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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.

Yoon appoints chief of National Tax Service

Kim Chang-ki    YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol appointed the new chief of the National Tax Service (NTS) on Monday after the National Assembly failed to hold a confirmation hearing for the nominee.Kim Chang-ki, a longtime tax official, was nominated last month to head the NTS but was unable to undergo a confirmation hearing amid a parliamentary deadlock over various issues, including who will chair the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee.Kim is the first NTS chief to be appointed without a confirmation hearing. (Yonhap)

Jun 13, 2022
Yoon appoints chief of National Tax Service

Yoon's approval rating falls below 50% for first time

President Yoon Suk-yeol / Yonhap President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating fell below 50 percent for the first time since he took office last month, a poll showed Monday, amid criticism of his personnel choices for key government positions.In a Realmeter poll of 2,009 adults conducted between Tuesday and Friday, 48 percent gave a positive assessment on Yoon's handling of state affairs, down 4.1 percentage points from the previous survey, while 44.2 percent answered the opposite, up 3.9 percentage points from the earlier poll. Yoon's approval rating started at 52.1 percent and reached 54.1 percent in the last week of May. But it has been declining since, falling to 52.1 percent in the first week of June, according to Realmeter. The president, who spent decades as a prosecutor, recently faced criticism that he selected too many former and incumbent prosecutors for key government positions, including the chief of the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service.On the favora

Jun 13, 2022
Yoon's approval rating falls below 50% for first time

Yoon advises against reading too much into first lady's visit with ex-President Roh's widow

First lady Kim Keon-hee / Korea Times filePresident Yoon Suk-yeol told reporters Monday to not read too much into first lady Kim Keon-hee's planned visit with the widow of former President Roh Moo-hyun, saying it was something she had wanted to do since last year.Kim is scheduled to pay a visit to Kwon Yang-sook, the widow of the former president who took his own life in 2009 amid a sprawling corruption probe, at her home in the southeastern village of Bongha later Monday."She's been planning to visit since last year, but the schedule didn't work out, and now she's going," Yoon said as he arrived for work, when a reporter asked if he had sent a message in advance and whether the visit would mark the beginning of Kim's public activities."Why do you have to interpret everything in such a complicated way?" he quipped.The first lady plans to travel to Bongha by train and also pay her respects at Roh's grave. (Yonhap)

Jun 13, 2022
Yoon advises against reading too much into first lady's visit with ex-President Roh's widow

Yoon says letting lawmakers revise presidential decrees violates constitution

President Yoon Suk-yeol gestures as he answers reporters' questions at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that allowing lawmakers to revise presidential decrees leaves room for constitutional violations, signaling a head-on collision against the opposition party which is preparing such a legal revision.“Giving the National Assembly the right to demand revisions on presidential decrees runs the risk of violating the Constitution,” Yoon told reporters on his way to work at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul.“If a presidential decree goes against the purpose of related laws, the Assembly can annul the decree by specifying or revising the related laws,” Yoon said. “The presidential decree is ordered by the President, and I believe we can always settle problems in presidential decrees through processes stated by the Constitution.”Rep. Cho Eung-cheon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea speaks during a committee meeting at the National Assembly i

Jun 13, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Yoon says letting lawmakers revise presidential decrees violates constitution

Gov't unveils deregulation of high-tech education, electric cars, healthcare

President Yoon Suk-yeo, speaks with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the presidential office in Seoul, June 13. YonhapThe government unveiled a set of deregulation measures for high-tech education, subsidies for electric cars and healthcare Monday in line with President Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to help the private sector lead the country's economic growth.The measures will ease 33 restrictions on university education in high-tech sectors, state subsidies on electric cars, computer software for medical equipment and others, the Office for Government Policy Coordination said in a statement.Under the measures, the government will allow universities to increase their quota for graduate students in four high-tech sectors, including artificial intelligence and big data, if they meet a requirement for the number of professors. Currently, universities can increase their quota for graduate students only if they meet four requirements, including the number of professors, school sites and basic assets for profits. Also, the central government will allow local governments to provide state subsidies

Jun 13, 2022
Gov't unveils deregulation of high-tech education, electric cars, healthcare

Yoon defends watching movie on day North Korea fired 'artillery shots'

President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee watch the Cannes award-winning film “Broker” at a movie theater in Seoul, June 12. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that there was nothing wrong with him and first lady Kim Keon-hee watching a movie the previous day shortly after North Korea launched a series of projectiles because the government took the necessary steps in response.Yoon and the first lady watched the Cannes award-winning film "Broker" at a movie theater in Seoul, Sunday. But some critics said it was inappropriate for the president to watch a movie at a time when the North had “fired shots” from a presumed multiple rocket launcher hours earlier"There's nothing to be suspicious about," Yoon said as he arrived for work when a reporter suggested people could have questions about why the president went to see a movie. "If a multiple rocket launcher was the equivalent of a missile, then we would take steps accordingly, but a multiple rocket launcher is not equivalent to a missile, so we took the steps that were needed," he said. (Yonhap)

Jun 13, 2022
Yoon defends watching movie on day North Korea fired 'artillery shots'

Yoon says opposition push for greater Assembly clout could be unconstitutional

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks to reporters at the presidential office in Seoul's Yongsan District, June 13. Yonhap President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that an opposition push to strengthen National Assembly oversight of the government could be "unconstitutional."Rep. Cho Eung-chon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is reportedly planning to introduce an amendment to the National Assembly Act to enable standing committees to request a revision to a presidential decree or a prime minister's ordinance if they deem it to be incompatible with the law.Critics said the amendment, if passed, could give the DPK, which controls the National Assembly with 170 out of 299 seats, too much say in government affairs, thus hurting the principle of the separation of administrative and legislative powers."I'll have to take a look at the bill, but if it's about having the right to demand revisions to enforcement ordinances, as reported in the press, then I think it would

Jun 13, 2022
Yoon says opposition push for greater Assembly clout could be unconstitutional

'Watermelon' insult banned from use in Korean political party

Rep. Woo Sang-ho, an interim leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, gestures during a news conference on Sunday in the National Assembly, Seoul. Joint Press CorpsDPK leader says blame game, personal attacks don't help defeated party regain public's trust By Kang Hyun-kyunggettyimagesbank“Subak,” or watermelon, has become a prohibited word for the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). On Sunday, Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the interim leader of the DPK, said that he won't sit back if there are any DPK lawmakers or members who use the slang word to attack others personally.“How can you attack fellow party members like that? If you call our party leader a 'watermelon,' isn't that self-destructive? … I hope that you will have more dignified debates using healthy language instead,” he told reporters, referring to the emergence of vulgar expressions and nasty personal attacks ― particularly in text messages and social media posts ― amid heated exchanges between two rival factions of the party, following its recent defeat in the June 1 local

Jun 13, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
'Watermelon' insult banned from use in Korean political party

Pres. Yoon has dinner with Cannes-winning Park Chan-wook, Song Kang-ho

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, and first lady Kim Keon-hee arrive at a movie theater in Seoul, Sunday, to watch Hirokazu Kore-eda's “Broker,” which stars Cannes-winning Song Kang-ho. Courtesy of presidential officePresident Yoon Suk-yeol had dinner on Sunday with director Park Chan-wook and actor Song Kang-ho to celebrate their honors at this year's Cannes International Film Festival.Park won the Best Director prize at the 75th edition of the film festival last month for his romance thriller "Decision to Leave." It was his third Cannes award following the Grand Prix for "Oldboy" (2003) and the Jury Prize for "Thirst" (2009).For his performance in the drama "Broker," written and directed by Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, Song became the first Korean to win Best Actor at Cannes."As a representative of Korean people, I think it is my duty to invite and entertain you, who made remarkable achievements at the Cannes Film Festival," Yoon said during the dinner held at the presidential office.Also present at the dinner was veteran filmmaker Im Kwon-taek, who won Best Directo

Jun 12, 2022
Pres. Yoon has dinner with Cannes-winning Park Chan-wook, Song Kang-ho

Young leader vows to transform ruling party

The ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday. YonhapInfighting intensifies between Lee, pro-Yoon lawmakersBy Jung Min-hoFactional infighting is intensifying within the ruling People Power Party (PPP) as Lee Jun-seok, its young, Harvard-educated leader, clashes with veteran lawmakers over control ― and therefore, the future ― of the party.A power struggle has emerged mainly between Lee, 37, and politicians close to President Yoon Suk-yeol, such as party leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong and Rep. Chang Je-won. They all appear to be aiming to secure nomination rights for the 2024 National Assembly elections.Speaking at Sunday's press conference marking the first anniversary of his leadership, Lee expressed his ambition to transform the party.“So far, I have tried my best for election wins. From now on, I will shift my focus to myself,” he said at the National Assembly in Seoul. “I will reform the party so that it will reflect my political will more, creating a world I think is right and making

Jun 12, 2022By Jung Min-ho
Young leader vows to transform ruling party
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