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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.

US bill expresses concerns over proposed abolishment of Korean ministry of equality

The sign for the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is displayed at the ministry headquarters in the government complex in Seoul, March 17. YonhapA U.S. bill is seeking to express concerns over the proposed abolishment of Korea's Ministry of Equality and Family, the bill showed Monday.The House of Representatives bill on the 2023 budget for the state department will also urge the secretary of state to remain "actively engaged" in promoting gender equality in Korea if passed."The Committee is concerned about the abolishment of the Korean Ministry of Equality and Family and urges the Secretary of State to remain actively engaged with efforts to advance women's empowerment and gender equality in the country," says the bill, introduced in the House of Representatives appropriations committee on Friday.Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, had pledged to abolish the ministry during his election campaign.Yoon appointed a new minister of equality and family after taking office, but the new minister, Kim Hyun-sook, has noted the ministry may be "reorganized" during Yoon

Jul 5, 2022
US bill expresses concerns over proposed abolishment of Korean ministry of equality

Antitrust chief nominee apologizes over sexual harassment allegations

Fair Trade Commission Chairman nominee Song Ok-rial / Courtesy of presidential officeThe nominee for South Korea's antitrust chief apologized Monday over allegations he sexually harassed students while teaching at Seoul National University School of Law.Song Ok-rial issued the apology through the presidential office shortly after he was nominated by President Yoon Suk-yeol to lead the Fair Trade Commission.The Seoul Economic Daily newspaper reported the allegations earlier, saying Song told a group of freshmen while drunk during a dinner in 2014 that their looks ranked "better than average," "worse than average," or "high."The students who witnessed Song's actions considered making a poster denouncing him, but the professor immediately apologized and reached an agreement with them not to take the issue further, the paper said."In the vetting process, we verified the circumstances surrounding his remarks and the detailed story," the presidential office said in a statement. "The nominee apologized to the attendees at the time, and we took into consideration the fact that the matter was

Jul 4, 2022
Antitrust chief nominee apologizes over sexual harassment allegations

Commercial law professor named to lead antitrust regulator

This photo, provided by the presidential office on Monday, shows Song Ok-rial, President Yoon Suk-yeol's pick for the chief of the Fair Trade Commission. Yonhap Song Ok-rial, the nominee for South Korea's new antitrust chief, is an expert well versed in commercial law, who is critical of stricter regulations on companies.Song, 53, passed the bar exam in 1990 while he was studying law at Seoul National University (SNU).After passing the exam, he received training at the Judicial Research & Training Institute, together with President Yoon Suk-yeol, the former prosecutor-general.While at the institute in 1993 and 1994, Song also passed two other state exams to pick senior government officials and diplomats.Song later earned his master's and doctorate degrees at Harvard Law School in the United States. After returning to South Korea, he worked as a lawyer at law firm Kim & Chang, and became a professor at SNU in 2003.The nomination of Song as the chief of the Fair Trade

Jul 4, 2022
Commercial law professor named to lead antitrust regulator
  • Yoon to reshuffle presidential office to regain public trust

Photo of Yoon staring at blank computer screen raises eyebrows

President Yoon Suk-yeol looks at a computer monitor at his hotel in Madrid, June 28. Courtesy of the presidential officeA photo of President Yoon Suk-yeol staring at a nearly blank computer screen during his visit to Spain last week has raised eyebrows in Korean online communities, with some suspecting it was a setup by the presidential office.Yoon's office released 12 photos Sunday that showed the president and first lady Kim Keon-hee in different settings during their four-day visit to Madrid last week.In one picture, Yoon is seen sitting at a desk and looking straight at a computer monitor with his right hand on a mouse.People were quick to notice the screen was in fact nearly blank, showing just the outline of what appeared to be a document or portal.The presidential office said the photo showed Yoon after a meeting with his aides last Tuesday morning in Madrid as he was preparing for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.In response to suspicions the president was simply posing for a photo with nothing on his monitor, the office issued a clarification, saying the picture

Jul 4, 2022
Photo of Yoon staring at blank computer screen raises eyebrows

Five-term DPK lawmaker elected as Assembly speaker

Newly elected Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo delivers an acceptance speech during a plenary session at the National Assembly, Monday. Joint Press CorpsBy Lee Hyo-jin Five-term lawmaker Kim Jin-pyo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has been elected as the new speaker of the National Assembly, Monday, as rival parties reached a last-minute deal on the formation of the new leadership after ending weeks of deadlock.Rep. Kim garnered 255 out of 275 votes in a plenary session held at 2 p.m., winning the position to lead the second half of the 21st National Assembly until May 2024.The election came 35 days after the legislative branch had remained stalled amid conflicts between the two rival parties ― the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the DPK ― on who will take which key committee chair posts, such as the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.Earlier, the DPK offered to hand over the chief post of the judiciary committee in exchange for the PPP's cooperation in launching a special committee on judiciary reform. But the ruling party rejected the proposal.After the two

Jul 4, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Five-term DPK lawmaker elected as Assembly speaker
  • Yoon appoints education minister, JCS chair without assembly hearing

Yoon appoints education minister, JCS chair without assembly hearing

Park Soon-ae, left, nominee for deputy prime minister and minister of education, and Kim Seung-kyum, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman nominee, each answer questions in Yeouido and in Yongsan District, Seoul, respectively, in this combined May 27 photo. NewsisHealth minister nominee resigns amid allegations of exploiting political fundBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday appointed Park Soon-ae as deputy prime minister and minister of education and Army General Kim Seung-kyum as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), without National Assembly confirmation hearings.Meanwhile, the embattled health and welfare minister nominee, Kim Seung-hee, dropped her candidacy.The presidential office said in a statement that Yoon approved the appointments of Park and JCS Chairman Kim, less than an hour after the former health minister nominee announced her withdrawal.Before leaving last week to attend the 2022 NATO Summit in Spain, Yoon requested the National Assembly hold confirmation hearings on the three nominees and send their reports to him. However, the Assembly did not hold the

Jul 4, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Yoon appoints education minister, JCS chair without assembly hearing
  • Five-term DPK lawmaker elected as Assembly speaker

ANALYSIS Korean exporters start rethinking 'China strategy'

Country asked to maintain strategic balance between US, ChinaBy Kim Yoo-chulThere was a period when top-tier U.S. tech leaders were just “all-in” when it came to China, followed by Korea's leading exporters including the tech affiliates of Samsung, LG, SK and Hyundai.Given its vast population of some 1.5 billion, hugely growing middle-class, loosening economic restrictions, low-cost and high-labor-intensity manufacturing centers, China remains an indispensable market for these Korean exporters. Still, without a sizable presence in China, it will be difficult for Korean exporters to position themselves as “global” in nature and vice versa for multinational businesses.Seoul's renewed focus in regard to China as well as both NATO and Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy ― in terms of strengthening its relationships and also regarding trade matters ― is making Korea's leading exporters rethink their business strategies in China, according to government officials and company executives contacted by The Korea Times.However, some consider President Yoon Suk-yeol's NATO

Jul 4, 2022By Kim Yoo-chul
[ANALYSIS] Korean exporters start rethinking 'China strategy'

DPK decides not to allow ex-interim leader Park to run for nat'l convention

Former interim leader Park Ji-hyun / YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Monday rejected a request from former interim leader Park Ji-hyun that she be allowed to run for party chairmanship at an upcoming national convention despite her lack of qualification.Park, a 26-year-old politician seen as a symbol of generational change in the DPK, has declared her bid for the party's chairmanship, a month after she stepped down as the party's interim leader following its crushing defeat in last month's local elections. Under the party charter, however, she cannot run in the leadership election because only those who have held the party's membership for at least six months are qualified to do so. Park joined the party on Feb. 14. She has called for an exception to be made for her.On Monday, DPK leader Woo Sang-ho said the emergency leadership committee has decided not to make an exception for Park, saying the committee members have not found "any unavoidable reason" to do so. The DPK is set to select its new leader through a national convention on Aug. 28. (Yonhap)

Jul 4, 2022
DPK decides not to allow ex-interim leader Park to run for nat'l convention

Rival parties reach last-minute compromise on parliamentary committee formations

The ruling People Power Party floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, left, shakes hands with main opposition Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Park Hong-geun, June 15. Korea Times fileThe rival parties agreed to jointly select a new National Assembly speaker and vice speakers Monday in a last-minute breakthrough that is expected to put the parliament into operation after more than a month of idling.The compromise came as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) accepted a proposal from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) that it would cooperate for the election of the parliamentary speaker and vice speakers on condition the DPK promises to select parliamentary committee chiefs based on agreement between the two sides.The PPP's floor leader, Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, made the proposal just hours before the DPK, which holds 170 out of 299 seats in the National Assembly, planned to unilaterally convene a plenary session to select the speakers on its own. "We offered a broad-minded concession, because normalizing the National Assembly is in the interest of the people, and the ruling

Jul 4, 2022
Rival parties reach last-minute compromise on parliamentary committee formations

Rival parties fail to reach compromise on sharing committees

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, listens to a reporter's question after he met his counterpart from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea to discuss how to make up parliamentary committees, at the National Assembly, Sunday. Joint Press Corps.Rep. Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party / Joint Press Corps.The ruling and main opposition parties failed to reach a compromise Sunday on sharing parliamentary committees, leaving the National Assembly in limbo for over a month.Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), and Rep. Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), sat down for closed-door talks for the first time since late May to try to find a solution to the impasse.Both sides said they held candid discussions on their respective positions but failed to narrow their gaps. They declined to give details.Kweon told reporters he and Park agreed to meet again after dinner.The DP has offered to hand over the chairmanship of the judiciary committee, a k

Jul 3, 2022
Rival parties fail to reach compromise on sharing committees
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