South Korea - The Korea Times

Former SMEs minister leading in polls for Seoul mayoral race

Former SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun, right, a candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea for the Seoul mayoral by-election, greets an elderly supporter in Gangseo District, southwestern Seoul, Sunday. YonhapBy Do Je-hae Former SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun is leading in the popularity polls for the Seoul mayoral by-election to take place April 7, according to the latest polls.A survey conducted by Hankook Research at the request of the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, published Monday, showed that 25.8 percent out of 800 Seoul citizens surveyed said the former five-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was the most suitable candidate to become the next mayor of the capital.Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the minor opposition People's Party and a former presidential candidate, trailed Park with 19.5 percent. Other notable candidates, former main opposition People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Na Kyung-won and former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, followed with 12.9 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively.The survey came as A

Feb 8, 2021By Do Je-hae

Former SMEs minister leading in polls for Seoul mayoral race

Busan mayoral candidate vows to designate English as official language

Jeong Kyu-jae, a journalist who runs the YouTube channel, “Jeong Kyu-jae TV,” is running in the April by-election for Busan mayor. Courtesy of office of Jeong Kyu-jaeBy Jung Da-min An independent candidate running for the April 7 by-election for Busan mayor has pledged to designate English as an official language of Korea's second-largest city.Jeong Kyu-jae, a journalist who runs a YouTube channel called, “Jeong Kyu-jae TV,” featuring conservative political content, wants to turn Busan into an international city whose residents can speak English “fluently” if he gets elected.“The goal of my plan to designate English as the city's official language is to assure that students in Busan receive an advanced level of English language education in elementary, middle and high schools, so that they can speak fluent English after graduating from high school,” Jeong said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times.Jeong, who was a former editorial writer for the Korea Economic Daily newspaper, said he also plans to create more business oppo

Feb 7, 2021

Busan mayoral candidate vows to designate English as official language

'President Moon wants to communicate more,' says his new chief of staff

President Moon Jae-in, right, and his chief of staff Noh Young-min arrive at an event at Cheong Wa Dae, Jan. 29. Korea Times fileBy Do Je-hae New presidential chief of staff You Young-min relayed President Moon Jae-in's desire for more active communication with the public during an impromptu visit to the press center at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. This was You's first visit to the press center since his appointment Dec. 31, 2020.“Due to the COVID-19 situation and many urgent issues, it has not been easy to arrange meetings with reporters. I will try to communicate more often,” You said. The announcement of his visit was made only minutes before he arrived at the center with several other key aides from the presidential office for public communication at 2:30 p.m. “The President also wants to get together with reporters more often,” You added. President Moon Jae-in meets children of shopkeepers during a visit to a "jeotgal" or salted seafood market in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, Feb. 4. YonhapThe visit comes amid rising criticism that Moon has gone against his cam

Feb 5, 2021By Do Je-hae

'President Moon wants to communicate more,' says his new chief of staff

Hospital under KEPCO criticized for employing ex-minister's daughter as intern

Lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party hold a news conference at the National Assembly, Feb. 1, calling on the prosecution to indict former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter for admission fraud at a university and medical school after Cho's wife was convicted of forging her daughter's academic records. / Yonhap By Jun Ji-hyeHanil General Hospital run by the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp.'s (KEPCO) medical foundation is facing criticism for accepting former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter, Cho Min, as one of its interns. The controversy follows the conviction and sentencing of Cho's wife to four years in prison in December for forging their daughter's academic records to get her into university and medical school. The ruling has led to growing calls for the qualifications of Cho's daughter to be revoked. The hospital recruited three interns and notified them individually Thursday ― a departure from its typical practice of disclosing the ide

Feb 5, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Hospital under KEPCO criticized for employing ex-minister's daughter as intern

'Male-dominated politics, lack of gender sensitivity lead to repeated sexual offenses'

Justice Party chairman Kim Jong-cheol speaks during a New Year press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Jan. 20. He was expelled and stripped of his party membership for sexually harassing a fellow lawmaker on Jan. 15. It was the first time the head of an established political party was removed due to sexual misconduct. YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThe latest sexual harassment allegations involving former Justice Party Chairman Kim Jong-cheol raise questions over why sexual violence is being repeated in politics, despite campaigns to prevent it. Last month, Kim admitted to sexually harassing Jang Hye-young, a female lawmaker, after having dinner together on Jan. 15. He was dismissed from his leadership post and stripped of his party membership.Kim joins former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, ex-Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and former South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung. Park and Oh sexually harassed their respective female subordinates and Ahn raped his secretary.Park committed suicide in July 2020 after police received a complaint from the victim. Oh faces a trial after

Feb 5, 2021By Yi Whan-woo

'Male-dominated politics, lack of gender sensitivity lead to repeated sexual offenses'

Arrest warrant sought for ex-industry minister over reactor shutdown controversy

 Paik Un-gyu        The prosecution filed for a warrant to arrest a former industry and energy minister Thursday as part of a probe into the controversial closure of an aging nuclear reactor.The Daejeon District Prosecutors Office asked a court to issue the warrant for Paik Un-gyu on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of business. Paik has been under probe over allegations that he abused his power in the viability assessment of Wolsong-1, the nation's second-oldest nuclear reactor, before the government decided to close it in December 2019.In October 2020, a state audit found its economic viability was unreasonably undervalued in favor of an early closure.The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) questioned the general credibility of the process in calculating economic numbers of the reactor, saying that Paik is one of the leading figures in the mishandling of the assessment.The former minister is also suspected of being involved in the deletion of documents related to the reactor closure by three ministry officials.They were indicted over allegatio

Feb 4, 2021

Arrest warrant sought for ex-industry minister over reactor shutdown controversy

National Assembly passes impeachment motion against judge accused of judicial power abuse

National Assembly Speaker Rep. Park Byeong-seug puts an impeachment motion against judge Lim Seong-geun to a vote on Feb. 4, 2021. YonhapIn an unprecedented move, the National Assembly passed a motion Thursday to impeach a senior judge who has been accused of abusing judicial power in several politically sensitive court rulings.The motion to oust Lim Seong-geun, currently a senior judge at the Busan High Court, marks the first-ever impeachment bill passed against a sitting justice in the country.The assembly led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) voted 179 to 102 in favor of impeaching Lim, with three abstentions and four spoiled votes, clearing the way for the motion to go to the Constitutional Court for a final decision.No judge has been impeached in South Korea before. Two motions of impeachment against Supreme Court judges were proposed in 1985 and 2009, but they were voted down or scrapped at the legislature.Lim was indicted in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of other judges' exercising of rights, for allegedly meddling in several trials between 2015 and 2016,

Feb 4, 2021

National Assembly passes impeachment motion against judge accused of judicial power abuse

Top judge embroiled in suspicions of political bias

Top judge embroiled in suspicions of political bias

Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su arrives at work in Seoul's Seocho District, Thursday. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeSupreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su is facing suspicions of attempting to side with the ruling bloc and thus harm judicial independence, after a sitting judge claimed that Kim had stopped him from stepping down to allow the National Assembly to impeach him. On Thursday morning, a lawyer for Lim Seong-geun, a senior judge of the Busan High Court, revealed a transcript of a recorded conversation between Kim and Lim during their meeting in May last year.The revelation came hours before the Assembly put to vote a motion to impeach Lim for meddling in several politically sensitive trials presided over by junior judges during the previous administration of conservative President Park Geun-hye. The motion was passed during a plenary session later that day and marked the first impeachment of its kind. Lim was one of several judges who had been brought to trial on charges of abusing judicial power to meddle in politically sensitive rulings. The Assembly is only authorized

Feb 4, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Top judge embroiled in suspicions of political bias

National Assembly passes impeachment motion against judge accused of judicial power abuse

Reduced sentence for ex-presidential aide

Woo Byung-woo, a former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, leaves the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul, Thursday, after having his sentence reduced to one year in prison for ordering the illegal surveillance of public officials. The appellate court reduced the sentence for one of the key figures in the massive corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye from four years given by a lower court, after dismissing other charges including negligence of duty and abuse of power. Yonhap

Feb 4, 2021By Lee Hyo-jin

Reduced sentence for ex-presidential aide

Minor party will not compete in mayoral by-elections amid sexual harassment scandal

Kim Jong-cheol, former leader of the liberal minor Justice Party speaks at his New Year's conference held last Wednesday at the National Assembly. Kim stepped down from the position as party leader on Monday admitting to sexually harassing Justice Party Rep. Jang Hye-young. / YonhapThe minor progressive Justice Party decided Wednesday not to field candidates in the April mayoral by-elections in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal that led to the expulsion of its leader. Kim Jong-cheol resigned as head of the party on Jan. 25 after admitting to sexually harassing a female lawmaker of the same party. He was expelled from the party Thursday. "The party decided not to nominate candidates in the by-elections as a way of reflecting on itself and taking responsibility," a party official said after a meeting of the national committee, its top decision-making body.Mayoral by-elections will be held in Seoul and Busan on April 7. The posts have remained vacant since then Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don resigned in April and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon killed himself in July, both amid accusations of sexual

Feb 3, 2021

Politics