my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Politics

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Hong rises, Yoon tumbles in main opposition party primary

People Power Party presidential contender Rep. Hong Joon-pyo speaks during a press conference at the party's chapter in Jeju, Monday. YonhapSeasoned politicians regaining supportBy Nam Hyun-wooThe race to clinch the presidential candidate position in the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) for next March's presidential election is taking on a sharp change, as veteran politicians are regaining support, while top contender Yoon Seok-youl's popularity is tumbling. According to an Aug. 30-Sept. 1 joint poll of 1,012 adults by four survey organizations, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the PPP secured a 10 percent support rate, up 3 percentage points from a week ago, among all the presidential hopefuls from both the ruling and opposition parties. During the same period, the support rate of Yoon of the PPP declined 1 percentage point to 19 percent. Yoon, the former Prosecutor General for the Moon Jae-in administration, has been leading many polls since March, when he resigned after clashing with the President over investigating Moon's close aide. However, his support rate has been s

Sep 2, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Hong rises, Yoon tumbles in main opposition party primary
  • Opposition contenders make diplomatic discourtesy to Duterte

Men earn 1.6 times more than women in Korea: gender ministry

gettyimagesbankMale workers in listed firms in South Korea earned 1.6 times higher wages than their female colleagues last year, a government survey showed Thursday.Men were paid an average 79.8 million won (US$68,800) in 2020, while their women counterparts received 51.1 million won, according to the study on 2,149 listed firms by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.The gender wage gap, referring to the rate of men's average pay to that of women, reached 35.9 percent last year, far higher than 12.8 percent, the latest average of the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released by British weekly The Economist, according to the ministry.It is the first time the South Korean government had unveiled the average earnings by gender in local listed firms.The average length of corporate service was 12.2 years for male workers and 8.2 years for female workers last year. The difference in their career length marked 32.6 percent in 2020, down 2.6 percentage points from 35.2 percent tallied the previous year.The ministry said the wage gap tends to be in line

Sep 2, 2021
Men earn 1.6 times more than women in Korea: gender ministry

Rights watchdog calls for halt to hate speech against sexual minorities

Participants of the 20th Seoul Queer Culture Festival parade with a giant rainbow flag in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, in this June 1, 2019 photo. Some public officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a statement against holding the event at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall in 2019. / Courtesy of Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing CommitteeBy Lee Hae-rinThe nation's human rights watchdog has called on candidates of elections, public officials and the mass media to stamp out hate speech against sexual minorities, which it says could instigate or strengthen prejudice against minority groups.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea expressed the opinion, Wednesday, in response to petitions that an election candidate's hate speech against a festival for sexual minorities and a broadcaster's removal of a same-sex kiss scene from a movie discriminated against and violated the human rights of sexual minorities.During a televised debate among Seoul mayoral candidates on Feb. 2, Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the conservative minor opposition People's Party, voiced his opp

Sep 2, 2021By Lee Hae-rin
Rights watchdog calls for halt to hate speech against sexual minorities

UN criticizes Korean ruling party's push for 'fake news' bill

Representatives of seven media related organizations hold a press conference in front of the main building of the National Assembly, Monday, to protest the ruling party's push to revise a law to allow punitive damages on media outlets or reporters producing "fake news." The organizations view the bill as an attempt to prevent reports critical of those in positions of political and economic power. YonhapBy Jung Da-minThe U.N. human rights body has pointed out the Korean ruling bloc's push to revise the country's media law to heavily penalize “fake news” may be in violation of an international human rights law and seriously infringe on freedom of opinion and expression. Irene Khan, a U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression, delivered an open letter to the Korean government regarding concerns over the revision bill to the Act on Press Arbitration, Aug. 27. The letter was made public on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Wednesday (KST).The letter has come while the g

Sep 1, 2021
UN criticizes Korean ruling party's push for 'fake news' bill

Assembly regular session opens

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug gives an address at the main hall of the National Assembly, Wednesday, to mark the opening of the regular session this year. During the session that will last for the next 100 days, ruling and opposition parties are expected to battle fiercely over a variety of pending issues, including the passage of a controversial “fake news” bill, in a bid to take an advantageous position ahead of the upcoming presidential election slated for next March. Yonhap

Sep 1, 2021
Assembly regular session opens

Remains of 1st Korean Catholic martyrs recovered 2 centuries after deaths

This image shows the locations where the remains of three Korean Catholic martyrs were recovered in Wanju in March. Courtesy of Diocese of JeonjuThe remains of three people known as the first Korean Catholic martyrs have been recovered in Wanju two centuries after their deaths, the Diocese of Jeonju said Wednesday.The remains were identified as those of Paul Yun Ji-chung and James Kwon Sang-yeon, who were beheaded in 1791, and Yun's younger brother Francis Yun Ji-heon, who was quartered in 1801, the diocese said during a press conference in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul.They were found in March in Wanju, just outside of Jeonju, near the burial grounds of another beatified person's family members during work to convert the site into a sanctuary, according to the diocese.The remains were confirmed to belong to the martyrs following historical research and DNA testing."The discovery of the remains is a truly amazing and monumental event," Bishop John Kim Son-tae, head of the Jeonju diocese, said in a statement."This is because our Church, which has grown on the foundation of the

Sep 1, 2021
Remains of 1st Korean Catholic martyrs recovered 2 centuries after deaths

UN human rights experts send letter requesting South Korea's position on controversial media bill

Floor leaders of the two major parties, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the main opposition People Power Party, left, and Rep. Yun Ho-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, right, shake hands at the office of National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, center, in Seoul, Tuesday, after they tentatively agreed to process a controversial media reform bill led by the ruling party in a plenary parliamentary session next month. YonhapU.N. human rights experts have sent a letter requesting the South Korean government explain its position on a controversial media bill that calls for heavier punishments for fake news reports, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The experts' move came after local human rights advocate groups, including the Transitional Justice Working Group, lodged an appeal with U.N. special rapporteurs to voice concerns that the legislation, being pushed for by the ruling Democratic Party, could undermine freedom of the press and fair trial. The ministry confirmed that it has received the letter. "We have received the letter from the U.N. side. It is difficult to confirm the deta

Aug 31, 2021
UN human rights experts send letter requesting South Korea's position on controversial media bill

Rival parties to form consultative body to review contentious 'fake news' bill

Floor leaders of the two major parties, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the main opposition People Power Party, left, and Rep. Yun Ho-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, right, show a document of their latest agreement for further discussing the ruling party's contentious “fake news” bill, Tuesday, after their meeting organized by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, center, at the National Assembly in Seoul. The rival parties agreed to form an eight-member consultative body to discuss details of the bill and to introduce the bill at a National Assembly plenary session scheduled for Sept. 27. YonhapRuling party concedes in face of strong criticism home and abroadBy Jung Da-min The liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) agreed, Tuesday, to create an eight-member consultative body composed of lawmakers and media experts to review the DPK-pushed “fake news” bill amid strong resistance from media industry groups and opposition lawmakers.In addition, the rival parties also concurred on postponi

Aug 31, 2021
Rival parties to form consultative body to review contentious 'fake news' bill

Police raid Seoul City Hall over mayor's alleged election law violation

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon / Korea Times filePolice on Tuesday raided Seoul City Hall, as part of their investigation into allegations that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon spread false information during his mayoral by-election campaign in April.Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency searched some City Hall offices, including the city planning and transport policy bureaus, to seize documents related to Oh's remarks on a scandal-plagued development project called Pi-City in southern Seoul, according to police officials.Oh affiliated with the main opposition People Power Party won a landslide victory against the ruling Democratic Party's candidate in the April 7 mayoral by-election. Oh had previously served as the mayor of Seoul from 2006 to 2011.In a TV debate held prior to the by-election, Oh said that the Pi-City case had nothing to do with his previous mayoral term. But a group of civic activists filed a complaint with police accusing Oh of lying about his suspected involvement in the project in violation of the election law.Police suspect Oh was involved in the approval of the

Aug 31, 2021
Police raid Seoul City Hall over mayor's alleged election law violation

Ruling party kicks off 41-day nationwide primary voting to pick presidential candidate

Democratic Party (DP) chief Rep. Song Young-gil, left, and floor leader Rep. Yun Ho-jung, right, pose with the party's presidential contenders including Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, sixth from left, and former DP chief Lee Nak-yon, fourth from left. YonhapThe ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday kicked off a 41-day nationwide voting process to choose its final candidate to run in next year's presidential election, party officials said. The primary election voting on six DP presidential contenders started off on the inaugural leg of the central city of Daejeon and surrounding South Chungcheong Province earlier in the day. It will then move to 10 additional legs across the country, including the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 25, to wrap up the final destination in Seoul on Oct. 10.The six contenders, including Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, former DP chief Lee Nak-yon and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, will also follow the itinerary in person to give public speeches and rally support for their presidential campaigns. The results of the vote by members of each region, as wel

Aug 31, 2021
Ruling party kicks off 41-day nationwide primary voting to pick presidential candidate
previous page
664665666667668
next page

Most Read in South Korea