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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.

Yoon's approval rating inches down to 38%: Yonhap survey

President Yoon Suk Yeol addresses a meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Aug. 8. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has inched down to 38 percent, a survey that Yonhap News Agency conducted jointly with Yonhap News TV showed Wednesday. The survey, commissioned by the two news outlets, was conducted by Metrix on 1,000 people aged 18 and older on Saturday and Sunday to gauge public sentiment. According to the poll, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance was 38 percent, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous survey conducted a month ago, while the negative assessment came to 52.3 percent, also down 0.7 percentage point.The negative assessment of Yoon has continued a downward trend since the survey was first conducted in May, when the figure stood at 60 percent. The number dropped to 58.5 percent in June and 53 percent in July.Consistent with the previous surveys, the most cited factors by those approving of Yoon's performance were diplomacy and national security at 42.9 percent.The economy and people's livelihoods, on the other hand, were the most cited

Aug 9, 2023
Yoon's approval rating inches down to 38%: Yonhap survey

Bomb threat email against opposition leader prompts police search for explosives

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), speaks during a meeting with local businesspeople in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. YonhapAn email threatening to detonate an explosive in downtown Seoul if South Korea's opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is not killed has led police to search the National Assembly, officials said Tuesday.According to the police and the secretariat of the National Assembly, the email threatened to bomb a library in the capital if Lee of the Democratic Party (DP) is not killed by 3:34 p.m. Wednesday. The author wrote "the range of the bomb was 334 meters from" the library in downtown Seoul but did not specify the library.They said the email was sent to a number of people, including officials in the Seoul metropolitan government, the previous day. Sent from a Japanese account, the email contained phone and fax numbers of a Japanese law firm, as well as some unclear English-written messages.Police received the report around 4:45 p.m. and dispatched a bomb disposal team to conduct a search of the parliament for an explo

Aug 8, 2023
Bomb threat email against opposition leader prompts police search for explosives

Daunting tasks await Yoon after vacation

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a national defense innovation committee meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapYoon strives to safeguard Korea's reputation for 2030 Expo amid Jamboree concernsBy Nam Hyun-wooOnce he returns from a weeklong vacation, tough yet urgent challenges are ahead for President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon returned to office, Tuesday, one day earlier than planned, and wasted no time dealing with pending issues. The top priority seems to be wrapping up the Jamboree event without any additional hiccups. The negligent preparation and clumsy response to the extreme weather conditions that bore down on Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, are raising questions about Korea's ability to host large international events amid nationwide efforts to host the World Expo 2030 in the port city of Busan.Yoon presided over a national defense innovation committee meeting at his office in Seoul, Tuesday, a day after he returned to Seoul from Jeo Island, South Gyeongsang Province, where the presidential retreat is located. The president was suppos

Aug 8, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
Daunting tasks await Yoon after vacation

Scouts relocated to Seoul and 7 other regions after early departure from campsite

German Scouts and adult volunteers participating in the 25th World Scout Jamboree arrive at Myongji University's dormitory in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, after leaving the main campsite in Saemangeum, a reclaimed tidal flat in North Jeolla Province, as all participants were relocated across the country amid a typhoon threat. Yonhap'It is sad because we don't have a chance to continue our adventure and meet Scouts from other countries'By Jun Ji-hyeAbout 37,000 Scouts participating in the 25th World Scout Jamboree left their campsite in Saemangeum for Seoul and seven other regions across the country on Tuesday ― four days ahead of schedule due to the rapidly-approaching Typhoon Khanun.Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min said the government mobilized more than 1,000 buses to relocate about 37,000 people from 156 countries. The global youth event initially drew over 43,000 Scouts from 159 nations, but the 1,500-member U.S. and 4,400-member U.K. delegations, along with participants from Singapore, pulled out of the campsite earlier citing risks posed by a heat wave.“Fo

Aug 8, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Scouts relocated to Seoul and 7 other regions after early departure from campsite
  • What went wrong with Saemangeum Jamboree preparation?

Lawmakers mull life imprisonment without parole for brutal crimes

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, chairman of the ruling People Power Party, speaks during a meeting with lawmakers and police at the Korean National Police Agency's headquarters in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinLawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties seek to introduce life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for offenders of brutal crimes in response to a recent series of deadly random attacks.“A series of random attacks with unknown motives targeting many random people have occurred and heightened public fear,” Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, chairman of the ruling People Power Party, said during a meeting with PPP lawmakers and members of the Korean National Police Agency's Major Crime Investigation Division at the agency's headquarters in Seoul, Monday.Kim said the party plans to introduce life imprisonment without parole as a means to control serious criminals more effectively.Korea's Criminal Act states that an inmate serving a life sentence is eligible to be released on parole after serving 20 years if they display model behavior.A total of 105 people sentenced to li

Aug 8, 2023By Lee Hae-rin
Lawmakers mull life imprisonment without parole for brutal crimes

Former President Moon calls for prioritizing life, safety

Former President Moon Jae-in speaks during an event marking the third anniversary of a devastating flood in Yangjeong Village in Gurye, South Jeolla Province, Aug. 8. YonhapFormer President Moon Jae-in emphasized the importance of prioritizing life and safety Tuesday during an event marking the third anniversary of a devastating flood in a southwestern town.Moon, accompanied by his wife Kim Jung-sook, attended a memorial service in Yangjeong Village in Gurye, 261 kilometers south of Seoul. Yangjeong and neighboring towns suffered severe flooding on Aug. 8, 2020, caused by the collapse of a stream embankment due to heavy rain, which killed 22,824 livestock and inundated 711 homes."The beautiful mindset that values life above all, whether it's human or livestock, is what has kept the memorial service going until now," Moon said during the event."Together, we can create a world where life comes first and safety comes first," he added.He also praised the local community for demonstrating the courage and hope for humanity to overcome natural disasters. (Yonhap)

Aug 8, 2023
Former President Moon calls for prioritizing life, safety

Cabinet passes enforcement decrees on relocation of 2 military airports

This photo shows an Air Force trainer jet landing at Gwangju Airport in Gwangju, April 13. YonhapThe Cabinet passed two enforcement decrees Tuesday to facilitate efforts to relocate military airports in the southern cities of Gwangju and Daegu, the defense ministry said.The decrees on the relocation projects will come into effect on Aug. 26 following the promulgation of related special acts on April 25, according to the ministry.One of the decrees entails support measures for the relocation of a military airport in Gwangju, 267 kilometers south of Seoul, such as procedures for the central government to provide financial support if costs exceed the budget.The project seeks to build the new airport in the nearby South Jeolla Province, although its site has yet to be determined.The other decree involves a plan to move a military airport and a civilian airport in Daegu, 237 km southeast of Seoul, to an integrated airport to be built in the two nearby counties of Uiseong and Gunwi.The decree includes similar provisions as those for the project in Gwangju, although differences exist as it

Aug 8, 2023
Cabinet passes enforcement decrees on relocation of 2 military airports

PM says relocating Scouts is active precautionary measure

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, second from left, speaks about the ongoing World Scout Jamboree and the approaching Typhoon Khanun during a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Aug. 8. YonhapPrime Minister Han Duk-soo said Tuesday that the decision to relocate tens of thousands of participants in the 25th World Scout Jamboree is an active precautionary measure to ensure safety.Earlier in the day, young Scouts and adult volunteers began leaving the jamboree venue in Saemangeum, a reclaimed wetland on the southwest coast, four days ahead of schedule due to the approach of Typhoon Khanun."It is not a suspension of the jamboree event, but rather part of an active crisis management strategy to ensure the safety of all participants," Han said during a Cabinet meeting.Criticism has arisen over the lack of event preparation amid a scorching heat wave, leading to the withdrawal of some contingents. Some critics have claimed that the decision to relocate them to other parts inland is a de-facto suspension of the quadrennial global event.Han further asked government agencies to make

Aug 8, 2023
PM says relocating Scouts is active precautionary measure
  • Jamboree participants evacuated to 8 different regions due to typhoon

Yoon instructs gov't to provide full support until end of jamboree

President Yoon Suk Yeol waves his hand during the opening ceremony of the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Aug. 2. Yonhap President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government Tuesday to provide full assistance to participants of the 25th World Scout Jamboree until the event's conclusion, his office said.Yoon made the remark while being briefed by his aides on the relocation of thousands of young Scouts and adult volunteers from the jamboree venue in Saemangeum to cities across the country ahead of Typhoon Khanun's expected landfall Thursday morning."The entire government, including the emergency response team, should do its best to provide support until the end of the jamboree event," he said, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon."The 45,000 Scouts who have come here from some 150 nations will all talk about what kind of country the Republic of Korea is when they return home," Yoon said, asking all Koreans to think of themse

Aug 8, 2023
Yoon instructs gov't to provide full support until end of jamboree
  • Jamboree participants evacuated to 8 different regions due to typhoon

'We survive. We are Scouts. We don't have problems.'

Moroccan Scout Lina Mestari, third from left, poses with her friends at the Delta zone of the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of Gender Equality and FamilyNevertheless, there are people enjoying World Jamboree in Korea By Jun Ji-hyeSAEMANGEUM, North Jeolla Province ― While the 25th World Scout Jamboree taking place in Korea has faced a torrent of bad news about heat illnesses and hygiene issues, participants are still having fun making new friends and learning about different cultures during the event. On Sunday, the sixth day of the largest international youth camp held in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, The Korea Times spoke with young Scouts and adult volunteers who were spending time in the Delta zone, the only location where onsite media access is allowed. At the Delta zone, a number of booths were installed to introduce the cultures of each participating nation. Drums and other musical instruments resounded in the background. Young Scouts were gathering in small groups, chatting and laughing with each other. Partic

Aug 7, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
'We survive. We are Scouts. We don't have problems.'
  • UK Scouts enjoy alternative programs in Seoul, Incheon
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