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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.

Young underdog emerges as winner of primary for main opposition party leader

Lee Jun-seok, candidate for the new chairman of the main opposition People Power Party, speaks to reporters in Daegu, May 28. YonhapLee Jun-seok, a 36-year-old politician with no experience as a lawmaker, emerged Friday as the winner of the primary for the upcoming election to pick the new chairman of the main opposition party.Lee was among the final five candidates selected through opinion polls to compete in the People Power Party's (PPP) chairman election on June 11, according to the party's election management committee. The former member of the party's supreme council was followed by former four-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won and incumbent five-term Rep. Joo Ho-young ― both of whom served as floor leaders ― as well as two other high-profile incumbent lawmakers. The primary narrowed down the eight-horse chairman race to five candidates through opinion polls evenly divided between party members and private citizens. The party committee did not officially release the rankings of the polls, but party sources said Lee garnered the most support at 41 percent. Na and Joo had 29 percent and

May 28, 2021
Young underdog emerges as winner of primary for main opposition party leader

Vice justice minister offers to resign over assault allegations

Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu who offered to resign / YonhapVice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu offered to resign Friday, after he was embroiled in a controversy over unpunished assault against a taxi driver.The justice ministry announced the news, without detailing reasons for his abrupt resignation.In a short statement sent to reporters, Lee said he was resigning because he believed the ministry "badly" needed a "new worker" who could help the ministry to reinvent itself for the remaining one year of the Moon Jae-in government. He was appointed to the position on Dec. 2, the first appointee without a prosecutor background in 60 years.Soon after Lee was appointed vice minister, however, allegations were raised that he got away free following the altercation in early November. Lee, who was a lawyer at the time, allegedly grabbed the driver by the collar in an intoxicated state when the man tried to wake him up after arriving at his home in southern Seoul. Police were called to the scene at that time, and Lee was allowed to go home after his identity was confirmed. Police closed the

May 28, 2021
Vice justice minister offers to resign over assault allegations

Moon replaces senior secretary for public communication

From left, Park Soo-hyun who was appointed as senior secretary for public communication, Bang Jung-kyun who was named as senior secretary for civic and social agenda, and Nam Young-sook tapped as adviser to the president for economic affairs. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in has named Park Soo-hyun, a former lawmaker, as new senior secretary for public communication, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday.Park succeeds Chung Man-ho, who has been in the post for less than 10 months. Park worked as Cheong Wa Dae spokesman from 2017-2018 after serving as lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party for four years from 2012.The president also appointed Bang Jung-kyun, vice president of Sangji University in charge of social cooperation and also professor of oriental medicine, as senior secretary for civic and social agenda, according to presidential chief of staff You Young-min. The school is located in Wonju, Gangwon Province.Nam Young-sook, ambassador to Norway, has been tapped as adviser to the president for economic affairs. She was a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans

May 28, 2021
Moon replaces senior secretary for public communication
  • Senior official at financial regulator appointed ambassador to Singapore

Ex-President Roh Moo-hyun's aide announces presidential bid

Rep. Lee Kwang-jae, a three-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea who was a close aide to former President Roh Moo-hyun, speaks during a ceremony to declare his presidential bid at the Korea Federation of SMEs on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Jung Da-minRep. Lee Kwang-jae, a three-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has officially declared his bid for the March 2022 presidential election.In a ceremony announcing his presidential bid at the Korea Federation of SMEs on Seoul's Yeouido, Thursday, the 56-year-old politician, who is well-known for his close ties to former President Roh Moo-hyun, said he was the right person to lead the generational shift in the country's politics as the next president.“We need a political revolution in which a shift in the times, generation and players takes place,” Lee said during the ceremony. “We must learn from the history of innovation: former President Kim Dae-jung pioneered the era of venture capital and the IT economy; former President Roh Moo-hyun opened an era of balanced regional d

May 27, 2021
Ex-President Roh Moo-hyun's aide announces presidential bid

Moon publicizes upcoming climate summit in person via special footage

President Moon Jae-in / YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in has rolled up his sleeves to raise public awareness on a global climate summit to open this weekend.South Korea is scheduled to host a two-day virtual summit of global leaders, officially named the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, which opens Sunday. It will be joined by dozens of leaders of foreign countries and international organizations, according to Cheong Wa Dae. It has not revealed the list of participants yet.P4G, which stands for Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, is an international consultative body on public-private efforts for inclusive solutions to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.The upcoming summit is the second of its kind following the 2018 inaugural session held in Copenhagen. It marks the first multilateral summit to be hosted by South Korea under the Moon administration.In the special video, Moon talked with Park Jin-hee, a South Korean actress, and Tyler Rasch, an American working as a TV personality in South Korea, at the presidential compound. The pretaped footag

May 27, 2021
Moon publicizes upcoming climate summit in person via special footage

Chinese ambassador calls S. Korea-U.S. summit statement 'a bit discouraging'

Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming / Korea Times fileChinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming voiced discomfort again on Wednesday over a joint statement from last week's summit between South Korea and the United States that touched on sensitive issues like the Taiwan Strait.The statement following the first in-person summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden in Washington on Friday made a rare mention of the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of its territory under its One China policy."We feel it's a bit discouraging. For instance, the issue of Taiwan was brought up," Xing said in an interview with an MBC program. "Of course, the South Korean side had explained this to us, but from our perspective, this is China's internal affair."Xing stressed that South Korea already recognized Taiwan as part of China when it opened diplomatic relations in 1992.The ambassador also took issue with the statement's mention of the South China Sea, reiterating Beijing's claim that there has been no problem regarding the freedom of transit in the strategic waterway. But he t

May 26, 2021
Chinese ambassador calls S. Korea-U.S. summit statement 'a bit discouraging'

Ruling party losing 'fresh' luster: poll

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Song Young-gil, second from the left, speaks during a Supreme Council meeting of the party, Wednesday, held during the party leadership's visit to Samsung Biologics in Incheon, which signed a deal last Saturday to manufacture Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. YonhapBy Jung Da-minIn contemporary Korean politics, the liberal political party has usually been associated with a younger, more vibrant and egalitarian image than the conservative camp. This image is attributed to the progressive lawmakers of the liberal party, who used to be student activists during the pro-democracy movement of the 1980s. However, that fresh luster seems to have dulled in recent years, as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has increasingly reflected characteristics typical of the conservative camp ― such as unilateral decision-making ― while dozens of ruling bloc figures have been mired in corruption scandals and sexual harassment allegations.According to a DPK internal report, based on an opinion poll and a focus group interview, a ruling party official now a

May 26, 2021
Ruling party losing 'fresh' luster: poll

Biden's pick of envoy to North Korea means request for dialogue: Moon

President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with party leaders at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, May 26. YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in said Wednesday the Joe Biden administration has made a de facto offer to North Korea for the resumption of talks with the appointment of a special envoy.Moon also stressed that South Korea and the United States have formed a "firm consensus" on the need to advance the Korea peace process.He called it one of the most important accomplishments in his White House summit with Biden last week, speaking to the leaders of South Korea's five major political parties.In an announcement, timed with Moon's visit to the U.S., Biden unveiled the choice of Sung Kim, ambassador to Indonesia, as special envoy to North Korea.The move is "making a request for North Korea to resume dialogue," Moon said during the luncheon meeting at Cheong Wa Dae meant for a briefing on the results of his summit with Biden.The president took note of his joint statement with Biden, in which they agreed that both the 2018 inter-Korean summit accord, signed at Panmunjom, and the Washington-Pyongya

May 26, 2021
Biden's pick of envoy to North Korea means request for dialogue: Moon
  • South Korea's intelligence chief leaves for US to coordinate policy on North Korea
  • Gov't moving to resume inter-Korean economic cooperation

Moon orders thorough steps to follow up on summit deal with Biden

President Moon Jae-in listens as President Joe Biden speaks during a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House, Friday, in Washington. AP-YonhapPresident Moon Jae-in instructed the government and his Cheong Wa Dae team Monday to take thorough follow-up measures to implement his summit agreement with U.S. President Joe Biden, according to his office.Moon convened a meeting with his Cheong Wa Dae aides and also had a weekly meeting with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum as scheduled, a day after returning from his visit to the U.S. for the summit talks.Citing deals on economic cooperation, COVID-19 vaccines, the alliance and the Korea peace process, he issued an order for related ministries to let the people know about them in detail and feel the impact of concrete measures, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a press statement.Earlier in the day, Moon's Chief of Staff You Young-min had a separate meeting with senior presidential secretaries on following up on the latest summit agreements between the allies.You reported a plan to the president for operating a ta

May 24, 2021
Moon orders thorough steps to follow up on summit deal with Biden

Will young politician become new opposition leader?

Lee Jun-seok, former member of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP), visits Seomun Night Market in Daegu, Monday. Lee has placed his bid to be the PPP's next chairperson and he is enjoying high popularity in recent polls of the party's candidates for the position. YonhapBy Jung Da-minWith the race for the leadership of the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) heating up, a rookie politician is enjoying high popularity in recent polls about who will be the PPP's next chairperson. The PPP is set to hold a national convention on June 11 to elect new leaders, including the chairperson. The PPP's selection of its next chairperson is drawing attention, as not only heavyweights, such as Na Kyung-won, former floor leader of the PPP's predecessor, the Liberty Party of Korea, and Rep. Joo Ho-young, former floor leader of the PPP, but also rookie politicians such as Rep. Kim Woong, a first-term lawmaker, and Lee Jun-seok, a former member of the PPP's Supreme Council, have placed their bids.Lee is in particular receiving media attention, as he is leading som

May 24, 2021
Will young politician become new opposition leader?
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