my timesThe Korea Times
South KoreaPolitics

Politics

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Lee says stabilizing consumer prices top priority amid uncertainties over Middle East war

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday urged stepped-up efforts to stabilize consumer prices, calling it a top priority for his government amid uncertainties stemming from the prolonged war in the Middle East. His remarks came one day after the government reported a 2.6 percent increase in consumer prices from a year earlier in April, the fastest on-year increase in 21 months since July 2024. "As instability in international oil prices persists, upward pressure on consumer prices is growing. Uncertainty surrounding negotiations to end the war has driven up petroleum products by 20 percent, accelerating consumer price growth in April," the president said in a meeting with senior presidential aides at Cheong Wa Dae. "For now, the top priority should be stabilizing prices, while all available resources should be mobilized to manage supply channels for crude oil and key materials," Lee added. He warned that continued price increases would further strain people's livelihoods and hamper the economic recovery trend. "The future of our economy will depend on how we overcome this crisis, although it

May 7, 2026By Yonhap
Lee says stabilizing consumer prices top priority amid uncertainties over Middle East war

Han reelected floor leader of ruling party

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) reelected Rep. Han Byung-do as its floor leader Wednesday, marking the first time a DPK whip was elected to a second consecutive term. The three-term lawmaker ran uncontested in an election held four months after he won his first term to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of his predecessor. During a general meeting of DPK lawmakers, Han won a majority of the vote, which combined the ballots of lawmakers and dues-paying party members by a ratio of 8:2. "The coming year is the golden time," he said during his acceptance speech. "From winning the local elections to overcoming the Middle East crisis and restoring people's livelihoods, there is a mountain of work to do." Han will be charged with leading the party's parliamentary activities until next May, including negotiations with the main opposition People Power Party over the formation of committees for the latter half of the current Assembly's term. Other pressing issues include navigating differences over a DPK-proposed bill for a special counsel investigation into allegedly fabricated in

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Han reelected floor leader of ruling party

Lee pushes constitutional reform centered on curbing martial law

President Lee Jae Myung called for a phased constitutional reform, Wednesday, a day before a scheduled National Assembly vote on a ruling party-led bill primarily aimed at toughening conditions for declaring martial law. Speaking at a weekly Cabinet meeting, the president suggested a step-by-step approach, noting that the decades-old Constitution falls short of meeting today’s level of democracy, while a sweeping overhaul would nonetheless be burdensome. “Korea has undergone significant changes in political, economic and social aspects, yet the Constitution has remained virtually unchanged for over 40 years,” Lee said, highlighting that it was last revised in 1987. He compared Korea’s development to a body that has outgrown its clothes, using the metaphor to illustrate how the Constitution no longer fits the country’s realities. “With the current Constitution, it is difficult to fully guarantee the level of democracy in Korea today, the lives of its people, and the future of the nation … Our body has grown, but the clothes no longer fit — shouldn’t we fix the clothes?

May 6, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Lee pushes constitutional reform centered on curbing martial law

PM calls for discussions on prosecution reform based on principle of no investigative rights

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has instructed officials to hold discussions on demands that the prosecution's right to conduct supplementary investigations should be kept intact even under a push to reform the prosecution, but with the stance in mind that its investigative right should be scrapped altogether, officials said Wednesday. Kim issued the instruction to a task force set up under the prime minister's office to hash out details of the prosecution reform legislation that calls for reducing the current massive prosecution service into a new agency handling only indictment and court proceedings without any power to conduct investigations on its own. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)-led legislation, which passed a Cabinet meeting in March, represented a dream come true for the ruling bloc that has long accused the prosecution office of abusing its investigative power to harass liberal politicians, including late former President Roh Moo-hyun, who killed himself amid a prosecution probe into corruption allegations. They say current President Lee Jae Myung is also a victim, ac

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
PM calls for discussions on prosecution reform based on principle of no investigative rights

Lee reaffirms commitment to curbing overheated housing market

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to reining in the overheating housing market, calling the normalization of the real estate market a key national policy. Lee wrote the remarks on his X account, sharing a news article forecasting a downward trend in house prices, citing predictions by real estate experts and agencies. "The normalization of the real estate market is an inevitable trend of the time, as well as a key policy task for the country that must be accomplished," the president said. "Invincibility of real estate? There will no longer be such a myth," he warned. Reining in runaway real estate prices has been a key policy priority for the Lee administration, with the president listing his privately owned apartment in Seongnam, south of Seoul, for sale in February, in a demonstration of his commitment to curbing the housing market.

May 6, 2026By Yonhap
Lee reaffirms commitment to curbing overheated housing market

PHOTO Children's Day at Cheong Wa Dae

President Lee Jae Myung, accompanied by first lady Kim Hea kyung and presidential aides, walks with children in the main building of Cheong Wa Dae during a Children's Day tour, Tuesday. About 200 children and their guardians were invited to the presidential compound to mark the annual celebration. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog

May 5, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
[PHOTO] Children's Day at Cheong Wa Dae

Lee pledges respect for children's dignity

President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday vowed to build a society that treats children with dignity in a message marking Children's Day. "Many things will change depending on how we perceive and treat children," Lee wrote in a Facebook post. "I pledge to respect children not merely as subjects of protection or cute beings but as individuals with dignity and humanity." Lee also said he will do his best to build a society where every day of the year feels like Children's Day. Lee marked the national holiday by inviting a group of children and their parents to Cheong Wa Dae and giving them a tour of the presidential compound.

May 5, 2026By Yonhap
Lee pledges respect for children's dignity

Lee to host Children's Day celebration with 200 kids, parents at Cheong Wa Dae

President Lee Jae Myung will host a Children's Day event this week, inviting around 100 children and their parents to Cheong Wa Dae, his office said Monday. Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung will meet the invited children and parents at Cheong Wa Dae and give them a tour of the halls at the main presidential building during the Children's Day event on Tuesday, according to the presidential office. Children from regions designated as depopulation-prone, multicultural families, neighborhoods near Cheong Wa Dae and welfare facilities, along with their parents, have been invited, the office said. The event will also take place in the main garden of Cheong Wa Dae, where a playground with swings and other amusement park-like equipment will be set up. Other activities, including a cupcake-making class, will also be offered to the young guests, the presidential office added.

May 4, 2026By Yonhap
Lee to host Children's Day celebration with 200 kids, parents at Cheong Wa Dae

EXPLAINER Special counsel bill sparks debate over power to drop ongoing trials

A special counsel bill proposed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) would allow an independent counsel to withdraw indictments in ongoing trials, a provision now at the center of debate over its impact on court proceedings. The bill, introduced on Thursday, calls for an investigation into alleged fabricated investigations and indictments under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration. It designates 12 cases for review, including the Daejang-dong and Wirye development projects — large-scale land development schemes launched during President Lee Jae Myung’s tenure as mayor of Seongnam that have since become among the most politically sensitive issues in South Korea — as well as the Ssangbangwool remittance case, which centers on allegations that a private firm transferred funds to North Korea. The proposal follows a parliamentary inquiry led by the ruling party, which claimed that prosecutors may have relied on coercive questioning, selective investigations and distorted evidence. The DPK argues that an independent probe is needed to reassess whether those cases were handl

May 4, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
[EXPLAINER] Special counsel bill sparks debate over power to drop ongoing trials

June 3 elections take shape: DPK’s presidential aides vs. PPP's incumbents

With less than 30 days remaining until the June 3 local elections, the two main parties have finalized their candidate lineups. While the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has fielded many fresh faces, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is largely relying on incumbent mayors and governors. Out of 17 metropolitan cities and provinces in the 2022 elections, the then-ruling PPP won a landslide victory, securing 12 regions, including major cities like Seoul, Busan and Incheon. However, since President Lee Jae Myung took power last year after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached for leading an insurrection linked to his martial law declaration, the approval ratings of Yoon's party, the PPP, have continued to drop, at one point plummeting to 15 percent in a poll. Amid the low support ratings, the conservative party is struggling to find promising candidates, ultimately fielding 11 incumbent heads of cities and provinces. In contrast, many of the DPK's candidates are figures close to the president, whose approval rating has stood at around 60 percent in recent months. Thi

May 4, 2026By Park Ji-won
June 3 elections take shape: DPK’s presidential aides vs. PPP's incumbents
previous page
1920212223
next page

Most Read in South Korea