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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 names new chief nuclear envoy

South Korean Ambassador to Britain Kim Gunn, who was named as Seoul's new chief nuclear envoy by President Yoon Suk-yeol, Friday, is seen in this Aug. 12, 2020 photo. Korea Times fileKim Chang-ki / Courtesy of National Tax ServicePresident Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday named Ambassador to Britain Kim Gunn as his first chief negotiator for the North Korean nuclear issue while tapping 20 other vice minister-level officials.Kim, who also worked as deputy foreign minister before becoming the top envoy to Britain last year, will serve as Seoul's point man on the North Korean nuclear issue as special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs.Park Min-shik/ Courtesy of President Yoon Suk-yeol's officeYoon also named Kim Chang-ki, former head of the National Tax Service's Busan office, as new NTS commissioner, while Park Min-shik, former lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, was nominated as veteran affairs minister.The other appointments include Yoon Tae-sik, a senior finance ministry official, as the chief of the Korea Customs Office; former prosecutor Lee Noh-kong as v

May 13, 2022
Yoon names new chief nuclear envoy

New industry minister vows to overhaul energy policy, end nuclear phase-out

New Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang is sworn in during an inauguration ceremony held at the Government Complex Sejong, Firday. Yonhap New Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang vowed Friday to overhaul the country's energy policy by utilizing nuclear power as part of efforts to ensure energy security and achieve zero-emission goals.The move represents a reversal of the previous administration's nuclear phase-out plan, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine has drawn fresh international attention to energy security and nuclear power generation.Russia's state-owned gas producer Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after the countries refused to pay for shipments in rubles."We will re-design the country's energy policy from a scientific point of view to strengthen the country's energy security and raise the possibility of achieving net-zero goals," Lee said at his inauguration ceremony in Sejong, an administrative hub 130 km southeast of Seoul."We will ensure sta

May 13, 2022
New industry minister vows to overhaul energy policy, end nuclear phase-out

DPK expels three-term lawmaker over sexual misconduct

Rep. Park Wan-joo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea speaks during the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee meeting in Seoul, April 22. / Korea Times fileThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Thursday expelled Rep. Park Wan-joo over a sexual misconduct case, the party's spokesperson said.The three-term lawmaker who previously served as the DPK's top policymaker was reportedly questioned by the DPK's ethics inspection team over allegations that he harassed a female assistant last year. The DPK's emergency committee decided to kick out Park and plans to refer him to the National Assembly's ethics reporting center for an additional penalty, according to DPK spokesperson Shin Hyun-young. "We are very sorry that a sexual misconduct case happened inside the party," Shin said. "We will not reveal details of the case to prevent secondary victimization." The DPK said a police probe on Park has yet to be conducted.The DPK leadership issued a public apology later in the day, vowing to strictly handle the matter based on the zero tolerance

May 12, 2022
DPK expels three-term lawmaker over sexual misconduct

Yoon appoints foreign, interior ministers

President Yoon Suk-yeol places his right hand on his chest to pay tribute to the national flag during the first Cabinet meeting of his administration at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps Chances for humanitarian aid to NK remain openBy Nam Hyun-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Park Jin and Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, even though the ministers' confirmation reports were not adopted by the National Assembly amid objections from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).The move is interpreted as Yoon's intention to meet the quorum for his first Cabinet meeting held later in the day. A presidential aide told reporters on condition of anonymity that Yoon has approved the appointments of Park and Lee. Unlike appointing the prime minister, a president does not need the Assembly's approval in naming ministers.

May 12, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
Yoon appoints foreign, interior ministers
  • South Korea to strengthen economic security diplomacy

Nominee says no strings attached in humanitarian assistance to North Korea

Unification Minister nominee Kwon Young-se speaks during a confirmation hearing in the National Assembly, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press CorpUnification minister nominee says South Korea ready to help North in fight against COVID-19By Lee Hae-rinUnification Minister nominee Kwon Young-se said on Thursday that if he takes the helm in the ministry, he will be willing to help North Korea in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think using the plight facing North Korea as an opportunity to initiate dialogue is ethically wrong. What I can say now is that South Korea is willing to help the North as it's currently in trouble,” he said during a confirmation hearing held in the National Assembly, when asked how he thinks South Korea can help its northern neighbor, which allegedly reported its first official COVID-19 infections on Thursday. Kwon vowed to prepare for the resumption of humanitarian assistance for the North as the Omicron outbreak will worsen its already poor humanitarian situation.“Our position is that inter-Korean cooperation in the area of health and qua

May 12, 2022By Lee Hae-rin
Nominee says no strings attached in humanitarian assistance to North Korea

Candidate registration commences for June 1 local elections

A notice installed at the National Election Commission office in Jongno District, Seoul, Thursday, reads that 20 days are left until the June 1 local elections. YonhapBy Lee Hyo-jin Candidate registration for the June 1 local elections and parliamentary by-elections began on Thursday for a two-day period, according to the National Election Commission (NEC), amid widespread anticipation that the upcoming elections will act as a litmus test for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. The election watchdog said it will accept registrations until Friday, with the 13-day official campaign period kicking off on May 19. Candidates can campaign on the streets, put up election posters and send campaign materials to voters until May 31, while early voting will take place on May 27 and 28. Up for grabs in the local elections are 17 provincial governor and mayor positions, as well as posts for local council members and the heads of regional education offices. On the sidelines of the quadrennial local elections, the country will pick seven lawmakers, after those seats were vacated as those who were ele

May 12, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Candidate registration commences for June 1 local elections

99-year-old Kim to receive diplomas 85 years after school closure

By Nam Hyun-wooKim Deok-hwa / Courtesy of Gwangju Speer Girl's Middle and High SchoolKim Deok-hwa, 99, will finally receive her middle and high school diplomas 85 years after her middle school was closed, as the faculty and students refused to worship at a local Japanese shrine during Japan's colonial occupation of Korea (1910-1945).According to Gwangju's Speer Girl's Middle and High School, it will hold a homecoming day event on Saturday where it will award Kim honorary middle and high school diplomas.Born in Yeongwang County, South Jeolla Province, Kim attended Speer Girl's School, which is equivalent to middle school, but had to leave the school in 1937 due to its closure when she was 14. According to the school's paper on its history, imperial Japan coerced Koreans to worship the Japanese emperor in the later part of its colonial rule and began to build shrines across the country. In Gwangju, a shrine was built in 1935, and authorities ordered students at local schools to pay their respects to the shrine. The faculty and students of Speer Girl's School and a number of others oper

May 12, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo
99-year-old Kim to receive diplomas 85 years after school closure

Yoon appoints foreign, interior ministers

Park Jin, left, and Lee Sang-min / Korea Times file and YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Foreign Minister Park Jin and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, Thursday, a presidential official said, amid a delay in their National Assembly confirmation hearings. The appointments will help meet the quorum for Yoon's first Cabinet meeting set for later in the day.Park is a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, and Lee is a former vice chief of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. (Yonhap)

May 12, 2022
Yoon appoints foreign, interior ministers

Candidate registration begins for June 1 local elections, parliamentary by-elections

The chief educational official of Seoul Cho Hee-yeon, left, registers for the candidate of June 1 local elections in Seoul, May 12. YonhapCandidate registration began Thursday for the June 1 local elections and parliamentary by-elections amid expectations that the results could serve as an early bellwether for the new government of President Yoon Suk-yeol. The National Election Commission (NEC) will receive candidacy registration on Thursday and Friday before the official 13-day campaign period kicks off May 19.Up for grabs in the local elections are mayoral and gubernatorial posts, local council seats and education board chiefs across the nation. Contests for big city mayors and provincial governors, such as Seoul mayor and Gyeonggi Province governor, are considered key races in the polls.This year's elections have drawn greater attention as seven National Assembly seats are also at stake in parliamentary by-elections, and political heavyweights, such as former presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung and Ahn Cheol-soo, have declared their bids.Ahn, former head of Yoon's presidential t

May 12, 2022
Candidate registration begins for June 1 local elections, parliamentary by-elections

Ex-Culture Minister Hwang under probe over illicit political fund allegations

Former Culture Minister Hwang Hee / YonhapPolice have launched an investigation into allegations that former Culture Minister Hwang Hee took political funds from a state utility agency in return for facilitating business favors, officials said Thursday.Hwang, a two-term lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, allegedly received a total of 10 million won ($7,818) in political funds from an executive of Korea Water Resources (K-water) between 2019 and 2020 after a legislative bill proposed by him was approved a year earlier, according to Rep. Kim Yea-ji of the ruling People Power Party.The bill, initiated when Hwang was a member of the parliamentary committee on infrastructure, allows K-water to build and rent buildings for profits in the state-designated smart-city district in the southern port city of Busan.Police are currently looking into confiscated materials after raiding the K-water's headquarters in the central city of Daejeon earlier this month and seizing the materials."Details of the investigation cannot be disclosed," a police official said about the case

May 12, 2022
Ex-Culture Minister Hwang under probe over illicit political fund allegations
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