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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.

Democracy beats out virus in S. Korea

A camera journalist from a foreign media at a polling stating, Wednesday/ YonhapBy Do Je-hae The general election in Korea has captured global attention as one of the first cases of a COVID-19 hotspot to successfully undertake a major, national-level election. Despite fears over infection from mass gatherings, Korea did not choose to postpone or cancel the Wednesday elections as was the case in countries such as France, Russia and some U.S. states.“South Korea has never postponed an election including the presidential election of 1952, which went ahead despite the country being in the middle of the Korean War,” a BBC report noted. Above all, a big surprise in this election was the strong voter turnout at 66.2 percent, the highest for a parliamentary election in 28 years. “The world is marveling at this election. Thanks to the active cooperation and participation of the people, we were one of the few countries to hold a national election amid the pandemic,” President Moon Jae-in said in a statement, Thursday. “The people participated in the voting in an o

Apr 16, 2020By Do Je-hae
Democracy beats out virus in S. Korea

Ruling bloc clinches overwhelming victory, giving boost to Moon

The leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea bows during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday, in a gesture to express gratitude for voters' support in Wednesday's general election. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe ruling bloc achieved a sweeping victory in the general election, Wednesday, winning nearly three-fifths of the 300 National Assembly seats. The landslide win has made the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and its “satellite” offshoot Civil Together, an unprecedented political presence that will be able to pass any bill without the cooperation of other parties ― except for constitutional revisions that require a two-thirds majority ― a huge boost for the Moon Jae-in administrationAccording to the National Election Commission, Thursday, the DPK won 163 out of 253 constituencies while its affiliate was given 17 proportional representation seats. The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) and its satellite, the Future Korea Party, won 84 directly contested seats and 19 for proportional representation. The satellite parties are expecte

Apr 16, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Ruling bloc clinches overwhelming victory, giving boost to Moon

Rise and fall of potential presidential contenders

1Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea poses for photos with residents in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Thursday, after winning the general election for the constituency the previous day. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Kim RahnWednesday's general election produced mixed results for the political bigwigs who have been often referred to as potential presidential contenders.Winners will have their stature and influence elevated within the party and gain the upper hand in the next presidential race, while losers not only lost their National Assembly seats but also face a gloomy future in their political careers.A prominent winner was Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who won in the Jongno constituency over Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP). He gained 58.3 percent of the vote to Hwang's 39.9 percent.United Future Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn bows in the National Assembly Library, Wednesday, after announcing his resignation from the party chief position to take responsibility for the party's crushing defeat in the genera

Apr 16, 2020By Kim Rahn
Rise and fall of potential presidential contenders

Foul play takes savage toll on minor parties

Minor opposition Justice Party Chairwoman Rep. Sim Sang-jung sobs during a press conference at the National Assembly, Thursday, a day after the general election. The Justice Party won just six seats in the 300-seat Assembly, far fewer than the minimum 20 it had aimed for under a new electoral system intended to be “favorable to minor parties.” Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geunNew electoral system fails to boost underrepresented political parties By Jung Da-min This year's general election was conducted under a new electoral system intended to be “favorable to minor parties” in the proportional representation vote, but the election results showed that most of them failed to win any National Assembly seats.According to the National Election Commission, Thursday, the “satellite parties” of the nation's two major parties combined took 36 proportional representation seats, about three quarters of the 47 total, while three other “real minor” parties won just 11. The main opposition United Future Party's (UFP) satellite Future Korea Party (FKP)

Apr 16, 2020
Foul play takes savage toll on minor parties

North Korean defector wins legislative seat in South Korea

Thae Yong Ho belts out South Korea’s national anthem as tears roll down his face at his campaign office in Gangnam, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap A former North Korean diplomat has won a parliamentary seat in South Korea's swankiest district, four years after fleeing a London embassy and defecting to the South.Thae Yong Ho was Pyongyang's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom where he had managed secret funds for leader Kim Jong Un until he fled to the democratic, wealthy South in 2016.Thae, 55, won one of three constituencies in Seoul's glittering Gangnam district for the main opposition conservative party in Wednesday's parliamentary election, beating a former four-term ruling party lawmaker by nearly a 20% margin."I was dearly afraid if the Gangnam residents would take a guy from the North," a smiling Thae said in an acceptance speech shared on his YouTube channel, as crowds of voters gathered in his campaign office, chanting his name and cheering."But so many people here gave me strength - they held my hand, welcomed me to Gangnam and promised to vote for me," he said in a

Apr 16, 2020
North Korean defector wins legislative seat in South Korea

S. Korea unveils 2nd extra budget of W7.6 trillion for aid to virus-hit households

South Korea's finance ministry on Thursday unveiled a second extra budget of 7.6 trillion won ($6.3 billion) to give shopping coupons and gift certificates to households to help them cushion the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Along with budgets from local government, the central government will spend 9.7 trillion won for the one-time relief package for 14.78 million households, about half of the nation's total households, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. The second extra budget came more than a month after the National Assembly approved a 11.7 trillion-won supplementary budget, which marked the nation's largest-ever extra budget bill to handle the fallout from a contagious disease.Under the latest support measure, 1 million won will be given to each household with four or more people that rank in the bottom 70 percent of gross income, ministry officials said. Eligible single-person households will receive 400,000 won, while two-person households and three-person households will receive 600,000 won and 800,000 won, respectively.Finance Minister

Apr 16, 2020
S. Korea unveils 2nd extra budget of W7.6 trillion for aid to virus-hit households

Landslide win to give boost to Moon's reform drive

President Moon Jae-in / Korea Times fileThe ruling party's overwhelming parliamentary election victory is expected to provide fresh momentum to President Moon Jae-in's policy drive during the remainder of his tenure.In one of the world's first nationwide elections held amid the coronavirus pandemic, South Koreans awarded a majority of seats to the Democratic Party (DP) and its temporary sister party created for the proportional representation system.The election was widely seen as a referendum on Moon, who has two more years in office, as he been tackling several challenges ― from an economic slowdown to chilled inter-Korean relations and most recently, the virus pandemic.Despite concerns that the pandemic would dampen voting, tens of millions of people braved the virus to cast their ballots for the quadrennial elections. More than 29 million were estimated to have voted, leading to a tentative voter turnout of 66.2 percent, the highest in 28 years.It ended up as a stunning victory for the DP, which currently has 120 lawmakers in the 300-member National Assembly.The DP and its sister

Apr 16, 2020
Landslide win to give boost to Moon's reform drive

Veteran politicians fail to survive general election

Rep. Park Jie-won of Minsaeng Party / Korea Times file By Kang Seung-wooHigh-profile veteran politicians are seeing their political careers end prematurely as lesser-known political novices put up more of a fight than expected in Wednesday's general election.Rep. Park Jie-won of the minor opposition Minsaeng Party, a four-term lawmaker best known as former President Kim Dae-jung's chief of staff, was behind ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Kim Won-I, 45.2 percent to 39.2 percent in the electoral district of Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, as of 11 p.m. Kim is a former deputy mayor for political affairs at the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Chun Jung-bae, another Minsaeng Party lawmaker, is seeing his bid for a seventh term potentially stopped by the DPK's Yang Hyang-ja in Gwangju's Seo-B District. In his run in the quadrennial election, he was behind the former Samsung Electronics executive by nearly 60 percentage points. Four years ago, Chun, a forme

Apr 15, 2020By Kang Seung-woo
Veteran politicians fail to survive general election
  • Winner in premier duel to leap forward in presidential bid

High-profile North Korean defector secures Assembly seat

High-profile North Korean defector Thae Yong-ho gives a speech during his general election campaign as a candidate of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) in Nonhyeon-dong, a part of the Gangnam-A constituency, April 9. YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooHigh-profile North Korean defector Thae Yong-ho, a candidate of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) running in a southern Seoul district, is likely to secure a win in the general election.In his first election bid, Thae, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, was ahead of Kim Sung-gon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) 53.9 percent to 43.9 percent in the Gangnam-A constituency as of 11 p.m. Wednesday.If the final result is favorable to him, Thae, who campaigned under his new name in the South, Thae Gu-min, would be the first North Korean defector to win a National Assembly seat through a constituency vote.Although the affluent Gangnam-A district has traditionally been the conservative home turf, doubts had risen over whether Thae could win ― UFP election camp chief Kim Chong-in once opposed th

Apr 15, 2020By Yi Whan-woo
High-profile North Korean defector secures Assembly seat

Counting votes by hand

National Election Commission staff count votes by hand at a ballot counting station in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo-gu, Wednesday, after the April 15 general election to form the 21st National Assembly ended earlier in the evening. The counting is expected to be completed this morning. Machines for electronic counting could not process the longest-ever ballot paper for the proportional representation vote, in which 35 parties participated. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Apr 15, 2020
Counting votes by hand
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