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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.

17%: PPP approval rating plunges as internal rift over Yoon deepens

A new poll showing the People Power Party's (PPP) approval rating plunging to 17 percent has intensified concerns that leader Jang Dong-hyeok’s leadership is entering a critical phase ahead of the June 3 local elections. The nationwide survey released Thursday marked the party’s lowest level since Jang took office and widened the gap with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to 28 percentage points. In Seoul, the party recorded 19 percent support, followed by 16 percent in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, 15 percent in Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong, and 12 percent in Gangwon and Jeju. Even in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, traditional conservative strongholds, it trailed the DPK by double digits. The result that most alarmed party officials was Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, long considered the conservative base, where the two parties were tied at 28 percent. It marked the first time the PPP’s rating fell below 20 percent since August last year. Party lawmakers and analysts attribute the slump to mounting internal divisions and controversy over Jang’s sta

Feb 27, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
17%: PPP approval rating plunges as internal rift over Yoon deepens

Lee puts private home up for sale

President Lee Jae Myung has put his private home up for sale at a below-market price, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday, in a show of willingness to stabilize the property market. The private apartment in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul, jointly owned with first lady Kim Hea Kyung, was put up for sale earlier in the day, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written statement. "Although he owns one home for residential purposes, the move is seen as intended to demonstrate to the public his commitment to normalizing the real estate market," Kang said in the statement. The move comes as Lee has urged owners of multiple homes to sell their properties ahead of the government ending the temporary suspension of heavy capital gains taxes in May. Lee has also signaled the government will pursue measures to reduce incentives for speculative homeownership, including among single-homeowners who hold properties for investment purposes. Lee currently resides at an official residence in Hannam-dong in central Seoul while renovations are underway at the presidential residence within the Cheong W

Feb 27, 2026By Yonhap
Lee puts private home up for sale

Ruling party pushes through judicial reform bill allowing constitutional complaints against court decisions

Korea’s National Assembly on Friday passed a controversial bill allowing constitutional complaints against court rulings, after the ruling bloc moved to end a 24-hour filibuster staged by opposition lawmakers who had denounced the measure as a fundamental shake-up of the country’s judicial order. The amendment to the Constitutional Court Act, which brings court judgments within the scope of constitutional complaints, was approved at 7:44 p.m. during a plenary session led by the ruling party. The bill passed in a 162-63 vote among 225 lawmakers present, after lawmakers from pro-government parties voted to close debate. All lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) who were in attendance voted against the bill, joined by a few other lawmakers from minor parties. Legislators from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and other pro-government parties overwhelmingly backed the measure. At the heart of the bill, formally an amendment to the Constitutional Court Act is a plan to permit individuals to file constitutional complaints against finalized court judgments un

Feb 27, 2026By Anna J. Park
Ruling party pushes through judicial reform bill allowing constitutional complaints against court decisions

Seoul official behind 'MASGA' project gets rare promotion

An official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources who formulated the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA) proposal, one of the major projects that helped Korea secure its tariff agreement with the United States, has been promoted two notches to the director-general level, the ministry said Friday. Kim Eui-joong, director of the shipbuilding and offshore plant industry division, was named director general for the manufacturing industry as part of a mass personnel reshuffle taken earlier this week. A director usually gets promoted to deputy director general before moving up to director general, but Kim skipped the deputy director position, marking an extraordinary career progression in the public service sector, often considered conservative, if not rigid. The 50-year-old is known to have come up with the idea of the MASGA proposal when the Seoul government was working hard last summer to reach a trade deal with Washington to lower tariffs on the country. Under the proposal, Seoul has agreed to invest $150 billion to help revitalize the U.S.' shipbuilding industry, p

Feb 27, 2026By Yonhap
Seoul official behind 'MASGA' project gets rare promotion

Lee's approval rating inches up to 64%

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating slightly rose to 64 percent this week, led by positive assessments of his economic and housing policies, a poll showed Friday. The survey by Gallup Korea, conducted Tuesday through Thursday on 1,000 respondents aged 18 and over, showed that the positive assessment of Lee's overall performance gained 1 percentage point from the previous week. The negative assessment remained unchanged at 26 percent. Lee's policies on the economy and real estate were both cited most frequently as the reason for the positive evaluation at 17 percent, followed by diplomacy at 11 percent. Among the negative responses, concerns over the real estate policies stood at 15 percent, followed by his economic policies at 10 percent. The pollster said respondents showed mixed responses to Lee's leadership style and real estate policies. Lee has been seeking to rein in home prices through various measures, such as ending an exemption from the heavy capital gains tax for owners of multiple homes. The approval rating for the ruling Democratic Party fell 1 percentage point to 43 per

Feb 27, 2026By Yonhap
Lee's approval rating inches up to 64%

Lee to pay state visits to Singapore, Philippines next week

President Lee Jae Myung will pay state visits to Singapore and the Philippines next week for summit talks aimed at expanding cooperation with the Southeast Asian nations, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. Lee will depart for Singapore on Sunday for a three-day visit, with summit talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and a meeting with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the ceremonial head of state, scheduled for Monday, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing. It will mark their second summit since Lee and Wong met in early November during Wong's visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, during which the two nations upgraded their relations to a strategic partnership. "In light of Lee's visit to Singapore, the two nations are expected to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and infrastructure, and broaden the collaboration in promising sectors, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear power," Kang said, noting Lee will attend a business forum to engage with industry leaders in the AI field. On Tuesday, Lee

Feb 27, 2026By Yonhap
Lee to pay state visits to Singapore, Philippines next week

Lee vows policy measures to cut benefits of homeownership as speculation

President Lee Jae Myung has said the government will come up with policy measures to reduce the benefits of homeownership as housing speculation, while actively protecting the rights of home buying for residential purposes. The remarks by Lee were seen as the latest warning against housing speculation, as the government was set to end the temporary suspension of heavy capital gains taxes for multi-home owners in May. On his social media account on X on Thursday night, Lee said the government will actively protect homeownership as an ordinary residence, but policy steps should be taken to prevent a home being used for housing speculation. "(The government) will mobilize all available policy tools to create conditions in which selling, rather than holding, is more advantageous not only for multi-homeowners but also for single-homeowners who hold properties for investment or speculative purposes," Lee said. "(The government) will actively protect ordinary residential use, while crafting (regulations) to tightly block housing-based investment and speculation," he added. Lee outlined plans to

Feb 27, 2026By Yonhap
Lee vows policy measures to cut benefits of homeownership as speculation

Lee visits special exhibition on 16th century naval commander Yi Sun-sin

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday visited a special exhibition on the 16th century naval commander Yi Sun-sin at the National Museum of Korea. Lee, accompanied by first lady Kim Hea Kyung, took a guided tour of the exhibition, titled "The Great Admiral Yi Sun-sin," which has been on display to mark the 480th anniversary of Yi's birth. After the guided tour, they stopped by a souvenir shop at the museum and engaged with other visitors. The visit was arranged as part of efforts to "reaffirm the spiritual foundation of the Republic of Korea as a cultural powerhouse and engage with the public," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing. The exhibition features an extensive collection related to Yi, including his diaries written during major battles and long swords, as well as national treasures and other artifacts. The admiral led major victories that the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) pulled off against Japan during the country's Invasion of Korea (1592-98). It has drawn over 320,000 visitors since its opening in late November, marking the largest attendance for a histo

Feb 26, 2026By Yonhap
Lee visits special exhibition on 16th century naval commander Yi Sun-sin

DPK presses ahead with contentious ‘law distortion’ bill despite mounting opposition

Korea’s National Assembly on Thursday passed a controversial amendment to the Criminal Act, known as the “law distortion” bill, driven by the majority-holding ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The measure is one of three flagship judicial reform initiatives the party has pledged to advance. The new provision criminalizes the intentional misapplication of the law by judges and prosecutors in ongoing criminal trials or investigations to unlawfully benefit or harm a party. Those convicted face penalties of up to 10 years in prison and suspension from office for the same period. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) fiercely opposed the bill, launching a filibuster on Wednesday and denouncing it as a “malicious law” that would undermine the judicial system. After 24 hours of debate, however, the DPK and other pro-government lawmakers voted to end the filibuster and moved forward with its passage. After passing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee earlier this week, the original draft drew significant pushback, with opponents arguing that it violates the constitutio

Feb 26, 2026By Anna J. Park
DPK presses ahead with contentious ‘law distortion’ bill despite mounting opposition

Lee's approval rating hits highest level since inauguration: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating climbed to 67 percent, marking its highest level since he took office last June, a survey showed Thursday. In a National Barometer Survey (NBS) conducted from Monday to Wednesday, the positive assessment of Lee's performance rose 4 percentage points from a poll conducted two weeks earlier. It marked Lee's highest approval rating in NBS polls since his inauguration. Negative assessment came to 25 percent, down 5 percentage points from the previous survey. Support for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea rose 4 percentage points to 45 percent, while backing for the main opposition People Power Party dropped 5 percentage points to 17 percent, the second lowest figure under the current administration. On the upcoming June 3 local elections, 53 percent of respondents said the voters should support the ruling party for stability, while 34 percent said they should back the opposition to keep the government in check. When asked about the court's decision to hand down a life sentence to former President Yoon Suk Yeol for his martial law bid, 42 percent said

Feb 26, 2026By Yonhap
Lee's approval rating hits highest level since inauguration: poll
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