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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.

'No troop dispatch'

Members of activists group stage a performance in Gwanghwamun Square near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Friday, to denounce the U.S. request for Korea to send a naval unit to the Strait of Hormuz after tensions between Iran and the U.S. escalated. / Yonhap

Jan 10, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
'No troop dispatch'

New justice minister adds to Moon's woes

Lawmakers of the ruling Liberty Korea Party (LKP) hold a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae, Friday, against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's recent reassignment of senior prosecutors. They are holding a sign that reads "the people are angry with the massacre of the prosecution.” YonhapMain opposition protest 'massacre of prosecution' at Cheong Wa Dae By Do Je-haeNew Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's Jan. 8 reassignments of key prosecutors has sparked intense strife among the political parties.The main opposition Liberty Party of Korea (LKP) staged a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae, Friday, to protest the reassignment which the party called a “massacre of the prosecution.” LKP floor leader Rep. Shim Jae-chul was joined by 30 lawmakers who strongly denounced Choo's removal of senior prosecutors as a “clear violation of relevant law and procedures.” “The justice minister is required by law to listen to the opinion of the prosecutor general in the nomination of top prosecutors before recommending them to the President. The minister completely ignored this proce

Jan 10, 2020By Do Je-hae
New justice minister adds to Moon's woes

Political tit for tat continues between Cheon Wa Dae and Prosecution

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, left, and his colleague are on their way to have lunch in the Supreme Prosecutor's Office in southern Seoul, Friday./ Yonhap By Kim Se-jeongThe Ministry of Justice ordered the Supreme Prosecutors Office, Friday, to seek its endorsement when launching a special investigation unit, the latest in a political tit for tat between Cheong Wa Dae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol.In an announcement, the ministry said, “Minister Choo Mi-ae told the Supreme Prosecutors Office that it could only create a special investigation team when it was really necessary and it needs an approval from the minister.”Earlier Friday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office conducted a search and seizure operation at Cheong Wa Dae as part of its investigation into election-meddling allegations that benefited the current Ulsan mayor, a close confidant of President Moon Jae-in. The prosecution said the raid was on the unit of an office that administe

Jan 10, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Political tit for tat continues between Cheon Wa Dae and Prosecution

Pohang visit shows Moon's focus on regional economy

President Moon Jae-in in Pohang YonhapBy Do Je-hae President Moon Jae-in visited a regulation-free zone in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, Thursday, to support a major investment project led by GS Engineering & Construction in cooperation with the provincial and city administrations, according to the presidential office.The builder will invest $86 million by 2022 for an electric battery recycling facility in the industrial center of southeast Korea, home of global steelmaking giant POSCO.The President took part in the signing ceremony for the major investment project, which is aimed at spurring job growth and advancing the nation's battery industry that has been gaining more importance in the age of smartphones and electric cars. The President has underlined electric cars as a key area to focus on to better respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “The demand for batteries is quickly increasing with smartphones, electric cars and devices. By 2025, we expect the battery industry to exceed the size of the market for memory chips. In particular, the production and proce

Jan 9, 2020By Do Je-hae
Pohang visit shows Moon's focus on regional economy

Repercussion expected after prosecution reshuffle

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae heads to a Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting at the National Assembly, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Suh-yoonJustice Minister Choo Mi-ae's decision to reassign chief prosecutors who were leading investigations into President Moon Jae-in's aides is being called “political revenge” by members of the prosecution and the legal community.“The Moon administration is sending us a very clear sign: don't mess with the ruling authority,“ a prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office told The Korea Times on the condition of anonymity. “The replacing of head prosecutors breaks down the original chain of command. The new leadership will surely bring changes in the direction of ongoing investigations.”Choo, a former judge and ruling party chairwoman, was appointed by President Moon Jae-in after her predecessor Cho Kuk resigned due to a family-related corruption scandal uncovered by the prosecution. She demoted Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's chief aides ― sometimes called the “Yoon Seok-yeol kids” by local media ―

Jan 9, 2020
Repercussion expected after prosecution reshuffle
  • Parties show mixed response to prosecution reshuffle

For conservative parties' unity

Former National Assembly Secretary-General Park Heong-joon answers reporters' questions at the Assembly, Thursday, after he was named to lead a committee in which members from conservative parties and civic groups will discuss merging several conservative parties ahead of the April 15 general election. Yonhap

Jan 9, 2020
For conservative parties' unity
  • Conservative parties' consolidation faces hurdles

Parties show mixed response to prosecution reshuffle

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae leaves after a meeting of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Thursday. YonhapBy Jung Da-min Opposition parties have strongly condemned Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae's replacement of senior prosecutors, which they say is aimed at keeping the prosecution in check under Cheong Wa Dae.The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), however, has expressed full support for the reassignment.Their responses came on Thursday, a day after the ministry under the newly appointed Choo announced the reassignment of 32 senior prosecutors. Included are those who were leading investigations into major corruption scandals involving President Moon Jae-in's aides. Their replacement is widely expected to disrupt investigations.Main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Shim Jae-cheol vowed during a party meeting to file a legal complaint against the justice minister for “impeding the prosecutors' investigations and abusing her power.” “It is tantamount to violence to demote all the prosecutors who investigated corruption involvin

Jan 9, 2020
Parties show mixed response to prosecution reshuffle
  • Repercussion expected after prosecution reshuffle
  • Cheong Wa Dae, prosecution have head-on collision

Justice minister's top priority: making prosecutors powerless

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, left and Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl arrive at the Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province for a meeting, Tuesday. The two are at odds over Choo's plan to reassign prosecutors./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeong Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae replaced senior prosecutors, Wednesday, who were leading investigations into major corruption scandals involving President Moon Jae-in's aides.Han Dong-hoon, the head of the anti-corruption department, who was looking into alleged illegal actions by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, was assigned to the No. 2 post in the High Prosecutors Office in Busan, 500 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Cho was also suspected of playing a role in ending an inspection into bribery allegations involving a former Busan vice mayor.Park Chan-ho, who was investigating the allegation that the presidential office helped Moon's friend win the 2018 mayoral election in the industrial city of Ulsan, 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was sent to the prosecutors' office on Jeju Island. The reaction from prosecutors to the moves, which

Jan 8, 2020By Kim Se-jeong
Justice minister's top priority: making prosecutors powerless

Prospects mixed on President's engagement policy

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's response to President Moon's proposals remains to be seen. YonhapBy Do Je-hae One of the things that stood out in the 2020 New Year's address from President Moon Jae-in is the scant attention to North Korea's “denuclearization.”Instead, President Moon declared his resolution to get the North to join various inter-Korean projects that have been sidelined due to pressure from the U.S. to maintain economic sanctions against Pyongyang until it takes “visible steps” to abandon its nuclear and missile programs. The South Korean leader's pro-engagement speech suggested that he will not choose to be bound by the U.S. focus on sanctions as he stressed that there were things that the two Koreas could work on together. This is seen as a noticeable departure from previous speeches where Moon was more careful about rushing the progress in inter-Korean relations, saying that international factors must be considered as well. In the New Year's speech delivered Tuesday, the President mentioned some very specific proposals such as linking inter

Jan 8, 2020By Do Je-hae
Prospects mixed on President's engagement policy

North Korean defector joins opposition party

Ji Seong-ho, right, a North Korean defector-turned-human rights activist, is welcomed by Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn at the National Assembly, Wednesday, after joining the party. Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geunBy Kim RahnA former North Korean defector has become a new recruit of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) ahead of the April 15 general election.The LKP said, Wednesday, that Ji Seong-ho, 38, a defector who was acknowledged in U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in early 2018, has joined the party. He may run for a constituency seat or a proportional representative slot in the upcoming election. The party said they invited Ji to the party as he is expected to not only work for the improvement of human rights in North Korea but also to promote South Korea as a country advocating human rights to the world.“Since I defected from the North, I promised that I would live for people from my hometown, as if I had been dispatched from a company there,” Ji said at the welcoming ceremony at the National Assembly.“South

Jan 8, 2020By Kim Rahn
North Korean defector joins opposition party
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