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PPP lawmaker to seek court injunction after being excluded from nomination for Daegu mayoralty race

Rep. Joo Ho-young, a six-term lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), will file for a court injunction after he was excluded from the party's nomination for Daegu mayor in the June 3 local elections, officials said Wednesday. The move came after the PPP's nomination committee decided to exclude Joo and Lee Jin-sook, the former head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), from the race for Daegu mayor and to hold a preliminary primary among six other candidates. "We will file the injunction with the court today or tomorrow morning at the latest," an official close to Rep. Joo told Yonhap News Agency. If the injunction is granted, the so-called "cutoff" decision will be suspended, likely disrupting the schedule for the preliminary primary involving the six candidates. Some observers say the lawmaker could run as an independent like he previously did in the April 13 elections in 2016 after being cut off from the party's nomination. The former KCC chief also strongly protested against the committee's decision Monday and said she filed a request for reconsideration with

Mar 25, 2026By Yonhap
PPP lawmaker to seek court injunction after being excluded from nomination for Daegu mayoralty race

Korea repatriates drug kingpin from Philippines

Cheong Wa Dae said Korea repatriated an imprisoned drug lord from the Philippines, Wednesday, less than a month after President Lee Jae Myung requested temporary custody for him during a summit between the leaders of the two countries. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the repatriation of the Korean national, surnamed Park, reflects Lee’s firm resolve and diplomatic efforts to eradicate transnational crime after more than nine years of stalemate in extradition proceedings. Although the government did not disclose his full name, the individual is widely understood to be Park Wang-yeol. The spokesperson's references to the 2016 "sugarcane field murder," the large-scale drug trafficking he allegedly continued from prison and his Telegram alias "Worldwide" all point to Park. “The government swiftly repatriated Park, known as the ‘Worldwide,’ early this morning,” Kang said in a written briefing. “This outcome reflects the president’s strong commitment and diplomatic endeavors to combat crime across the border,” she said, explaining that his repatriation had faced dif

Mar 25, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Korea repatriates drug kingpin from Philippines

Lee appoints budget, oceans ministers after parliamentary confirmations

President Lee Jae Myung approved Tuesday the appointments of Rep. Park Hong-keun as budget minister and Hwang Jong-woo as oceans minister after their parliamentary confirmation reports were adopted through bipartisan agreements, the presidential office said. With the approval, Park, a three-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, became the first head of the newly established Ministry of Planning and Budget, which was separated and launched under the Lee administration's government restructuring. The ministry has ended its acting leadership system 81 days after its official launch on Jan. 2. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has filled its top post 103 days after former Minister Chun Jae-soo stepped down in December.

Mar 24, 2026By Yonhap
Lee appoints budget, oceans ministers after parliamentary confirmations

Lee vows support to strengthen workers' basic rights

President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday workers' fundamental rights should be guaranteed to help address imbalances between labor and management, vowing support for efforts to strengthen those rights. Lee made the remarks during a meeting with representatives of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, a major umbrella labor group, as companies push for greater labor flexibility amid intensifying competition despite resistance from workers. "Workers are essentially in a weaker position. It is important to guarantee their three fundamental labor rights — the right to organize, collective bargaining and collective action," Lee said, pledging government support to enhance labor rights. Lee outlined his administration's labor policy, which focuses on improving working conditions and revising relevant laws, while acknowledging challenges in addressing long-standing structural divides. "Polarization stemming from gaps between large conglomerates, and small and medium-sized enterprises, regular and non-regular workers, prime contractors and subcontractors, as well as gender disparities remains a m

Mar 24, 2026By Yonhap
Lee vows support to strengthen workers' basic rights

Nat'l Assembly adopts confirmation hearing report for budget minister nominee

A parliamentary committee on Tuesday adopted a confirmation hearing report for Budget Minister nominee Park Hong-keun. The National Assembly's strategy and finance committee approved Park's nomination with bipartisan agreement following Monday's confirmation hearing. Park, a four-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, was tapped earlier this month by President Lee Jae Myung as the nominee to head the newly launched Ministry of Planning and Budget. His nomination came more than a month after Lee withdrew his earlier pick, opposition politician Lee Hye-hoon, following a series of controversies over alleged misconduct, including suspicious real estate dealings involving her family.

Mar 24, 2026By Yonhap
Nat'l Assembly adopts confirmation hearing report for budget minister nominee

Prosecution reform bills approved at Cabinet in significant overhaul

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved two prosecution reform bills that would dismantle the current prosecution service later this year to separate its exclusive power to both initiate criminal probes and indict suspects. When promulgated, it would mark a sweeping overhaul of the nation's prosecution system. Under the new laws, the prosecution office will be shut down in October, 78 years after its establishment in 1948, and two new agencies will exercise indictment and investigate roles, respectively. The bills on establishing the so-called serious crimes investigation agency and the indictment agency, pushed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), were passed at the National Assembly last week in a plenary session boycotted by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). Under the laws, the new indictment agency will handle only indictments, while investigative powers will be transferred to the newly established serious crimes investigation agency. The new investigative body will be established under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and will be responsible for probing six majo

Mar 24, 2026By Yonhap
Prosecution reform bills approved at Cabinet in significant overhaul

5-day driving rotation system to get stricter in public sector amid energy crisis

Korea will strengthen the restriction on which days workers in the public sector can drive their vehicles starting Wednesday, as the prolonged Middle East conflict squeezes global energy supplies. For the private sector, the government decided to leave the fuel-saving measure as a voluntary program rather than forcing it. Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-whan announced the measure during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul Tuesday. Under the rule, drivers of gas-powered vehicles in the public sector must refrain from driving one day each week, with the day determined by the last digit of their license plate. More than 20,000 institutions are included, such as central government ministries and their affiliated organizations, local governments, provincial and municipal education offices, national universities and public elementary, middle and high schools. The system had already been in place in the public sector, but enforcement was largely symbolic and violations carried light penalties such as workplace parking bans. Under the expanded framework, however, public

Mar 24, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
5-day driving rotation system to get stricter in public sector amid energy crisis

President’s approval rises in conservative strongholds ahead of local elections

President Lee Jae Myung is securing higher approval ratings nationwide with atypical backing from conservative strongholds — a trend analysts say is increasing pressure on the main opposition party as the June 3 local elections approach. Multiple polls this month have highlighted this momentum, with Realmeter reporting ratings steadily rising over three consecutive weeks and Gallup Korea showing support for the president breaking records two weeks in a row. These results reveal attention-grabbing support from the conservative strongholds of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province in southeastern Korea, where Realmeter reported a faster week-to-week increase in approval ratings than in any other region, while Gallup Korea indicated an approval level equal to that of the more politically diverse Seoul metropolitan area. Analysts say this pattern could produce a spillover effect benefiting the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) while pushing the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) further into a corner, as it already struggles with internal divisions and difficulties in fielding com

Mar 23, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
President’s approval rises in conservative strongholds ahead of local elections

Busan mayor shaves head in protest over special bill stalled at Assembly

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, seeking a third term in the June 3 local elections, shaved his head in front of the National Assembly on Monday, calling for the swift passage of a special bill aimed at transforming the southeastern port city of Busan into a global hub. The proposed "Special Act on the Development of Busan as a Global Hub City" seeks to introduce regulatory and tax incentives to foster Busan as a key hub centered on logistics, finance and other industries. The bill has remained pending at a parliamentary committee for nearly two years since it was reintroduced in May 2024 after being scrapped at the end of the previous Assembly term. "While the special acts for Gangwon and North Jeolla provinces were passed immediately after public hearings were held last week, the bill on Busan was left out," he told reporters after shaving his head. "This is regional discrimination." His move came after two special bills on the development of other provinces — North Jeolla Province and Gangwon Province — were recently passed during a subcommittee meeting of the Assembly's Public Admin

Mar 23, 2026By Yonhap
Busan mayor shaves head in protest over special bill stalled at Assembly

Three-way race takes shape in main opposition for Seoul mayoralty

A three-way competition took shape within the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) to secure the party's nomination to run in the June 3 Seoul mayoral election, the party's nomination committee said Monday. The primary will be held among three contenders, as three others were eliminated in the cutoff, according to the committee. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, widely seen as the conservatives' top contender in the Seoul mayoral race, was among the last to join the race, registering his candidacy last Tuesday after delaying it twice, citing what he described as the party's lack of effort to sever ties with ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The four-term mayor has stressed the need to form an "innovative" election committee, calling for concrete changes within the party to clearly distance itself from Yoon. Oh will compete with first-term lawmaker Park Soo-min, a former PPP floor spokesperson, and Yun Hee-suk, who previously served as chair of the PPP's reform committee. The committee said it will hold two televised debates by April 10, followed by primary voting on April 16 and 17. The fi

Mar 23, 2026By Yonhap
Three-way race takes shape in main opposition for Seoul mayoralty
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