my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Politics

PPP floor leader under fire for objecting to anti-discrimination law

Rep. Kim Gi-heyon, floor leader of the conservative main opposition People Power Party, speaks during a Supreme Council meeting of the party held at a regional branch in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Joint Press CorpsBy Jung Da-min The floor leader of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is facing a barrage of criticism for objecting to an anti-discrimination bill proposed by the minor progressive Justice Party and some lawmakers of other liberal political camps.In a meeting with the leaders of some Christian groups at the National Assembly, Wednesday, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon stated his commitment to preventing the passage of the bill that aims to ban all forms of discrimination. He was responding to calls from the Christian leaders who expressed concerns that the bill goes against their religious doctrine which does not accept homosexuality.“I am well aware of the problems of this anti-discrimination law, and will actively prevent the passage of the bill as the floor leader of the main opposition party,” Rep. Kim told the religious leaders. “We

Oct 16, 2021
PPP floor leader under fire for objecting to anti-discrimination law

Support for Lee Jae-myung drops despite victory in primary

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, center, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, attends a meeting with leaders and advisory group members of the party, held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Join Press CorpsBy Jung Da-min It has been usual for a presidential candidate of a party, either ruling or opposition, to see an increase in their support rate right after being selected to represent the party, as public attention and expectations have usually escalated during the months of primary campaigns. But for Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who was selected on Sunday as a final candidate for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the usual trend is not applicable. Rather, his support rate has fallen, which political analysts say results from a land development scandal allegedly involving him and an internal party dispute over vote counting in the primary.In the hypothetical two-way races with presidential contenders of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), as part of a survey by Gallup Korea of 1,006 adu

Oct 14, 2021
Support for Lee Jae-myung drops despite victory in primary

Paying tribute to late student

Rep. Sim Sang-jung, the minor opposition Justice Party's presidential candidate, pays a silent tribute in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, Thursday, to Hong Jeong-woon, a high school senior who drowned on Oct. 6 while participating in his school's apprenticeship program. Sim called for a thorough investigation into Hong's death amid mounting suspicions of safety lapses. The work experience program reportedly had him working underwater to remove barnacles from the underside of a yacht, despite lacking the swimming skills needed. Yonhap

Oct 14, 2021
Paying tribute to late student

Former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo dies at 71

Former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo / YonhapFormer South Korean Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo died Thursday after battling blood cancer, officials here said. He was 71.Lee served as prime minister shortly between February and April in 2015 under then President Park Geun-hye before stepping down over bribery allegations. Considered a political heavyweight in Chungcheong Province, Lee entered politics in 1995 after working as a provincial police commissioner. He served three terms as a lawmaker for the conservative New Party Korea, United Liberal Democrats and Saenuri Party, also holding key positions in those parties. In 2006, he was elected the governor of South Chungcheong Province but resigned in 2009 in protest of the then Lee Myung-bak administration's plan for the administrative city of Sejong. Lee was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2012 but recovered after a stem cell transplantation. The disease, however, recurred in 2016, forcing him to be hospitalized again. Lee is survived by his wife and two sons. (Yonhap)

Oct 14, 2021
Former Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo dies at 71

S. Korea vows active role in building multilateralism at WTO

Head of Trade Negotiation Bureau of Korea's Trade Ministry Yeo Han-koo speaks during a meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Yeouido, Seoul, on Sept. 10. Courtesy of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and EnergySouth Korea's chief trade delegate said Wednesday that Seoul will play an active role in building a multilateral trade system in line with the World Trade Organization's initiative as it continues to abide by international trade norms.Kim Jeong-il, who led a 16-member South Korean delegation, made the pledges at the eighth Trade Policy Review (TPR) session of the WTO on South Korea, which began in Switzerland on Wednesday for a three-day run, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The remarks by the deputy minister for international trade and legal affairs at the ministry came as WTO member nations questioned South Korea's sanitary and phytosanitary measures on agricultural and food products and intellectual property rights policies, among other things.The TPR, one of the key monitoring mechanisms of the WTO, is held on a regular basis to revi

Oct 13, 2021
S. Korea vows active role in building multilateralism at WTO

Tensions rise as US seeks answers from Tesla over no recall

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacts to onlookers as he departs after taking the stand to defend Tesla Inc's 2016 deal for SolarCity in a case before the Delaware Court of Chancery in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., on July 21. Reuters-YonhapU.S. safety investigators want to know why Tesla didn't file recall documents when it updated Autopilot software to better identify parked emergency vehicles, escalating a simmering clash between the automaker and regulators.In a letter to Tesla, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told the electric car maker Tuesday that it must recall vehicles if an over-the-internet update mitigates a safety defect.“Any manufacturer issuing an over-the-air update that mitigates a defect that poses an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety is required to timely file an accompanying recall notice to NHTSA,” the agency said in a letter to Eddie Gates, Tesla's director of field quality.The agency also ordered Tesla to provide information about its “Full Self-Driving” software that's being tested on public roads with some owners. The lat

Oct 13, 2021
Tensions rise as US seeks answers from Tesla over no recall

Gov't to review possible relief measures over leak of personal phone number in 'Squid Game'

This handout image shows a scene of South Korea's "Squid Game" Season one. Courtesy of NetflixThe government will review the possibility of providing relief measures for an individual whose personal phone number was exposed in Netflix's mega hit "Squid Game" series although it hardly constitutes an infringement of personal data in legal terms, the head of a state commission said Wednesday. The remarks by Yoon Jong-in, chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, were in response to a lawmaker's query over the controversial exposure of a personal mobile number in the famous series.The eight-digit phone number appeared on the back of the cards used to invite financially cornered people to join a deadly survival game.The owner of the number has complained that a relentless flow of calls and text messages from curious viewers is wrecking his ordinary life.The director of the show has said he used the number, believing it was not in actual use."In terms of legal interpretation, it is hard to see it as a leak of personal data, but there was indeed an exposure by negligenc

Oct 13, 2021
Gov't to review possible relief measures over leak of personal phone number in 'Squid Game'

N. Korea slams Japan's arms buildup as preparations for aggression

This handout photo released by the Indian Navy on October 12, 2020 shows ships during the second phase of the Malabar naval exercise in which India, Australia, Japan and the U.S are taking part in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. AFP-YonhapNorth Korea on Wednesday condemned Japan's recent push to build up its military, branding it as "preparations for a war of aggression."A commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) noted Japan is planning to import over 20 U.S.-made reconnaissance drones, and pushing to possess aircraft carriers and introduce the latest stealth fighters."The gravity of the issue lies in the fact that Japan pushes ahead with such arms buildup under the pretext of coping with 'threats from neighboring countries,'" the state media said."This shows that Japan is stepping up the preparations for a war of aggression in order to realize the ambition for overseas expansion at any cost," it added.The KCNA said Japan's arms buildup is aiming to "equip itself with war hardware for preemptive attack and invasion" rather than as defensive means to cope wit

Oct 13, 2021
N. Korea slams Japan's arms buildup as preparations for aggression

Ex-PM Lee Nak-yon concedes defeat in ruling party's presidential primary

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, right, and Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung / YonhapFormer Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon conceded defeat in the ruling Democratic Party (DP)'s presidential primary on Wednesday, three days after the nomination went to Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung.Lee Nak-yon posted a concession message on his Facebook page shortly after the party's top-decision making body rejected his appeal of the primary results."I respect the decision of the party affairs committee," he wrote. "I accept the results of the presidential primary. I congratulate Lee Jae-myung on his victory."The DP party affairs committee met Wednesday after Lee Nak-yon, the runner-up in the primary, demanded the panel convene to review whether the votes were counted in accordance with the party's electoral rules."The party affairs committee agreed to uphold the decision of the party's election management committee and Supreme Council regarding the rule in question," DP spokesman Rep. Koh Yong-jin said during a press briefing.The governor won the party's nomination Sunday after securing 50.29 percent of all

Oct 13, 2021
Ex-PM Lee Nak-yon concedes defeat in ruling party's presidential primary

Im Kwon-taek reflects on films exploring Koreanness, pressures of expectations

Filmmaker Im Kwon-taek / Courtesy of BIFF Master of Korean film shares glorious past, as well as how it limited his creativity By Kwak Yeon-sooBUSAN ― Having created more than 100 films over his 60-year-long career, Im Kwon-taek is a prolific filmmaker who has focused on exploring the meaning of Koreanness throughout his cinematic oeuvre. With his overseas success during Korean cinema's darker days, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest Korean filmmakers of all time. A pioneer of modern Korean cinema, Im has brought numerous iconic stories to the silver screen, including: “Seopyonje” (1993), “ChunHyang” (2000) and “Chihwaseon” (2002).From his 1962 debut with “Farewell Duman River,” a film about independence fighters in Manchuria during Japanese colonial rule, to 2014's “Revivre,” which explores the subject of death, he has persisted in his desire to make significant films in the industry with his own unique vision. Im recalled that early in his career, he m

Oct 13, 2021By Kwak Yeon-soo
Im Kwon-taek reflects on films exploring Koreanness, pressures of expectations
previous page
653654655656657
next page

Most Read in South Korea