South Korea - The Korea Times

Korea shares legislation knowhow with Indonesia

Kim Oe-sook, minister of Government Legislation, delivers a keynote speech at the seminar on the improvement of Indonesia's legislative process held by the Cabinet Secretariat of Indonesia at the Grand Hyatt Jakarta on Nov. 28. /Courtesy of the Ministry of Government LegislationBy Kim Jae-kyoungSouth Korea has stepped up its efforts to globalize its legal system by strengthening its cooperation with Indonesia.From Nov. 27 to 30, Kim Oe-sook, minister of Government Legislation, visited the Cabinet Secretariat of Indonesia, an executive office of the President, to support the country in establishing a united legislative organization.She also discussed strengthening legislative exchanges and cooperation with ranking Indonesian officials. In a keynote speech at the seminar on the improvement of Indonesia's legislative process held by the Cabinet Secretariat at the Grand Hyatt Jakarta, Nov. 28, Kim said, “The Ministry of Government Legislation was established when Korea was founded. And our ministry has made efforts to meet government policy objectives through legislation.” &l

Dec 13, 2018By Kim Jae-kyoung

Korea shares legislation knowhow with Indonesia

Koreas meet to hold railway ceremony this year

A group of South Korean politicians wave to people on a train at Dorasan Station in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, before it leaves for the North's northwestern city of Sinuiju for inter-Korean railway inspections Nov. 30. / YonhapKim Jong-un may attend groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean railwayBy Lee Min-hyungThe two Koreas held working-level talks Thursday for a joint event to celebrate the projected start of work to reconnect inter-Korean railways and roads.They agreed to hold a ceremony Dec. 26 at Panmun Station near the North's border city of Gaeseong.“Both sides reached a consensus to invite 100 people on each side for the event, and other details will be discussed with each other,” the Ministry of Unification said in a statement.Officials from the unification ministry said it was seeking the consent of Washington to hold the joint ceremony because the event could violate U.S. sanctions on North Korea. They added that the ceremony would be a symbolic message to the international community.A four-member South Korean delegation led by Kim Chang-su, deputy head of the

Dec 13, 2018By Lee Min-hyung

Koreas meet to hold railway ceremony this year

Kang, Kono discuss forced labor ruling

Foreing minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono / Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunForeign Minister Kang Kyung-wha discussed with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono the recent rulings by South Korea's top court ordering Japanese companies to compensate victims of forced labor, in a phone call held Wednesday. The minister explained the government's stance on the ruling, and “urged a cautious response” from Japan, the foreign ministry said in a press release.Tokyo has maintained that compensation for forced labor victims was paid in a deal reached in 1965 to settle colonial era issues, and wants the government to nullify the ruling. In an earlier-issued statement, the government stated it was inappropriate for it to intervene in rulings made by judiciary.This was the first phone call between the ministers after relations became strained following a series of events concerning the countries' history.The Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal, Oct. 30, to compensate victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea. On N

Dec 12, 2018By Kim Bo-eun

Koreas verify demolition of guard posts

A South Korean soldier wearing a helmet, center right, shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart at the inter-Korean border in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Wednesday. A group of inspectors from the two Koreas carried out joint verification of the removal of guard posts. / Joint Press CorpsBy Lee Min-hyungThe two Koreas have verified the demolition of 11 guard posts each along the border, with inspectors from each side crossing the military demarcation line (DML) for the first time since the signing of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday. Eleven inspection teams from the North and South, led by colonels, checked the sites of the former guard posts. They crossed the border on 11 small footpaths connecting each side, built over the past 10 days for the one-day verification.“South Korean inspection teams verified whether all weapons and ground facilities had been completely removed from the North's positions,” a ministry official said. “They also inspected underground structures at the former posts.”Unlike in So

Dec 12, 2018By Lee Min-hyung

DPK decides not to discipline indicted Gyeonggi governor

Rep. Lee Hae-chan, the chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), speaks during a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, Wednesday. Lee announced the party decided not to take punitive measures against its party member, indicted Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, for the sake of party unity. / YonhapBy Park Ji-wonThe supreme council of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) decided not to take disciplinary action against Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung over his indictment on charges of violating the election law. “We came to the decision to accept Lee's determination for the party's unity,” DPK leader Lee Hae-chan said Wednesday after a series of meetings of the DPK's leadership body.“We will, however, keep a close eye on court proceedings.”The decision came after Lee, who has been considered a potential presidential candidate, was indicted Tuesday on two charges of lying during the June election campaign and institutionalizing his brother without his consent.The party has not made an official comment regarding the i

Dec 12, 2018By Park Ji-won

DPK decides not to discipline indicted Gyeonggi governor

LKP's new floor leader tasked with resolving factional division

Rep. Na Kyung-won, left, new floor leader of the main opposition, Liberty Korea Party, shakes hands with National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang at the National Assembly, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Park Ji-wonRep. Na Kyung-won, the newly elected floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), faces the daunting task of settling a factional division to prepare for the general elections in 2020.Rifts between rival factions are a deep-rooted problem inside the conservative party since the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.Na, the first female floor leader of the conservative party, started her first day on the job by meeting with National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang and floor leaders of the other parties.The LKP has continued to face difficulties since 2016. It was defeated by then opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in the general elections in 2016 and hit by the impeachment of Park one year later. Its support rate has dropped to about 10 percent until recently while its reform committee hasn't come up with any fruitful measures to reboot the party amid

Dec 12, 2018By Park Ji-won

LKP's new floor leader tasked with resolving factional division

Netizens rage over 'misogynistic' ad

This public service advertisement is under fire for being offensive to women and the disabled. Photo taken from The HankyorehBy Lee Min-youngControversy is brewing over a disabled parking space advertisement by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security that some have branded offensive to women because it perpetuates sexist stereotypes.The ad, which appeared in a newspaper and was later posted on social media after someone took a picture of it, shows a woman carrying shopping bags and trying to get into her car that is illegally parked in a disabled bay. The ad starts: "Disabled only when you are parking?" taking a swipe at people breaking disabled parking regulations. It goes on: "It is allowed to park in handicapped-designated parking spaces only when the disabled person is present inside the car which has a decal on it.”This ad, which at first may seem like any other public campaign advertisement, has triggered heated debate on social media for a message that women and the disabled find offensive. “I'm appalled by this ad,” one user commented in a Faceboo

Dec 12, 2018By Lee Min-young

Rep. Sim wins highest award for parliamentarians

Rep. Sim Sang-jung, left, of the minor opposition Justice Party poses with National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang after receiving the grand prize at the 20th Baikbong Gentleman's Award at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooRep. Sim Sang-jung of the minor opposition Justice Party won the highest and most prestigious award for parliamentarians, her party said Wednesday.It said Sim, a former party chairwoman and also a 2017 presidential candidate, received the grand prize at the 20th Baikbong Gentleman's Award at the National Assembly, Tuesday.The award is named after the pen name of late National Assembly Vice Speaker Ra Yong-gwyn, who served his term in 1963.Baikbong Memorial Foundation has hosted the award since 1999.The foundation has honored 10 outstanding legislators at the end of the year based on their overall reputation and performances. Among them, the grand prize is presented to someone who is revered for being gentle and exemplary in carrying out their job.Now serving her third term in the Assembly, Sim, 59, joined the list of 10 in 2007, 2015 and 2017, b

Dec 12, 2018By Yi Whan-woo

Rep. Sim wins highest award for parliamentarians

Four-term female lawmaker elected main opposition party's floor leader

Rep. Na Kyung-won, the newly-elected floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, stands before the members of her party at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Dec. 11. YonhapThe main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) elected a four-term female lawmaker as its new floor leader on Tuesday amid deepening internal strife ahead of a leadership election next year.Rep. Na Kyung-won, 55, beat her rival Rep. Kim Hack-yong, a three-term lawmaker, in a tight race to replace incumbent Kim Sung-tae.Na has become the first female floor leader of a conservative party.While the candidates were campaigning for party unity, the election was widely viewed as a race riddled with factional division over whether they have ties to former conservative President Park Geun-hye, who was ousted in March 2017 over a corruption scandal.Na, a big-name politician, is viewed as having no factional ties to Park, but loyalists to Park are said to have supported Na in the floor leader race.She will be tasked with cementing the party's status as the main opposition and regaining public confidence ah

Dec 11, 2018

Four-term female lawmaker elected main opposition party's floor leader

Ethnic Koreans in Japan exposed to growing hatred

Yeo Geo-ni, the chief of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, speaks during an interview held at its headquarters, Tokyo, Thursday. / Joint Press CorpsBy Park Ji-won, Joint Press CorpsEthnic Koreans in Japan are being exposed to growing hatred amid rocky Korea-Japan relations, according to Yeo Geo-ni, chief of the Korean Residents Union in Japan (KRUJ), the largest ethnic Korean organization in Japan.Yeo said that “hate speech” was spreading online as well as in street protests by Japanese far right activists.“The hate speech against us has increased a little bit. A large majority of it is on social media,” Yeo said during a meeting with Korean reporters based in Japan, Thursday.When discussing right wing organizations' rallies at KRUJ events, Yeo referred to the police presence outside noting it was needed as the protesters “come every week, even on weekends.”His remarks came amid strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo after South Korea's top court ordered a Japanese steel firm, two months ago, to compensate Korean defendants for their forced

Dec 11, 2018By Park Ji-won

Politics