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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.

Assembly foreign affairs committee chief meets with US House counterpart

Rep. Kim Tae-ho, second from left, chairman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, smiles during a meeting with Congressman Michael McCaul in Washington, June 22. YonhapThe chairman of the National Assembly foreign affairs committee has met with his U.S. House counterpart in Washington, and discussed the alliance between the two countries and other pending issues, the National Assembly said Friday.Rep. Kim Tae-ho of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said during the meeting with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Thursday that the bilateral alliance was qualitatively strengthened thanks to the "Washington Declaration" adopted at an April summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden.McCaul said it was very positive that Yoon considers relations with the United States a priority.Kim also said the two countries should continue to strengthen relations as they share universal values, such as freedom, democracy and human rights, and asked for McCaul's attention to the Inflation Reduction Act and other U.S.

Jun 23, 2023
Assembly foreign affairs committee chief meets with US House counterpart

DPK's innovation committee urges all party lawmakers to give up arrest immunity

Yoon Hyeong-joong, left, the spokesperson for the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's special committee for party innovation speaks at a press conference, June 23. YonhapThe innovation committee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) demanded Friday that all party lawmakers submit written pledges to give up their immunity from arrest and that the party adopt it as an official policy to pass future arrest consent motions.The newly established committee put forward the demands as part of reform efforts at a time when the party has struggled with a series of scandals. The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has also launched a similar campaign where more than half of its lawmakers signed pledges to give up arrest immunity.By law, lawmakers in Korea are immune from arrest while parliament is in session and can be arrested only when the National Assembly consents to it. But criticism has arisen recently that the privilege is abused to protect corrupt politicians."We demand that all DPK lawmakers submit written pledges renouncing their no-arrest privilege and that the p

Jun 23, 2023
DPK's innovation committee urges all party lawmakers to give up arrest immunity

DPK vows all-out efforts to prevent Fukushima waters from flowing into east coast

Leaders of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea are seen at the party's leadership meeting in the east coast city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, June 23. YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) pledged Friday to make all-out efforts to prevent the contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant from flowing into the eastern coast of Korea.The DPK's floor leader Park Kwang-on made the pledge at a party meeting held in the east coast city of Gangneung, saying Tokyo's plan to dump the radioactive waters into the ocean will deal a "direct blow" to the region's economy."The DPK will do everything it can to prevent the contaminated radioactive waters from Fukushima from flowing into the eastern coast of the country," Park said.The main opposition party has strongly opposed the Fukushima release plan, arguing that it would pose great health risks to people in Korea. But the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol says the release would pose no health hazards as long as it is done in a scientifically safe manner.During the meeting, Park reiterated his

Jun 23, 2023
DPK vows all-out efforts to prevent Fukushima waters from flowing into east coast

Police raid Daegu City Hall after clash over queer festival

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency raids the city hall in Daegu after accusations arose that Mayor Hong Joon-pyo violated the Public Official Election Act, June 23. YonhapPolice raided Daegu City Hall in the southeastern city Friday over alleged election law violations involving Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, about a week after the two sides clashed over an LGBT festival.Hong cried foul and denounced the police as "gangsters," claiming they were taking revenge on the city government after last week's clash between 500 city officials and some 1,500 police personnel over whether the queer festival could be held on a public road in the city, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul.During the raid, about 10 investigators from the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency searched the city hall's "new media office" in charge of the city's YouTube channel at 9 a.m. for four hours and seized boxes of evidence.Officials said the raid was conducted in connection with an election law violation case involving Hong, but the mayor was not subject to the search. They did not elaborate.In February, a civic group in Daegu

Jun 23, 2023
Police raid Daegu City Hall after clash over queer festival

Yoon meets with Korean language students in Hanoi

President Yoon Suk Yeol sits next to first lady Kim Keon Hee, as he speaks during a meeting with Vietnamese students learning the Korean language at Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Thursday. Yonhap HANOI ― Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee met on Thursday with a group of students learning the Korean language in Vietnam.The meeting took place at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, shortly after Yoon arrived in the country for a three-day state visit aimed at deepening economic cooperation between the two countries.The president and the first lady looked at Korean language textbooks and other educational materials on display before listening to some of the young Vietnamese students talk about what they wish to achieve by learning Korean."I heard in South Korea that the fervor of Vietnamese students to learn Korean was remarkable," Yoon said. "The Korean language skills of the person who made an introduction before I entered this room and

Jun 22, 2023
Yoon meets with Korean language students in Hanoi
  • Korean businesses seek to boost presence in Vietnam

Opposition leader meets fishermen amid Fukushima worries

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, tries raw squid during his visit to a traditional market in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Thursday. NewsisSafety fears may be unfounded, but industry is already taking hitBy Jung Min-hoSeemingly determined to keep the Fukushima water issue alive, Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition party, on Thursday met with fishermen who are deeply concerned about Japan's plan to discharge treated wastewater from the city's nuclear plant into the sea.The leader and other officials of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) visited a local market at Gangneung, a coastal city in Gangwon Province, where such worries are especially high.His move comes at a time when concerns are rising over a million tons of radioactive water set to be released into the Pacific Ocean beginning in the coming weeks. Many in the seafood industry say that they have already been losing customers and fear that this was only the beginning of a more serious business crisis that could unfold when Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) proceeds wi

Jun 22, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Opposition leader meets fishermen amid Fukushima worries

Discovery of dead babies exposes loopholes in state management of newborns

gettyimagesbankArrest warrant sought for mother accused of killing 2 newborn babiesBy Jun Ji-hyeThe discovery of two infants who were apparently murdered by their mother and stored in a refrigerator has once again exposed serious loopholes in the country's system of managing newborn babies that relies only on parents to register childbirths.This has left 2,236 out of some 2.6 million babies who were born from 2015 until last year without any record of registration, while it remains unclear whether they are alive or dead, according to the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), Thursday.The state auditor singled out 23 unregistered babies among the 2,236 and instructed local governments to check if they are alive. This led to the confirmations of at least three babies that have died, and among them, the two dead newborns were discovered at a home in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, apparently murdered by their mother. In a bid to prevent newborns from being left unregistered and becoming “ghost babies,” the government has pushed for a new system obligating medical institutions to no

Jun 22, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Discovery of dead babies exposes loopholes in state management of newborns

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
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