President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday approved his nomination of Cho Hee-dae as the new chief justice of South Korea's top court, ending the rare, monthslong judiciary leadership vacuum. Yoon's approval came hours after the National Assembly voted 264-18 for the nomination of Cho, who was formerly a Supreme Court justice until his retirement in 2020. Cho passed the parliament's confirmation hearing earlier this week. Cho, 66, will take office on Monday. A chief justice normally serves six years in a

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2023

Cho Min, daughter of ex-Justice Minister Cho Kuk, on Friday attended the first hearing for her trial on forgery charges in a college admissions scandal. Cho told reporters she would "faithfully engage in her trial" and declined to comment further, as she appeared at the Seoul Central District Court. The 32-year-old, who was trained as a physician, is accused of fabricating her own credentials when she applied for an undergraduate degree at Korea University and another at Pusan National

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2023

Song Young-gil, former chair of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, on Friday denied allegations of illegal campaigning before a 2021 ballot where he was elected the party chairman, as well as separate bribery allegations. The prosecution is now seeking criminal charges against the 60-year-old, who was a five-term lawmaker. He has not been indicted for the allegations. Song said he would exercise his right to remain silent during the interrogation, in a show of resistance to what he c

Politics Dec. 8, 2023

South Korea is working to host a trilateral summit with the United States and Japan, according to an official of Seoul's presidential office on Thursday. The trilateral summit would be a follow-up to a three-way meeting in August at Camp David, the US presidential retreat in Maryland, the official said on condition of anonymity. "The Camp David Principle stipulates an agreement of the three leaders to hold a regular summit on a yearly basis," the official said. "We have been

Politics Dec. 7, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol's upcoming state visit to the Netherlands will lay the groundwork for the new chip alliance with the country, a semiconductor industry powerhouse home to the world's sole extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment supplier, to enable the production of more sophisticated microchips, according to the presidential office, Thursday. Yoon's state visit to the Netherlands, upon the invitation of King Willem-Alexander from Monday to Thursday, could "magnify bi

Politics Dec. 7, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol was selected as one of the 71 most stylish people of 2023 by US newspaper The New York Times on Wednesday local time, for his rendition of the US folk rock song "American Pie" at the White House dinner in April which ended on a high note. "His pitch-perfect performance of 'American Pie' at the White House was worthy of 'American Idol,'" noted the NYT's Styles desk, with a reference to US singer-songwriter Don McLean's cl

Politics Dec. 7, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday reiterated his push for Busan's infrastructure development in his visit to South Korea's second-most-populous city, in an apparent attempt to appease Busan residents' sentiment after the port city's failed bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Yoon told some 100 Busan residents that he would work to open a new international airport on the small islet of Gadeok-do near Busan's ports, relocate the state-run Korea Development Bank's headquarters from Seoul to Busan a

Politics Dec. 6, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday nominated Kim Hong-il, the incumbent chief of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, as the head of the Korea Communications Commission, the state broadcasting watchdog. Kim, who joined the prosecution in 1982, was Yoon's boss in the early 2010s when the two worked at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Kim quit his job at the prosecution in 2013. He has been leading the anti-corruption watchdog since July. Kim is set to go through a confirma

Politics Dec. 6, 2023

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it has teamed up with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to provide portable personal safety devices to some 10,000 potential victims of gender-based violence. The set of devices was unveiled by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, at a ceremony held on Tuesday at Seoul Square. Police arrived less than four minutes after Oh activated the alerting device, according to Oh's office. Th

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol replaced six ministers on Monday, in an apparent move to set free current Cabinet members seeking to run in the April general elections and to seek fresh momentum in his leadership. It was the biggest reshuffle of the Cabinet since Yoon's term began in May 2022, with economic affairs firmly in focus. Yoon named Choi Sang-mok, former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, to succeed Choo Kyung-ho as the new deputy prime minister and minister of finance. Choi,

Politics Dec. 4, 2023

Proposed bill: Special Act on the Transition of Elevated Metro Lines Including Line 1 of Seoul to Underground Lines Proposed by Rep. Lee In-young (Democratic Party of Korea) ● Elevated railways, such as Seoul Subway Line 1, are perceived to be the cause of noise pollution and safety issues. This bill aims to facilitate the implementation of projects to transform elevated railways into underground railways by establishing a dedicated organization and offering subsidies, loans and other incentives

Politics Dec. 4, 2023

Kim Soo-kyung, President Yoon Suk Yeol's unification secretary, will serve as the new presidential spokesperson starting from Monday, according to Yoon's office on Sunday. Kim will replace Lee Do-woon, who was nominated to be senior presidential secretary for public relations. She joined the presidential office as the unification secretary in July. Born in Seoul, the 47-year-old was formerly a journalist at the Dong-A Ilbo vernacular and a researcher at the Korea Institute for National

Politics Dec. 3, 2023

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday announced it would launch autonomous overnight buses for a pilot run beginning Monday. The Seoul Autonomous Night Bus pilot run will include two buses that travel 9.8 kilometers between Hapjeong Station in western Seoul to Dongdaemun Station in eastern Seoul between 11:30 p.m. and 5:10 a.m. Starting Monday, the buses will operate at an interval of 70 minutes at each stop across a total of 40 stops, and will pass through the Hongdae neighborhood and th

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2023

Day laborers and low-income earners in South Korea feel that they have a high chance of dying alone and remaining unnoticed for days, compared to peers with regular jobs earning higher incomes, a survey showed Sunday. Those employed and paid daily without a regular job feared they would have an average 41.8 percent chance of suffering a "lonely death," compared to 28.6 percent for those with regular jobs, according to data from a survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Af

Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol revived the presidential office for policy which he ditched last year and replaced all of his senior secretaries, effective on Monday, the presidential office announced Thursday. Yoon promoted Lee Kwan-sup, the incumbent senior presidential secretary in charge of state affairs coordination, to become the first chief presidential secretary for policy in Yoon's term. Yoon abolished the post to reduce the team of presidential advisers upon his inauguration in May 2022.

Politics Nov. 30, 2023