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Criminal profiler quits Yoon camp over #MeToo apology

Lee Soo-jeong, the former co-chair of the major opposition People Power Party election committee, attends a committee meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 13, 2021. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanBy Lee Hae-rinLee Soo-jeong, a criminal profiler and professor of Kyonggi University, stepped down from her advisory role in the Yoon Suk-yeol election camp, a day after she offered an apology to a sexual assault victim for Yoon's wife's controversial remarks about the #MeToo movement. “Somebody had to apologize to Kim Ji-eun (the victim of sexual assault by former Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung). I was more desperate to follow my conscience than stay in the adviser position and I have no regrets for what I've done,” Lee told local news outlets, Tuesday, after stepping down.The evening before, she posted on social media: “I express my sincere regret to Kim Ji-eun, the victim of former Governor An Hee-jung.”Lee's post irritated Yoon's supporters, who said she is not in a position to apologize on behalf of the candidate or his wife. Previously in

Jan 19, 2022By Lee Hae-rin
Criminal profiler quits Yoon camp over #MeToo apology

Lee vows legalization of virtual asset industry

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung / YonhapRuling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday he will institutionally recognize the virtual asset industry and guarantee various business opportunities in the sector.Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea made the remarks in a meeting with heads of the nation's four major cryptocurrency exchanges and industry experts in Seoul, apparently targeting voters in their 20s and 30s who have a relatively strong interest in virtual asset investments.Lee said he will prepare objective listing standards and make the disclosure system transparent through the legalization of virtual assets. He also promised to monitor unfair trade practices and devise regulatory protections to cope with the digital divide.Lee said he will consider allowing initial coin offerings after establishing sufficient safeguards to protect investors and prevent market disturbances. The candidate said he will also consider permitting the issuance of security tokens based on real assets."An existing market doesn't disappear even if our eyes are covere

Jan 19, 2022
Lee vows legalization of virtual asset industry

Yoon pledges to ease tax burden on cryptocurrency investment profits

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol / YonhapMain opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Wednesday to ease the tax burden on profits from cryptocurrency investments by raising the threshold from the current 2.5 million won ($2,097) to 50 million won.Yoon of the conservative People Power Party announced the pledge at the party's headquarters, saying he will raise the bottom limit to the same level as stocks and give tax exemptions for returns of up to 50 million won.The candidate also said he will introduce a digital asset law aimed at protecting investors and confiscating the entire amount of profits obtained unfairly through manipulation.Yoon promised to establish a new government agency to oversee new areas of the digital industry, such as cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, and also allow local initial coin offerings (ICOs)."I will foster a digital asset investment environment similar to the stock market to ensure young people can enter new markets without fear," he said. (Yonhap)

Jan 19, 2022
Yoon pledges to ease tax burden on cryptocurrency investment profits

Will Justice Party chief escape shadow of eccentric presidential candidate?

Justice Party President Sim Sang-jung addresses the nation at the National Assembly on Jan. 17, after resuming her presidential campaign that she unexpectedly halted on Jan. 12. Korea Times fileBy Ko Dong-hwanBefore Korea's presidential race began last year, Justice Party chief Sim Sang-jung's steadfast political stature seemed to face no threat from the zany National Revolutionary Party leader Huh Kyung-young. Sim started out in the 1980s as a laborer at Seoul's Guro factory district and became a politician backing human rights and improved working conditions for workers, women and other socially vulnerable groups for over 20 years. She has had her own legion of followers and shaped her party as a symbolic minor progressive force against larger political groups. This was why there was reason enough to believe that, when she ran for this year's presidential election on March 9, she would somehow draw enough supporters to chip away at the ratings of major party candidates like Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) or Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Po

Jan 19, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Will Justice Party chief escape shadow of eccentric presidential candidate?

Lee, Yoon in neck-and-neck presidential race

Lee Jae-myung, center, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday, about his election pledges to create jobs. Yonhap20-something males, unified candidacy among factors determining upcoming election By Kang Seung-wooWith 50 days left before the March 9 presidential election, the race for the top job in government is still too close to call, as shown in polls that show mixed results.Some surveys found Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is ahead of his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party (PPP), but others show opposite results. Lee has seen his approval ratings remain entrenched in the low 30 percent range, while Yoon's approval has widely fluctuated in accordance with issues linked to his family and election committee as well as himself. According to a Kantar Korea poll commissioned by the Chosun Ilbo that interviewed 1,010 adults from Saturday and Sunday, Yoon and Lee are competing within the margin of error. Th

Jan 18, 2022By Kang Seung-woo
Lee, Yoon in neck-and-neck presidential race

#MeToo victim demands apology from opposition presidential candidate's wife

People at Seoul Station, Monday, watch the news coverage about the recordings of Kim Keon-hee's phone calls. NewsisBy Lee Hae-rinComments made by Kim Keon-hee, the wife of main opposition People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, have backfired as some #MeToo victims and gender experts demand an apology.Kim Ji-eun, who worked as a secretary for the former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung and who exposed the fact that she was sexually assaulted by him, issued a statement via the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, Monday.“I heard her sarcastic comments on TV where she was speaking about my case. Her words are baseless and contradict the court's judgment regarding the guilty verdict,” Kim said in the statement, urging the presidential candidate's wife to deliver a sincere apology for her “reckless remarks.” “Your thoughtless words resulted in secondary victimization and internet users are now harassing me with malicious comments,” she said.The Supreme Court handed down a sentence of three years and six months to f

Jan 18, 2022By Lee Hae-rin
#MeToo victim demands apology from opposition presidential candidate's wife

Lee, Yoon to have first one-on-one TV debate Jan. 27

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, right, and his rival Yoon Suk-yeol / Korea Times fileThe presidential candidates of the ruling and main opposition parties will have their first one-on-one TV debate next week, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said Tuesday.DPK candidate Lee Jae-myung will face off against People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol at 10 p.m. Jan. 27 for a 120-minute debate jointly hosted by the three terrestrial TV stations KBS, MBC and SBS.The DPK said the broadcasters have also requested a four-way debate between Lee, Yoon, Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party and Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party after the Lunar New Year holiday in early February.Lee has accepted the request, it said, and asked the other three to also participate. (Yonhap)

Jan 18, 2022
Lee, Yoon to have first one-on-one TV debate Jan. 27

Finance chief rejects ruling party's call to expand extra budget

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a press conference at the government complex in Sejong, Monday. YonhapFinance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Monday opposed the ruling party's call to increase the size of the government-proposed extra budget.The finance ministry is working on another round of an extra budget worth some 14 trillion won ($11.7 billion) to support small merchants hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.The ruling Democratic Party (DP) has raised the need to expand the size of the extra budget to provide a larger amount of support to more businesses ahead of the March presidential election. The government said it seeks to offer 3 million won each to around 3.2 million merchants."Given that it is rare that the government draws up an extra budget at the start of the new year, there is a need for its size to be maintained during parliamentary review," Hong told reporters. "We expect the National Assembly to respect the government's stance."The government plans to submit the extra budget proposal to the National Assembly on Jan. 24, after a Cabinet approval this week.The planne

Jan 17, 2022
Finance chief rejects ruling party's call to expand extra budget

Justice Party presidential candidate resumes campaign

Sim Sang-jeung, the presidential candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party, speaks during a press conference held at the National Assembly, Monday. YonhapThe presidential candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party resumed her campaign Monday after suspending it to review her strategy amid dismal approval ratings.Sim Sang-jeung announced her return in a press conference at the National Assembly, saying she will seek to regain the public's trust in her and her party in the March 9 election.Sim had halted her campaign on Wednesday and withdrawn from the public eye."I did not suspend my campaign simply because of my support ratings," she said. "As I was campaigning, the hearts of citizens, with whom I and the Justice Party were supposed to hold together, felt distantly far."Sim said she reflected deeply on what went wrong and where she needed to change, and came to the conclusion that she was a part of the politics that created an unfair society."I feel infinite responsibility," she said, noting the growing need for the Justice Party to stand up to inequality and the establi

Jan 17, 2022
Justice Party presidential candidate resumes campaign

Wife risk emerges as double-edged sword for PPP presidential candidate

On Dec. 26, 2021, Kim Keon-hee speaks during a press conference at People Power Party's office in Seoul's Yeoido area to apologize for forged work experiences on past resumes. Korea Times fileParties lock horns over MBC's disclosure of Yoon Seok-yeol's wife's phone conversation By Ko Dong-hwanRecordings of private conversations between the wife of presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and a YouTuber have emerged as a political football after the comments were disclosed on TV broadcaster MBC's investigative news show “Straight” on Sunday. Kim Keon-hee, the wife of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate, talked to a reporter at a YouTube news outlet called The Voice of Seoul over the phone 52 times from July to December 2021, according to MBC. The total conversation time between Kim and the reporter, Lee Myung-soo, amounted to over seven hours. Following a ruling by the Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 14 that overruled Kim's injunction request not to air the conversation records, the broadcaster disclosed most of the audio recordings except

Jan 17, 2022By Ko Dong-hwan
Wife risk emerges as double-edged sword for PPP presidential candidate
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