Korea Times Finance Reporter
Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
The ruling People Power Party's (PPP) abrupt proposal to relocate the National Assembly from Seoul to the adminstrative town of Sejong has been met with skepticism by observers, who view it as a move to salvage the party's falling approval ratings with an attention-grabbing yet hardly-feasible agenda.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) swiftly retracted its plan to display political banners likening its rival Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to "pro-North Korean forces" Tuesday, following concerns among some of its members that its campaign tactics would not resonate with voters.
The visit of ruling People Power Party (PPP) interim leader Han Dong-hoon to former President Park Geun-hye, primarily aimed at rallying support from conservative voters amid its declining support rate, may potentially lead to the alienation of centrist voters as his courtesy call to the impeached leader may not resonate well with the public, according to political observers.
Rival parties have clashed over the idea of revoking the voting rights of foreign residents, a move pursued by the conservative ruling People Power Party (PPP) specifically targeting Chinese nationals.
Korean Ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-sup has temporarily returned home to attend a rare meeting of envoys set for Monday. However, with the government providing scant information about the meeting's details such as location and attendees, speculation is mounting that the event was hastily arranged to accommodate Lee's return. Additionally, local defense firms are under pressure to prepare for unexpected visits by Lee and other envoys.
Convicted child rapist Cho Doo-soon has been placed behind bars again after receiving a three-month jail term, Wednesday, for breaking his court-mandated curfew.
Recent remarks by senior U.S. officials indicating a readiness to consider taking "interim steps" toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula do not signify a major policy shift by the U.S. government, observers said, with some linking the Americans' softened rhetoric on Pyongyang to the upcoming presidential elections.
Workers wash the windows of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday, the first day of the airport's annual spring cleaning activities. Over the next two weeks, approximately 200 employees will clean major facilities of the airport, including some 10,000 windows that cover a surface area of 220,000 square meters. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
A feud between the government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) appears to be spreading to the party's selection of proportional representation candidates, with figures close to President Yoon Suk Yeol complaining about perceived favoritism toward those aligned with the party's interim leader Han Dong-hoon.