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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 office says abuse of impeachment power will face people's stern judgment

Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, who was impeached by the parliament on Feb. 8, arrives at the Constitutional Court in Seoul to attend an initial hearing on his impeachment that has suspended his duties, May 9. Yonhap The presidential office said Tuesday the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's "abuse" of impeachment powers will be sternly judged by the people after the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over last year's deadly crowd crush in Seoul.The court's decision came nearly six months after the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Lee to hold him accountable for the crowd crush that killed 159 people in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood on Oct. 29."The impeachment system is aimed at defending the liberal democratic constitutional order," a senior presidential official told Yonhap News Agency after the ruling was announced. "This was an abuse of impeachment powers

Jul 25, 2023
Yoon's office says abuse of impeachment power will face people's stern judgment
  • Constitutional Court unanimously rejects impeachment of interior minister

Constitutional Court unanimously rejects impeachment of interior minister

Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, who was impeached by the parliament arrives at the Constitutional Court in Seoul to attend an initial hearing on his impeachment that has suspended his duties, May 9. YonhapThe Constitutional Court on Tuesday unanimously rejected the National Assembly's impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over last year's deadly crowd crush in Seoul, a decision that immediately reinstated him as minister. The nine-member court reached the decision, 167 days after the opposition Democratic Party of Korea-controlled National Assembly passed the impeachment motion to hold him accountable for October's crowd crush that left 159 people dead in Seoul's Itaewon district. Lee, whose duties were suspended following the Feb. 8 impeachment, was immediately put back into office.The main focus of the court's deliberations on the case had been whether Lee fulfilled his duty as interior minister in charge of public safety to take steps to prevent the tragedy and whether the government's response was appropriate.The court said it is impossible to conclude that Lee

Jul 25, 2023
Constitutional Court unanimously rejects impeachment of interior minister
  • Yoon's office says abuse of impeachment power will face people's stern judgment

DPK suggests bringing unification minister to ethics committee over virtual asset trading

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se speaks during a plenary session of the diplomacy and unification committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, May 24. YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) urged the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Monday to refer Unification Minister Kwon Young-se to the parliamentary ethics committee following revelations that Kwon had engaged in virtual asset trading.The demand came after 11 lawmakers, including Kwon, were found to have held virtual assets, after a cryptocurrency scandal involving Rep. Kim Nam-kuk led to the National Assembly checking the virtual asset holdings of all lawmakers.In late May, the National Assembly passed a number of revision bills to include digital assets, such as cryptocurrency, in the annual asset disclosure of lawmakers and high-ranking public officials. Since then, lawmakers have been requested to voluntarily submit their virtual asset holdings since May 30, 2020, to the parliamentary ethics committee.On Monday, the DPK's chief spokesperson, Rep. Kwon Chil-seung, urged the PPP to bring the unification mi

Jul 24, 2023
DPK suggests bringing unification minister to ethics committee over virtual asset trading

Korea removes state burial record of Gen. Paik as pro-Japanese figure

This photo shows a statute of the late Gen. Paik Sun-yup being unveiled at a ceremony at the Dabudong War Memorial Museum in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, July 5. YonhapKorea's veterans ministry said Monday it has deleted a state burial record describing Korean War hero Gen. Paik Sun-yup as a pro-Japanese figure, saying that such an expression was written with no legal grounds.The ministry said it has decided to remove a phrase identifying Paik as a person who engaged in pro-Japanese and anti-national activities in the late general's online burial record on the Daejeon National Cemetery's website, a term that strikes a sour note due to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.The description had been in place since his burial in 2020 at the cemetery in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul, as a presidential committee put him on a list of pro-Japanese figures in 2009, citing his military service for Manchukuo, a puppet state for Imperial Japan, during Tokyo's colonial rule.Paik served in the pro-Japan Gando Special Force under the Manchukuo Imperial Army from 1943

Jul 24, 2023
Korea removes state burial record of Gen. Paik as pro-Japanese figure

Opposition lawmakers draw flak for overseas trip amid flood crisis

Rep. Park Jeung of the Democratic Party of Korea speaks to reporters at Beijing Capital International Airport in China, in this June 15 file photo. A group of opposition party lawmakers have come under criticism for pushing ahead with their overseas trip during a flooding crisis. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoWhen President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Ukraine on July 15, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) criticized him over the trip taken while a flooding crisis was unfolding at home. Now, the party is facing similar criticism over its own lawmakers traveling overseas.Rep. Park Jeung, chief of the National Assembly's committee responsible for oversight of the executive branch's flood response, was among the four lawmakers who pressed ahead with a five-day trip to Vietnam and Laos this week at a time when heavy rain was forecast to pound South Korea.Amid mounting criticism of hypocrisy and irresponsibility, Park and two others ― Reps. Yoon Joon-byeong and Choi Ki-sang ― said they would return earlier than originally planned. But Rep. Park Byeong-seug, former vice sp

Jul 24, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Opposition lawmakers draw flak for overseas trip amid flood crisis

PPP lawmaker files complaint against those spreading fake news over teacher's death

Ruling People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho answers questions from reporters in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, July 24. YonhapA ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmaker filed a complaint with police Monday against a woman and a liberal news show host for spreading false information that the lawmaker's family was behind the suicide of a young elementary school teacher.The unidentified woman first wrote an internet post that the teacher killed herself after having a hard time dealing with a school violence case involving the family of a three-term lawmaker living in a certain apartment complex. That sparked widespread speculation the lawmaker is Rep. Han Ki-ho, a three-term lawmaker of the PPP, and Kim Eo-jun, a left-leaning radio host, also said during his YouTube news show that a three-term PPP lawmaker was involved in the case.Han rejected the rumors as groundless, saying he has no family member going to the elementary school.The woman has since paid a visit to Han's office and apologized, but Han said he would go ahead and take legal action, saying forgiving her wo

Jul 24, 2023
PPP lawmaker files complaint against those spreading fake news over teacher's death
  • 3rd elementary school teacher assaulted by student in a month

Yoon's approval rating falls for 3rd consecutive week

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during his visit to the Busan Naval Base for a tour of the USS Kentucky nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine, July 19. Joint Press CorpsPresident Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating fell for the third consecutive week to 36.6 percent, a poll showed Monday.In the poll of 2,532 eligible voters conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, positive assessment of Yoon's performance went down 1.5 percentage points from the previous week, while disapproval of Yoon's performance went up 1 percentage point to 59.9 percent. The approval rating had risen for three consecutive weeks to reach 42 percent in the last week of June but had been on the downward trend since the first week of July.Positive assessment mostly rose among females and respondents in their 40s, and those living in the central cities of Daejeon and Sejong and the southern cities of Busan and Ulsan.Negative assessment, meanwhile, mostly increased among respondents in their 30s and over 70s, and those living in Gangwon Province and the southern island of Jeju. The poll has a margin of e

Jul 24, 2023
Yoon's approval rating falls for 3rd consecutive week

Gov't considering creating public-private organization to counter extreme weather events: sources

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, visits a farm house hit by days of heavy rain in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, July 18. YonhapThe government is considering establishing a standing organization comprising civilian experts to tackle extreme weather events, such as the recent deadly downpours, an official said Sunday.The envisioned organization under the prime minister's office is aimed at gathering ideas from experts outside of the government to come up with disaster response strategies at a time when such extreme weather events are becoming a "new normal," the official said."It's necessary not only for the government but for experts from the private sector, to deliberate on fundamental and long-term measures," the official said in a call with Yonhap News Agency on customary condition of anonymity. Earlier last week, President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a fundamental change to the country's disaster response system, stressing that extreme weather events will continue in the future due to climate change.Yoon said government officials must "tear down perceptions that we can't help i

Jul 23, 2023
Gov't considering creating public-private organization to counter extreme weather events: sources

Ex-DPK leader's former aide indicted in cash-for-vote scandal

Former DPK leader Song Young-gil speaks to reporters in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, June 7. Korea Times photo by Ahn Da-eunProsecutors on Friday indicted a former aide to Song Young-gil, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), in connection with a cash-for-vote scandal involving the party's 2021 leadership election.The aide named Park Yong-soo, 53, was put under formal arrest on July 3 on charges of colluding with other party officials, including Kang Rae-gu and Lee Jung-geun, in distributing 67.5 million won ($52,600) to DPK lawmakers in the run-up to the party's leadership election in May 2021, which Song ultimately won.Kang and Lee were already arrested and indicted on charges of bribery and violations of political party and fund laws. The scandal centers on allegations that Song's campaign distributed envelopes of cash totaling 94 million won to as many as 20 DPK lawmakers and other party members.According to officials at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, Park allegedly received 50 million won from a busines

Jul 21, 2023
Ex-DPK leader's former aide indicted in cash-for-vote scandal

Seoul to seek 'substantive' approach in dealing with NK: minister nominee

Unification Minister nominee Kim Yung-ho attends his parliamentary confirmation hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, July 21. YonhapThe nominee to serve as South Korea's new point man on North Korea said Friday he will prioritize "substantive" results over dialogue in dealing with North Korea, in an apparent reaffirmation of the government's hard-line stance against the recalcitrant regime.Kim Yung-ho, the minister nominee for Seoul's unification ministry, made the remarks during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly. The conservative scholar, also known as a vocal critic of human rights conditions in the North, was nominated for the post late last month."Rather than (holding) dialogue for the sake of (holding) it, (I) will take an approach that could lead to substantive outcome," the minister nominee told lawmakers.Kim's remarks were seen as reflecting President Yoon Suk Yeol's call for a change in the ministry's role. In a meeting with his staff earlier this month, Yoon said the ministry should no longer act like a support agency for North Korea, saying it is "time

Jul 21, 2023
Seoul to seek 'substantive' approach in dealing with NK: minister nominee
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