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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.

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon widens lead over Gyeonggi gov. in hypothetical 2-way presidential race: poll

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl / YonhapEx-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the leading opposition presidential contender, widened his lead over his rival from the ruling bloc, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, in a hypothetical two-way presidential race, the latest poll showed Thursday. According to the poll conducted by Realmeter on 2,031 voters nationwide from Sunday-Monday, 42.1 percent of the respondents said they will vote for Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) in a hypothetical two-horse race against Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner among Democratic Party (DP) candidates.A total of 35.9 percent threw their support behind Gyeonggi Gov. Lee, putting Yoon ahead of Lee by a margin of 6.2 percentage points, which is outside the survey's margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung / YonhapIn a two-way race in the previous Realmeter survey two weeks ago, Yoon led Lee with a 2.7 percentage-point margin.When pitted against Rep. Lee Nak-yon, former chairman of the DP, Yoon was ahead 43.7 perce

Aug 12, 2021
Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon widens lead over Gyeonggi gov. in hypothetical 2-way presidential race: poll

Samsung heir Lee subject to parole conditions after release

The headquarters of Samsung Electronics in southern Seoul / YonhapSamsung heir Lee Jae-yong will be required to abide by parole conditions after he is released later this week, the justice ministry said Wednesday.Under the relevant law, he should report to the parole office in advance if he plans to move his residence or leave the country for more than a month, among other things.The ministry can exempt certain parolees from those conditions, such as severely ill or senior inmates, but Lee is not eligible for the exemptions, the ministry said. The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was granted parole earlier this week by the ministry's parole committee and is set to be released Friday.The ministry said it considered "the country's economic situation and the conditions of the global economy amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic" as well as "social sentiment, and (the prisoner's) behavior and attitude" as factors behind the decision.Samsung's de facto leader has been serving time since he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on Jan. 18 over a bribery case involving form

Aug 11, 2021
Samsung heir Lee subject to parole conditions after release

Briton arrested in Germany for 'spying for Russia'

A woman passes by the British Embassy in Berlin in this 2016 file photo. AFP-YonhapA British man suspected of spying for Russia in exchange for cash has been arrested in Germany, federal prosecutors said Wednesday, in a stunning case compared to a Cold War thriller.The suspect identified only as David S., who worked as local staff at the British embassy, "on at least one occasion passed on documents he acquired as part of his professional activities to a representative of Russian intelligence". "The accused received a cash payment in an unspecified amount in return," the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement.It said David S. was taken into custody Tuesday in the eastern city of Potsdam on an arrest warrant issued on August 4. His home and place of work were searched.The suspect was believed to have been spying since November 2020 "at the latest". His arrest was the result of a joint operation by German and British authorities. The British embassy in Berlin declined to comment.The Metropolitan Police in London said the suspect was a 57-year-old British national and that the

Aug 11, 2021
Briton arrested in Germany for 'spying for Russia'

Ruling party presidential contender becomes laughing stock for 'apartments on schools' idea

Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, a presidential hopeful of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday, presenting his housing policy promise to provide a total of 2.8 million homes. YonhapBy Jung Da-minPresidential contenders have come up with various ideas to increase the housing supply and prevent further price escalation. The most sensational among them so far is former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's plan to build apartments on top of school buildings, a plan which is drawing huge attention ― mostly mockery and sarcasm. Chung, a presidential hopeful of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), announced the plan to redevelop old schools and turn them into residential-school complexes.“On the sites of public schools, we could erect a building where the first to fifth floors are used as a school and the sixth and above floors as residential spaces so that parents and students can live there while the children attend the school,” Chung said during a press conference at the National Assembly, Tu

Aug 11, 2021
Ruling party presidential contender becomes laughing stock for 'apartments on schools' idea

Moon urged to explain release of Samsung chief

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with his secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. YonhapPresident criticized for passing responsibility to justice ministerBy Nam Hyun-wooCalls are growing for President Moon Jae-in to explain the rationale behind Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's parole from prison, with civic groups and progressive politicians questioning the fairness of the decision. Cheong Wa Dae has been keeping silent on the issue, despite reporters' continued requests for comment since Monday when the Ministry of Justice announced it would parole the Samsung chief.“Cheong Wa Dae has no specific stance on Lee's parole, and we have no comment about the decision-making process between the justice ministry and presidential office,” an official said on condition of anonymity. On Monday, the ministry's nine-member parole commission approved Lee's release, which Justice Minister Park Beom-kye later confirmed. Following this, Lee will be released from prison Friday, after serving slightly over 60 percent of his sentence. It is rare for a convict who

Aug 11, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Moon urged to explain release of Samsung chief

Celebrating K-ETA launch

Justice Minister Park Beom-gye, right, attends an unveiling event for the signboard of the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) Center at Gimpo International Airport, Wednesday. The justice ministry will launch K-ETA, an entry system for people from countries that are eligible to enter Korea without a visa, in September, following a pilot program that started in May. Yonhap

Aug 11, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Main opposition party sees sharp membership increase in run-up to presidential election

People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok / YonhapThe main opposition People Power Party (PPP) saw its membership expand by nearly 30 percent over the past two months in the run-up to next year's presidential election. "During the two months alone since the inauguration of party chief Lee Jun-seok (in the party convention on June 11), over 110,000 supporters newly joined PPP as members," a key party official told Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday. The entry of ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl into the party last month also drove up the expansion, the official said. According to party sources, 90,000 of the new members joined the party as a "duty member," who has the right to take part in the party's decision-making processes, pushing up the total number of the PPP's duty members by over 30 percent to 370,000. The sharp increase is widely seen as reflecting the keen public attention the PPP has garnered with its landslide victories in the April Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, and the sensational election of Lee, the youngest-ever leader of a mainstream political party in South

Aug 11, 2021
Main opposition party sees sharp membership increase in run-up to presidential election

Media groups up in arms against 'unconstitutional' reform bill

Main opposition People Power Party floor leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, second from right, speaks in front of the National Assembly, Aug. 2, during a rally organized by a union at local broadcaster KBS to protest the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's push to revise a law to introduce punitive damages for media outlets producing what it calls “fake news.” YonhapJournalists, opposition parties criticize ruling party for trying to gag pressBy Jung Da-min Six media organizations have joined forces to push back against the ruling party's attempt to revise a law to impose punitive damages on media outlets or reporters for producing what it calls “fake news.” They began collecting signatures online from journalists and other staff at media outlets, Monday, to protest the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) plan which they say will be abused to block criticism of “political power” and thus undermine press freedom. The six groups are the Journalists Association of Korea, Kwanhun Club, Korea News Editors' Association, Korean Association of Newspapers, Korea

Aug 10, 2021
Media groups up in arms against 'unconstitutional' reform bill

Has opposition contender Yoon reached his limit?

People Power Party presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl enters a party office in Eunpyeong District in Seoul, Aug. 3. Joint Press CorpsSupport rate for ex-top prosecutor declining after controversial remarksBy Nam Hyun-wooYoon Seok-youl, a presidential contender of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), is quickly losing support in polls, causing many to question whether the former prosecutor general has reached his limits as a politician.According to a poll conducted on 1,004 adults by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), Aug. 6 and 7, Yoon's support stood at 28.3 percent, down 4 percentage points from a week earlier. While Yoon is hemorrhaging support, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has come from behind to lead presidential contenders with support of 28.4 percent, up 1 percentage point from a week earlier. Of notice in the polls was Yoon's drops in South and North Gyeongsang provinces, which are the traditional strongholds of the conservative party. His support in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province sto

Aug 10, 2021By Nam Hyun-woo
Has opposition contender Yoon reached his limit?

Pardons for ex-presidents looking unlikely following parole of Samsung heir

Former presidents Lee Myung-bak, left, and Park Geun-hye / YonhapMoon remains adamant on not pardoning two predecessors By Kang Seung-wooThe government's decision to grant parole to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is reigniting a yearlong issue over whether President Moon Jae-in will pardon his two incarcerated predecessors. On Monday, the justice ministry announced its plan to release Lee, along with 809 other inmates, on parole, Friday, considering the country's economic situation and the conditions of the global economy amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.The Samsung heir was convicted of bribery, embezzlement and perjury charges in connection with conservative former President Park Geun-hye, and sentenced to five years in prison. Park was impeached in December 2016 and removed from office in March 2017. She was convicted on 16 charges related to the abuse of power, corruption, coercion and bribery and sentenced to 25 years behind bars. Conservative former President Lee Myung-bak, Park's predecessor, is also serving a 17-year prison term for embezzlement, bribery a

Aug 10, 2021By Kang Seung-woo
Pardons for ex-presidents looking unlikely following parole of Samsung heir
  • Samsung chief to be released on parole Friday
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