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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.

Main opposition enjoys upward momentum in polls on heated leadership race

Kim Gi-hyeon, acting chairman of the opposition People Power Party (PPP), speaks at the National Assembly, June 4. / Hankook IlboThe approval rating of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was seen as displaying upward momentum, according to a new poll Monday, amid its intense leadership race and new developments surrounding the former prosecutor general predicted to join the party to run for president.In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,519 people over the age of 18 from May 31 to June 4, the PPP's approval rating was recorded at 38 percent, up 2.4 percentage points from the previous week.The ruling Democratic Party (DP) trailed with 29.7 percent, followed by the minor opposition People Party, the Open Democratic Party and the Justice Party, with 7.5 percent, 5.8 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.The gap in approval rating between the PPP and the DP stood at 8.3 percentage points, remaining outside the margin of error for 12 consecutive weeks.The PPP has seen an especially marked increase in support among self-identifying swing voters, with the corresponding figure

Jun 7, 2021
Main opposition enjoys upward momentum in polls on heated leadership race

Scandal-ridden LH to streamline structure, slash workforce

LH headquarters in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province / YonhapThe state-run Korea Land Housing (LH) will streamline its structure and focus on its core housing welfare services to prevent land speculation by its employees and address public distrust following a scandal, the land ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation announced comprehensive reform measures three months after the revelation of speculative land purchases by several LH employees has rocked the nation amid soaring home prices.The scandal has set off a string of complaints about suspicious land deals involving public servants and politicians nationwide, which even undermined public trust over the Moon Jae-in administration's real estate policy. "The government concluded (the LH land speculation scandal) as a structural problem caused by monopoly power, a bloated structure and a lax internal monitoring system," the ministry said in a release. "The overhaul measures are aimed at transforming LH into a transparent corporation that can earn public trust."LH was created as a behemoth public

Jun 7, 2021
Scandal-ridden LH to streamline structure, slash workforce

Memorial Day speech

President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during a Memorial Day ceremony at Seoul National Cemetery, Sunday. Moon offered a public apology over the recent death of a female Air Force non-commissioned officer who committed suicide after allegedly being sexually assaulted. Following the ceremony, Moon visited her funeral altar to offer condolences to her family. Yonhap

Jun 6, 2021
Memorial Day speech
  • Moon visits funeral home of sex assault victim in military

Plan to expand substitute holiday system gaining traction

Ruling and opposition parties are working to pass a bill to expand the substitute holiday system, with expectations that the expansion could contribute to economic revitalization. gettyimagesbankBy Jun Ji-hyeThe National Assembly is moving fast to pass a bill to expand the substitute holiday system that would provide extra days off if public holidays fall on a weekend. Currently, the country's substitute holiday system guarantees an extra day off only when the two biggest holidays of Seollal and Chuseok ― Lunar New Year and Korean Thanksgiving ― fall on Sundays, or Children's Day falls on a weekend.Assembly officials said Sunday that a bill aimed at expanding the system could be passed at the Assembly this month at the earliest as ruling and opposition parties have reached a broad consensus on the issue.Lawmakers expect the expansion to help economic recovery at a time when the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has slowed economic activities. The move is also in response to growing calls from workers to expand substitute holidays as public holidays in the latter half of this year, such as

Jun 6, 2021By Jun Ji-hye
Plan to expand substitute holiday system gaining traction

Moon visits funeral home of sex assault victim in military

President Moon Jae-in meets the family of an Air Force officer, who died in an apparent suicide following alleged sexual assault by a colleague, at her funeral in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, June 6. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in on Sunday met with the bereaved families of a female Air Force officer, sexually assaulted by a male colleague, and apologized to them for failing to protect her.Moon headed to her funeral home shortly after attending a national ceremony to mark the 66th Memorial Day. The annual event was held at Seoul National Cemetery.Speaking to the victim's parents at Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, just south of the capital, the president said he was sorry that the country had failed to protect her, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.They called for a thorough investigation into the case, and Moon promised to do so. He then instructed Defense Minister Suh Wook, who accompanied him, to overhaul the barracks culture in addition to a full probe.The master sergeant, identified only by her surname Lee, was sexually assaulted in a car by the colle

Jun 6, 2021
Moon visits funeral home of sex assault victim in military
  • Memorial Day speech

Moon apologizes over 'unjust death' caused by 'evil practice' in barracks during Memorial Day speech

President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook pay their silent respects during the 66th Memorial Day ceremony at Seoul National Cemetery in Seoul, June 6. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in offered a public apology Sunday apparently over the recent death of a female Air Force officer, who had been sexually assaulted by a male colleague."I am very sorry to the people over such an evil practice in the barracks culture that led to the tragic and unjust death," he said during his Memorial Day speech at the Seoul National Cemetery.The president stopped short of elaborating, but it was clear he was referring to the noncommissioned officer. She was sexually assaulted in a car in early March and soon reported the case to some of her seniors. But they allegedly attempted to cover it up. She was found dead at her official residence in late May in an apparent suicide.Moon also cited media reports of poor meals for troops. He pledged efforts to address the problem of such evil practices, not just for the human rights of soldiers but also for their morale and national security.In veterans affairs, he

Jun 6, 2021
Moon apologizes over 'unjust death' caused by 'evil practice' in barracks during Memorial Day speech

Ruling party chief to push to visit US to find way for resumption of Kaesong complex

Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea / Korea Times file The head of the ruling Democratic Party said Saturday that he would “seek a visit” to the United States in the near future to explore a "clue" for the resumption of the now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong.Song Young-gil made the remark during a meeting with an association of business owners who used to run operations at the complex that was closed in February 2016 following the nuclear and missile tests by the North.The owners have called on the government to find a way to recoup their financial losses caused by the closure of factories that employed tens of thousands of North Koreans to produce labor-intensive goods, such as shoes, watches and utensils."I hope that we can find a clue within the term of the Moon Jae-in administration by persuading people in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and building an underst

Jun 5, 2021
Ruling party chief to push to visit US to find way for resumption of Kaesong complex

Moon visits Korea's spy agency for briefing on its reform steps

President Moon Jae-in speaks during his visit to the headquarters of South Korea's state spy agency in southern Seoul, June 4. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in visited the headquarters of South Korea's state spy agency in southern Seoul and received a briefing on its reform measures Friday.It was Moon's second visit to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) since he took office in May 2017.Reforming the powerful body is one of his major campaign pledges. The NIS was accused of having been a hotbed of deep-rooted evils, including operations to oppress political dissidents.Under a revision to the NIS-related law in late 2020, the agency is prohibited from undertaking domestic surveillance operations. It is instead required to focus its capacity on collecting information related to North Korea and overseas interests.The liberal Moon administration describes the move as the rebirth of the NIS.Park Jie-won, director of the NIS, reported to the president that it has reorganized the overall operation system to place more emphasis on such fields as counterterrorism, cybersecurity and space, acco

Jun 4, 2021
Moon visits Korea's spy agency for briefing on its reform steps

36-year-old political sensation lands at No. 4 in presidential hopefuls' poll

Lee Jun-seok, 36, a contender for the leadership of the main opposition People Power Party / YonhapLee Jun-seok, a 36-year-old politician currently running in the main opposition People Power Party's leadership race, landed his first-ever spot in a poll for presidential hopefuls as the fourth favored pick, poll results showed Friday.Lee came in fourth place in the Gallup Korea poll that canvassed public opinion for next year's presidential election, winning 3 percent of support.The poll was conducted on 1,003 voters from Tuesday-Thursday and has a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party (DP), garnered 24 percent of support to claim the lead ahead of Yoon Seok-youl, a former prosecutor general who has been neck and neck with the DP-affiliated governor in recent polls. Yoon had 21 percent of support.Former DP Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon came next with a 5 percent support rating.Lee Jun-seok's surprise ascent in the presidential poll put several high-profi

Jun 4, 2021
36-year-old political sensation lands at No. 4 in presidential hopefuls' poll

'Dear Mr. President': Presidential petition site becoming career launch pad

Since it was introduced in July 2017 to mark the 100th day since Moon's swearing in as president, the petition site has given ordinary citizens a chance to speak up on policy issues. gettyimagesbankStar petitioner featured as columnist at influential Korean daily By Kang Hyun-kyung“A man, who was once politically powerful enough to influence others but disturbed many of us (with his flawed ethics and double standard on justice), is said to have released a memoir. We've been told that over 100,000 copies have been sold so far… Sorry but I should say that his memoir doesn't deserve to be called a book. Rather, it's a collection of meaningless pieces written only to curry favor with a handful of die-hard supporters of President Moon Jae-in.” This is what a man who identifies himself by his pen name Jo Eun-san, wrote in his regular column published Friday on the website of the Chosun Ilbo, one of the nation's most influential dailies.Under the title of “Memoir of a Once-powerful Man,” he criticized former Justice Minister Cho Kuk for disturbing the Korean p

Jun 4, 2021By Kang Hyun-kyung
'Dear Mr. President': Presidential petition site becoming career launch pad
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