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Will Yoon meet with Park Geun-hye?

Former President Park Geun-hye announces her endorsement of her aide and lawyer, Yoo Young-ha, for Daegu's mayoral primary, in a video released on Yoo's YouTube channel, Friday. It was her first political statement after being pardoned and released from prison last December. Yonhap By Kwon Mee-yooPresident-elect Yoon Suk-yeol picked Daegu in North Gyeongsang Province, a traditional conservative stronghold, as the first stop on his regional tour, and all eyes are on whether he will hold a meeting with disgraced former President Park Geun-hye, who now resides in Daegu, after having been pardoned. Yoon is expected to begin his tour across the country starting next week.Yoon's spokesperson, Bae Hyun-jin, announced on Friday that Yoon will begin his tour across the country starting next week by visiting Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. "Yoon has met with 17 mayors and governors and familiarized himself with the major projects and issues of each region. He will tour t

Apr 8, 2022By Kwon Mee-yoo
Will Yoon meet with Park Geun-hye?

Gender equality minister to be appointed, though ministry's fate still unclear

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Chung Young-ai attends a meeting at Government Complex in Seoul on March 31, 2022. Joint Press Corps.By Ko Dong-hwanThe presidential transition committee announced it will appoint a new minister of gender equality and family. But questions remain about the fate of the ministry due to President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's campaign pledge to abolish it, which has triggered a fierce backlash from civic and women's groups.Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition committee, said Thursday that it will slow down the reorganization of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, while appointing a new minister to the post.The new minister will diagnose what the problems are and develop a plan to reorganize the ministry “that is in line with the current times in a calm and in-depth manner,” Ahn said in a press conference held at the committee's Tongui-dong office in Seoul's Jongno District. “Rather than hurriedly coming up with a plan to reorganize the present government structure during the committee's limited period of operatio

Apr 8, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Gender equality minister to be appointed, though ministry's fate still unclear

Yoon's close confidant elected as new floor leader of soon-to-be ruling PPP

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the new floor leader of the People Power Party / Yonhap Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a close confidant and a friend of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, was elected as the new floor leader of the soon-to-be ruling People Power Party (PPP), Friday. Kweon beat Rep. Cho Hae-jin to become the floor leader after garnering 81 of 102 votes casted during a general meeting of PPP lawmakers at the National Assembly. The four-term lawmaker is considered one of Yoon's closest confidants known as "Yoonhaekgwan" ― an abbreviation of "Yoon Suk-yeol's core associates" in Korean ― that also include Reps. Chang Je-won and Yoon Han-hong of the same party. Kweon, 61, has also been friends with Yoon since childhood when the two met during visits to their respective families in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung. He is known to have steered Yoon's campaign from the start, serving as Yoon's chief of staff and the party's secretary-general before resigning early this year

Apr 8, 2022
Yoon's close confidant elected as new floor leader of soon-to-be ruling PPP

Ex-President Park endorses key aide for Daegu mayor

Former President Park Geun-hye endorses her key aide for mayor of Daegu, her hometown, in a video message, ahead of local elections in June. Yonhap Former President Park Geun-hye openly endorsed a key aide for mayor of her hometown of Daegu in June's local elections, Friday, in her first political move since returning to her hometown last month following a presidential pardon.Park, who was pardoned in December after spending four years and nine months in prison on a 22-year sentence for corruption, appeared in a YouTube video to declare her support for lawyer Yoo Yeong-ha of the People Power Party (PPP), who is considered her closest aide. "Yoo stood by my side over the past five years that were the most difficult, painful time for me," Park said. "Although I have not realized all the dreams that I wanted to realize, I believe Yoo will achieve them on behalf of me in my hometown and his hometown Daegu." The move came two weeks after she was discharged from a hospita

Apr 8, 2022
Ex-President Park endorses key aide for Daegu mayor

Korea University voids admission of Cho's daughter

Cho Kuk / YonhapKorea University said Thursday it had nullified the 2010 admission of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter after finding falsehoods in her high school records submitted during the admission process. The decision came two days after Pusan National University in Busan voided the 2015 admission of Cho Min, the former minister's daughter, into its medical school for using a false internship certificate and other forged documents in her application.Korea University said it voided Cho Min's acceptance to its college of life science and technology, Feb. 25, after learning that parts of her high school records in her admission application were falsified. The school said it later notified Cho Min of the decision.Cho Min's admission cancellations from both institutions this week came after the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of her mother, Chung Kyung-sim, in January for academic fraud, including forging a university president's citation for her daughter, and other charges. The mother was sentenced to four years in prison.The 2019 scandal involving the family of Cho K

Apr 7, 2022
Korea University voids admission of Cho's daughter

PPP turns down ex-lawmaker's bid to rejoin party

Kang Yong-seok, a lawyer who runs the YouTube channel Garo Sero Institute, waves to his supporters during a press conference at a train station in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, 46 kilometers south of Seoul, April 4, to proclaim his intention to run in the June 1 Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial election. Yonhap The conservative People Power Party (PPP) rejected a request by former representative Kang Yong-seok to rejoin the party, PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok said Thursday. PPP leaders voted against Kang's re-entry into the party, Lee told reporters. He declined to give details of the vote, saying a majority voted down Kang's application. Kang, a lawyer who runs a right-wing YouTube channel, was expelled in 2010 from the then Grand National Party, which has since changed names and adopted the new name of the PPP, after newspaper reports alleged that he made lewd and sexist remarks about TV anchorwomen and women's appearance. Earlier this week, Kang declared his bid to run f

Apr 7, 2022
PPP turns down ex-lawmaker's bid to rejoin party

Yoon en route to US military base Camp Humphreys

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, then the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, looks at the North Korean side of the inter-Korean border through binoculars during a visit to an observation post of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas at the central section of the inter-Korean border in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Dec. 20, 2021. Yonhap President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol was en route to the U.S. military base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Thursday, his spokesperson said, as tensions have been running high over North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs.The base, located 70 kilometers south of Seoul, serves as the headquarters of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea and the U.S.-led U.N. Command.Yoon's visit comes as North Korea has ratcheted up tensions by launching an intercontinental ballistic missile last month, breaking its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM and nuclear weapons tests. C

Apr 7, 2022
Yoon en route to US military base Camp Humphreys

State spy agency offers cyberthreat info to crypto exchanges

A representation of the virtual cryptocurrency bitcoin. Reuters-Yonhap The state intelligence agency said Thursday it has started providing real-time information on hacking attempts to the country's major cryptocurrency exchanges amid growing cyberthreats.The country's major crypto exchanges ― Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone ― now have access to the agency's information on online security threats, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the hacking attempts, according to the National Intelligence Service.It stressed the importance of tackling such threats as they are directly linked to national security and are found in both the public and private sector."In the future, we plan to provide and share more specialized information, including the latest malicious codes and hacking methods related to virtual assets," the agency said. (Yonhap)

Apr 7, 2022
State spy agency offers cyberthreat info to crypto exchanges

Yoon administration to keep current gov't structure, including gender ministry, for now: Ahn

Transition team Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo speaks to reporters, April 7. YonhapThe incoming administration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will maintain the current government structure, including the gender ministry, as it seeks to focus on addressing pending state affairs, transition team Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo said Thursday. A nominee for gender minister will also be announced when a new Cabinet lineup is unveiled, Ahn said, meaning that the ministry will be kept for the time being even though its abolition has been one of Yoon's key campaign pledges.The new gender minister will be tasked with drawing up plans to revamp the ministry, Ahn said."It was judged that it would be better to focus on current state affairs rather than making an early decision and pushing ahead with (government restructuring) during the transition period," Ahn said.Asked whether the transition team could announce nominees for key posts, including a finance minister, by the end of this week, Ahn said it was hard to say exactly when such announcements would be made, but the most talented people will be appointed

Apr 7, 2022
Yoon administration to keep current gov't structure, including gender ministry, for now: Ahn

High-ranking prosecutor close to Yoon cleared of charges in blackmail case

Han Dong-hoon, a senior prosecutor considered a close associate of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, was cleared Wednesday of attempted coercion charges in a highly-watched blackmail case involving a liberal television commentator. Korea Times fileHan Dong-hoon, a senior prosecutor considered a close associate of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, was cleared Wednesday of attempted coercion charges in a highly-watched blackmail case involving a liberal television commentator, officials said. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office cleared the charges for Han, vice head of the Judicial Research Training Institute, on the grounds of insufficient evidence, about two years after the probe was launched. Han was accused of being involved in the purported blackmailing of a jailed businessperson into leaking alleged corrupt acts by Rhyu Si-min, a popular pro-Moon Jae-in government commentator and former health minister, to a TV reporter. The reporter was indicted and later acquitted of charges of coercing the businessperson to reveal Rhyu's unlawful deeds by bragging about his close ties wit

Apr 6, 2022
High-ranking prosecutor close to Yoon cleared of charges in blackmail case
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