s freshly elected leaders highlighted stronger ties with other democracies, most notably Japan, with which the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration is determined to mend relations. Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, who won the chairpersonship with 52.9 percent of the votes from registered party members, said in a first meeting of the new party leaders o...