South Korea - The Korea Times

For joint inter-Korean use of waterway

Unification Minister Lee In-young, second from right, and other dignitaries wave a Korean Unification Flag on a boat in the Han River estuary of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, near the inter-Korea boarder, Wednesday. Lee urged Pyongyang to respond to Seoul's call for dialogue on joint use of the waterway as agreed at an inter-Korean summit in 2018. Yonhap

Oct 13, 2021By Lee Hae-rin

Four-term lawmaker chosen as presidential nominee of Justice Party

Four-term lawmaker Sim Sang-jeung of Justice Party / Joint Press Corps-YonhapThe minor progressive Justice Party on Tuesday chose four-term lawmaker Sim Sang-jeung as its candidate for the March presidential election.Sim won a runoff against former party leader Lee Jeong-mi, with 51.12 percent of the vote, the party said.The 62-year-old is a household name within the progressive camp and has made three previous bids for president.In the last presidential election in 2017, Sim earned 6.17 percent of the vote, the most for a progressive candidate.A former labor activist, the nominee is known for her lifelong advocacy for workers' rights and harsh criticism of family-owned conglomerates.Sim has represented a district in Goyang, just north of Seoul, for three consecutive terms, and served as party leader multiple times. The Justice Party currently holds six seats in the 300-member National Assembly. (Yonhap)

Oct 12, 2021

Four-term lawmaker chosen as presidential nominee of Justice Party

Cabinet in hanbok

President Moon Jae-in and members of his Cabinet pledge allegiance to the national flag during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Moon and other participants in the meeting wore "hanbok," or traditional Korean clothing, in celebration of the 2021 autumn Hanbok Culture Week to promote the beauty of the traditional garments. Yonhap

Oct 12, 2021By Kwon Mee-yoo

Lee leads Yoon in presidential race: poll

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, left, and Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung / Korea Times fileGyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung is leading the presidential race with 35.8 percent of support against his opposition rival and former top prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl at 33.2 percent in a hypothetical two-way competition between the two contenders, a poll showed Monday.The difference was within the survey's margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level. The survey was conducted Friday and Saturday on 1,002 adults by the Korea Society Opinion Institute, commissioned by local cable news channel TBS. When pitted against Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the main opposition People Power Party, Lee led with 35.2 percent against Hong's 33 percent, again within the margin of error. Asked about the theme of the upcoming election, 51.5 percent of the respondents said it was for a change of government, while 39.7 percent said it was to maintain the reins of power, the poll said. On Sunday, the ruling Democratic Party announced the nomination of Lee as its cand

Oct 11, 2021

Lee leads Yoon in presidential race: poll

PPP presidential contenders in Gwangju

Main opposition People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok, center, holds hands with the party's presidential contenders ahead of a Supreme Council meeting at the Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju, Monday. From left are former Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Governor Won Hee-ryong, former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min, Lee, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. Yonhap

Oct 11, 2021

Lee Jae-myung faces bumpy road ahead

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, left, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) presidential candidate, speaks to DPK Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil during their visit to the National Cemetery in Daejeon, Monday. YonhapOpposition party accuses Lee of masterminding suspicious land development projectBy Jun Ji-hyeGyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who was selected as the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Sunday, faces an uphill battle ahead of the presidential race, as he barely managed to avoid a runoff election eking out a majority of 50.29 percent of the votes cast in the party's primaries, contrary to expectations that he would have an easy win over his rivals.Lee's 50.29 percent, garnered through the party's 11 primaries held over the last month, was followed by support of 39.14 percent for former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon. As the governor won over 50 percent of the votes, he escaped a runoff and directly became the party's presidential candidate. His failure to get an overwhelming majority came amid a snowballing land developm

Oct 11, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Prosecutors question asset firm owner at center of Seongnam development scandal

Gyeonggi Governor Lee named presidential candidate for ruling party amid swirling corruption scandal

This image, provided by the National Assembly press corps, shows Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung making thumbs-up signs in the air after winning the regional primary vote in Incheon, Oct. 3. YonhapGyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung won the ruling Democratic Party's nomination for president Sunday, a widely expected victory for a man championing universal basic income and other sweeping welfare programs amid concern a deepening corruption scandal involving a close aide could dog him through the race.The 56-year-old human rights lawyer-turned-politician won 50.29 percent of all votes cast in the course of the party's 11-round primary since early last month, followed by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon with 39.14 percent. Ex-Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae won 9.01 percent and two-term lawmaker Park Yong-jin won 1.55 percent.Lee held a comfortable lead throughout the primary even as the corruption scandal surrounding a 2015 land development project in Seongnam, south of Seoul, he pushed for when he was Seongnam's mayor threatened to engulf him.He eventually secured a majority of the votes needed to a

Oct 10, 2021

Gyeonggi Governor Lee named presidential candidate for ruling party amid swirling corruption scandal

Lee Jae-myung becomes ruling party's presidential candidate

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, gives thumbs-ups to supporters and members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), after winning the Seoul regional primary held at the Olympic Park in the capital's Songpa District, Sunday, to become the ruling party's final presidential candidate. Joint Press CorpsGovernor urged to clarify land development controversy to expand support baseBy Jung Da-min Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung has become the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) presidential candidate after winning the 11th and final regional primary in the country's capital, Sunday. In the Seoul primary, the 56-year-old won 45,737 votes of the total 88,893 cast, or 51.45 percent, followed by former DPK Chairman Lee Nak-yon with 32,445 votes, or 36.5 percent, to represent the ruling party in the presidential election, scheduled for March 9, 2022. The main opposition People Power Party is now finalizing its candidate to face off against the governor.Lee Jae-myung accumulated 719,905, or 50.29 percent, of all the votes cast in the eleven regional primaries, as well

Oct 10, 2021

Lee Jae-myung becomes ruling party's presidential candidate

Starbucks Korea protesters refuse help from umbrella labor group

A truck hired by Starbucks Korea baristas and other employees in Korea displays signs calling for the improvement of their working conditions on a road near Gangnam Station in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeStarbucks Korea baristas and other employees who have been protesting against the coffee chain over excessive workload have drawn a line between themselves and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), making it clear that they do not want intervention from one of the two major umbrella labor groups.A staff member who identified himself as a leader of the protest organized by Starbucks Korea's employees wrote on the Blind app, “This is our official response. We do not want the KCTU to intervene in our protest. We do not need your help. We are not a union.”Blind is an online community forum app that enables employees of a company or people working in the same industry to upload instant messages and communicate anonymously.The staff member also asked the KCTU not to attempt to use Starbucks Korea employees' protest as a means to benefit itself. Starbucks Kore

Oct 10, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Starbucks Korea protesters refuse help from umbrella labor group

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee cements lead in race for DPK presidential nomination

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung / YonhapGyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung clinched another sweeping victory Saturday in the penultimate round of the presidential primaries of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), all but formally ensuring his nomination.After Saturday's primary in his home turf of Gyeonggi Province, support for Lee rose to 55.2 percent of all votes cast since the race began early last month, while that for his rival Lee Nak-yon stood at 33.9 percent. The month-long primary is scheduled to wind up in Seoul, Sunday, with the Gyeonggi governor widely projected to win the party nomination for president. The results again showed that the DPK's primaries are being little affected by a snowballing corruption scandal involving a residential area development plan in Seongnam in 2015 when Lee was mayor of the city. The presidential election is scheduled for March 9, 2022. (Yonhap)

Oct 9, 2021

Politics