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Justice ministry found no legal grounds before repatriation of North Korean fishermen in 2019

A North Korean fisherman, who was captured near the eastern inter-Korean sea border, resists as he is handed over to North Korean authorities in the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom in Nov., 2019. YonhapJust before South Korea repatriated two North Korean fishermen in 2019, the justice ministry reviewed its legality and found no legal grounds to send them back to North Korea, the ministry said Wednesday.The revelation is expected to further fuel criticism that the previous administration of President Moon Jae-in deported the North Koreans even though it knew there was no legal ground to do so after they expressed a desire to defect to South Korea.The Moon government said at the time that it decided to repatriate the North Koreans because they had admitted to killing 16 fellow crew members and their expression of a desire to defect to the South was deemed insincere. "Around noon on Nov. 7, 2019, the justice ministry was asked by Cheong Wa Dae to conduct a legality review in connection with the repatriation of the North Korean fishermen," the ministry said of the then presidenti

Jul 20, 2022
Justice ministry found no legal grounds before repatriation of North Korean fishermen in 2019

Ruling party leader apologizes for inappropriate remarks about hired officer

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader and acting chairman of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), speaks during a meeting with PPP lawmakers at the National Assembly, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap By Lee Yeon-wooRep. Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), who is concurrently serving as acting leader of the party after Chairman Lee Jun-seok was suspended for six months for allegedly receiving sexual services as bribery for political favors, offered an apology for his inappropriate remarks about an administrative officer hired at the presidential office.“I offer my apologies for my previous remarks about the hiring practices of the presidential office. I'm sorry if my words hurt any young job seekers,” Kweon said in his social media post uploaded on Wednesday. “It's entirely my fault that my words created a controversy. I should have explained properly what I meant by my words first.” His apology came days after his remarks about the h

Jul 20, 2022By Lee Yeon-woo
Ruling party leader apologizes for inappropriate remarks about hired officer

Gender ministry's policy briefing to Yoon postponed

President Yoon Suk-yeol / YonhapA planned policy briefing by the gender ministry to President Yoon Suk-yeol was postponed due to an adjustment of briefing schedules, presidential officials said Wednesday, spurring speculation about whether the postponement is related to Yoon's campaign pledge to abolish the ministry.Yoon had been scheduled to receive the policy briefing from Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hyun-sook on Wednesday afternoon, but the briefing was abruptly delayed earlier in the day. Yoon began receiving policy briefings from each ministry earlier this month.A presidential official said the gender ministry's briefing was rescheduled because of an adjustment of schedules with ministries, which have yet to brief Yoon on their policies."Given the possibility of ministers' attendance at the National Assembly next week, (the presidential office) decided to adjust the overall schedule of the remaining ministries' policy briefings, including the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family," another presidential official said.A new date for the gender ministry's policy briefi

Jul 20, 2022
Gender ministry's policy briefing to Yoon postponed

Acting PPP chief apologizes over presidential office hiring blunder

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, acting chairman and floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) / YonhapRep. Kweon Seong-dong, acting chairman and floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), apologized on Wednesday over the hiring of a presidential office employee after his remarks on the issue angered young voters who value fairness.Kweon came under fire after he said he "pressured" PPP Rep. Chang Je-won to have a person from his constituency in the eastern city of Gangneung hired at the presidential office when Chang was chief of staff for then President-elect Yoon.Kweon had also expressed frustration that the person was hired as a level 9 official, not a level 7 official as asked by him, saying a level 9 official's salary is not sufficient to cover living costs in Seoul for people coming from outside of the capital.The employee later turned out to be a son of one of President Yoon Suk-yeol's acquaintances. That sparked criticism that personnel selections for the presidential office were made based on private connections, not based on merit."I apologize over my remarks rega

Jul 20, 2022
Acting PPP chief apologizes over presidential office hiring blunder

Yoon declines to comment on possible pardon of Samsung heir Lee

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong / YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday declined to comment on whether he would grant a presidential amnesty for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, who is currently on parole after serving time for bribery and embezzlement.Yoon made the remarks upon arrival at his office in response to a question about speculation he is mulling wide-ranging pardons on the occasion of the Aug. 15 anniversary of Liberation Day marking the 1945 end of Japan's colonial rule of Korea, and the Samsung chief could be one of the beneficiaries."Since the past, it has been a principle to make no mention at all on the issue of pardons, such as to what extent it will be carried out," Yoon told reporters when asked about business circles' appeal for pardoning Lee to help overcome economic difficulties.Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by the Seoul High Court in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. He was released on parole in August last year.Even after his prison term ends on July 29, he would still be subject

Jul 20, 2022
Yoon declines to comment on possible pardon of Samsung heir Lee

South Korea to appoint new envoy on North Korean human rights

Lee Shin-hwa / Courtesy of foreign ministrySouth Korea plans to appoint a new envoy for North Korean human rights, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, in a move to end nearly five years of vacancy amid the former Moon Jae-in government's drive for inter-Korean engagement.Lee Shin-hwa, a political science professor at Korea University, has been named the ambassador on the North's rights issue, a post left empty since the inaugural ambassador, Lee Jung-hoon, left office in September 2017.The designation came as the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration has taken a more active stance in handling the rights issue in the reclusive state in a policy shift from its predecessor.Lee will be in charge of coordinating international efforts to promote the human rights conditions in the North and raise awareness of the issue at global seminars and forums, the ministry said. Lee is known for her extensive writings on North Korea and international cooperation. From 1999-2000, she served as a special adviser to then U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's Rwandan Independent Inquiry.The post on the N

Jul 19, 2022
South Korea to appoint new envoy on North Korean human rights

Yoon asks land minister to prioritize housing stability

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, receives a policy briefing from Land and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong at the presidential office in Seoul, July 18. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol asked the land minister Monday to make housing stability and housing welfare his top priority tasks, his spokesperson said.Land Minister Won Hee-ryong gave a policy briefing to Yoon as part of the first set of policy reports by government ministries to the president following his inauguration in May."The president asked that he pursue housing stability and housing welfare, which are the keys to the stability of people's livelihoods, as the top priority tasks," his spokesperson Kang In-sun told reporters.Yoon also asked Won to ensure balanced growth across regions and ease commuter traffic by expanding transportation networks, including the Great Train Express (GTX) commuter rail networks, subways and expressways, Kang said.The president further asked the minister to work for a second Middle East boom for Korean construction companies, improved public services and rational management at public corporations

Jul 18, 2022
Yoon asks land minister to prioritize housing stability

Rift within President Yoon's inner circle widens

The People Power Party's acting chairman, Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, right, and Rep. Chang Je-won are spotted after a luncheon at a restaurant on Yeouido, Seoul, July 15. Joint Press CorpsPower struggle inside ruling party intensifies following 6-month suspension of former chairmanBy Nam Hyun-wooA rift between President Yoon Suk-yeol's key associates is widening again, in what appears to be a lingering power struggle over control of the party.PPP Rep. Chang Je-won wrote on Facebook Monday that Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, PPP floor leader and acting chairman, “should not forget that he is now the head of the ruling party and he should not take it lightly,” adding, “His rhetoric is very rough.”Chang's post came in response to Kweon's own Facebook post on Friday claiming to have “exerted influence” over Chang, who was the chief of staff for Yoon when he was the president-elect, to hire a former volunteer from Yoon's presidential election camp at the presidential office. The man, surnamed Woo, was mired in a controversy after he was found to have donated 10 mil

Jul 18, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Rift within President Yoon's inner circle widens

Yoon's disapproval rating over 60% again: poll

President Yoon Suk-yeol / YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol's disapproval rating has again surpassed the 60 percent mark, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 2,519 voters nationwide conducted by Realmeter from Monday to Friday last week, 33.4 percent approved of the way Yoon is handling state affairs, down 3.6 percentage points from the previous week, while 63.3 percent negatively assessed his performance, up 6.3 percentage points. Yoon's disapproval rating also breached the threshold in two opinion polls released by different pollsters ― Rnsearch and the Korea Society Opinion Institute ― last week.In the Realmeter poll, negative assessment rose among all groups of respondents by age, region and political inclination, except for those living in the southeastern North Gyeongsang Province and those in their 20s. The poll also showed that the favorability rating of Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) fell for the seventh consecutive week to 39.1 percent, while that of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) increased for the seventh straight week to 44.2 percent.This marks the firs

Jul 18, 2022
Yoon's disapproval rating over 60% again: poll

Pro-Yoon ruling party lawmakers clash over hiring

Rep. Chang Je-won, left, and PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong answer reporters' questions in Seoul, July 15. YonhapTwo lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), considered closest confidants of President Yoon Suk-yeol, clashed Monday over the controversial hiring of a presidential office employee, with one of them warning the other to watch his mouth.Rep. Chang Je-won opened fire on PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong after Kweon said he "pressured" Chang to have a person from his constituency in the eastern city of Gangneung hired at the presidential office when Chang was chief of staff for then President-elect Yoon.Kweon had also expressed frustration that the person was hired as a level 9 official, not a level 7 official as asked by him, saying a level 9 official's salary is not sufficient to cover living costs in Seoul for people coming from outside of the capital.The employee later turned out to be a son of one of President Yoon Suk-yeol's acquaintances. That sparked criticism that personnel selections for the presidential office were made based on private connections, no

Jul 18, 2022
Pro-Yoon ruling party lawmakers clash over hiring
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