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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.

Opposition leader tables bill to officially recognize Oct. 25 as 'Dokdo Day'

An undated file photo of Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo / Courtesy of Daezer ShippingLee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), proposed a bill designating "Dokdo Day" as a legally recognized anniversary to bolster Korea's sovereignty over the easternmost islets that Japan has long laid claim to.The revision to the Act on the Sustainable Use of Dokdo calls for giving legal recognition to Dokdo Day, which falls on Oct. 25, while requiring the maritime affairs minister to add plans to strengthen the country's sovereignty over Dokdo in a regular report on the use of the islets and its surrounding waters."Dokdo is the issue all our people are currently interested in ... We need to institutionalize the Day of Dokdo and strengthen people's interest and the country's use of Dokdo," the chairman of the DPK told reporters after a meeting with businesspeople.The Dokdo issue has resurfaced following Japanese news outlets' reports that President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed the matter during their summit in Tokyo last w

Mar 21, 2023
Opposition leader tables bill to officially recognize Oct. 25 as 'Dokdo Day'

Main opposition threatens to open parliamentary investigation into Yoon-Kishida summit

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Park Hong-keun, center, speaks at a party meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul against the backdrop of a poster that shows the national flag of Korea and a phrase that reads, "We cannot buy the future at the cost of history," March 21. The Korea Times photo by Koh Yeong-gwonThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) will consider a parliamentary investigation into last week's summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, its floor leader said, stepping up suspicions Yoon made secret concessions during the meeting.The DPK has slammed Thursday's summit as "humiliating diplomacy," denouncing the government's decision to compensate local victims of Japan's wartime forced labor on its own without asking Japan's government or companies for contributions.Its criticism rose further following Japanese media reports that unannounced topics were also discussed during the meeting, such as the issue of Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, Japan's wartime sexual slavery and Seoul's

Mar 21, 2023
Main opposition threatens to open parliamentary investigation into Yoon-Kishida summit

Ex-Gyeonggi vice governor additionally charged with colluding in illegal money transfer to North Korea

This Sept. 27, 2022 file photo shows Lee Hwa-young, former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province, attending a court hearing in Suwon, 34 kilometers south of Seoul. YonhapLee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province who was charged with bribery, was indicted again Tuesday for his alleged involvement in the illegal transfer of millions of dollars to North Korea by a local company.Lee, a trusted ally of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, was arrested in September for accepting bribes and illegal political funds from Ssangbangwool Group, an underwear maker. He was indicted the following month.The district prosecutors office in Suwon, 34 kilometers south of Seoul, said it additionally charged him with violating the foreign exchange transactions act for colluding with Ssangbangwool to transfer US$8 million to North Korea through China between January 2019 and January 2020.Kim Seong-tae, the group's former chairman, was indicted for making the payment on behalf of Gyeonggi Province during the time when Lee Jae-myung was the governor and Lee Hwa-young was the vice governor overseein

Mar 21, 2023
Ex-Gyeonggi vice governor additionally charged with colluding in illegal money transfer to North Korea

President Yoon refutes criticism of fence-mending summit with Japan

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapTokyo's claims on Dokdo, sexual slavery major drag on restoring tiesBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday refuted domestic criticism against his efforts to mend ties with Japan despite Tokyo's reluctance to issue an additional apology for its past wartime wrongdoings, saying that neglecting the frayed relationship with the neighboring country for political interest is tantamount to dereliction of the president's duty.“The previous government left the troubled relationship between South Korea and Japan untouched and this resulted in the people of both countries and ethnic South Koreans living in Japan suffering, and the security and economies of both countries falling into a deep abyss,” Yoon said during his 25-minute opening speech at a Cabinet meeting.“I also could have chosen an easy path for immediate political gains and left the worst-ever South Korea-Japan relations unaddressed. However, I believed that neglecting grave international circumsta

Mar 21, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon refutes criticism of fence-mending summit with Japan

US report voices concerns over S. Korea's press freedom

Union members at broadcaster MBC stage a rally against ruling People Power Party lawmakers' visit to their office on Sept. 28, 2022. The lawmakers made the visit in protest against the broadcaster's media coverage of President Yoon Suk Yeol's hot mic incident. Joint Press CorpsBy Lee Hyo-jin Violence and harassment towards media professionals were listed among significant challenges to human rights in Korea in a report released by the U.S. Department of State, Monday (local time). The annual report on human rights referred to several events that took place here in 2022 including the presidential office's decision to ban a major broadcaster from boarding the presidential jet in response to media coverage of President Yoon Suk Yeol's hot mic incident.“On Nov. 10 (2022), the presidential office stated it had barred MBC from boarding the presidential aircraft to cover an overseas trip because of its 'repeated distorted and biased coverage of foreign policy issues recently,'” the report read, describing the incident as “violence and harassment on freedom of expression.&r

Mar 21, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
US report voices concerns over S. Korea's press freedom

Main opposition unilaterally passes motion for parliamentary hearing on school violence case

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea unilaterally passes a motion to hold a parliamentary hearing on a school violence case involving the son of Chung Sun-sin, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer who had been appointed as the chief of the National Office of Investigation, at a parliamentary education committee meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul, March 21. YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Tuesday unilaterally passed a motion to hold a parliamentary hearing next week on a school bullying case involving the son of a former senior prosecutor.The prosecutor-turned-lawyer, Chung Sun-sin, had been named head of the National Office of Investigation, but his appointment was canceled a day later amid public outrage over revelations that his son seriously bullied a schoolmate in high school.What fueled the public anger was the fact that the son bullied the victim while boasting of his father's status as a senior prosecutor, and that he was ordered to transfer schools as punishment, but the parents filed a lawsuit to get the transfer order reversed. Som

Mar 21, 2023
Main opposition unilaterally passes motion for parliamentary hearing on school violence case

Two major labor groups file complaint against labor minister

Employment and Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik speaks during an emergency meeting of economy-related ministers at the government complex in Seoul, March 6. YonhapTwo major umbrella labor groups filed a complaint against Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik on Tuesday over the government's decision to impose fines on labor unions refusing to disclose their account books.The Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions filed the complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, accusing Lee of abuse of authority charges.Earlier, the government announced it will impose fines on 86 labor unions and labor groups with 1,000 or more members that have been defying repeated calls for the disclosure of their account books."Imposing fines related to accounting greatly infringes upon autonomy by unfairly interfering with the management and finance of a labor union," the groups said in a press release. Under the relevant labor law, labor organizations must report the results of their financial accounts and management status upon the government's

Mar 21, 2023
Two major labor groups file complaint against labor minister

Yoon says Korea-Japan relations must leave past behind

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at a Cabinet meeting, March 21. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that bilateral relations between Korea and Japan must leave the past behind and move forward, as he faces a growing backlash at home over a recent summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "Korea-Japan relations must move beyond the past," Yoon told a Cabinet meeting. "Korea-Japan relations can and must be a win-win relationship that works together and gains more together." Yoon also said relations with Japan "are not a zero-sum relationship." The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and other critics have blasted Yoon for cozying up to Japan at the expense of Korea's national interests, after the government decided to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor on its own without asking Japan for contributions.The DPK has also raised suspicions that Yoon could have made unannounced concessions to Japan, following Japanese news reports that the two leaders also discussed the issue of Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, Japan's wartime sexual slavery and Seou

Mar 21, 2023
Yoon says Korea-Japan relations must leave past behind
  • Japan invites Yoon to upcoming G-7 summit: report

Japan invites Yoon to upcoming G-7 summit: report

Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during their summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 13, 2022. Korea Times fileJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida invited South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to a G-7 summit to be held in Hiroshima in May, a news report said Monday. According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Kishida told reporters he invited leaders of South Korea, Brazil, India, Vietnam and four other countries to the upcoming G-7 summit during his ongoing visit to India.Japan has the authority to invite countries to the G-7 summit this year as the host nation. The report came less than a week after Yoon and Kishida held a bilateral summit in Tokyo, signaling a significant warming of long-strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo.Ahead of the summit, Seoul announced a solution to the long-running dispute over compensation for Koreans forced into hard labor for Japanese companies when Korea was under Japan's colonial rule from 1910-45.Last week, Yoon said in an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun that the G-7 summit will give South Korea an oppor

Mar 20, 2023
Japan invites Yoon to upcoming G-7 summit: report
  • Yoon says Korea-Japan relations must leave past behind

Korea expresses regret over 'distorted' reports on Yoon-Kishida summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, after a dinner at a restaurant for their summit in Tokyo, March 16. YonhapKorea has expressed regret to Japan over a series of "distorted" reports on last week's summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and asked that such reports not be repeated, a presidential official said Monday.Japan's Sankei Shimbun reported the same day that Kishida asked Yoon to faithfully implement a 2015 agreement on the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II, as well as the lifting of restrictions on imports of seafood from Fukushima.Other Japanese news outlets carried similar reports last week, saying the issues of the "comfort women" and Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo, which Japan has repeatedly laid claim to, were raised during the summit."With regard to the completely groundless or distorted reports coming out of Japan after the summit, I understand that our diplomatic authorities have expressed regret and asked for a prevention of a recu

Mar 20, 2023
Korea expresses regret over 'distorted' reports on Yoon-Kishida summit
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