my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Politics

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Court rules seizure of Chun's house illegal

By Bahk Eun-jiA court ruled that the prosecution's decision to put former President Chun Doo-hwan's house up for auction was partly illegal. Ex-President Chun Doo-hwan's residence in Yeonhui-dong, western Seoul / Korea Times file The Seoul High Court ruling, made Friday, partially accepted the former president's claim and ruled that the main building and garden of his residence in Seoul were not assets purchased through illegal gains and thus not subject to the prosecution's seizure. However, the court judged that an annex of the residence can be seized.In December 2018, the prosecution decided to seize Chun's residence in Seoul and put it up for public auction, as he had been refusing to follow a court order to forfeit 220 billion won ($197 million) connected to treason and bribery charges.Then Chun's side filed a lawsuit objecting to the prosecutors' move, claiming the main building, garden and annex were registered not under Chun's name but under his wife, secretar

Nov 20, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
Court rules seizure of Chun's house illegal

Defense ministry seeks support for Korea peace process at ASEAN security meeting

The defense ministry on Thursday drummed up support for Seoul's efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula during a videoconference held among defense officials from Southeast Asian and other major powers, the ministry said. Kim Sang-jin, director general of the ministry's international policy bureau, explained Seoul's various peace initiatives for the Korean Peninsula at the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials' Meeting Plus (ADSOM-Plus), which brought together officials from 18 countries, including the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, China and Japan. Kim also explained the military's involvement in the nation's battle against the new coronavirus and Seoul's cooperation with the international community to overcome the pandemic."The meeting served as a chance to strengthen the momentum for defense cooperation to effectively respond to mutual security threats in the region, despite the COVID-19 situation," the ministry said in a release. The session was held ahead of the annual ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), which is

Nov 19, 2020

Man apprehended for vandalizing statue of ex-President Chun

A 50-year-old man was apprehended on Thursday for vandalizing a statue of former President Chun Doo-hwan at a local park, police said.The statue, located inside the Cheongnamdae park in Cheongju, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, was found with two-thirds of its neck damaged, according to police.The man is suspected of entering the park with a tourist pass and then switching off nearby closed-circuit TVs before using a wire saw to vandalize the statue.This photo shows a statue of former President Chun Doo-whan at Cheongnamdae, a former presidential retreat, in Cheongju, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, Wednesday, after the neck was damaged by someone with a wire saw. Chun brutally cracked down on the 1980 Gwangju uprising. YonhapPolice said the man identified himself as a member of an organization with connections to the May 1980 pro-democracy uprising, which Chun was convicted of suppressing in a bloody massacre.Police plan to book the man on suspicion of damaging property.Activists have demanded the removal of Chun's statue and that of former President Roh Tae-woo, saying it goes agains

Nov 19, 2020
Man apprehended for vandalizing statue of ex-President Chun

Suhyup chief demands Japan cancel plan to release radioactive water

The head of South Korea's National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives on Thursday demanded that Tokyo withdraw its plan to discharge radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.Im Joon-taek, chairman of the federation, also known as Suhyup, met with Masato Nagai, a councilor from the Japanese embassy, at the organization's headquarters in eastern Seoul and expressed his opposition to Tokyo's plan to release the contaminated water, according to Suhyup.According to Suhyup, the meeting was arranged at the request of the Japanese embassy. Nagai reportedly told Im that Japan's processing and handling of the radioactive water was deemed scientifically safe and asked for understanding from the South Korean fishing industry.During the meeting, Im warned that Suyup will take strong action if Tokyo does end up releasing the water, by uniting with members of the International Cooperative Fisheries Organisation under the International Cooperative Alliance.Im also said the decision on handling of the Fukushima water should not be made unilaterally by the Japanese governmen

Nov 19, 2020

Ruling party to push ahead with law revision to launch special investigative body

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, center, speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly, Thursday. Kim said the DPK would push ahead with law revisions to launch a special investigative body to look into corruption by high-ranking officials by the end of this year, after a committee to nominate candidates for the position of head of the investigative body failed to reach an agreement at its meeting a day before. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanCommittee fails to nominate special investigative body chiefBy Jung Da-minThe ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is set to push ahead with revising laws related to a new investigative body to look into corruption by high-ranking officials, after a relevant committee failed to reach an agreement on the nomination of candidates to lead the new office, Wednesday.The committee to nominate candidates for the chief post of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials was formed late last month, over three months after the slated date for the launch of the new organization due to the

Nov 19, 2020
Ruling party to push ahead with law revision to launch special investigative body

Airport construction falls prey to political interests

Lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who represent Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, hold a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday, calling for an introduction of a special bill to permit construction of a new airport on Gadeok Island in Busan. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe government's decision to end the Gimhae International Airport expansion plan is once again sparking criticism that political interests are again holding sway over a crucial state project. Experts say major projects like this need to be approached with a broad understanding of their purpose, not from political considerations.On Tuesday, a government review committee virtually scrapped the project, citing safety and environmental issues and a lack of thorough communication with the local government in the decision-making process. After 10 years of postponements in picking an airport site for the southeastern part of the country, expanding Gimhae airport was decided on in 2016 based on a year-long feasibility study by the French company Aeroports de Paris Ingenierie (ADPi

Nov 18, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Airport construction falls prey to political interests

US pastor critical of dictatorship in Korea dies

By Park Ji-wonRev. George E. Ogle / Korea Times fileRev. George E. Ogle, a former U.S. missionary in Korea and vocal critic of human rights violations during Park Chung-hee's authoritarian reign, passed away in Colorado on Sunday, according to Korea Democracy Foundation, Wednesday. He was 91.The cause of his death has not been disclosed, but he had been reportedly suffering from Parkinson's disease for years.Born in Pennsylvania, on Jan. 7, 1929, he became a Methodist missionary in 1954 and came to Korea in the same year for mission work.As a member of the Monday meeting, a group of missionaries from the U.S. and Canada in Korea, he devoted himself to the improvement of labor rights through education, while contributing to the country's democratization movement in the 1960s and 1970s.He was deported to the U.S. on Dec. 14, 1974, after holding an open prayer meeting for eight men accused of having Communist ties with North Korea who were sentenced to death for treason. They were executed only eight hours after sentencing. Widely known as the “People's Revolutionary Party Inciden

Nov 18, 2020By Park Ji-won
US pastor critical of dictatorship in Korea dies

Ex-ruling party member may run for Seoul mayoral by-election as opposition candidate

Keum Tae-sup, a former lawmaker who recently left the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), speaks during his lecture for first-term lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) at the National Assembly, Wednesday. YonhapBy Jung Da-minWith prospective candidates gearing up to compete for the Seoul mayoral post in next year's by-election, Keum Tae-sup, a former lawmaker who recently left the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in protest of the party's stances on various issues, hinted that he could also run in the election as a candidate representing the opposition. Late last month, Keum left the DPK after harshly criticizing the party for its “divisive and arrogant” stance on controversial issues, including policies related to President Moon Jae-in's judiciary reform. Five months before he left the DPK, the party's ethics committee decided to issue him with a warning for opposing a bill proposed by the party. The bill was to launch a separate investigative body to look into corruption among high-ranking officials and their family members, one of Mo

Nov 18, 2020
Ex-ruling party member may run for Seoul mayoral by-election as opposition candidate

Moon congratulates 4 Korean-Americans on recent House election victories

President Moon Jae-in / Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seokPresident Moon Jae-in on Tuesday congratulated four Korean-Americans on their recent election to the U.S. House of Representatives. "Delighted and thrilled! Together with the Korean people, I extend my congratulations to newly elected Congresswomen Young Kim, Michelle Park Steel, and Marilyn Strickland, and Congressman Andy Kim who won a second term," Moon tweeted."They have friendly Korean names ― Young-oak, Eunjoo, and Sun-ja," Moon said, adding "Today, your friendly Korean names sound all the more glamorous."Republicans Young Kim and Michelle Park Steel won the 39th and 48th districts in Orange County, California, respectively, in the U.S. general elections earlier this month, joining Democrat Marilyn Strickland, who won the 10th district in Washington, to become the first Korean American women to serve in Congress in its 230-year history. Democrat Andy Kim won his race in New Jersey's 3rd district. "I am truly encouraged to see four Korean Americans having made to U.S. Congress all at the same time," Moon said in the Twitt

Nov 17, 2020By Do Je-hae
Moon congratulates 4 Korean-Americans on recent House election victories

Moon's problematic aide returns to public service

President Moon Jae-in and Kim Ki-jung / Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in's pick for the head of a think tank operating under the state spy agency is raising some eyebrows, with critics claiming that the head of state's latest personnel appointment is still based on the appointee's close ties to the administration.According to the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), Tuesday, it held a board meeting the previous day, and picked Kim Ki-jung, a former senior aide to President Moon for national security affairs, as its chief. The INSS is an affiliate of the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Although the INSS chief post has remained vacant since former chief Jo Dong-ho resigned in July this year, Kim's personal connection to Moon is believed to have affected the appointment even though Kim was embroiled in misconduct allegations in the past. Kim was President Moon's high school junior at Kyungnam High School in Busan and he began to help Moon in 2012 when Moon launched his first presidential bid against Park Geun-hye. In addition, he is a key figure am

Nov 17, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Moon's problematic aide returns to public service
previous page
737738739740741
next page

Most Read in South Korea