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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.

Former special counsel grilled by prosecutors over suspected bribery

Former special counsel Park Young-soo / YonhapFormer special counsel Park Young-soo appeared before prosecutors Thursday to be questioned about corruption allegations surrounding a controversial land development scandal in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, in the mid-2010s.Park was summoned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in the morning as a bribery suspect, according to judicial officials.He is suspected of agreeing to receive real estate properties worth 20 billion won ($15.5 million) from private developers in return for helping their project to develop Seongnam's Daejang-dong district into apartment complexes in 2014, when he served as the chair of the Woori Bank board of directors.Prosecutors suspect the amount of properties promised to Park decreased to 5 billion won later, after the bank's role in the project was reduced.The so-called Daejang-dong scandal, in which Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management and a small number of private partners were allowed to reap astronomical investment profits, has drawn keen media attention because the project was launched when opposit

Jun 22, 2023
Former special counsel grilled by prosecutors over suspected bribery

Ruling party leader to visit US next month

Ruling People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon, left, talks to another lawmaker at the National Assembly in Seoul, June 21. YonhapThe leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) will visit the United States next month for meetings with members of the U.S. Congress and government officials, party officials said Thursday.Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon will visit Washington, New York and Los Angeles from July 10-16, together with about 10 party members, including Rep. Lee Chul-gyu, the PPP's secretary general, as well as Reps. Yoo Sang-bum and Ko Ja-keun.The trip is aimed at restoring parliamentary diplomacy and discussing follow-up measures with U.S. government officials and Congress members on issues that President Yoon Suk Yeol agreed on during a state visit there in April, officials said.Kim will be the first ruling party leader to visit the U.S. in eight years, officials said.Kim plans to restore parliamentary exchanges between the two countries and add legislative level support so that various agreements made by Yoon in the previous summit lead to tangible results, party officials said.All ex

Jun 22, 2023
Ruling party leader to visit US next month

Remembering 1st Korean War battle

Elementary school students visit the U.N. Forces First Battle Memorial at the Osan Jukmiryeong Peace Park in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, four days before the 73rd anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War. The park was set up in 2020 in memory of the Battle of Osan on July 5, 1950 ― the first ground battle of the U.N. Forces, known as Task Force Smith, against North Korea during the war. Yonhap

Jun 21, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Remembering 1st Korean War battle

Busan Expo will be 'solutions platform' for crisis facing humanity, Yoon says in BIE speech

President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during South Korea's presentation for Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 at the general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris, Tuesday (local time). Joint Press CorpsPresident pledges 'best World Expo of all time' at BIE assemblyBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk Yeol said, Tuesday, that the Busan World Expo will be “a solutions platform for humanity's crisis” during his presentation seeking global support for the South Korean port city's bid to host the event in 2030.Yoon attended the 172nd general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the global body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, in Paris. The general assembly was the venue of the fourth presentation by the candidate cities before the selection in November of the host city of the World Expo 2030.South Korea was the second country to present its bid and the president took the floor as the final speaker of the presentation. Saudi Arabia and Rome also delivered presentations to host the World Expo in 2030.During his

Jun 20, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
Busan Expo will be 'solutions platform' for crisis facing humanity, Yoon says in BIE speech
  • Rapper Psy makes case for why Busan should host 2030 World Expo
  • World Expo 2030 sees battling bids from cities in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Korea

Pfizer employees lead green campaign

Pfizer Korea employees pose on a trail of Mount Nam in central Seoul, June 16. Courtesy of Pfizer Korea By Lee Kyung-minPfizer Korea employees participated in environmental protection activities as part of the Green Move Campaign established last year to advance its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiative, titled “Moves for a Healthier World,” according to the firm, Tuesday. Pfizer Korea signed a business agreement last year with Forest for Life, a private environmental advocacy group.At least 233 members of the public in Daejeon, Seoul and other cities went tree planting for a combined 622 hours during the second half of last year.The tree planting activities promote the health of employees, citizens as well as nature and a sense of community, the firm said. It also improves physical well-being and psychological stability.Executives and employees of Pfizer Korea are committed to the campaign. The first one was launched last year. They engage

Jun 20, 2023By Lee Kyung-min
Pfizer employees lead green campaign

Strawberry beers developed at Gyeonggi agriculture lab

Mimiberry and NYJ-Strawberry are new fruity beer brands developed by the Gyeonggi Agricultural Technology Institute and manufactured by two local breweries. Courtesy of Gyeonggi Provincial GovernmentBy Ko Dong-hwanA new breed of strawberry-flavored beers has been developed by an agricultural research lab in Gyeonggi Province, expanding the domestic beer market where flavored beers are hard to find.The Agricultural Produce Research Division under the provincial government's Research and Development Bureau said Monday that Mimiberry and NYJ-Strawberry went on sale to the public on Saturday. The technology behind the beers was developed by the Gyeonggi Agricultural Technology Institute in the city of Hwaseong. Eight People Brewery in Namyangju manufactured Mimiberry and Vaneheim Brewery from the same city that made NYJ-Strawberry. The institute developed new technology to further expand the market for local strawberries. Mimiberry is a mixture of strawberries and rice-fermented beers that used Chamdream, a new rice breed developed by the provincial authority. The beer contains 30 percen

Jun 20, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
Strawberry beers developed at Gyeonggi agriculture lab

PPP lawmaker quits party over illegal political fund allegations

This photo shows Rep. Hwangbo Seung-hee of the ruling People Power Party debating during the Whole House Committee meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, April 11. YonhapRep. Hwangbo Seung-hee of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Monday she will voluntarily leave the party and will not run in next year's parliamentary elections amid suspicions of accepting illegal political funds.Hwangbo has been under a police investigation for allegedly accepting the funds from regional politicians prior to the 2020 parliamentary election and the 2022 regional election, in return for nominating them for district council and city council seats in her constituency located in the southeastern port city of Busan.Additional allegations have emerged surrounding the lawmaker's personal life involving her boyfriend, who's accused of using the lawmaker's official vehicle and aides for personal purposes."I have decided to leave the PPP and will not run in the 22nd general elections," Hwangbo said on her social media account, while also offering an apology to her constituents.The lawmaker has denie

Jun 19, 2023
PPP lawmaker quits party over illegal political fund allegations

DPK leader vows to give up immunity from arrest

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung gives a speech as the representative of the parliamentary negotiating body of the DPK, at the National Assembly in Seoul, June 19. YonhapOpposition leader Lee Jae-myung said Monday he will give up his immunity from arrest as a lawmaker, accusing the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol of unfair investigations of him and other political opponents.Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), made the pledge during an address at the National Assembly, claiming that the Yoon administration is bent on "raids, arrests and political strife" without taking care of the economy and diplomacy.Lee said the prosecution has conducted more than 300 raids in a probe targeting him while investigating almost all the people close to him during his years as mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, and governor of Gyeonggi Province."I think they are trying to cause discord and division in the Democratic Party of Korea," Lee said during his address as leader of a parliamentary negotiating bloc. "I won't give them a p

Jun 19, 2023
DPK leader vows to give up immunity from arrest

NIS director's job at stake over personnel issues

National Intelligence Service Director Kim Kyou-hyun attends a meeting of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee in Seoul, March 7. Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwonBy Nam Hyun-wooThe National Intelligence Service (NIS) is in trouble over its Director Kim Kyou-hyun's human resources (HR) policies and subsequent unrest over the spy agency's personnel allocation. Reportedly, chiefs of the NIS' key overseas stations ― in the United States and Japan ― have been summoned back home due to troubles related to human resources. The presidential office is now inspecting the NIS' HR policies, and reports are alleging that President Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered Kim to “keep his hands off” personnel issues, sparking up questions over whether the director will retain his job. According to sources at the presidential office, its civil discipline office is now looking into the NIS' personnel management issues. “Though I cannot confirm details, it is true that the office is now taking the matter very seriously,” an official said. The move came after reports that Yoon revo

Jun 19, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
NIS director's job at stake over personnel issues

DPK's new revamp team draws criticism for controversial remarks

By Nam Hyun-wooKim Eun-kyung, main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's innovation committee head / Korea Times fileThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is struggling to find a way out of a quagmire involving the party's innovation committee, as its new head, Kim Eun-kyung, drew criticism for her controversial remarks about the DPK's cash-for-votes scandal ahead its race to elect a new chairman in 2021.“The innovation committee head said in an interview that the cash-for-votes scandal could have been made up by the prosecution, which could offer a way for the criminals involved to evade punishment,” ruling People Power Party senior spokesperson Rep. Yoo Sang-bum said in a statement on Sunday.“Criticism aimed at the innovation committee is escalating within the DPK itself,” Yoo added.The DPK established the innovation committee as part of efforts to rebuild the party's reputation in the aftermath of a slew of scandals, including the cash-for-votes controversy involving ex-party leader Song Young-gil. DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung has said that the

Jun 19, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
DPK's new revamp team draws criticism for controversial remarks
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