my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Politics

Presidential office sues former lawmaker for spreading rumors about fortune teller

The presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoonBy Nam Hyun-wooThe presidential office said Tuesday that it sued a former lawmaker from the minor opposition Justice Party on charges of spreading false claims that a fortune teller was involved in the relocation of the presidential residence.The presidential office filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against former Rep. Kim Jong-dae for his claims that the fortune teller, who calls himself Cheongong, accompanied Presidential Security Service (PSS) Chief Kim Yong-hyeon to explore the location of the presidential residence.“We could not let fake news undermine democracy through groundless allegations of shamanism,” a senior presidential official said. “The PSS chief has never met Cheongong, thus there is no reason for Kim to accompany Cheongong to visit the residence of the army chief of staff.”During an interview with broadcaster TBS on Monday, the former lawmaker claimed that he heard from a military official that the PSS chief and Che

Dec 6, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Presidential office sues former lawmaker for spreading rumors about fortune teller

Parliamentary subcommittee passes bills on scrapping 'Korean age'

A parliamentary subcommittee on Tuesday passed a set of bills requiring the use of the international age counting system in all judicial and administrative areas, rather than the unique "Korean age" counting system. YonhapA parliamentary subcommittee on Tuesday passed a set of bills requiring the use of the international age counting system in all judicial and administrative areas, rather than the unique "Korean age" counting system.The legislative subcommittee of the National Assembly's legislation and judiciary committee passed revisions to the Civil Act and the General Act on Public Administration, which would unify the country's multiple age systems to the internationally recognized system in which age is based on birth date.In Korea, three age systems are currently in use. The most commonly used system is the so-called Korean age, under which a person turns 1 on the day they are born and adds a year on the first day of the new year.The second system is the internationally recognized system, whereby a person's age is determined according to their birth date, while the third syste

Dec 6, 2022
Parliamentary subcommittee passes bills on scrapping 'Korean age'

Justice minister called upon to run in ruling party leadership contest

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, right, makes a gesture of respect before the national flag during a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooJustice Minister Han Dong-hoon has been called upon to run in the competition to select the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) new leader, as he is described as President Yoon Suk-yeol's favorite Cabinet minister.PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young said in a forum on Monday, “Party members are concerned that there are no candidates who can lead the party's victory in the (2024) general election.” After mentioning current PPP chairman hopefuls ― Reps. Kim Gi-yeon, Yoon Sang-hyun and Cho Kyoung-tae, Joo went on to say that party members “are not satisfied with the current selection.”Joo also proposed three conditions required for the party chairman: someone who can bring the PPP's election victory in Seoul and surrounding Gyeonggi Province in the 2024 election, someone who is influential to the Millennial-Generation Z demographics and someone who can manage the transparent reco

Dec 6, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Justice minister called upon to run in ruling party leadership contest

Minister seeks 1 billion-won in damages against lawmaker over luxury party allegations

Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea/ Korea Times fileJustice Minister Han Dong-hoon has launched a compensation suit against Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, seeking 1 billion won ($763,000) for spreading groundless allegations about a late-night drinking party, legal sources said Tuesday.The suit was filed against Kim, reporters of YouTube channel Citizen Press The Tamsa TV, and an informant, whose identity has been withheld, with the Seoul Central District Court on Friday, the sources said.Rep. Kim alleged in a parliamentary inspection of the justice ministry in October that Han had the drinking party at a luxury bar in the posh district of Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul on July 19 and 20 with President Yoon Suk-yeol and 30 lawyers from Kim ＆ Chang, the country's top law firm.Citizen Press The Tamsa TV, which is now under police investigation for tailing Han for nearly a month as the minister returned home from work, also raised the allegations.The allegations later proved groundless.The unidentified informant cl

Dec 6, 2022
Minister seeks 1 billion-won in damages against lawmaker over luxury party allegations

Ruling party lawmaker suggests lifting indoor mask mandate

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the ruling People Power Party attends a parliamentary hearing for the parliamentary science, ICT, broadcasting and communications committee at the National Assembly, Oct. 17. YonhapA ranking lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) called Monday for the immediate launch of preparations to lift the indoor mask mandate, raising questions over its efficacy and saying most advanced nations have already done away with it.The remark by Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a former PPP floor leader considered one of the PPP lawmakers closest to President Yoon Suk-yeol, marks the first time that a senior PPP member has called for lifting the requirement.His remark also came after the central city of Daejeon sent an official document to health authorities notifying them of its plan to take autonomous steps to lift the mask requirement for indoor places if the rule is not removed on nationwide."The Republic of Korea should immediately prepare for the lifting of the indoor mask mandate," Kweon said, noting how countries like the U.S., Britain and France have scrapped all mask

Dec 5, 2022
Ruling party lawmaker suggests lifting indoor mask mandate

INTERVIEW Author of 'Silent Invasion' warns against non-citizens' right to vote

gettyimagesbank'Beijing will certainly exploit it to influence elections,' Australian academic saysBy Jung Min-hoClive Hamilton, a professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia, and the author of “Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia"The Chinese government has been accused frequently in recent years of trying to influence politics in other countries, including through direct interference in elections. Only several weeks ago, a Chinese woman living in Delhi under a false identity was arrested on suspicion of spying on senior officials of the Indian government. In January, a British lawyer of Chinese heritage was named by the U.K.'s spy agency as an “agent” of Beijing, seeking to influence its parliamentarians. Given the many reports of such episodes, an Australian scholar claims it is naive to assume that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will not exploit the voting rights of non-citizens in Korea ― because it will.“The Chinese government will certainly exploit the non-citizen right to vote in an attempt to influence t

Dec 5, 2022By Jung Min-ho
[INTERVIEW] Author of 'Silent Invasion' warns against non-citizens' right to vote

President likens truckers' strike to North Korean nuclear threat

Cargo trucks are parked at a road in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday, as a nationwide strike by the Cargo Truckers Solidarity stretched on for the 12th consecutive day. Yonhap Ruling bloc alleges umbrella union's strike linked to PyongyangBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol has equated the ongoing nationwide strike by unionized truckers to North Korea's nuclear threats, saying both are menaces to South Korea that could have been prevented if the government had reacted with a disciplined approach.Yoon made the remarks during a recent closed-door meeting with his aides, Yonhap News Agency reported, Monday.Yoon was quoted as saying that “the recent strike is equivalent to North Korea's nuclear threats” and “if (previous governments) had engaged North Korea based on a principle of zero tolerance for nuclear weapons, there would be no threats faced by our country these days.”Yoon was also quoted by the news agency as saying, “If we condone illegal acts or vi

Dec 5, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
President likens truckers' strike to North Korean nuclear threat

Operation Christmas Drop

Crewmembers of the Air Force's 15th Special Missions Wing engage in the U.S.-led Operation Christmas Drop, the U.S. Air Force's humanitarian airlift mission, inside a C-130 transport aircraft at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, Saturday (local time). The Korean Air Force team, comprised of some 30 pilots and crewmembers, is participating in the event for the second straight year, with a mission to deliver food, medicine and other items necessary for survival to residents of 10 islands in the Micronesia region until Friday. Courtesy of ROK Air Force

Dec 5, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Operation Christmas Drop

Ruling party slams ex-President Moon as slain official probe deepens

National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, center, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court to attend a review on his arrest warrant over allegations involving the death of a South Korean fisheries official who was shot to death by North Korean soldiers while drifting in the North's territorial waters in the West Sea in September 2020, Dec. 2. YonhapThe ruling People Power Party (PPP) ramped up criticism of former President Moon Jae-in on Monday after he slammed the recent arrest of his then national security adviser in connection with the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official at the hands of North Korea.On Saturday, former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon was arrested on charges of involvement in the Moon administration's conclusion without sufficient evidence that the fisheries official was killed while attempting to defect to the North.That conclusion was reversed since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May, with the Coast Guard and the military looking into the case again and concluding that there was no evidence to suggest that the ill-fated official attempted to de

Dec 5, 2022
Ruling party slams ex-President Moon as slain official probe deepens

Yoon's approval rating rises to 38.9%: poll

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a national prayer breakfast in Seoul, Dec. 5. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating rose to 38.9 percent amid the government's stern response to an ongoing strike by unionized truck drivers, a poll showed Monday. Positive assessment of Yoon's performance climbed 2.5 percentage points from the previous week, posting an increase for the second consecutive week in a Realmeter poll, while negative assessment slid by 1.9 percentage points to 58.9 percent. The poll was conducted on 2,507 people nationwide from Monday to Friday last week.This is the first time in five months Yoon's approval rating surpassed the 37 percent mark and Yoon's disapproval rating went below 60 percent. Bae Cheol-ho, a senior analyst at Realmeter, cited the government's stern response to the strike by members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union as part of the reason for Yoon's rising support rating. "President Yoon's decision to respond in principle with a return-to-work order amid economic crisis seems to have worked as momentum for the increase in positive assessment

Dec 5, 2022
Yoon's approval rating rises to 38.9%: poll
previous page
472473474475476
next page

Most Read in South Korea