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[ED] Internal power struggle stirs up DPK
Editorial

ED Internal power struggle stirs up DPK

Politics and elections in Korea can often be dynamic. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is coming apart at the seams even after it won 12 of the 16 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial races. Its approval ratings dipped to 38 percent, surprisingly tailing the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) for the first time since President Lee Jae Myung took office. The president's approval ratings dropped to 51.5 percent, according to a Realmeter survey conducted in the second week of June and announced Monday, while another poll conducted by Jowon C&I showed Lee's approval rate at 47.7 percent, the lowest since he took the presidency. Factional strife may be at work in the DPK. The arrogance of the liberal ruling party, with its current grip on the government and the legislature, leaves it unable to read the sentiment brewing and spreading among young voters. DPK leader Jung Chung-rae is in a tough spot, with the party losing the critical Seoul mayoral race during the June 3 local elections. The president has suggested that Jung take responsibility, saying on social media Sunday

3 MIN READ
MZ Generation's politics
Opinion

MZ Generation's politics

Thousands of Koreans protested in Seoul to demand a revote after a shortage of ballots in the June 3 local elections restricted some people, including youths, from voting. The election was the first nationwide vote since President Lee Jae Myung took office following the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose 2024 martial law bid led to his impeachment. President Lee Jae Myung has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the ballot shortage. Young people in different countries, from Seoul to Kathmandu, react in surprisingly similar ways when the system fails them. In Korea, millennials and Generation Z — commonly referred to as the MZ Generation — have grown up with high speed internet, economic pressure and skepticism of older political elites. When polling stations ran out of ballots recently, many young voters protested on social media. They organized quick grassroots checks. Some filed formal complaints. This was not a riot. It was civil resistance. Recent youth protests in Nepal, initially triggered by anger over a brief government ban on social media, were fueled by

2 MIN READBy Brabim Karki
Fake news: Paradox of democracy
Opinion

Fake news: Paradox of democracy

Korea was once regarded as one of Asia’s most remarkable success stories. Having endured Cold War division, authoritarian rule and a difficult transition to democracy, it came to symbolize the possibility that political freedom and economic prosperity could advance together. Today, however, Korea has entered an age of deep distrust. Public debate has become increasingly polarized. Questions surrounding the integrity of electoral administration continue to fuel public controversy and deepen political distrust. Trust in the media, the judiciary and public institutions has weakened. How can democratic debate function when citizens no longer trust the same institutions or even agree on the same basic facts? In many respects, that may be the most serious challenge facing Korean democracy today. The government has identified false and manipulated information as a serious threat to democracy and has moved toward stronger regulation. The revised Information and Communications Network Act, scheduled to take effect in July, includes penalties for the circulation of false or manipulated informat

4 MIN READBy Park Jung-won

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Today in History

FRIDAY, June 19, 2026

1306-The Earl of Pembroke's army defeats Robert the Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methven 1829-Robert Peel introduces the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 into Parliament to establish a unified police force for London, the city's first modern police force 1862-Slavery is outlawed in U.S. territories 1865-Union General Gordon Granger declares slaves free in Texas, now the date the end of slavery is celebrated across the U.S. as Juneteenth 1944-Day one of the two-day Battle of the Philippine Sea, U.S. naval forces defeat the Japanese fleet in World War II 1991-Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar surrenders to police

2h ago
Tribune Service

Missouri's costly cut to young readers

When it comes to preparing young children for successful lives, few factors weigh more heavily than early reading. A Harvard Graduate School of Education study found that reading to children starting very early — even as babies — gives them measurable advantages later over those who don’t have that exposure. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that “reading together with infants and young children … lays the groundwork for school readiness and long-term benefits throughout life.” Providing kids with that early benefit is surely even more crucial in a state like Missouri, with its chronically underfunded and underperforming education system. Yet, in the latest stark illustration of the skewed priorities of our state’s leaders, Missouri’s new budget guts a nationally lauded, modestly priced book-gifting program for young kids to achieve $4 million in savings — an inconsequential sum in the state’s bigger budget picture. Gov. Mike Kehoe and the Legislature can and must undo this shortsighted mistake. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a renowned program that

5h ago
Tribune Service

Ukraine’s cheap drones and combat robots offer hope for the good guys

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Washington and Europe expected a quick Russian victory. Russia’s population was more than three times that of Ukraine, its military four times larger and gross domestic product 10 times bigger. The power imbalance was just too great. That Russia was entirely in the wrong meant little. Any realist would tell you Ukraine would fall. Then President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to flee, and Russia couldn’t take Kyiv. Observers decided that Ukraine just might be able to stave off defeat, as long as generous U.S. military assistance kept coming. Ukraine faced steep losses but stayed in the fight. Then Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency in January 2025. He had spent years blaming Ukraine for being invaded and covering for Vladimir Putin’s war crimes, so it now seemed inevitable that U.S. support would end and Ukraine would lose. U.S. assistance nearly dried up, and Trump pressed Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms. Observers in Washington and European capitals began to debate exactly how much territory Uk

6h agoBy Elizabeth Shackelford
Ukraine’s cheap drones and combat robots offer hope for the good guys
Min Seong-jae

Problem of combating fake news in a globalized world

Korea has engineered some of the most stringent anti-fake news measures among the world's democracies. Recent revisions to election laws impose severe fines and prison terms on those who create or distribute political deepfakes during election campaigns. Other legislation allows courts to impose substantial punitive damages on those who deliberately spread false information. In addition, Korea's long-standing defamation laws punish individuals who disseminate false information that harms others' reputations and, in some cases, even truthful statements deemed damaging. These laws target not only organizations but also individual creators and distributors of misinformation. Together, they reflect Korea's broader willingness to regulate harmful information that threatens the healthy functioning of democracy. Given the seriousness of misinformation in modern society, such laws are understandable and, in many respects, necessary. During elections, false information can distort public understanding, manipulate voters and undermine trust in democratic institutions. Yet these measures have al

22h agoBy Min Seong-jae
Problem of combating fake news in a globalized world
Today in History

THURSDAY, June 18, 2026

618-Coronation of Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries of Tang Dynasty rule over China 1812-War of 1812 begins when the US declares war against Britain 1815-Battle of Waterloo: Napoleon Bonaparte and France are defeated by British forces under the Duke of Wellington and Prussian troops under Field Marshal von Blücher 1928-American aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean (as a passenger), landing at Burry Port, Wales 1940-Winston Churchill gives his "This was their finest hour" speech to the House of Commons, urging perseverance in the war after the Dunkirk evacuation and the fall of France 1973-Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev visits the US and President Nixon 1983-Space shuttle Challenger 2 launches the first American woman into space, astronaut Sally Ride 2010-"Recovery" 7th studio album by Eminem is released (best selling album worldwide 2010)

1d ago
Thoughts of the Times

How should we live in an age of anxiety and exhaustion?

Alexis de Tocqueville once observed a peculiar melancholy lingering amid abundance. Nearly two centuries later, his insight feels relevant to contemporary Korea. Recently, I came across a social media post titled, “I love Korea, but I also dislike Korea.” It captured a familiar tension — affection for the warmth of "jeong" and the efficiency of everyday life, alongside discomfort with a culture marked by sharp competition, status-consciousness and the quiet normalization of social indifference. Beneath Korea’s success lies a question many are asking: What kind of society have we become? For generations, Koreans pursued self-improvement with determination, seeing hard work and discipline as pathways to dignity and social mobility. Yet beneath this achievement lies a persistent anxiety about inequality, insecurity and the future. These pressures shape institutions but also what sociologist Robert Bellah described as the moral and cultural dispositions that quietly guide how people think, value and relate to one another. In the Korean context, cultural critic Jin Joong-kwon identif

1d agoBy Chang Se-myeong
How should we live in an age of anxiety and exhaustion?
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