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Moon says gender ministry plays 'very important' roles

President Moon Jae-in gives a rose to a nurse in celebration of International Women's Day, March 8. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that the gender equality ministry plays a "very important" role, a remark that could be seen as veiled criticism of the main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to abolish it.Moon made the remarks after he was briefed about the ministry's achievements by Gender Equality and Family Minister Chung Young-ai during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. "The next government may have new ideas about the roles, title and form of the ministry of gender and family, but regardless of how the ministry's fate ends up, each of the tasks the ministry is in charge of is very important," Moon was quoted as saying.It marks Moon's first comment on the issue since it emerged as a hot topic in the presidential race.Yoon of the main opposition Peo

Mar 8, 2022
Moon says gender ministry plays 'very important' roles

Next president to write new chapter in history

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, left, and Yoon Suk-yeol, presidential hopeful of the main opposition People Power Party / Korea Times fileBy Lee Hyo-jin Regardless of who eventually emerges victorious in the presidential election on Wednesday, the next president is expected to open a new chapter in Korea's political history.The two front runners ― the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative main opposition People Power Party ― have been running neck and neck against each other in the latest surveys. If the winner is elected among these two flag bearers of the rival parties, he would become the first democratically elected president in Korea's history with no legislative or cabinet experience. Since the country's first democratic presidential election which took place in 1987 to the last one conducted in 2017, all the winners have had experience in the National Assembly, where many of them had demonstrated their leadership as party floor leaders. Yoon, 61, is a political rookie who just enter

Mar 8, 2022By Lee Hyo-jin
Next president to write new chapter in history

Election agency chief under growing pressure to step down

National Election Commission (NEC) Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee apologizes for mishandling ballots of COVID-19 patients and other blunders during last week's early voting, in a press conference at NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Yonhap By Kang Seung-wooNational Election Commission (NEC) Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee is in the hot seat over the agency's improper handling of COVID-19 patients' ballots during the early voting period last Friday and Saturday.Despite making an apology for the fiasco during a press conference, Tuesday, the besieged NEC chief did not address growing calls from political circles for her resignation. The NEC came under fire over the weekend following revelations that poll station workers were collecting patients' ballots in plastic bags and other unofficial containers, rather than letting the infected voters place their votes directly in designated ballot boxes, during the early voting period for infected voters on Saturday.Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said earlier in the day that Noh should step d

Mar 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Election agency chief under growing pressure to step down

Ruling party chief discharged from hospital after hammer attack

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), hugs DPK Chairman Song Young-gil, whose head is wrapped in a bandage, at the party's headquarters in Seoul on March 8. Yonhap Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Song Young-gil was discharged from a hospital Tuesday, a day after he was wounded in a hammer attack while he was campaigning for the party's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. In Monday's attack, a YouTuber in his 70s struck Song in the head from behind with a hammer several times during a campaign stop in Seoul's Sinchon area. He was immediately taken to a hospital where he received stitches for the wounds to his head.The assailant was immediately taken into police custody."I was struck in the head from behind with a hammer, but luckily it missed fatal parts," Song wrote on Facebook. "Since there is no brain hemorrhage, I will leave hospital and will join the final campaign rallies." Song held a one-man

Mar 8, 2022
Ruling party chief discharged from hospital after hammer attack

Election watchdog chief apologizes for early voting blunders, vows not to repeat

National Election Commission Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee speaks during a press conference at the election overseer's headquarters in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, March 8. YonhapThe chief of the National Election Commission (NEC) apologized Tuesday for the “mishandling” of ballots of COVID-19 patients and other alleged blunders during last week's early voting, pledging to make sure no such mishaps will happen in Wednesday's election. "As chairperson, I feel responsible for causing confusion and inconvenience due to poor preparation," NEC Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee said at a press conference in Gwacheon, south of Seoul. "The NEC has turned over a new leaf and has prepared thoroughly so that every person can exercise their voting rights without any inconvenience." The commission came under fire following revelations that COVID-19 patients and people under self-isolation were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes; instead election officials collected them in plastic bags and other unofficial containers during early voting Saturday.The behavior sparked suspicions of elect

Mar 8, 2022
Election watchdog chief apologizes for early voting blunders, vows not to repeat

'Peace for Ukraine' message put up on Seoul City Library building

This photo provided by the Seoul city government shows a sign bearing a message in support of Ukraine on the front of the Seoul Metropolitan Library building. Yonhap The Seoul Metropolitan Government has put up a message promoting "peace for Ukraine" against an image symbolizing Ukraine's flag on a large sign attached to the front facade of Seoul City Library. The message on the library building was put up in the hope of peace in Ukraine and is in line with the city's ongoing "peace light" campaign to light up key city landmarks in blue and yellow symbolizing that country. The sign shows a blue sky above a yellow wheat field symbolizing Ukraine and bears the message in English along with a Korean sentence calling for peace in the country.In the upper right corner is an image of a dove with the message "Seoul Stands with Ukraine.""The city wishes that the desires of Seoul citizens, inscribed on the board, will go out to the Ukrainian people and give them consolation

Mar 8, 2022
'Peace for Ukraine' message put up on Seoul City Library building

Moon urges voters to take part in presidential election

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a virtual Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, March 8. Yonhap President Moon Jae-in urged voters Tuesday to take part in the presidential election, while calling for thorough preparations to prevent lapses shown in early voting and to guarantee COVID-19 infected people's right to vote. Moon made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting, a day before South Koreans vote to pick his successor. In two days of early voting that ended last Saturday, turnout stood at a record 37 percent. "Tomorrow is the time for people to choose a president who will lead state affairs for the next five years," Moon told the meeting.Moon said he hopes voters will "show the collective intelligence of our people through active participation in the main vote tomorrow." The National Election Commission (NEC) has decided to allow COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine to put their votes into ballot boxes themselves after an earlier decision to collect their

Mar 8, 2022
Moon urges voters to take part in presidential election

Lee vows to send special envoy to North Korea, freeze public utility charges

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), speaks during his press conference at his party's headquarters in Seoul, March 8, one day before the presidential election. Yonhap Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Tuesday he will send special envoys to the United States, China, Japan and North Korea as soon as he is elected in an effort to help bring lasting peace to the Korean Peninsula. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea made the remark during a special press conference on the eve of the election, saying he will pursue pragmatic diplomacy centered on the national interest and removing the dangers of war from the divided peninsula. "I will remove the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said at a press conference at his party's headquarters in Seoul. "Based on our strong independent national defense capability, I will pursue pragmatic diplomacy centered on the national interest to open a

Mar 8, 2022
Lee vows to send special envoy to North Korea, freeze public utility charges

Lee, Yoon to make final campaign rallies in Seoul on eve of election

Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea speaks while campaigning for the presidential election in Daejeon, Korea, March 7. Yonhap Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol were set to wrap up their hard-fought campaigns with final rallies in Seoul on the eve of the election Tuesday as both sides claimed they would ultimately emerge victorious.The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said the weekend's record turnout of 36.93 percent during the two days of early voting reflected the convergence of Lee's supporters following last week's surprise merger between two leading opposition candidates.The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) countered, however, that the high turnout demonstrated the public's yearning for a change of government.On Tuesday, Lee will start the day with a news conference at the party headquarters, where he is expected to promote a message of national unity.He will then hold campaign

Mar 8, 2022
Lee, Yoon to make final campaign rallies in Seoul on eve of election

Moon says Korea lags in gender equality

President Moon Jae-in / Yonhap President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that his administration has made progress in implementing policies related to gender equality, but South Korea still lags behind other nations in the area. "Compared to the degree of international development, our nation is far behind in the field of gender equality," Moon said in his remarks on International Women's Day. "For women, the glass ceiling is solid. Structures and cultures that hamper gender equality remain everywhere." Moon, whose term ends in May, urged the next administration to continue to make efforts to improve gender equality. The President said both women and men could have a "sustainable tomorrow" when the society becomes more gender equal. "Men can be happy only when women are happy," Moon said. (Yonhap)

Mar 8, 2022
Moon says Korea lags in gender equality
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