Gov't to look into corporate 'shrinkflation' practices amid public outcry

The finance ministry said Friday that the government will look into cases of companies reducing the quantity of their products while freezing prices without consumers' knowledge due to mounting public complaints against such practices amid high inflation. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan announced the plan during a weekly vice-ministerial meeting on inflation, saying that those "shrinkflation" practices "are far from fair and the government takes the matter very se

Nov. 17, 2023

Yoon, Kishida voice hope for closer cooperation between S. Korea, Japan

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida voiced hope for closer cooperation between their countries as they met on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Thursday. The two leaders met at a hotel in San Francisco, marking their seventh summit this year as Seoul and Tokyo have been pushing to mend badly frayed ties following the Yoon administration's decision in March to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced lab

Nov. 17, 2023

PPP proposes special bill to merge Gimpo into Seoul

The ruling People Power Party proposed a special bill aimed at merging the satellite city of Gimpo into the country's capital of Seoul on Thursday. The bill was proposed by Rep. Chung Kyoung-tae, the head of the PPP's special committee on the new city project, and co-signed by other party lawmakers, including party leader Kim Gi-hyeon. The PPP plans to process the legislation by the end of the parliament's session next year. If the bill is passed at the National Assembly, it will

Nov. 16, 2023

New third parties in works to court floating voters

As the 2024 general election looms, new third parties are emerging in Seoul as potential challengers to the established parties. The nascent third parties say they are launching their bids to challenge the country’s two major political parties -- the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea -- and to woo a considerable niche of voters who identify as independents. According to polls, support for the two main parties is hardly 50 to 50, with around a quart

Nov. 16, 2023

Yoon proposes APEC scientist exchange to weather global crises

President Yoon Suk Yeol has proposed a new initiative to spur exchanges between young scientists from member nations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in a bid to promote regional growth and combat complex global challenges, according to Yoon's office on Thursday. Yoon suggested what is tentatively dubbed the "Youth Scientist Exchange Initiative," aimed at offering visa waivers to those who hold science-related academic degrees within the APEC region and allowing them to sa

Nov. 16, 2023

Yoon calls for enhancing connectivity of world economy with APEC at center

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called Wednesday for enhancing the connectivity of the world economy in areas that include trade and supply chains, with the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum at its center. Yoon issued the call during a keynote speech delivered at the APEC CEO Summit in San Francisco, shortly after he arrived in the city for the APEC leaders' summit. "Today the world economy is once again faced with an enormous challenge. The strength of connection is we

Nov. 16, 2023

Yoon arrives in US for APEC, seeks Asia-Pacific supply chain resilience

President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in San Francisco to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' week there on Wednesday. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee disembarked on Air Force One at the San Francisco International Airport at 7:41 a.m. Accompanying the South Korean delegation were Cho Tae-yong, director of the presidential National Security Office, and Choi Sang-mok, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs. The delegation was greeted by South Korean Foreign Minister

Nov. 16, 2023

Yoon says Koreans in San Francisco played large role in developing S. Korea-US alliance

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday praised Korean residents in San Francisco for playing a large role in developing the alliance between South Korea and the United States. Yoon met with a group of around 150 Koreans living in the city shortly after arriving here to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. "The history of the development of the South Korea-US alliance is equivalent to the history of the development of the Korean community in the United States,"

Nov. 16, 2023

In France, PM rallies support in final push for Busan Expo 2030

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo made a final push to woo support for South Korea to host the World Expo 2023 during his trip to Paris, his office said Wednesday. The prime minister, who was in Paris from Sunday, met with 61 representatives from 50 countries to ask them to back Busan, the South Korean port city bidding to be host of the expo, with the vote less than two weeks away. “Unlike sporting events like the Olympics where countries compete for medals, expositions shou

Nov. 15, 2023

Yoon heads to US for APEC, possible meeting with Xi

President Yoon Suk Yeol left for San Francisco on Wednesday to attend the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member countries amid expectations building for a possible meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yoon's participation in the 21-member APEC summit came at a time when an arms deal between North Korea and Russia is becoming a headache to South Korea and its allies. Yoon is likely to address the deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, in an attempt to turn attent

Nov. 15, 2023

Bill seeks to let South Korea list Hamas as foreign terrorist before UN

Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the ruling People Power Party said Wednesday he submitted a bill allowing the South Korean government to place groups and individuals on the foreign terrorist list in the absence of a United Nations designation. Ha said the proposed amendment to the laws on counter-terrorism would let the prime minister, whose role is largely administrative and ceremonial, designate Hamas as a terrorist organization without having to wait for a designation by the UN. Hamas is an Islamist mil

Nov. 15, 2023

[Up close in Yeouido] Spy-turned-lawmaker on why NIS needs reforming

Since its establishment in 1961 as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has not only collected intelligence on cases related to North Korea, but also investigated them. Come January, the South’s most important intelligence headquarters will be barred from investigating cases related to North Korea. Rep. Kim Byung-kee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, a former high-ranking official at the NIS, says prohibiting the intellig

Nov. 14, 2023

Ruling party reform committee under pressure to disband

South Korean ruling party’s reform committee is facing the possibility of an early disbandment amid an internal backlash over its unpopular demands. The People Power Party’s reform committee was formed on Oct. 26 to lay out a vision for realigning the party for the 2024 general election, and headed by a party outsider -- Yohan Ihn, a third-generation descendant of a US missionary who gave humanitarian aid during Japanese colonial times. Ihn has announced a series of reform measures i

Nov. 14, 2023

Seoul hosts ICC seminar highlighting role of Asia-Pacific in international justice

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice on Tuesday held a high-level seminar with the International Criminal Court to mark the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute -- the founding treaty of The Hague-based war crimes court. The regional seminar, held under the theme of the “ICC and the Asia-Pacific: past, present and future of the Rome Statute -- vision for the greater regional solidarity,” was hosted in Seoul by the Justice Ministry and the Supreme Court on Nov. 14-1

Nov. 14, 2023

Yoon says short selling ban necessary to protect retail investors

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday defended Seoul financial regulators' recent decision to reimpose a ban on short selling in the South Korean stock market through June 2024, saying the ban is necessary to protect retail investors. The remarks came as the government is intensifying its fight against illegal short sellers, blaming them for the recent bearish trend in the stock market, and instead appealing to individual investors, with about five months to go until the general elections for

Nov. 14, 2023

PPP begins YouTube filibuster against DP's passage of contentious bills

The ruling People Power Party launched an online filibuster Monday to protest the passage of four controversial bills through the opposition-controlled National Assembly. On Thursday, the Assembly passed revisions to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act and three other bills on broadcasting laws, as PPP lawmakers boycotted the votes in protest. The PPP had planned to use a filibuster to block the passage, but later decided not to proceed in order to not give the DP a chance to pass

Nov. 13, 2023

Yoon meets International Criminal Court chief

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Piotr Hofmanski, chief of the International Criminal Court, on Monday to discuss ways for South Korea to cooperate with the ICC in promoting the international criminal justice system, Yoon's office said. During the meeting, Yoon stressed that South Korea "strongly supports the rules-based international order of freedom, human rights and the rule of law," and that it will continue to cooperate with the ICC to realize international criminal justice a

Nov. 13, 2023

China-made phony news sites spreading pro-Beijing propaganda in South Korea: NIS

South Korea’s spy service suspects Chinese agencies are behind the operation of fake websites posing as well-known South Korean news outlets to spread propaganda. The National Intelligence Service said Monday that Chinese press relations agencies Haimai and Haixun created phishing websites that look like websites of news outlets here and then generated a series of stories it said are “pro-China” and “anti-US." Some of the examples of the stories circulated by the pho

Nov. 13, 2023

Talks begin in Korea for easing 52-hour weekly work cap

South Korea is likely to begin a trilateral discussion on the 52-hour weekly work cap, with the government moving to resume talks as the labor umbrella union returns to the dialogue for the first time in five months. The discussion will include the government's latest proposal on allowing exceptions to the legally set maximum of 52 hours of work per week. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Monday that employers may be given more flexibility in arranging the work schedules on a weekly

Nov. 13, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Tackling poor construction practices, promoting SME carbon neutrality

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Construction Technology Promotion Act Proposed by Rep. Heo Jong-sik (Democratic Party of Korea) ● The recent collapse of an underground parking lot has brought to attention the need to remedy poor construction practices. This amendment reinforces the liability of constructors for managing the quality of construction projects by making the appropriateness examination for quality management mandatory by law and requiring the documentation of such examination

Nov. 13, 2023