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Lee vows to carry on ex-President Roh's legacy at memorial ceremony

President Lee Jae Myung vowed Saturday to continue the legacy of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun by building a nation founded on fairness, inclusion and respect for human dignity. "After you left, so many 'Roh Moo-hyuns' were born and I am one of them," Lee said in his eulogy delivered at a ceremony marking the 17th anniversary of Roh's death held in the southeastern rural village of Bongha, where the late president lived after his retirement. "As president, I feel the immense responsibility and weight that comes with the position. I will carry on your legacy," Lee said. Lee pledged to realize Roh's vision of a society where success is possible without privilege, hard work is fairly rewarded, people embrace one another regardless of background and balanced development allows both the capital region and the rest of the country to prosper together. "I will press ahead with reform to root out rule-breaking and privilege, undeterred by resistance from the established order," he said, adding, "This government will bring to fruition the dreams you left unfulfilled." On North Korea, Lee s

May 23, 2026By Yonhap
Lee vows to carry on ex-President Roh's legacy at memorial ceremony

Interior minister vows to stop using Starbucks at government events

Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung on Thursday said he will rule out using the Korean operator of Starbucks in future government events, after the coffee chain came under fire for an inappropriate marketing campaign associated with a bloody military crackdown on a pro-democracy movement in 1980. Yun made the remarks in a post uploaded on X, formerly Twitter, saying he expresses "deep regret" over the recent "ahistorical" action by Starbucks Korea on the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju uprising earlier this week. Operated by Shinsegae affiliate E-mart, Starbucks Korea faced public backlash after it launched an online "Tank Day" promotion, offering a discount event for "Tank" tumbler sets, along with the controversial phrase, "Put it on the table with a sound of 'Tak!'" The campaign drew criticism as it evoked memories of the military deploying tanks to clamp down on pro-democracy protesters, while "tak" reminded people of student activist Park Jong-chol, who died in 1987 after being tortured. "Democracy was built on top of the sacrifice and devotion of many citizens," Yun wrote. "Treating th

May 21, 2026By Yonhap
Interior minister vows to stop using Starbucks at government events

Lee calls for stern punishment for defaming victims of state-led atrocities

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday called for stern punishment for those who glorify state-led atrocities or defame victims of such violence. Lee made the remarks during a meeting with senior aides, citing the spread of "malicious fake news" claiming that North Korean forces were involved in the 1980 democratization movement in Gwangju as an act deserving punishment. He also listed glorifying violence by state actors and insulting victims of state violence as similar cases. "(They) should be punished sternly through all available means," the president said. He described state violence as a grave, inhumane and anti-social crime that abuses the official authority entrusted to the state to ensure people's safety and improve their lives. The president also called for the prompt enactment of a law eliminating statutes of limitations for criminal charges and damages suits involving state violence.

May 21, 2026By Yonhap
Lee calls for stern punishment for defaming victims of state-led atrocities

Presidential office pledges active support for reasonable labor-management settlement

The presidential office on Thursday pledged to provide active support for companies and labor unions to settle negotiations in a reasonable manner, emphasizing the impact that labor-management disputes can have on the economy. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung made the remarks at a press briefing a day after Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union reached a last-minute wage agreement over performance-based bonuses, averting a planned 18-day strike that had been scheduled to begin Thursday. The agreement also spared the Korean economy what could have been losses of up to 100 trillion won ($66.4 billion), according to many expert estimates. Still, the monthslong dispute has raised concerns that labor unions at other companies may follow suit by taking collective action in demand of greater compensation. "The government is planning to provide active assistance so that labor-management negotiations can be mediated in a reasonable direction," Kang said. "The impact such disputes can have on the national economy is significant." She said that, in principle, such negotiations are ma

May 21, 2026By Yonhap
Presidential office pledges active support for reasonable labor-management settlement

Campaign officially begins for June 3 elections with over 7,800 candidates

The campaign period for the June 3 local elections and parliamentary by-elections officially kicked off, Thursday, launching a nearly two-week nationwide race that both the ruling and opposition parties view as crucial to the future course of the government. Candidates across the country launched full-fledged voter outreach, with campaigning set to continue through June 2. According to the National Election Commission, 7,813 candidates are running in the race. Voters will elect 16 metropolitan and provincial chiefs, 227 mayors and county heads, 804 metropolitan council members, 2,650 local council members, 16 education superintendents and 14 National Assembly members. The governing liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is casting the elections as a mandate to shore up support for the Lee Jae Myung administration and secure momentum for social and economic reforms. As his first stop on the campaign trail, DPK Chairman Jung Chung-rae, who also serves as the party's chief campaign manager, visited the Dong Seoul Mail Distribution Center at midnight to rally support for Seoul mayoral candi

May 21, 2026By Jung Min-ho
Campaign officially begins for June 3 elections with over 7,800 candidates

Rival parties gear up for official campaigning set to begin Thursday

The ruling and opposition parties geared up Wednesday for the June 3 local elections and parliamentary by-elections, a day before the start of the official campaign period for the closely watched nationwide vote. The 13-day campaign period will begin Thursday and last until the eve of the elections, with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) expected to launch full-scale campaigns to woo voters across the nation. During this period, candidates and their campaign teams will be allowed to give speeches in public places between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., distribute campaign materials and put up campaign banners. The election is widely considered the first major nationwide test for the Lee Jae Myung administration since it took office last June following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's ouster over his failed martial law bid. The DPK has urged voters to support the party in the elections, stressing the need to "normalize the country" and root out what it calls lingering "insurrectionist forces" linked to Yoon. "(The official campaign period) will

May 20, 2026By Yonhap
Rival parties gear up for official campaigning set to begin Thursday

Government's idea of 2-state coexistence with N. Korea draws dispute

The South Korean government appears to be floating the idea of officially recognizing North Korea as a sovereign state, drawing backlash from conservatives who see the move as undermining the long-standing constitutional goal of inter-Korean reunification. The Ministry of Unification published the Lee Jae Myung administration's first white paper on unification, Monday, and it stipulated that inter-Korean relations should shift into “a peaceful two-state relationship oriented toward reunification.” “The government, considering the reality that the two Koreas effectively exist as two separate states, seeks to develop inter-Korean relations into one of peaceful coexistence while still pursuing reunification,” the white paper read. The document drew immediate dispute after its release. Conservatives argued it conflicts with Article 3 of the Constitution, which defines South Korea's territory as the entire Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands, affirming Seoul's claim to legitimate sovereignty over the whole peninsula with reunification as a guiding objective. The timing added to

May 20, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Government's idea of 2-state coexistence with N. Korea draws dispute

President Lee says collective labor action, too, should have 'certain limit'

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that collective actions by labor unions should remain within "certain limits" and do not cause "serious pain" to others. Lee made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting after last-minute wage negotiations between Samsung Electronics and its labor union broke down, only a day before the union's planned general strike. "It is all good for certain labor unions to ... pursue their interests through their right to collective action, but there must be certain limits to it," Lee said. He said the right to collective action should not be abused or exercised in a way that causes "serious harm" to others, adding that it may be the government's role to help members of society observe those limits and to fulfill its responsibilities when the limits are crossed. The presidential office earlier expressed "deep regret" after the last-ditch government-mediated negotiations over bonuses linked to Samsung's record-high earnings collapsed, urging both sides to continue efforts to the end to divert the planned strike, which many say may be devastating not only to the company

May 20, 2026By Yonhap
President Lee says collective labor action, too, should have 'certain limit'

PM pledges zero tolerance for disinformation, vote-buying ahead of local elections

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pledged zero tolerance Wednesday for disinformation, vote-buying and public servants' election interference, saying the government will make sure to bring perpetrators to justice and seek the maximum penalties for them. Kim made the remark at the start of a meeting of related government ministers convened to discuss measures to ensure fairness in the June 3 local elections that will select provincial governors, mayors and local councilors across the nation. Thousands of posts are up for grabs. "We will deal sternly and swiftly with three major election crimes," Kim said. "These are clearly grave crimes that violate voters' right to know and distort the democratic process of elections. We will never sit idly by." In particular, deep-fake election crimes using artificial intelligence (AI) are serious, Kim said. "We will thoroughly track down those involved from the original creator to distributors to make sure to uproot the crime," he said. "The justice ministry, the interior ministry, the prosecution and police should systematically cooperate and deal with perp

May 20, 2026By Yonhap
PM pledges zero tolerance for disinformation, vote-buying ahead of local elections

PPP slams unification ministry's reference to Koreas as 'two-state relationship'

Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) denounced the unification ministry Tuesday for describing South and North Korea as a "two-state relationship" in its latest white paper, calling it a clear violation of the Constitution. In the annual white paper released Monday, the first such document issued under the Lee Jae Myung administration, the ministry highlighted the need to shift toward a "peace-oriented two-state relationship" aimed at achieving unification, considering the reality that the Koreas exist as de facto two states. The ministry's reference to the Koreas as two states sparked backlash among opposition lawmakers, who argue that it could be interpreted as effectively recognizing the North as a separate state in violation of Article 3 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the territory of the Republic of Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands. In late 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared inter-Korean relations as those between "two states hostile to each other." In a statement, PPP Rep. Park Choong-kwon, a North Korean d

May 19, 2026By Yonhap
PPP slams unification ministry's reference to Koreas as 'two-state relationship'
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