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Yoon's first approval rating over 52%: Realmeter

President Yoon Suk-yeol / YonhapMore than 52 percent of Koreans gave a positive assessment of President Yoon Suk-yeol's handling of state affairs in the first poll on Yoon's approval rating since he took office May 10, the pollster Realmeter said Monday. In the poll of 2,528 people aged 18 or above nationwide conducted from Monday to Friday of last week, 52.1 percent said Yoon had done a good job, while 40.6 percent said he had not.Yoon's approval rating was high among the ruling People Power Party (PPP) supporters, conservative voters and those in their 70s. It was relatively low among the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) supporters, residents of the southwestern Jeolla provinces and those in their 40s. Contributing to the approval ratings were believed to be Yoon's first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and his attendance in a ceremony marking the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju, Realmeter said.The PPP's approval rating stood at 50.1 percent, far outweighing DPK's approval rating of 38.6 percent. It marks the first time the PPP's a

May 23, 2022
Yoon's first approval rating over 52%: Realmeter

PM vows national unity, pledges swift implementation of extra budget

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivers his inauguration speech at the Government Complex in Sejong, May 23. YonhapPrime Minister Han Duck-soo said Monday he will do his utmost to promote national unity, while pledging swift implementation of an extra budget aimed at compensating small merchants hit by losses caused by strict COVID-19 pandemic curbs."I will take the lead in pushing for national unity and cooperation in politics to resolve matters of the people's livelihood, economic recovery, sustainable growth and materialize the safety of the people," Han said in his inauguration speech. Han said the government is prepared to provide compensation to small merchants hit by the coronavirus pandemic as soon as the National Assembly approves the extra budget bill. The Assembly is reviewing the government's proposed record extra budget of 59.4 trillion won ($46.8 billion), as the country seeks to compensate small merchants for their losses caused by the stricter containment rules. Han also pledged the government will draw up measures to cope with surging inflation and household debt.With r

May 23, 2022
PM vows national unity, pledges swift implementation of extra budget

Yoon acknowledges need for gender equality after query by US reporter

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a joint press conference with U.S. President Joe Biden held after their summit, Saturday. YonhapYoon admits equal opportunities were not fully ensured for womenBy Lee Hyo-jin President Yoon Suk-yeol said he plans to ensure that more opportunities will be given to women, in response to a U.S. reporter's question about Yoon's male-dominated Cabinet and the administration's plans to improve gender equality in Korea. During a joint press conference held after the summit with his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, Saturday, Yoon received the question from Washington Post reporter Seungmin Kim, who pointed out the lack of gender diversity among the Cabinet members of the new administration. Currently, 16 out of the Yoon administration's 19 Cabinet members including the prime minister are males, mostly in their 50s or 60s. Among the 41 newly-appointed officials at the vice minister level, 39 are men.Kim also asked Yoon, who had pledged to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family during his presidential campaign, about the government's plans to impro

May 22, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Yoon acknowledges need for gender equality after query by US reporter

Yoon appoints Han as prime minister after parliamentary confirmation

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo pose after the president gave an appointment certificate to Han at the presidential office in Seoul, Saturday. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol officially appointed Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Saturday, after an opposition-controlled National Assembly confirmed him the previous day following days of partisan wrangling over his suitability. Yoon gave an appointment certificate to Han in the morning at the presidential office in Seoul.Han is taking the country's No. 2 government post for the second time. The 72-year-old previously served as prime minister during the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration from 2007 to 2008.During his confirmation hearing, Han said stabilizing the economy for ordinary people's livelihoods would be his top priority.His appointment is expected to give much-needed momentum to the fledgling Yoon administration facing a series of tasks, including a recovery from COVID-19 and rising tension on the Korean Peninsula sparked by continued North Korean provocations.Meanwhile, Han said that, along with some presiden

May 21, 2022
Yoon appoints Han as prime minister after parliamentary confirmation

Korean steelmakers unlikely to benefit from Biden's visit

Steel products are loaded in a warehouse in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, in this 2018 file photo. Yonhap By Park Jae-hyukDomestic steelmakers have remained skeptical that U.S. President Joe Biden's meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol will lead to the renegotiation of the U.S. import quota on Korean steel products, according to industry officials, Friday.“Chances are slim for the steel tariffs being placed on the summit's agenda,” a Korea Iron & Steel Association official said. “This topic should be discussed in a working-level meeting.”The lobby group for domestic steelmakers expected the two countries' leaders to focus more on tightening the economic alliance through Korean conglomerates' investments in America's semiconductor, electric vehicle, battery and renewable energy industries.The government has reiterated that it will continue to talk with the U.S. Department of Commerce about the trade barrier, without confirming whether Yoon will mention this issu

May 21, 2022By Park Jae-hyuk
Korean steelmakers unlikely to benefit from Biden's visit

Yoon, Biden vow to strengthen Korea-US tech alliance

President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers his speech as U.S. President Joe Biden listens during their visit to Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap'Two nations work together to make the best, most advanced technology in the world and this factory is proof of that,' says Biden By Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden presented a shared view that economic security is national security and that semiconductors are one of the critical technologies that will determine the future of the two nations' economies. Speaking at Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus which he visited immediately after his arrival in South Korea, Biden made it clear why he chose South Korea as his first stop in his first Asia tour as president of the United States. The U.S. president underscored that South Korea is a reliable, trusted partner sharing values with his country, noting that the global supply chains have been destabilized posing a grave threat to economic and national security.“Now Putin's brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine has further spotl

May 20, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Yoon, Biden vow to strengthen Korea-US tech alliance

National Assembly confirms PM nominee Han

Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo heads to his office in Seoul, May 20. Yonhap The National Assembly confirmed Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo on Friday after the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) holding a majority in the parliament decided to approve the nomination. Han's nomination was approved in a 208-36 vote, 47 days after he was nominated by President Yoon Suk-yeol. In South Korea, the prime minister is the only Cabinet post that requires parliamentary approval.The result came after the DP decided to confirm Han in a general meeting of its lawmakers amid concern that rejecting the nomination could backfire and hurt its chances in next month's local elections.The party had the ultimate say in confirming Han as the country's No. 2 official, as it holds 167 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly. The ruling People Power Party, meanwhile, has 109 seats.The DP has been mulling for weeks on whether to approve Han, with hardliners insisting the party sho

May 20, 2022
National Assembly confirms PM nominee Han

Yoon to hold first regular Cabinet meeting in Sejong next week

President Yoon Suk-yeol / Yonhap President Yoon Suk-yeol will preside over his first regular Cabinet session in the administrative city of Sejong next week, his office said Friday.The meeting will be held Thursday at the Government Complex in Sejong, 130 kilometers southeast of Seoul.Yoon had pledged as president-elect to hold his first Cabinet meeting in Sejong. Last week, however, he presided over an extraordinary Cabinet session at the new presidential office in Seoul to approve the government's extra budget proposal. (Yonhap)

May 20, 2022
Yoon to hold first regular Cabinet meeting in Sejong next week

Police beef up security in places related to Biden's visit

Police stand guard in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Korea, May 19. Police significantly heightened security around the presidential office compound in the central Seoul district of Yongsan and other locations, as a number of rallies are planned ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's three-day visit to Korea, officials said Friday.Biden is set to arrive in Korea later in the day for his first summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol, Saturday.Police raised their security posture against possible emergencies to the highest level, as more than 50 rallies to welcome and oppose Biden's visit are expected to be held in Yongsan and adjacent areas until Sunday, the officials said.The National Police Agency (NPA)said it plans to deploy over 20,000 police personnel in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province during Biden's visit. In particular, about 7,200 police security personnel will be mobilized Saturday, the day of the Korea-U

May 20, 2022
Police beef up security in places related to Biden's visit

COVID-19 patients allowed to use official polling stations in June 1 elections

A COVID-19 patient receives a ballot for the March 9 presidential election at a local polling station in Daegu, March 5. COVID-19 patients will be able to vote in the June 1 local elections and National Assembly by-elections at the same polling stations as uninfected voters. Yonhap COVID-19 patients will be able to vote in the June 1 local elections and National Assembly by-elections at the same polling stations as uninfected voters after the regular voting session is over, the state election watchdog said Friday.The patients will be allowed to vote between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on election day and between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on the second day of early voting May 28 at official polling stations, after getting temporary leave permits from the health authorities, according to the National Election Commission. Virus patients will not be allowed to vote on the first day of early voting.In the March 9 presidential election, virus patients were only allowed to use the

May 20, 2022
COVID-19 patients allowed to use official polling stations in June 1 elections
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