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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.

Special parliamentary committee kicks off to help improve people's livelihoods

A special parliamentary committee on people's livelihoods holds its first meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul, July 26. YonhapThe National Assembly launched a special committee designed to help stabilize the livelihoods of ordinary people amid soaring inflation and other economic woes.The committee, comprised of lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, is set to operate until Oct. 31 and will try to help address difficulties from high inflation, oil prices and high exchange rates.The committee plans to handle 29 bills on real estate, tax and other issues directly related to people's livelihoods. The bills will be approved at a meeting Friday and then put to a plenary vote set for Tuesday, the committee's chair, Rep. Yoo Sung-kull of the PPP, said.Yoo said the committee has almost reached an agreement on the passage of a bill aimed at lowering fuel taxes to help people cope with skyrocketing oil prices."Market prices are continuing to soar at home and abroad amid rising economic uncertainty sparked by the prolo

Jul 26, 2022
Special parliamentary committee kicks off to help improve people's livelihoods

General meeting of police personnel called for to protest 'police bureau' plan

Symbol of the Korean National Police Agency / YonhapA police officer called Tuesday for a general meeting of all 140,000 police personnel to protest the planned establishment of an interior ministry bureau overseeing the law enforcement agency, upping the ante in the escalating standoff with the government.Kim Seong-jong, senior inspector at Seoul Gwangjin Police Station, said in a post on the police intranet, that the meeting had originally been planned to involve senior inspector- and inspector-level officers but has now been expanded to include all ranks.The meeting will take place Saturday in Asan, 86 kilometers south of Seoul, he said."The meeting has been changed into a general meeting of all 140,000 police officers thanks to the enthusiastic wishes of front-line police colleagues," Kim said, adding at least 1,000 officers are expected to join the meeting. He said the meeting will be livestreamed to the public on YouTube.Front-line police officers have been up in arms against the envisioned establishment of the police bureau that will give the interior ministry the authority to

Jul 26, 2022
General meeting of police personnel called for to protest 'police bureau' plan

Deportation of North Korean fishermen unprecedented violation of Constitution: minister

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se speaks during a parliamentary inquiry into the Yoon Suk-yeol administration at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoSouth Korea's 2019 decision to repatriate two North Korean fishermen against their will was unprecedented and a violation of the Constitution, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said Monday.Asked whether there have been any similar cases before and after the incident, Kwon said it was the only occasion when North Koreans were forced to leave South Korea despite their objection.South Korea's Constitution says North Koreans should be treated as South Korean citizens. As a result, North Korean escapees are not even required to express their intention to defect to the South if they want to stay here, he added.“If North Koreans say they do not want to return to North Korea, the ministry must accept them,” Kwon said during a parliamentary inquiry into the Yoon Suk-yeol administration at the National Assembly in Seoul. “The decision to send them back was clearly wrong, which damaged the Constitution an

Jul 25, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Deportation of North Korean fishermen unprecedented violation of Constitution: minister

DPK calls for explanation over attendee at Yoon's inauguration ceremony

Kwon Oh-soo, head of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea / Korea Times fileThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Monday urged the presidential office to reveal why the son of a businessperson under investigation over a stock manipulation case allegedly involving first lady Kim Keon-hee attended President Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration ceremony. Earlier Monday, a local news outlet, Sisa Journal, reported that the son of Kwon Oh-soo, the chairperson of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, attended the ceremony held at the National Assembly complex in May as a VIP guest.The Deutsch Motors head has been indicted on charges of leaking insider information to induce purchases of the company's stocks and later placing fake buying bids using his stock account to jack up the prices.He is also suspected of mobilizing influential market players, and contacting stock companies and analysts to stir up market buzz around the company and promote purchases.The case has drawn wide attention over the first lady's alleged involvement in the case."The pres

Jul 25, 2022
DPK calls for explanation over attendee at Yoon's inauguration ceremony

Yoon's approval rating follows similar trajectory to ex-President Lee's

President Yoon Suk-yeol answers reporters' questions on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday. Joint Press Corps By Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating is in a downward trajectory similar to that of former President Lee Myung-bak, who saw his support rate nosedive in the early stage of his presidency amid global financial difficulties coupled with sharp inflation.Lee managed to bounce back from approval ratings below 20 percent by using tough measures such as replacing his aides, hiring figures from the opposition bloc and revising his economic policy direction to moderate pragmatism from neoliberalism. Experts said Yoon may want to follow the Lee administration's example to find a breakthrough in his sluggish approval rating. According to a Realmeter survey released Monday, Yoon's job approval rating stood at 33.3 percent in the third week of July, down 0.1 of a percentage point from a week earlier. The poll surveye

Jul 25, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Yoon's approval rating follows similar trajectory to ex-President Lee's

Presidential chief of staff condemns police officers' protest against launch of police bureau

Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki speaks during a press conference at the presidential office in Seoul, Sunday. / YonhapPresidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki on Sunday lashed out at a recent meeting of police station chiefs from across the country held to protest the interior ministry's envisioned launch of a "police bureau," calling the meeting "inappropriate."Kim made the remarks during a press conference at the presidential office, one day after some 50 chiefs of police stations across the country held a meeting in Asan, 86 kilometers south of Seoul, to protest the interior ministry plan. About 140 other senior superintendent-level officials virtually attended the meeting.The ministry is set to launch the police bureau next month as it seeks to tighten its grip over the police ahead of the September implementation of two laws that will ultimately abolish the investigative powers of the prosecution and transfer them to police.Following the Saturday meeting, chiefs of police stations denounced the ministry's plan as "retrogression" and vowed to communicate their opposition to

Jul 24, 2022
Presidential chief of staff condemns police officers' protest against launch of police bureau

Rival parties clash over interior ministry's plan to put police under its control

Ulsan Jungbu Police Station Senior Superintendent Ryu Sam-young, center, leaves the Police Human Resources Development Institute in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, after holding a meeting of high-ranking police officials nationwide, Saturday. Two hours after the meeting, Ryu was suspended from his job. Yonhap By Nam Hyun-wooRival parties traded salvoes on Sunday over a police superintendent in Ulsan who was suspended from his job after spearheading a meeting of high-ranking police officials nationwide to protest the government's plan to set up a supervisory bureau to oversee the nation's police forces under the direct control of the interior ministry.Rep. Woo Sang-ho, interim chief of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), voiced worries about the interior ministry's plan to put the police under its direct control, saying that is what a “military junta would do.”"Let me ask those who are saying that because there's a supervisory bureau for the prosec

Jul 24, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Rival parties clash over interior ministry's plan to put police under its control
  • Police officials protest against launch of supervisory bureau

DPK hardliners join Assembly's judiciary committee

Members of “Cheoreomhoe,” a liberal lawmakers' study group on prosecutorial reform, hold a press conference, in this Sept. 2, 2021, file photo. Left is Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom, who was assigned to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Friday. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-keunBy Nam Hyun-wooSeveral lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), who have been taking a hardline stance on prosecutorial reform, were assigned to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, heralding a head-on clash with the ruling People Power Party (PPP) over President Yoon Suk-yeol's key initiatives. According to the Assembly, Sunday, five lawmakers from the DPK's “Cheoreomhoe” study group joined the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. They are Reps. Kim Nam-kuk, Kim Seung-won, Kim Eui-kyeom, Lee Tahney and Choe Kang-wook. Cheoreomhoe is a lawmakers' group established in 2020 to study measures to reform the prosecution. Its members have designed the draft of the law revisions aimed at separating prosecutors' investigative powe

Jul 24, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
DPK hardliners join Assembly's judiciary committee

Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho donates $152K to charity

Actor Song Kang-ho / Courtesy of CJ ENMBy Kwak Yeon-sooSong Kang-ho, who recently won the Best Actor award at the 75th Cannes Film Festival for his performance in director Hirokazu Kore-eda's “Broker,” has donated 200 million won ($152,000) to disadvantaged communities.According to the Hope Bridge Association of the National Disaster Relief, the actor donated 100 million won in March to the victims of massive wildfires that hit the country's eastern coastal region. He also donated 100 million won in March 2020 to help people in the fight against COVID-19. The 55-year-old actor is now a member of the Honor Society, a club for those who donate more than 100 million won to the organization.“Song has been thinking about how to return some of the love he has received from the public,” his management agency, Sublime, said in a statement, Friday. “He realized one way to do it was to donate money to neighbors in need. He will be engaged in the sharing culture.”Song made his screen debut in Hong Sang-soo's 1996 directorial debut, “The Day a Pig Fell i

Jul 23, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho donates $152K to charity

Yoon calls for details of 'audacious plan' for N. Korea

In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Office, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, listens to Unification Ministry's policy briefing by Unification Minister Kwon Young-se at the presidential office in Seoul, Friday. AP-YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol instructed the unification ministry Friday to prepare the details of his “audacious plan” to revive North Korea's economy in the event it accepts denuclearization, a spokesperson said.Yoon outlined the plan in his inauguration speech on May 10, saying that if North Korea genuinely embarks on a process to complete denuclearization, South Korea will be prepared to present an “audacious plan” to vastly strengthen North Korea's economy and improve the quality of life for its people.On Friday, he called for details of the plan during a policy briefing by Unification Minister Kwon Young-se.“He said he hopes they will consult with relevant agencies and make thorough preparations regarding realistic measures for the audacious proposal, which will be offered to North Korea in the event it accepts a

Jul 22, 2022
Yoon calls for details of 'audacious plan' for N. Korea
  • S. Korea, US to normalize joint military drills
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