my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Politics

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Yoon pardons Samsung chief, other business tycoons to 'overcome economic crisis'

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong speaks to reporters in front of the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Friday, after President Yoon Suk-yeol's pardon announcement. YonhapPoliticians, including ex-President Lee Myung-bak, not on listBy Jung Min-hoPresident Yoon Suk-yeol has granted his first special pardons to Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong and other business tycoons to help “overcome an economic crisis” facing Korea.Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Dongkuk Steel Mill Chairman and CEO Chang Sae-joo and former STX Group Chairman Kang Duk-soo were among other business leaders who are being pardoned, Monday, on the 77th anniversary of the country's Liberation Day.“With urgent needs to overcome the national economic crisis, several business people were carefully selected, so they would lead the economic growth through technology investment and job creation,” Justice Minister Han Dong Hoon said during a press briefing in Seoul.Politically controversial figures, including former President Lee Myung-bak and former South Gyeongsang Province Govenor Kim Kyoung-soo,

Aug 12, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Yoon pardons Samsung chief, other business tycoons to 'overcome economic crisis'
  • Samsung's Lee expected to solidify leadership, step up biz activities after receiving pardon

Samsung heir Lee granted special presidential pardon

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong heads to the Seoul Central District Court on Aug. 12, for a court hearing. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol granted his first special pardons to Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and 1,691 others on the occasion of next week's Liberation Day anniversary, the justice minister said Friday.Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon announced the pardons to be effective from Liberation Day on Monday.Former President Lee Myung-bak had initially been widely expected to benefit from the pardons but was not included in the list. Also excluded was former South Gyeongsang Province Govenor Kim Kyoung-soo.The most prominent beneficiary is Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee.He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye and released on parole in August last year. His prison term officially ended July 29, but he still needs a pardon to have all his rights reinstated.Lotte Group Chairman Shin was sentenced to a suspended 2 1/2-year prison term in October 2018 in a similar bribery cas

Aug 12, 2022
Samsung heir Lee granted special presidential pardon

Gov't to swiftly take steps to designate rain-hit areas as special disaster zone

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo inspects Guryong Village in Seoul's Gangnam Ward, Aug. 9, after about 100 residents in the village were evacuated following heavy rainfall that has pounded the capital city and parts of central South Korea since the previous day. YonhapPrime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday instructed the government to swiftly take steps to designate areas that were hit by heavy rains early this week as a special disaster zone. If designated, the rain-hit areas will be eligible for the government's financial support in recovery work, relief funds for victims and other benefits."The government will make its utmost efforts to stabilize the lives of residents in the affected areas and to support a swift recovery," Han said during a disaster response meeting. Two days of the heaviest rainfall in 80 years battered Seoul and its surrounding areas earlier this week, killing 13 people, with six people still remained missing. (Yonhap)

Aug 12, 2022
Gov't to swiftly take steps to designate rain-hit areas as special disaster zone

Defense minister refutes China's claim on THAAD

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup speaks during a press conference at the Ministry of National Defense Convention in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of National DefenseSeoul may ditch inter-Korean military pact in event of Pyongyang's nuclear test By Kang Seung-wooSouth Korea's defense minister said, Thursday, a U.S. anti-missile shield, currently deployed on the Korean Peninsula, cannot operate to Washington's advantage, rejecting China's claim that the system's radar can spy on its military maneuvers and undermine its security interests.In addition, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup vowed to speed up efforts to transform the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in South Korea into a permanent structure. Since the establishment of the base in 2017 at a local golf course, hundreds of U.S. and South Korean service members stationed there have been using shipping containers and an old golf clubhouse, raising concerns over their poor living conditions. The deployment of the THAAD battery has emerged as a hot-button issue between Seoul and Beijing, as evidenced by their foreign

Aug 11, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Defense minister refutes China's claim on THAAD

President wrestles with double whammy of inflation, floods

President Yoon Suk-yeol talks with a shopper at a supermarket in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, Thursday. YonhapYoon calls for fast recovery from heavy rains, battles inflationBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol has doubled his efforts to revive the economy as the nation, already struggling with soaring prices, begins the cleanup following flooding that ripped through Seoul and its suburbs displacing hundreds of citizens. His Thursday schedule included a meeting with Cabinet ministers of related ministries and on-site visits to inspect sites damaged by the torrential rain. Yoon presided over an emergency economic measures meeting at a supermarket in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, Thursday, and urged Cabinet ministers to step up their efforts to draw up measures that can help the nation recover from the damage caused by the record rainfall. “The top priority is repairing the damage and providing aid to those affected,” he said. “By fully utilizing the government's capabilities, the government should be able to compensate damages and casualties, as well as offering assists to those in

Aug 11, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
President wrestles with double whammy of inflation, floods

PM holds meeting on recovery work in rain-hit areas

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo presides over a meeting with relevant authorities to review how the recovery from this week's heavy rain damage has progressed, Thursday. YonhapPrime Minister Han Duck-soo held a meeting with relevant authorities to review how the recovery from this week's heavy rain damage has progressed, Han's office said Thursday. Two days of the heaviest rainfall in 80 years battered Seoul and its surrounding areas, killing 11 people, with eight people still remained missing. About 1,000 pieces of heavy equipment have been mobilized for recovery work and some 2,200 soldiers are set to assist cleanup efforts, the office said. Of 4,047 tasks that are subject to an emergency recovery, 92.4 percent of them have been completed so far, it said. (Yonhap)

Aug 11, 2022
PM holds meeting on recovery work in rain-hit areas

Minor candidate proposes candidacy merger in DPK leadership race

From left, Reps. Kang Hoon-sik, Lee Jae-myung and Park Yong-jin / YonhapOne of the two trailing candidates in the race for chairmanship of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said Thursday he is willing to merge candidacies with the other in any way in order to defeat front-runner and former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung.Reps. Park Yong-jin and Kang Hoon-sik have been trailing Lee by wide margins in the DPK leadership race. After four out of 15 primaries, Lee has won 74.5 percent of the vote so far, reinforcing the widespread belief that he will be elected leader in the Aug. 28 national convention."I'm willing to merge our candidacies in any way Rep. Kang Hoon-sik suggests as long as it can verify the party and public's sentiment," Park told a press conference at the National Assembly.Park, who has pushed for a candidacy merger against Lee in the party's preliminary race to shortlist three chairman candidates, said Kang and himself "have a duty to create a new flow" for the main opposition.Lee's bid for party leadership has been a point of contention within the DPK a

Aug 11, 2022
Minor candidate proposes candidacy merger in DPK leadership race

President Yoon to meet with Bill Gates next week

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates speaks at a U.S. Trade and Investment Cooperation Conference on Sept. 22, 2015, in Seattle. AP-YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol plans to meet with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates next week, the presidential office said Wednesday. Gates will visit South Korea from next Monday for three days, and the planned meeting between Yoon and Gates will take place Tuesday afternoon, Yoon's office said. Gates will visit the National Assembly to meet with Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and address the parliamentary budget committee about global health cooperation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gates, who co-chairs the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation, is expected to touch on the importance of international cooperation and how South Korea can play a role in this process.In June, Yoon spoke by phone with Gates and discussed their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)

Aug 10, 2022
President Yoon to meet with Bill Gates next week

Yoon appoints new police chief without parliamentary consent

President Yoon Suk-yeol, left, poses for a photo with Yoon Hee-keun, new head of the National Police Agency, after presenting him with a letter of appointment at the presidential office in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol appointed the new chief of the National Police Agency on Wednesday despite objections from the main opposition party.Yoon Hee-keun, the new commissioner general, underwent a parliamentary confirmation hearing earlier this week but failed to win the approval of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.Still, the president reportedly appointed Yoon so as not to leave a vacuum in public safety.Yoon's predecessor offered to resign in June after the president chastised the police for flip-flopping on a personnel appointment announcement.The new police chief takes office shortly after some front-line police officers openly protested against the launch of a new police bureau under the interior ministry tasked with overseeing police powers.The commissioner general is the 11th senior government official of the Yoon administration to be appointed without t

Aug 10, 2022
Yoon appoints new police chief without parliamentary consent

Suspended PPP chair files for injunction against leadership switch

Lee Jun-seok, the suspended chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) / Korea Times fileThe suspended chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Lee Jun-seok, said Wednesday he filed for an injunction against the party's transition to an emergency leadership system that is supposed to automatically remove him from office.The move came a day after the PPP held a series of meetings to amend the party charter to launch an emergency leadership committee and named five-time Rep. Joo Ho-young as the committee's chief.Under the party charter, Lee is supposed to lose his status as party chairman if the emergency leadership committee is established. The charter says the party can switch to the emergency system in case its Supreme Council is disabled or in other emergencies.Lee's party membership was suspended last month over allegations of sexual bribery and a cover-up."I had to file for an injunction due to the urgency of the issue. In consideration of the people who suffered damage from the record rainfall, I opted to move quietly by filing an electronic suit," he told Yonhap Ne

Aug 10, 2022
Suspended PPP chair files for injunction against leadership switch
previous page
526527528529530
next page

Most Read in South Korea