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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.

Families of Itaewon crowd stampede victims clash with police over installation of memorial altar

Family members of the victims of the Itaewon tragedy march on a street in central Seoul, Feb. 4, to commemorate the 100th day of the accident. NewsisBereaved families of the victims of the Itaewon crowd stampede clashed with police in central Seoul Saturday as they took to the streets one day before the 100th day of the tragedy and installed a memorial altar in a public square without approval from the authorities. About 1,000 people, including about 150 family members, began to march from a memorial altar at Noksapyeong Station, near the site of the Oct. 29 accident that killed 159 people during Halloween festivities, at around 11 a.m., to Sejongno Street, where they were to hold a memorial rally for the victims.They had initially planned to hold the event at nearby Gwanghwamun Square and set up the memorial altar there. But the city government rejected the requests, and the police agency dispatched about 3,000 personnel to the vicinity.Families of the Itaewon tragedy victims march on a street in central Seoul, Feb. 4, one day before the 100th day of the accident. NewsisIn the middl

Feb 4, 2023
Families of Itaewon crowd stampede victims clash with police over installation of memorial altar

Opposition party takes to streets to protest prosecution probes into leader

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, attends an anti-government rally held in downtown Seoul, Feb. 4. YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) staged a large-scale rally in central Seoul, Saturday, to protest the prosecution's widening corruption investigation into its embattled leader. Tens of thousands of party members joined the rally led by DPK leader Lee Jae-myung, who is currently under investigation over corruption allegations surrounding a massive development project pushed for in Seongnam, south of Seoul, when he was the city's mayor. During the event, Lee accused prosecutors of hampering democracy by targeting him, President Yoon Suk Yeol's former rival in the last presidential race. "Prosecutors are taking major posts in the government, and they are threatening people with arrest warrants, instead of soldiers' guns and swords," Lee said during his closing remarks. "Politics is giving its place to violent ruling."He also denounced the government for adding burdens on people with rising inflation and widening economic dispari

Feb 4, 2023
Opposition party takes to streets to protest prosecution probes into leader

First lady expands presence in domestic politics

First lady Kim Keon Hee waves to a crowd during her visit to Seomun Traditional Market in Daegu, Jan. 11. Courtesy of the presidential officeBy Nam Hyun-wooKim Keon Hee is building her role as first lady by organizing and attending a variety of meetings, in what appears to be a bid to help her husband, President Yoon Suk Yeol.According to officials from the ruling bloc, Kim on Thursday had a closed-door luncheon with approximately 20 spouses of ministers, commission chairpersons and other members of the Cabinet at the presidential residence in Seoul. The presidential office refused to confirm Kim's undisclosed schedule. On Wednesday, Kim also had a luncheon with approximately 30 deputy and assistant secretaries of the presidential office to encourage them in their work. Kim also appeared publicly in a meeting with about 200 designers on Jan. 31, where she noted that overseas leaders have been expressing interest in Korean designers. On Jan. 27 and 30, Kim invited 21 female lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party to the presidential residence for lunch. Participants said that they

Feb 3, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
First lady expands presence in domestic politics

Yoon's state visit to US under discussion: source

U.S. President Joe Biden and President Yoon Suk Yeol look at each other during their joint press conference at South Korea's presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, May 21, 2022. YonhapKorea and the United States are in talks over a possible state visit to Washington by President Yoon Suk Yeol in the first half of the year, a diplomatic source said Friday.If it materializes, it would be the first state visit to the United States by a Korean president in 12 years. President Lee Myung-bak was the last president to pay such a visit to Washington in 2011.The source said the allies are keeping other options open, such as an official visit or a working visit. April is seen as the most likely time for the trip.A state visit is the highest form of a visit by a head of state, and is typically accompanied by an official welcome ceremony, an inspection of an honor guard, a state dinner and an address to Congress.Yoon's visit would coincide with the 70th anniversary of the two countries' alliance at a time when his administration is seeking a closer alignment with Washington on both secu

Feb 3, 2023
Yoon's state visit to US under discussion: source

Yoon's office to press charges over report on fortune teller

This undated file photo shows the presidential residence in central Seoul. Korea Times fileThe office of President Yoon Suk Yeol said Friday it will press criminal charges against a former defense ministry spokesman and two reporters for making allegedly false claims of a fortune teller's involvement in the relocation of the presidential residence.The move comes a day after media outlet News Tomato quoted former defense ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan as saying the fortune teller, known as Cheongong, was involved in the relocation process last March.The presidential office said it will press charges against Boo and two reporters ― one from News Tomato and another from the Hankook Ilbo ― for raising the allegation and reporting it without verifying the facts, respectively.The complaint will be filed with the police later Friday."Raising absurd fake allegations that a fortune teller was involved in the decision process is an insult to public servants and the people, and a malicious frame," the presidential office said."The presidential office has stated several times that we will res

Feb 3, 2023
Yoon's office to press charges over report on fortune teller

Ruling party's leadership race heats up

Ruling People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon submits his candidate application for the March 8 party chairmanship election, at the party's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press CorpsRep. Kim mired in controversy over photo with volleyball starBy Nam Hyun-wooThe race for the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) chairmanship is heating up. The lead of Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, self-styled as President Yoon Suk Yeol's pick, is being threatened by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who is in hot pursuit.On Thursday the PPP began receiving candidate applications for its March 8 national convention, during which the party will elect its new chairman. Kim and Ahn finished applying for candidacy in the morning and asked for party members' support.“This is the first step toward our party's victory in the 2024 general election,” Kim said. “I ask the party to select Kim Gi-hyeon who can back up the Yoon administration's success and pull off a landslide victory in next year's general election.”Ahn said he ran for the chairmanship to be “a support for President Yoon,&rdq

Feb 2, 2023By Nam Hyun-woo
Ruling party's leadership race heats up

Ex-nat'l security adviser denounces NK fishermen repatriation probe as politically motivated

Former national security adviser Chung Eui-yong / Korea Times fileA former national security adviser on Thursday denounced the ongoing prosecution probe into the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen that targets him and other officials of the previous Moon Jae-in government as "politically orchestrated."Chung Eui-yong, who also served as foreigner minister, made the criticism in a statement issued after he underwent prosecution questioning for two days in a row.He and other high-level security officials of the Moon administration, including ex-presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min and ex-intelligence chief Suh Hoon, have been accused of involvement in the fishermen's deportation against their will.In November 2019, the government sent back the fishermen captured near the eastern inter-Korean sea border. The two confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members and expressed a desire to defect, but authorities dismissed their intentions as insincere."The probe is something that has been politically orchestrated in accordance with investigation guidelines by the presidential o

Feb 2, 2023
Ex-nat'l security adviser denounces NK fishermen repatriation probe as politically motivated

INTERVIEW US-NK summit is unlikely in 2023: Korea Society

The motorcade of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin passes protesters rallying against his meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, outside the defense ministry in Seoul, Jan. 31. AP-YonhapThis is the second in a series of interviews with security experts at leading think tanks in Washington and former U.S. officials on the implications of the escalating arms race in Northeast Asia and South Korea's growing nuclear ambitions. ― ED.Opening up new defense cost-sharing talks isn't necessary By Kim Yoo-chulRussia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has had various impacts on the Korean Peninsula, with expanded takeaways for the alliance between Washington and Seoul. The war in Europe has validated the significance of focusing on greater military readiness before actual threats are materialized rather than after. It has also reminded many South Koreans of the strategic importance of the Washington-Seoul alliance. While chances are very low that South Korea could find itself in a similar situation to what's happening in Ukraine now, the country's conservative ruling party doe

Feb 2, 2023By Kim Yoo-chul
[INTERVIEW] US-NK summit is unlikely in 2023: Korea Society

Opposition party vows to push for special counsel probe into first lady

Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea stage a sit-in at the National Assembly, Wednesday. They demanded a special counsel probe into stock manipulation allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee on the day. YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday vowed to push for a special counsel probe into stock manipulation allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee.The DP has long accused Kim of being one of the market players that were involved in manipulating stock prices of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, for about three years since December 2009."Stock manipulation is a serious crime that disturbs the market system and inflicts harm on random people," DP floor leader Park Hong-geun said in a meeting of the party task force aimed at uncovering the truth about allegations surrounding the first lady. After the meeting, Park told reports the party also plans to file a complaint against Kim's mother, claiming she is also involved in the case.On Monday, the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol sued DP spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom for

Feb 1, 2023
Opposition party vows to push for special counsel probe into first lady

PPP leadership contender draws fire for posting controversial photo with celebrities

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, center, of the People Power Party poses with trot singer Nam Jin, right, and volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung at a restaurant in Seoul in this photo captured from the lawmaker's Facebook page, Jan. 27. YonhapA leading contender for the leadership of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has been embroiled in a dispute after posting a controversial photo taken with two celebrities.Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, one of the frontrunners in the ongoing PPP leadership race, posted a photo taken with veteran trot singer Nam Jin and volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung on Facebook last Friday, writing a comment indicating they are his supporters.In the photo, Rep. Kim was holding a bouquet of flowers, with the two celebrities raising their thumbs up. The lawmaker wrote that he would like to express his sincere gratitude to Kim Yeon-koung and Nam Jin, as they took their precious time to support him and even prepared a bouquet of flowers.But a heated controversy has erupted after the two denied the lawmaker's comment.Nam said in a recent interview that he happened to run into Rep. Kim at a resta

Feb 1, 2023
PPP leadership contender draws fire for posting controversial photo with celebrities
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