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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.

Will Yoon become more approachable leader by lowering doorstep to reporters?

President Yoon Suk-yeol gestures as he answers questions from reporters on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, June 13. Joint Press CorpsOpinions mixed about President Yoon's direct answers to reportersBy Nam Hyun-wooSince his inauguration on May 10, President Yoon Suk-yeol has taken questions from reporters and answered them every day on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul. He vowed to be an interactive president during the presidential election campaign, and his impromptu question-and-answer sessions with journalists on his way to work could be seen as a small gesture to live up to his commitment.The president directly and frequently answering questions from reporters is unprecedented in Korean politics. In the past, there were usually a handful of opportunities for reporters to meet the president, when they were invited to Cheong Wa Dae, the previous presidential office, to cover certain events or the president's schedule on important days, while normally the presidents' thoughts would be conveyed to reporters through a spokespe

Jun 19, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Will Yoon become more approachable leader by lowering doorstep to reporters?
  • First lady's growing political presence weighs on Yoon

Korea to actively use nuclear energy to reach carbon neutrality: PM

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, June 17, in this photo provided by his oOffice. Yonhap Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has said Korea will actively use nuclear energy to meet its target of carbon neutrality and as a tool for the nation's energy security. Han made the remarks in a video address to a global climate meeting hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, Friday. Korea "will actively utilize nuclear power plants as a means of energy security and carbon neutrality," Han told the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, according to a statement provided by his office. Korea has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 levels by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Han said Korea will draw up a plan for the right mix of nuclear power and renewable energy to achieve carbon neutrality. In addition, Korea will expand its investment in small nuclear power projects called small mo

Jun 18, 2022
Korea to actively use nuclear energy to reach carbon neutrality: PM

PM warns protesters rallying in front of incumbent and former president's residences

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, right, shakes hands with former President Moon Jae-in at his retirement residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Captured from FacebookBy Kwon Mee-yooPrime Minister Han Duck-soo's visit to former President Moon Jae-in's retirement residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province could serve as a breakthrough in putting an end to escalating rallies in front of the homes of incumbent and former presidents and a feud between the conservative and liberal blocs. Han paid a courtesy visit to Moon in his new home city, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, Thursday. He said visiting former presidents is a ritual for many prime ministers.The two exchanged their views on current economic conditions and international issues as well as Moon's life after retirement."As a prime minister, I paid a visit to the former president to receive advice on state affairs and Moon responded positively," Han wrote on his Facebook after the visit.Han, who was prime minister from 2007 to 2008, worked with Moon under the Roh Moo-hyun administration when Moon was Ro

Jun 18, 2022By Kwon Mee-yoo
PM warns protesters rallying in front of incumbent and former president's residences

First lady meets with ex-President Moon's wife in Seoul

First lady Kim Keon-hee / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoonFirst lady Kim Keon-hee met with the wife of former President Moon Jae-in in Seoul on Friday and held a friendly conversation, according to the presidential office. The first lady's meeting with Kim Jung-sook, Moon's wife, took place amid the former first lady's scheduled visit to Seoul, a presidential official said.Moon and his wife moved to Yangsan, 420 kilometers southeast of Seoul, following the end of the former president's five-year presidential term in May. The meeting was the latest in a series of recent encounters between Kim Keon-hee and former first ladies. The current first lady recently met with Kim Yoon-ok, the wife of former President Lee Myung-bak, and Kwon Yang-sook and Lee Soon-ja, the widows of late former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Chun Doo-hwan, respectively. (Yonhap)

Jun 17, 2022
First lady meets with ex-President Moon's wife in Seoul

Family of late fisheries official to sue ex-National Security Office director

The wife of Lee Dae-joon, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by the North Korean military in September 2020 after he went missing, weeps during a news conference held at the Seoul Bar Association building in southern Seoul, Friday. YonhapState auditor embarks on probe of defense ministry, Coast Guard By Kang Hyun-kyungThe family members of Lee Dae-joon, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was shot dead by the North Korean military in the West Sea on Sep. 22, 2020, a day after he went missing, plan to sue former National Security Office (NSO) Director Suh Hoon for obstruction of justice. “Then the Ministry of National Defense and Coast Guard announced that my brother was shot dead while attempting to defect to North Korea,” Lee's brother Rae-jin said during a news conference held in southern Seoul on Friday. “We're wondering if then-National Security Office Director Suh flexed his muscle behind the government's conclusion about my brother's death. We will sue him for obstruction of justice to see if what we believe is true.&rdq

Jun 17, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Family of late fisheries official to sue ex-National Security Office director

Corruption probes: Yoon dismisses accusations of political vendetta

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks to reporters as he enters his office in Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoPresident Yoon Suk-yeol reaffirmed his commitment to cracking down on corruption and dismissed accusations that the investigations targeting opposition heavyweights and former government officials are politically motivated.Asked about investigations into high-profile politicians of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Yoon told reporters Friday that they are nothing more than the normal operation of the country's justice system and stressed that it is improper to politicize the issue.“After a change of government, there have been investigations into allegations brought up in the past, because what will happen cannot be the subject of investigation,” Yoon said in comments aimed at those claiming that the ongoing probes are a form of political retaliation. “Wasn't it the same case during the previous DPK administration?”Baek Woon-gyu, who served as the minister of trade, industry and energy under the Moon Jae-in administration, is being inves

Jun 17, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Corruption probes: Yoon dismisses accusations of political vendetta

Panel votes not to differentiate minimum wage by industry next year

The Minimum Wage Commission holds its fourth plenary session this year at the Government Complex in Sejong, June 16. YonhapA tripartite panel tasked with determining next year's minimum wage has agreed not to apply different rates to different industries, maintaining the current system, officials said Friday.The Minimum Wage Commission, which is composed of 27 representatives, nine each from labor, business and the general public, met at the Government Complex in Sejong for its fourth plenary session this year to negotiate next year's minimum wage. A differentiated minimum wage was adopted in 1988, when the minimum wage system was first introduced, but it has never been applied.At issue during in Thursday's session was whether the minimum wage should be set lower for industries that struggle to pay wages, such as food services. The business side, mostly small business owners, has advocated for the system, while the labor side has balked, saying it defeats the purpose of the minimum wage.The panel voted 16-11 in opposition to differentiating the rate. Differentiating the rate by indus

Jun 17, 2022
Panel votes not to differentiate minimum wage by industry next year

First lady meets deceased-dictator Chun Doo-hwan's widow

First lady Kim Keon-hee walks out of the front gate of the late Chun Doo-hwan's residence in Yeonhui-dong, western Seoul, Thursday. She had a meeting with Chun's widow, Lee Soon-ja, for one and a half hours, days after her visit to late President Roh Moo-hyun's widow Kwon Yang-sook in Bongha Village, South Gyeongsang Province. Yonhap

Jun 16, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
First lady meets deceased-dictator Chun Doo-hwan's widow

President's longtime friend appointed as presidential committee chief

By Ko Dong-hwanKim Han-gil / Courtesy of Yoon Suk-yeol's presidential officeKim Han-gil, who supported Yoon Suk-yeol during his presidential campaign, has been appointed as the head of a presidential committee encouraging the consolidation of the public that remains deeply divided between supporters of the two main parties.Kim's appointment came after Yoon officially launched the citizenry unification committee, which only existed as a temporary division under the presidential transition committee following Yoon's election victory in March this year. The first Cabinet meeting with Yoon at the Government Complex in Sejong on May 26 passed legal foundations for launching and operating the committee directly under the president. Yoon, at the Cabinet meeting, urged all ministerial heads and presidential secretaries to cooperate with the newly launched committee by “looking at the country's entirety rather than being confined to a single bureau.”With the new committee, Kim, 69, is expected to lead the country's national policies and businesses designed to break down the walls

Jun 16, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
President's longtime friend appointed as presidential committee chief

Gov't apologizes to family of official killed by North Korea

Incheon Coast Guard chief Park Sang-choon speaks about a South Korean government official killed by North Korean military in September 2020, during a press conference at the coast guard office in Incheon, Thursday. YonhapYoon administration reverses previous gov't's stance on fisheries official's deathBy Nam Hyun-wooThe government on Thursday dropped its plan to appeal to a higher court about the ruling that it should disclose information related to a South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korea's military in 2020. The government expressed regrets about the previous Moon Jae-in administration's “inappropriate” explanation that the official attempted to defect to North Korea. According to the presidential office, the legal representative of the Office of National Security has withdrawn its appeal to the Seoul High Court on the Seoul Administrative Court's decision ordering the government to reveal information related to the deceased official, surnamed Lee. Following the withdrawal, the administrative court's decision was confirmed as the final ruling, meaning that

Jun 16, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Gov't apologizes to family of official killed by North Korea
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