South Korea - The Korea Times

Presidential hopefuls get ready for first TV debate

A banner announcing the upcoming presidential election, set to be held March 9, stands at Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Seoul's Seocho District, Wednesday. YonhapPolls show Yoon, Lee in dead heat By Jung Da-min Four of Korea's presidential candidates have been gearing up for a TV debate set to be held Thursday. The four candidates include Lee Jae-myung of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP), Sim Sang-jung of the minor opposition progressive Justice Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition conservative People's Party. Co-hosted by three local broadcasters ― KBS, MBC and SBS ― the TV debate marks the first among the four candidates since they were selected by their parties.With the much-anticipated, one-on-one debate between Lee and Yoon ― the race's two top dogs ― canceled due to their differences over the rules of engagement, the candidates have been polishing up their strategies for the high-stakes, four-way debate in order to appeal to swing voters. Lee Jae-myung, the presidential can

Feb 2, 2022

Presidential hopefuls get ready for first TV debate

Korea's new blue passport unavailable to some

An employee of the Suwon City Government's passport bureau shows Korea's new blue passport, left, alongside the new lineup of diplomatic passports, emergency passports and official passports, Dec. 20, 2021. Newsis By Ko Dong-hwanIt has been less than two weeks since Korea's new blue passport came out. However, according to the revised Passport Act under review, it won't be issued to certain citizens ― those who had a habit of losing their old green passports too often.The revised law under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs applies the limitation to those who previously lost their old passport three times or more in the five years since they renewed it. Those who previously lost their passport two or more times in the year since they renewed it are also in the disadvantaged category. They will instead be issued another green passport that expires in two years.The revised act, currently under review by the Ministry of Government Legislation, will be put into force for

Feb 2, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea's new blue passport unavailable to some

KOICA president elected as co-chair of global task force against violence

KOICA President Sohn Hyuk-sang / Courtesy of KOICABy Kang Seung-wooKorea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) President Sohn Hyuk-sang has been elected as co-chair of the Halving Global Violence Task Force, comprised of multi-national high-level leadership, according to the state-run overseas aid agency. According to KOICA, the co-chairs of the task force include ministers of Costa Rica, Liberia, and South Africa, and the director general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The task force, with the aim of reducing global violence by 50 percent by 2030, was launched in 2020 by the Pathfinders ― a group of 39 United Nations member states, international organizations, global partnerships, civil society and the private sector which are committed to accelerating the delivery and implementation of the sustainable development goal (SDG) targets for peace, justice, and inclusion. The task force, comprised of heads of international cooperation agencies, ministerial level member state representatives, and others, serves to unite organizations and stakeholders against the

Feb 2, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

KOICA president elected as co-chair of global task force against violence

Rival candidates churn out doubtful promises of construction projects

By Nam Hyun-woo The presidential candidates of rival parties are churning out promises of massive social overhead capital (SOC) projects such as underground railroads, expressways and new airports, in what appears to be a desperate outreach to voters in affected regions with Korea's presidential election now less than two months away. However, doubts remain over the feasibility of those projects, as the candidates are not coming up with detailed ideas on project financing and execution during their tenure. Ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, center, is briefed by rescue workers during his visit to a collapsed construction site in Gwangju, Jan. 27. Joint Press Corps On Jan. 24, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung announced an assortment of pledges for Gyeonggi Province, which focused on improving traffic conditions in the

Feb 1, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo

Rival candidates churn out doubtful promises of construction projects

One-on-one debate between Lee, Yoon scrapped amid dispute over rules

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, and his rival Yoon Suk-yeol / Korea Times file A one-on-one debate between ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol was practically scrapped Monday as the two sides failed to narrow their differences over the rules.The conservative People Power Party (PPP) said it failed to reach an agreement with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) even after rounds of negotiations over details of their first two-way debate, scheduled for Monday night, before having an expanded debate with two minor contenders Thursday."It seems impossible to hold the debate now," said Rep. Sung Il-jong, the PPP's chief negotiator, saying his DPK counterpart did not respond to his call for talks earlier in the day.Whether candidates are required to participate in the debate without reference materials has emerged as a thorny issue during negotiations, although the two sides agreed to

Jan 31, 2022

One-on-one debate between Lee, Yoon scrapped amid dispute over rules

Foreign minister stresses safety of citizens in Ukraine

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong speaks during a press conference at the foreign ministry in Seoul on March 31, 2021. YonhapForeign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Friday stressed the "top priority" of protecting overseas citizens during a virtual meeting with chiefs of South Korea's diplomatic missions in Russia, Ukraine and other nations, his office said, amid concerns about military tensions between Moscow and Kiev.Chung led the session with Seoul's top envoys in the region to discuss safety measures that can be rolled out in case tensions escalate between the two countries."Minister Chung stressed the imperative to focus all diplomatic efforts for the top priority task of securing the safety of overseas citizens and our enterprises," the foreign ministry said in a press release. (Yonhap)

Jan 28, 2022

Foreign minister stresses safety of citizens in Ukraine

Why Huh Kyung-young was not invited to TV debates

Huh Kyung-young, a presidential candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, raises his hands during a visit to a traditional market in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. YonhapBy Nam Hyun-wooHuh Kyung-young, a self-proclaimed prophet and a wacky politician who leads the National Revolutionary Party, appears to have succeeded in grabbing the public's attention with his unique presence in the presidential race. But he was not invited to a TV debate among presidential contenders despite his two decades in politics as a candidate who ran unsuccessfully in the presidential as well as Seoul mayoral elections.His name has never been mentioned in the ongoing inter-party negotiations on the TV debate among four candidates, although a poll showed he was ahead of the minor Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung. Huh revealed on his social media account on Thursday just how he feels about the snub.“God's wrath will be handed down,” he wrote on his Facebook account. Tagging a recent poll that showed he came in fourth and was ahead of the Justice Party candidate, he wrote, “Wha

Jan 28, 2022By Nam Hyun-woo

Why Huh Kyung-young was not invited to TV debates

Lee, Yoon agree to hold one-on-one debate Jan. 31: parties

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, right, and his rival Yoon Suk-yeol / Korea Times file Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol have agreed to hold a one-on-one debate on Jan. 31 before having an expanded debate with other contenders, both sides announced Friday.Lee of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon of the conservative People Power Party reached the agreement after wrangling for days over when and how they should the debate.The parties had previously planned to attend a debate that TV stations planned to host for the two on Sunday or Monday, but courts stopped it from going ahead following injunction requests from minor candidates Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party. (Yonhap)

Jan 28, 2022

Lee, Yoon agree to hold one-on-one debate Jan. 31: parties

Fortune-telling and Korea's presidential election

The People Power Party's presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, left, and his wife Kim Kun-hee at Cheong Wa Dae in July 2019. Joint Press Corps.Fortune-tellers swirl around presidential candidates By Ko Dong-hwanOn Jan. 19, prosecutors launched an investigation of the main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, for violating the country's election laws, leaking confidential government information, and abusing his authority to undermine law enforcement. The allegations, brought by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) election camp, relate to how Yoon, then-prosecutor general, in February 2020 ordered police not to search the headquarters of Shincheonji, a fringe church blamed for a major cluster infection resulting in over 5,200 COVID-19 cases in Daegu early that year, by breaking national pandemic prevention regulations. The DPK camp, basing the charges on a report from local daily Segye Ilbo, said Yoon had deliberately not made the order because an alleged fortune-teller named Geonjin advised him not to “get your hands dirty with un

Jan 28, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan

Fortune-telling and Korea's presidential election

Yoon vows to relocate presidential office to downtown Seoul

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of main opposition People Power Party, speaks during a press conference about his politics reform pledges, held at the party headquarters on Seoul's Yeouido, Thursday. Joint Press CorpsLee pledges to fix development gap in provincial citiesBy Jung Da-minYoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP), vowed on Thursday to relocate the presidential office, pledging that he would reshuffle it to make it a smaller but more effective team to handle state affairs. Meanwhile, his rival, Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), visited the southwestern city of Gwangju, a stronghold of the ruling bloc, to appeal to the hearts and minds of voters there. Among his other pledges, Lee promised the balanced development of the local provinces, addressing the gap in development between Seoul and other cities across the nation."If I get elected, the current organization of Cheong Wa Dae will disappear. Instead, a new concept of the presidential offi

Jan 27, 2022

Politics