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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.

Veteran journalist of 30 years appointed presidential communication secretary

Seong Ghi-hong, the new presidential secretary for public relations and communication, is a veteran newswire journalist with 30 years of experience covering politics, the economy and national news. Seong, 58, is the former CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, who covered an array of areas after joining the company in 1992. In 2007, he visited North Korea with other reporters covering Cheong Wa Dae to report on inter-Korean talks between late former President Roh Moo-hyun and late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the father of incumbent North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Following his three-day trip to Pyongyang, he co-authored a book on the historic event with other reporters and Cheong Wa Dae officials. In 2016 and 2017, he led political news coverage of allegations surrounding former President Park Geun-hye and her impeachment that eventually resulted in an early presidential election. Prior to his appointment as Yonhap News Agency CEO in 2021, he also worked as the news director of Yonhap News Television from 2019. Seong is described as being trusted from both inside and outside the o

Jun 21, 2026By Yonhap
Veteran journalist of 30 years appointed presidential communication secretary

Pharmacist-turned-activist appointed presidential secretary for social affairs

New presidential secretary for social affairs Kim Kyoung-ja is a pharmacist-turned labor activist who previously served as a senior leader of Korea's largest umbrella labor federation. Kim, 59, began her career as a labor activist in the healthcare sector in 1995, serving as head of the Inha University Hospital's labor union under the Korean Federation of Hospital Workers' Union (KHMU) She later led the KHMU's Gyeonggi regional chapter from 1998 to 2005 and served as the union's vice president from 2006 to 2008. Kim went on to serve as a vice president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of Korea's largest labor federations, in 2009, 2013, and from 2015 to 2017. She was also the federation's senior vice president from 2017 to 2020. Kim has also served as a member of the National Pension Fund Management Committee under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and worked as a visiting professor at Woosuk University in the southwestern city of Jeonju.

Jun 21, 2026By Yonhap
Pharmacist-turned-activist appointed presidential secretary for social affairs

Ex-veteran prosecutor appointed presidential secretary for civil affairs

New presidential secretary for civil affairs Han Chan-sik, a former senior prosecutor and attorney, is expected to help steer the Lee Jae Myung administration's prosecutorial reform agenda, leveraging his deep knowledge of the prosecution service and legal affairs. Han, 59, previously served as director-general of the Justice Ministry's Human Rights Bureau and chief prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office. While serving as chief prosecutor, he led the investigation into allegations of a blacklist involving senior officials under the former liberal Moon Jae-in administration. He resigned in 2019 ahead of the inauguration of Yoon Suk Yeol as prosecutor general, who later became president, and joined Kim & Chang, South Korea's largest law firm, as an attorney in August 2022. Han is expected to focus on completing the administration's prosecutorial reform agenda ahead of the planned overhaul of the prosecution system in October, including the creation of separate agencies responsible for public prosecutions and criminal investigations. Attention is also focused on whether

Jun 21, 2026By Yonhap
Ex-veteran prosecutor appointed presidential secretary for civil affairs

Ex-vice Gyeonggi governor found guilty of perjury over claims of 'drinking party' during interrogation

SUWON — A regional court on Saturday found a former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province guilty of perjury for falsely testifying to parliament that he was provided with alcohol and food during a prosecution interrogation. The Suwon District Court sentenced Lee Hwa-young to four months in prison, convicting him of violating the law on testimony before the National Assembly, according to the court document. The case was tried before a seven-panel citizen jury. Lee was indicted on perjury charges after he testified during a parliamentary hearing in 2024 that he and Kim Seong-tae, former chairman of underwear maker Ssangbangwool, were treated to alcohol and raw salmon during questioning by prosecutors over their involvement in an illegal remittance to North Korea in 2019. Lee claimed that prosecutors pressured and enticed him and Kim to give false statements incriminating President Lee Jae Myung, then the main opposition party leader who had served as Gyeonggi governor when the unauthorized money transfer allegedly took place. The court ruled that Lee Hwa-young's testimonies lacked consiste

Jun 20, 2026By Yonhap
Ex-vice Gyeonggi governor found guilty of perjury over claims of 'drinking party' during interrogation

Lee calls inflation top policy priority, urges 'extraordinary' measures to stabilize prices

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday inflation is the government's most urgent policy challenge and urged officials to devise extraordinary measures to stabilize prices and ease the burden on households. Lee made the call during a meeting with senior presidential aides, noting it will take a long time before global energy supply chains return to normal and the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened despite a ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the monthslong war in the Middle East. "The high oil prices, inflation and heightened foreign exchange rate volatility triggered by the war have done significant damage to our economy," Lee said. "The most urgent task right now is prices. Both the presidential office and the government must mobilize all available means to stabilize prices and restore the people's livelihoods," he added. Though the pace of price growth has been managed through the oil price cap system and other preemptive responses, there are still many areas that require attention, Lee said, calling for "extraordinary measures" to normalize petroleum produc

Jun 19, 2026By Yonhap
Lee calls inflation top policy priority, urges 'extraordinary' measures to stabilize prices

Lee looks to rebuild political momentum following diplomatic trip

President Lee Jae Myung appears to be trying to restore political momentum after returning from a 10-day diplomatic tour of Europe, Thursday, amid declining approval ratings and tensions within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). On Friday, the president convened a press briefing on the outcome of diplomatic trip, which concluded Thursday, and also a meeting with senior presidential secretaries. The briefing was held amid speculation that the president believed the achievements of his trip had been overshadowed by domestic political issues, leading him to personally present the results instead of delegating the task to aides, as is customary. Meanwhile, Friday's meeting with senior presidential secretaries followed a previous gathering with corresponding aides in Seoul, Sunday, while Lee was in Italy for a state visit. Such a meeting was unprecedented, prompting speculation that Lee remained focused on developments at home even while abroad amid the fallout from the June 3 local elections. The DPK won most of the mayoral and gubernatorial races nationwide but lost the Seoul mayora

Jun 19, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee looks to rebuild political momentum following diplomatic trip

Assembly speaker urges diplomatic efforts to ensure safe return of Korean vessels from Hormuz Strait

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik called for all-out diplomatic measures Friday to ensure the safe return of Korean vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, following a ceasefire deal reached between the United States and Iran earlier this week. Cho made the call in a meeting at his office with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, saying "the war in the Middle East has fortunately come to a halt after 106 days." "I urge you to take all possible diplomatic measures to ensure that the 24 vessels and their crew members stranded in the Strait of Hormuz can return home safely," the parliamentary speaker said. He also stressed that Korea's national interests should be fully protected during follow-up measures after a formal end to the war is declared, adding that the National Assembly will do its part to help ensure the success of the country's pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests. A large number of vessels, including 24 Korea-linked ships, have been stranded in the vital waterway after commercial shipping was largely halted during the war amid threats of missile and drone attacks. T

Jun 19, 2026By Yonhap
Assembly speaker urges diplomatic efforts to ensure safe return of Korean vessels from Hormuz Strait

PM vows to properly honor patriots, fallen heroes

The government of President Lee Jae Myung will do its best to make sure that the sacrifices and dedication that patriots and fallen heroes made for the country will be properly recognized and honored, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Friday. Kim made the remark after awarding state decorations to patriots, their families and those credited with promoting the well-being of patriots, saying the freedom, peace and prosperity South Korea enjoys today were made possible by the "earnest dreams and sacrifices of patriotic martyrs for the country." "President Lee Jae Myung said that upholding the spirits of patriotic martyrs and fallen heroes and providing them with due respect is a historical duty that we must fulfill," Kim said, noting a series of measures that the government has taken to help patriots and bereaved families live better lives. "The government will look after the lives of state-honored patriots and their families in a more robust manner," he said. Kim also said the best way to honor the sacrifices of patriots is to build a peaceful and democratic nation where every member of soc

Jun 19, 2026By Yonhap
PM vows to properly honor patriots, fallen heroes

PM to travel to China next week for Summer Davos Forum

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will travel to China next week to attend a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting and hold bilateral meetings with senior Chinese officials, his office said Friday. During the three-day trip starting Monday, Kim is scheduled to deliver a special address at the annual WEF meeting, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, to be held in the Chinese coastal city of Dalian. Kim also plans to meet with senior Chinese officials and attend economic and other events, the office said without elaborating on whom he is scheduled to meet with, including whether Kim's Chinese counterpart, Premier Li Qiang, is among them. "Prime Minister Kim's trip is expected to provide an opportunity to outline our government's innovative economic vision to the international community and strengthen international cooperation while at the same time carrying on the trend of recent high-level exchanges between Korea and China to accelerate mutually beneficial cooperation," the office said.

Jun 19, 2026By Yonhap
PM to travel to China next week for Summer Davos Forum

S. Korea conveys concern to China over N. Korea's silence on denuclearization

The South Korean government reportedly raised concerns with China over growing speculation that Beijing is tacitly condoning North Korea's nuclear weapons, a perception fueled by China's recent silence on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nam Jin, director general of its Northeast and Central Asian Affairs Bureau, met Wednesday with Director-General Liu Jinsong of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Liu was visiting Korea, and the two discussed the North Korean nuclear issue and other matters. Speculation that China is effectively tolerating North Korea's nuclear arsenal gained traction after the North Korea-China summit in Pyongyang this month did not publicly address denuclearization. The South Korean government reportedly conveyed its position that theories suggesting China is condoning North Korea's nuclear weapons are undesirable and unhelpful to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Despite these concerns, the government reportedly believes China is not condoning North Korea's nuclear weapons, citing Beijing's c

Jun 18, 2026By Park Ung
S. Korea conveys concern to China over N. Korea's silence on denuclearization
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