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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Single candidacy could boost conservatives’ chances in Busan, survey shows

A by-election for a parliamentary seat in Busan, to be held alongside the local elections on June 3, is drawing keen attention for fielding heavyweight candidates, including a former senior presidential aide from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a former minister from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and a former PPP leader who was expelled from the party. The focus is on whether the PPP candidate and former PPP leader will decide on a single candidacy for a united conservative front against the DPK contender, who is leading opinion polls. The race for Busan’s Buk-A constituency has taken shape, featuring Ha Jung-woo of the DPK, a former secretary for artificial intelligence (AI) and future planning hand-picked by President Lee Jae Myung; Park Min-shik of the PPP, a veterans affairs minister during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and former lawmaker for the district; and Han Dong-hoon, a high-profile independent running as a former justice minister under Yoon and former leader of the PPP. Ha, a Busan native, has led recent polls since securing his nomination, f

May 17, 2026By Park Ji-won
Single candidacy could boost conservatives’ chances in Busan, survey shows

PM warns of possible emergency arbitration if Samsung Electronics strike causes damage

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Sunday welcomed the planned resumption of dialogue between Samsung Electronics and its labor union amid a looming strike, while warning that the government will consider every possible measure, including emergency arbitration, to minimize potential damage to the national economy. Kim made the remarks in a public statement addressed to the nation, as labor and management have decided to resume government-led mediation talks Monday, just four days ahead of a planned walkout. The two sides have remained widely divided over performance-based bonuses tied to the company's earnings from the artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductor business, and the company's largest labor union plans to begin the 18-day strike starting Thursday. "The government sincerely welcomes the decision to resume dialogue," Kim said. "Monday's negotiations are effectively the last opportunity to prevent a strike. Both labor and management must never take the gravity of this meeting lightly." Noting that a possible strike could cause serious damage to the national economy, Kim said

May 17, 2026By Yonhap
PM warns of possible emergency arbitration if Samsung Electronics strike causes damage

513 uncontested candidates selected ahead of June 3 local elections

A total of 513 candidates, including three local government heads, have been selected without a vote as they ran unopposed ahead of the June 3 local elections, the election watchdog said Saturday. For the upcoming elections, 307 electoral districts will not hold a primary vote due to uncontested races or insufficient candidates, according to the National Election Commission. The three local government chiefs selected without a vote are Kim I-gang, head of the southwestern city of Gwangju's Seo ward, Kim Byung-nae, chief of Gwangju's Nam ward, and Lim Byeong-taek, mayor of Siheung, just south of Seoul. All three candidates are members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Gwangju is widely considered as a DPK stronghold. In the case of Siheung, the main opposition People Power Party failed to field a candidate amid a lack of prospective nominees. The other 510 candidates are local council members. Meanwhile, a total of 7,829 candidates have registered for the upcoming elections after two days of registrations through Friday, according to the election watchdog. Up for grabs in the Ju

May 16, 2026By Yonhap
513 uncontested candidates selected ahead of June 3 local elections

Gap narrows between ruling, main opposition parties ahead of local elections: poll

The gap in the approval ratings for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) remains considerably wide, though it continued to narrow this week, a poll showed Friday, with less than three weeks left before the June 3 local elections. According to the survey conducted Tuesday through Thursday by Gallup Korea on 1,011 people aged 18 and older, support for the PPP rose 2 percentage points from the previous poll, conducted two weeks earlier, to 23 percent, while that for the ruling party dipped 1 percentage point to 45 percent over the cited period. The gap between the parties' approval ratings had reached as high as 30 percentage points at the start of last month, when the rating for the ruling party hit 48 percent, the highest since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office in June 2025, while that for the PPP fell to 18 percent. The gap has since narrowed to 28 percentage points in the fourth week of April, then further to 25 percentage points the following week and again to 22 percentage points this week. In the latest survey, 44 perc

May 15, 2026By Yonhap
Gap narrows between ruling, main opposition parties ahead of local elections: poll

Lee appoints new vice health minister, customs office commissioner

President Lee Jae Myung has appointed a new vice health minister, the head of the customs office and four other senior government officials, a presidential official said Friday. The president appointed Hyun Soo-yeob, currently a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as first vice health minister, the Cheong Wa Dae official said in a press briefing. Lee Jong-wook, currently a senior official at the Korea Customs Service, was appointed as the chief of the agency. Hyun is a graduate of Seoul National University, where she majored in nursing, and has served in various posts at the health ministry, while Lee majored in economics at Yonsei University and has spent much of his career at the customs office, according to Lee Kyu-youn, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication. In the personnel shake-up, Mun Seong-yo, a former senior official at the land ministry, was appointed head of the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency, while former lawmaker Hong Mi-young was named chair of the National Commission on Sustainable Development. Paik Jong-woo, a

May 15, 2026By Yonhap
Lee appoints new vice health minister, customs office commissioner

Seoul mayoral race tightens as Chong’s lead shrinks to within margin of error

The Seoul mayoral race has tightened sharply, with incumbent Oh Se-hoon closing what was once a double-digit gap against his liberal rival Chong Won-o and pulling the contest to within the margin of error. In a poll released Thursday by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday among 1,002 Seoul residents aged 18 or older, 44.9 percent of respondents said they would support Chong of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), while 39.8 percent backed Oh of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). Just three weeks earlier, in a KSOI poll conducted under the same conditions, Chong led Oh by 45.6 percent to 35.4 percent — a 10.2-point lead. The surveys have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website. Speaking to The Korea Times Thursday, experts said the narrowing gap reflects a mix of factors, including lingering voter distrust of liberal housing policies, questions about Chong’s past misconduct and

May 14, 2026By Jung Min-ho
Seoul mayoral race tightens as Chong’s lead shrinks to within margin of error

Lee slams loan sharks, stresses responsibility of financial firms

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday rebuked illegal private lenders that charge crushing interest rates while calling on financial institutions to fulfill their public responsibilities. Lee delivered the message on his X account, posting a document that showed 1,553 people have been rounded up in just six months through April on suspicions of being involved in illegal private lending. The president described loan sharks as social ills that "ruin" the country. He argued that financial firms, though privately owned, must act as quasi-public entities and fulfill their social responsibilities since they enjoy near monopolistic positions in government-approved business environment. The president noted that any loans carrying interest rates exceeding the legal limit of 60 percent per annum are invalid and need not to be repaid, stressing that those who charge such exorbitant rates are subject to criminal punishment.

May 14, 2026By Yonhap
Lee slams loan sharks, stresses responsibility of financial firms

Candidate registration opens for June 3 local elections

Candidate registration opened Thursday for the upcoming local elections and parliamentary by-elections, widely seen as a key test of public sentiment toward President Lee Jae Myung's first year in office. According to the National Election Commission (NEC), prospective candidates can register between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Official campaigning will begin next Thursday and last 13 days until the eve of the June 3 elections, with only limited forms of electioneering permitted before the official campaign period begins. Up for grabs in the local elections are mayor and governor seats in 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, along with superintendents of education and chiefs of smaller administrative units. Among the most closely followed races are the mayoral contests in Seoul and the traditional conservative strongholds of Daegu and Busan. In Seoul, incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) will face candidate Chong Won-o of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), while in Busan, Park Heong-joon, the incumbent mayor of Busan seeking a

May 14, 2026By Yonhap
Candidate registration opens for June 3 local elections

6-term lawmaker Cho Jeong-sik named candidate for National Assembly speaker

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Wednesday elected Rep. Cho Jeong-sik, a six-term lawmaker, as its candidate for the next parliamentary speaker. The 63-year-old beat Kim Tae-nyeon and Park Jie-won, both five-term lawmakers, in a vote cast by party lawmakers and members. If elected at a parliamentary plenary session, Rep. Cho will replace Woo Won-shik and serve a two-year term that will cover the second half of the 22nd National Assembly. He is expected to ultimately become the speaker, as it is customary for the largest party in terms of parliamentary seats to take the speaker position, with two vice speaker seats divided between the ruling and main opposition parties. Four-term lawmaker Rep. Nam In-soon was elected as the DPK's candidate for deputy assembly speaker. Rep. Cho is widely considered to have close ties with President Lee Jae Myung, having served as the president's special political adviser before resigning to run for assembly speaker and previously serving as the secretary general of the DPK when Lee was party leader. In Korea, elections for parliamentary speaker

May 13, 2026By Yonhap
6-term lawmaker Cho Jeong-sik named candidate for National Assembly speaker

Ruling, opposition parties rally support for 'judgment' in upcoming elections

Korea's ruling and main opposition parties are making similar calls in rare unison for voter support that the outcome of the upcoming local elections will serve as judgment against the other side, political observers here noted Wednesday. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is wooing support for what it calls a "harsh judgment" against "insurrectionist forces" tied to ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his failed martial law attempt. The conservative People Power Party (PPP), too, is calling for judgment against what it claims is a criminal organization and its leader, the DPK and President Lee Jae Myung, respectively. The DPK has framed the June 3 local elections as a crucial election to "normalize" the country and root out what it calls lingering insurrectionist forces linked to Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration in December 2024. "The insurrection is not over, and the insurrectionist forces behind it, who have shown no sign of remorse, are still active in various places," DPK leader Jung Chung-rae said Sunday in a ceremony marking the launch of the party's electi

May 13, 2026By Yonhap
Ruling, opposition parties rally support for 'judgment' in upcoming elections
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