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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.

'Not acceptable': Gov't push to lower barrier for citizenship triggers protest

gettyimagesbankThe justice ministry's plan to lower the barrier for children of permanent residents to gain citizenship has triggered protest from people who suspect the move was a ploy to benefit Chinese living here.An early draft of the revision to the Nationality Act allows children of permanent residents with "close ties" to South Korea to easily acquire citizenship. In detail, children up to the age of 6 will be able to immediately gain citizenship without preconditions and those aged 7 and above will be required to have lived here for at least five years.Under the current law, they can apply for citizenship at age 18, which involves a written test and interview, unless their parents have already naturalized.Since the ministry made an advance notice of the legislative plan, a petition opposing the revision has drawn more than 317,000 signatures on the Cheong Wa Dae website.The online petition claimed Chinese people living in the country, believed to be the biggest potential benefiters from the revision, were already enjoying "many rights," including voting in local elections.It

Jun 1, 2021
'Not acceptable': Gov't push to lower barrier for citizenship triggers protest

Moon appoints Kim Oh-soo as prosecutor general

New Prosecutor General Kim Oh-sooPresident Moon Jae-in appointed Kim Oh-soo, former vice justice minister, to lead the prosecution service, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.The President authorized Kim's appointment as prosecutor general at around 5 p.m. and Kim's tenure is to start on Tuesday, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.The move came in spite of a strong protest by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), which claimed that Kim is not suitable or qualified for the post. The National Assembly held a confirmation hearing for Kim last week. Earlier Monday, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a majority of seats in the National Assembly, adopted a formal report on the results of the hearing amid the PPP's boycott.The position has been vacant since the sudden resignation of Yoon Seok-youl in early March in apparent protest of the Moon administration's prosecution reform drive. (Yonhap)

May 31, 2021
Moon appoints Kim Oh-soo as prosecutor general

Calls grow within ruling party for overall reform

Rep. Song Young-gil, center, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), speaks during a Supreme Council meeting of the party at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. YonhapBy Jung Da-minCalls are growing within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) for an overall reform of the party, in response to a young politician's rise in the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and following public expectations for fresh politics with a generational shift. With the PPP set to elect its new leadership at a party convention slated for June 11, Lee Jun-seok, a 36-year-old politician and former member of the PPP's Supreme Council, has risen as the leading candidate to be the party's next chairman, garnering the highest support in recent opinion polls.Political watchers said the young politician's rise seems to be a reflection of the people's disappointment with policy failures of established politicians of both the current liberal and past conservative administrations, as well as a desire for a change and innovation in politics.In such a context, some member of the DPK said

May 31, 2021
Calls grow within ruling party for overall reform

Korea to rev up space development after lifting of US missile restrictions: minister

gettyimagesbankSouth Korea's science minister said Monday the country will expand investment and focus on the development of its space program after the United States lifted all restrictions on the country's missiles.During a bilateral summit on May 21, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to scrap the restrictions on South Korean missiles, which was first put in place in 1979 and had limited Seoul's development of even non-military space projectiles.The guidelines, which have undergone revisions over the years, had restricted Seoul's development of solid-fuel space rockets until last year.The latest decision to terminate the guidelines ensures complete autonomy for South Korea's space launch vehicle developments, the Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement.As follow-up measures to the recent summit, South Korea has also signed the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led international agreement for lunar exploration, as well as an agreement with the United States for cooperation on civil global navigation satellite systems."The South Korea-U.S. summit and subsequent measures have presented So

May 31, 2021
Korea to rev up space development after lifting of US missile restrictions: minister

Ruling party unilaterally adopts confirmation report on top prosecutor nominee

Prosecutor General nominee Kim Oh-soo / YonhapThe ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Monday unilaterally adopted a parliamentary confirmation report on the top prosecutor nominee despite protest from opposition lawmakers. The parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where DP lawmakers command a majority, adopted the report on the result of the confirmation hearing on Prosecutor General nominee Kim Oh-soo, held last Wednesday.The committee session was, however, boycotted by lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) protesting that Kim is unfit for the top prosecutor post.PPP lawmakers argued during Kim's confirmation hearing last week that the nominee, who served as deputy justice minister under the current Moon Jae-in administration, lacked the political neutrality needed for the prosecutor general seat. Kim also faced allegations that he was assigned as a lawyer to defend individuals behind massive investment fraud cases involving asset management firms, Lime and Optimus, after retiring from the prosecution service. Kim denied the allegations during the confir

May 31, 2021
Ruling party unilaterally adopts confirmation report on top prosecutor nominee

Korea unveils plans to contribute more to global green projects

President Moon Jae-in speaks during the P4G summit at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Sunday. YonhapA major global summit on climate and sustainable growth got underway in South Korea on Sunday, with the host country seeking to play a bigger role in the field.The two-day 2021 P4G Seoul Summit is taking place both online and offline with the theme of "Inclusive Green Recovery towards Carbon Neutrality." President Moon Jae-in is chairing the session, to be joined by more than 60 foreign leaders and heads of international organizations, largely via video links.Speaking during the opening ceremony at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, Moon announced Seoul's plans to expand support for developing nations, including a significant increase by 2025 in its official development assistance (ODA) associated with climate and green projects."We will also create a Green New Deal Trust Fund worth $5 million at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)," he said, referring to the organization based in the South Korean capital.He added that South Korea will offer $4 million in new grants to P4

May 30, 2021
Korea unveils plans to contribute more to global green projects

Moon upbeat about COVID-19 vaccination goal

President Moon Jae-in / YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in expressed optimism Saturday that South Korea will attain its goal of getting 13 million people inoculated against COVID-19 by the end of June."Vaccinations are gaining speed," he wrote on Facebook. Just over the past two days, 1.2 million people received vaccine shots, raising the total to 5.23 million as of Friday, or 10.2 percent of the nation's population, he noted.If the current pace is maintained, there will be no problem in achieving the aim of getting 13 million people vaccinated within the first half of the year, he added.Moon pointed out that South Korea is taking advantage of its advanced information technology (IT) sector, especially the use of a real-time search, notification and reservation system for residual doses of vaccines from no-shows."It helps further increase the vaccination rate and prevent even a little of the precious vaccines from being thrown away," he said.The shipment of coronavirus vaccines is proceeding as scheduled and consultations are under way as well for the introduction of additional ones, accord

May 29, 2021
Moon upbeat about COVID-19 vaccination goal
  • New virus cases in 500s for 2nd day

Young politician's rise in conservative main opposition party shakes political landscape

Lee Jun-seok, a former member of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP)'s Supreme Council, speaks during a press conference at the party's regional branch in Daegu, Friday. Lee, who is running for the race to become the party's next leader, garnered the highest support in the party's primary. YonhapOlder conservatives fear generational shiftBy Jung Da-min A young politician's rise in the conservative main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) leadership race is shaking the political landscape ― not only for the opposition bloc, but also across the political arena ― as it is signaling a generational shift in politics. Lee Jun-seok, a 36-year-old politician and former member of the PPP's Supreme Council, has risen as the leading prospective candidate to be the main opposition party's next chairperson.The PPP selected five out of eight hopefuls for the party's chairpersonship through a primary, Friday, two weeks ahead of the party convention. In the primary, based on two opinion polls of the general public and party members, Lee reportedly garnered the highest support

May 28, 2021
Young politician's rise in conservative main opposition party shakes political landscape

Gov't plan to ease citizenship acquisition for foreign children hit by anti-Chinese sentiment

More than 300,000 people have signed a public petition posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website, as of Friday, calling on the government to withdraw its plan to ease Korean nationality acquisition requirements for underage foreign nationals. Screen captured from Cheong Wa Dae website By Lee Hyo-jin The government's plan to ease rules on the acquisition of Korean citizenship for underage foreign nationals has drawn public backlash due to mounting anti-Chinese sentiments here, as people opposing the policy believe it will mainly benefit “Chinese living in Korea.” The Ministry of Justice announced its plan to revise the Nationality Act, April 26, which will make it easier for children of permanent residents to gain citizenship. Under the revised scheme, if a permanent resident with “close ties” with Korea gives birth to a child here, the child may attain citizenship by simply filing an application to the ministry.Currently, they should wait until the age of 18 to file an ap

May 28, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin
Gov't plan to ease citizenship acquisition for foreign children hit by anti-Chinese sentiment

Ruling party, gov't decide to abolish housing supply program for civil servants in Sejong

Apartments in Naseong-dong, Sejong City / YonhapThe ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government on Friday decided to abolish a controversial housing supply program for public sector employees relocating to the central administrative city of Sejong, calling it an "excessive privilege."The decision was reached in a policy consultation meeting between the DP, the government and Cheong Wa Dae held at the National Assembly.The special benefit program has recently been under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that an affiliate of the Korea Customs Service constructed a "ghost" office in Sejong to take advantage of the program intended to provide housing to workers of state bodies that relocated to the administrative city, 120 kilometers south of Seoul.In the meeting, ruling party and government officials agreed that continuing the program is "perceived as an excessive privilege (for civil servants)," according to DP spokesman Rep. Koh Yong-jin. They also agreed that the program has considerably achieved its purpose of promoting settlement in Sejong.Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said

May 28, 2021
Ruling party, gov't decide to abolish housing supply program for civil servants in Sejong
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