Korean politics in disarray as Choi Sang-mok, who was to become acting president, resigns amid impeachment vote

South Korea was thrown into political disarray Thursday, as the Democratic Party of Korea moved to impeach Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok in a move widely perceived as retaliation over the Supreme Court's ruling against its presidential candidate. Choi, who doubles as deputy prime minister and was to replace outgoing Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as acting president Friday, stepped down before a vote could be concluded. Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho is expected to take ove

May 1, 2025

Top court ruling reignites controversy over Lee Jae-myung's candidacy

Controversy over whether Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the liberal Democratic Party of Korea's presidential nominee, is eligible to run for president resurfaced Thursday, following a 10-2 ruling by the Supreme Court that found Lee guilty of making false claims in his previous run for president in 2022. Thursday's ruling, which remanded Lee's case to the Seoul High Court, found him guilty, but it does not immediately strip Lee of his right to be elected president, because the Supreme Court's decision did n

May 1, 2025

Major parties reach compromise over W13.8tr extra budget bill

South Korea's parliament was set to pass a 13.8 trillion won ($9.7 billion) extra budget bill at its plenary session Thursday, to aid recovery in regions affected by March's massive wildfires and address uncertainties posed by US tariff threats. It would be the first supplementary budget greenlighted by the parliament for this year, after the annual budget was confirmed to be 673.3 trillion won in December. The plenary session was scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday. This follows a bipartisan compromi

May 1, 2025

Policy Watch: Han Dong-hoon vows support for seniors

Conservative presidential hopeful Han Dong-hoon's camp offered a range of support measures for older adults Thursday to address the demands of a super-aged society. Among the campaign pledges unveiled Thursday are incentives for builders to add senior-friendly design features, increased spending on research related to senior-care technologies and adding more jobs for seniors and allowing them to defer retirement, among others. Han was chair of the major conservative People Power Party, and is no

May 1, 2025

Han Duck-soo expected to resign Thursday

Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is speculated to be resigning from his post as early as Thursday, to declare a bid for the presidency in the upcoming election. This comes amid news reports that Han was considering stepping down from his post as the legal deadline approaches on Sunday for civil servants to quit if they want to run for office. According to local reports, Han will likely be presiding over a ministerial-level meeting on national security issues Thursday morning and

April 30, 2025

DP launches election campaign team

The center-left Democratic Party of Korea officially went into election mode by announcing major hires for its new election campaign committee Wednesday, with a focus on "social unity." Among the high-profile hires for Lee's campaign are conservative figures, including Yoon Yeo-joon, former environment minister during the Kim Young-sam administration in the late 1990s, and Lee Seok-yeon, former minister of government legislation under the Lee Myung-bak administration in the late 2000s. Yoon, 85,

April 30, 2025

DP presidential nomination likely on Sunday; Lee Jae-myung maintains poll lead

The liberal Democratic Party of Korea could complete its presidential nomination as early as Sunday if any of the party's candidates wins a majority of votes, as the party's partially open primary is to end Sunday. Ahead of the race among Democratic Party candidates is former party chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung. He has maintained a wide lead in the presidential election predictions since former President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment due to his martial law declaration in December. The vote count for th

April 25, 2025

Prosecution to reopen Kim Keon Hee's stock manipulation case

The Seoul High Prosecutors' Office will reinvestigate former first lady Kim Keon Hee's involvement in a 63.6 billion won ($44.3 million) stock manipulation case, about six months after she was cleared of allegations. In a note to reporters Friday, the prosecution said the case will be reopened in response to a complaint filed by former liberal Rep. Choe Kang-wook in November with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Kim is the wife of former conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who w

April 25, 2025

'Only I can handle Trump' ― Kim Dong-yeon blasts acting president over US tariff talks

Liberal presidential candidate Kim Dong-yeon on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on acting President Han Duck-soo, accusing him of “opportunism” for initiating trade consultations with the United States despite not being an elected leader. In a written interview with The Korea Herald, Kim said Han’s actions amounted to “betraying his own people,” criticizing the acting president for pushing ahead with ministerial-level talks with Washington on tariffs while remaining vague about his potential p

April 24, 2025

Lee Jae-myung calls for peaceful coexistence with North Korea

The Democratic Party of Korea's presidential front-runner Rep. Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday that South Korea should reduce hostility with North Korea and pursue peaceful coexistence for the economy to flourish. Lee said that the first steps toward the unification of Koreas, which may seem like a distant future, were robust inter-Korean exchanges. In a televised debate, Lee said peace on the Korean Peninsula is a "matter of survival" that has "direct repercussions on the economy." Under the Yoon

April 23, 2025