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DPK cries foul over campaign video using Yoon's digital avatar

A digital avatar of President Yoon Suk-yeol used in a campaign video of a candidate of the ruling People Power Party in the southern county of Namhae / Courtesy of Democratic Party of KoreaThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) claimed Tuesday that a digital avatar of President Yoon Suk-yeol has been used to campaign for a local election candidate of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), warning it could constitute a violation of political neutrality that could even warrant impeachment.Park Ji-hyun, an interim chief of the DPK, holds a mobile phone showing a video of a PPP candidate in the southern county of Namhae in which President Yoon Suk-yeol's AI avatar appears. YonahpPark Ji-hyun, an interim chief of the DPK, made the claim, taking issue with a campaign video of a PPP candidate in the southern county of Namhae in which an avatar of Yoon appeared to give an endorsement speech for the ruling party candidate.She said the candidate should be criminally punished if he used the AI avatar without Yoon's consent."If Yoon had consented to, or connived to, produce the video,

May 31, 2022
DPK cries foul over campaign video using Yoon's digital avatar

Parties make last appeal to public for votes

Democratic Party of Korea Gyeonggi Province governor candidate Kim Dong-yeon, left, meets citizens at a traditional market in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, and People Power Party candidate Kim Eun-hye meets citizens at Yatap Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. YonhapGyeonggi Province emerges as key battlegroundBy Nam Hyun-wooRival parties on Tuesday made their last pitches to appeal to the hearts and minds of voters across the country to turn out and cast their ballots for them in Wednesday's local and by-elections.Polls have shown that the ruling People Power Party (PPP) candidates are leading in nine out of 17 posts for governors and mayors of provinces and metropolitan cities.On the other hand, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which had swept the previous local elections held four years ago, is casting a pessimistic outlook. It has set up a realistic goal of taking five of the 17 posts. During the local elections, voters will also select city council members and educational superintendents. People Power Party floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, right, s

May 31, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Parties make last appeal to public for votes

Parties politicize pledge to close Gimpo airport

Lee Jae-myung, second from right, the Democratic Party of Korea's by-election candidate for a National Assembly seat representing Gyeyang-B District in Incheon, shakes hands with supporters at a traditional street market in the city's Namdong District, May 31. YonhapRuling party criticizes Lee Jae-myung's 'surprise' pledge for lacking logicBy Ko Dong-hwanAn all-of-a-sudden election pledge to close Gimpo International Airport and then redevelop the surrounding region has pitted rival parties against one another over the pledge's feasibility. The pledge was announced only days before the local elections by Lee Jae-myung, who is running on the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) ticket for a National Assembly seat representing Incheon's Gyeyang-B District.After Lee announced the pledge last week, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) heads and election candidates condemned it for being far-fetched and unexpected. Lee and DPK politicians have come forward defending the pledge, saying there is no need for their rival colleagues to get so upset over the pledge.The heated debate s

May 31, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Parties politicize pledge to close Gimpo airport

Cabinet approves ordinances to establish personnel vetting team under justice ministry

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo bangs the gavel during a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex in Sejong, May 31. YonhapThe Cabinet approved two revised ordinances Tuesday to set up a personnel vetting unit under the justice ministry, allowing the ministry to take over the role of checking the qualifications of candidates for senior positions from the presidential office.The approval, made in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, paved the way for the ministry to launch its "personnel information management team" as early as June 7. The team will be responsible for vetting potential candidates for senior government jobs in the Cabinet and elsewhere. In the past, the role was carried out by the now-defunct office of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.Abolishing the office of the senior civil affairs secretary was one of President Yoon Suk-yeol's campaign promises amid criticism that the office had been involved in secret investigations into people for political and other purposes.On Monday, the government unveiled a set of measures to curb inflation

May 31, 2022
Cabinet approves ordinances to establish personnel vetting team under justice ministry

DPK interim chief apologizes over belittling elderly

Rep. Yoon Ho-jung, an interim chief of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) / YonhapAn interim chief of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) apologized Tuesday for making ageist remarks against a local election candidate of the ruling People Power Party (PPP).Rep. Yoon Ho-jung made the remarks Monday, saying actor Song Ki-yoon, the PPP's candidate for the head of Jeungpyeong County in central North Chungcheong Province, "will have a hard time learning new stuff, because he is over 70 years old.""I hope he continues to do what he has been doing until now," Yoon said of Song.After his remarks sparked criticism of ageism, Yoon apologized to Song during a radio interview with KBS, Tuesday morning.The PPP, however, urged Yoon to issue a public apology, saying he expressed discrimination and prejudice."Age is just a number. I believe Yoon said something a politician should not say," PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong told reporters. "The problem is Yoon's fundamental perception that belittles all new challenges and dreams of people in their 70s or above," Rep.

May 31, 2022
DPK interim chief apologizes over belittling elderly

Rival parties make last-ditch appeals for support on eve of local elections

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, May 27, the first day of two days of early voting in the June 1 local elections and National Assembly by-elections. (Yonhap)Rival political parties made last-ditch efforts Tuesday to woo undecided voters on the eve of nationwide local elections amid expectations the results will boost or weaken the mandate of the new government of President Yoon Suk-yeol.Up for grabs in Wednesday's elections are posts for 17 metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, 226 lower-level council heads, as well as 779 seats in provincial and metropolitan councils, and 2,602 in lower-level local councils.Also at stake will be seven National Assembly seats in by-elections.Surveys have shown the ruling People Power Party (PPP) is expected to win at least nine out of the 17 key races for big city mayors and provincial governors, including Seoul and Incheon, while the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is expected to win at least four races, including three on its home turf ― the Jeolla provinces.The othe

May 31, 2022
Rival parties make last-ditch appeals for support on eve of local elections

Justice minister defends new personnel vetting unit

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, right, talks with Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su at the Supreme Court in Seoul, Monday. Joint Press CorpsJustice Minister Han Dong-hoon said Monday a new personnel vetting unit to be instituted under his ministry will help make the once-secretive job of examining candidates for public office more transparent and accountable to the people.The government plans to launch the "personnel information management team" as early as June 7 following Cabinet approval Tuesday, according to sources.Han dismissed opposition politicians' criticism that the new system will give excessive power to the justice ministry and the prosecution."It is a meaningful step forward that what in the past was secretive work by those holding political power transitions into ordinary work by public servants which is under public scrutiny," Han told reporters before meeting with Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su at the Supreme Court in Seoul.In the past, vetting of senior position candidates was carried out by the now-defunct office of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.Preside

May 30, 2022
Justice minister defends new personnel vetting unit

Foreign ministry launches in-house economic security center

Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during an opening ceremony of the Center For Economic Security and Foreign Affairs in Seoul, May 30. YonhapThe foreign ministry launched an in-house economic security center Monday in order to better handle global supply chain issues following months of preparatory work.The Center for Economic Security and Foreign Affairs is tasked with monitoring and analyzing supplies of key industrial items and evolving technology trends to serve as "an early warning system," the ministry said. The team, headed by a deputy director general-level official, is composed of more than a dozen experts on diplomacy, economics, technology and law.The center will closely work with the ministry, overseas missions and a broad network of experts to serve as a policy platform for building a resilient supply chain, it added. During its opening ceremony in Seoul, Foreign Minister Park Jin pledged to pursue "proactive diplomacy" to enhance the nation's "economic security" amid strategic competition among major economies and reorganization of cutting-edge technologies. (Yonhap)

May 30, 2022
Foreign ministry launches in-house economic security center

Ruling party to send delegation to Ukraine after local elections

The chairperson of the ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP), Lee Jun-seok, delivers a speech for the Korean people ahead of the June 1 local elections at the National Assembly, Seoul, on May 24. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geunBy Lee Hae-rinThe ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP) will send a delegation to Ukraine right after the June 1 local elections, the party said Monday. PPP leader Lee Jun-seok will lead the delegation. According to the party's press release, Monday, the delegation, tentatively called “the Korea-Ukraine special envoy in solidarity for liberty and peace,” plans to visit the war-torn country in early June. The delegation consists of its lawmakers, including Rep. Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat to the United Kingdom who defected to the South and became a politician and Rep. Park Seong-min, the chief secretary to the party chairman. “The Korean people have felt sorry for the situation in Ukraine from deep down in their hearts, praying for an immediate peace,” the party said in its statement. “The delegation w

May 30, 2022By Lee Hae-rin
Ruling party to send delegation to Ukraine after local elections

Incheon candidates blame former mayor for extending landfill's use

Yoo Jeong-bok, the ruling People Power Party's Incheon mayoral candidate, meets vendors at a fish market in Incheon's Namdong District, May 26. YonhapRuling party candidate Yoo accused of having signed 'secret agreement' to extend landfill use until 2044By Ko Dong-hwanWhile Sudokwon Landfill in Incheon is overflowing with waste, a government document extending the landfill's use has emerged as a flashpoint for finger-pointing between the major parties' mayoral candidates.The document, agreed and stamped in July 2015 by then-Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu and then-Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, stated that the parties wished to adjust the period of the landfill's use from “1989―December 2016” to “1989―December 2044.” The document stated further that the two parties want to use a section of the landfill 1.03 million square meters large ― which was part of the remaining 8.13 million square meters of unused area within the landfill site ― until December 2044.The document followed a meeting in June 2015 between senior environment officials from the governments of

May 30, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Incheon candidates blame former mayor for extending landfill's use
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