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Ex-Democratic Party leader vows to boost support for arts, culture sector
Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday vowed to make South Korea one of the world's top five "soft power" countries, pledging to boost exports in the culture sector to 50 trillion won ($35.2 billion). Lee, who declared his presidential bid last week and is leading opinion polls for the June 3 presidential election, made the pledge ahead of his visit to the southeastern city of Daegu to attend a roundtable meeting on promoting webtoons. "Our national budget on culture currently ac
April 18, 2025 -
People Power Party presidential aspirant urges Yoon Suk Yeol to leave party
A presidential hopeful from the People Power Party, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, on Friday urged former President Yoon Suk Yeol to leave the party, saying his departure is essential for the party to reform and win the upcoming presidential election. Ahn is the first contender in the conservative party to openly demand the former president's exit ahead of the June 3 election, which was triggered by Yoon's ouster over his failed martial law bid last December. "Yoon's departure would be the starting point f
April 18, 2025 -
Court allows press to film Yoon Suk Yeol's 2nd trial hearing
A court on Thursday allowed the press to take photographs and videos of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's second criminal trial hearing on insurrection charges next week. The Seoul Central District Court said it decided to open the courtroom to the press before the start of the hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday. "Following a request for the defendant's opinion, we decided to allow (filming) after comprehensively considering the level of public interest, the people's right to know, and the lega
April 17, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Hong Joon-pyo open to potential S. Korean nuclear armament
Hong Joon-pyo, former mayor of Daegu and a presidential contender from the conservative People Power Party, stressed his belief that South Korea should “fight nuclear with nuclear” Thursday, signaling strong support for South Korea’s nuclear armament in response to escalating threats from North Korea. Hong said Thursday that he would work to let the United States Forces Korea deploy tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula, or to leave South Korea open to the possibility of possessing nu
April 17, 2025 -
Will Han Duck-soo really run for president?
The People Power Party primary for the June 3 presidential election kicked off this week, with eight contenders facing off in the first debate on Thursday. But the hottest question is whether acting President Han Duck-soo will be running -- a prospect gripping the conservative bloc. In the past week, a sizable subset of People Power Party lawmakers has been rooting for Han to run for president. Although Han did not enter the party's primary race, he has until May 3 -- the legal deadline for offi
April 17, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Yoo Jeong-bok proposes W10tr for overseas entrepreneurship
Incheon Mayor and conservative presidential candidate Yoo Jeong-bok announced Thursday that, if elected, he would allocate 10 trillion won ($7.04 billion) to support 100,000 aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start businesses overseas. Each entrepreneur would receive 100 million won to assist with market research, local partnerships and the costs of establishing a company abroad. Each entrepreneur would receive 100 million won to assist with market research, local partnerships, and the costs of e
April 17, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Kim Dong-yeon pledges immediate relocation of presidential office to Sejong
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon pledged Thursday to begin his presidency in Sejong, South Korea’s de facto administrative capital, if elected in the upcoming June 3 election. “If I win the election, I will start working as president in Sejong City the next day,” Kim said during a visit to Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. He also floated the idea of adding a runway for the presidential jet at nearby Cheongju Airport to support the relocation. Kim’s remarks align with his broader pledge
April 17, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Lee Jae-myung to push for relocation of presidential office, National Assembly to Sejong
Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung pledged Thursday to open a presidential office and National Assembly building in Sejong, South Korea’s administrative capital about 110 kilometers south of Seoul. Under the plan, the country would operate dual offices for the presidency and legislature in both Seoul and Sejong. Lee said he would push for the complete relocation of these institutions in the long term, and make Sejong the nation's official capital. The presidential off
April 17, 2025 -
Policy Watch: Lee Jae-myung vows expanded support for defense exports
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, a presidential contender in the Democratic Party of Korea primary, pledged to expand government support for South Korea’s growing defense exports. If elected, Lee said he would convene regular meetings on export strategies and establish a centralized "control tower" to coordinate national efforts, aiming to position South Korea among the world’s top four arms exporters. Lee proposed increased state funding for defense-related R&D and a revamp of policy loans to better support
April 17, 2025 -
PPP primary race begins with each candidate trying to beat Lee Jae-myung
Defeating front-runner and former chair of the liberal main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, in the upcoming June 3 presidential election has been mentioned by several presidential aspirants vying for the conservative People Power Party’s nomination, as a common goal on Thursday. Lee’s name was mentioned multiple times during the party’s televised press event, which involved eight candidates who received stamps of approval from the party’s election management committee,
April 17, 2025 -
Assembly speaker meets US lawmakers to reaffirm alliance, boost ties
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik met Thursday with a delegation from the US Congress, the US Congressional Study Group on Korea, reaffirming bipartisan support for the South Korea-US alliance and discussing ways to deepen inter-parliamentary exchanges as well as strengthen economic and security cooperation. During the meeting, Woo praised the alliance that has continued to evolve over the past 70 years, grounded in the core values of democracy. “The alliance has expanded beyond the realms
April 17, 2025 -
Ex-Democratic Party leader Lee pledges to expand support for defense industry
Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung vowed Thursday to introduce comprehensive support measures for the defense industry in a bid to position South Korea among the world's top four defense powerhouses. Lee, who announced his presidential bid last week and is leading opinion polls for the June 3 presidential election, made the pledge ahead of a scheduled visit to the state-run Agency for Defense Development in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul. "I will establish a control tower
April 17, 2025 -
S. Korea's presidential front-runner ranked among Time's 100 most influential people of 2025
South Korea's presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung has ranked among US magazine Time's 100 most influential people of 2025, its website showed Wednesday. The magazine chose Lee, former chief of the Democratic Party, in the category of leaders, offering a brief story of challenges he encountered during his early life and rise up the political ladder, and casting him as the "clear favorite" to win the June 3 presidential poll. Charlie Campbell, its editor at large, introduced his tough early li
April 17, 2025 -
Constitutional Court suspends acting president's 2 justice nominations
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday suspended the effect of acting President Han Duck-soo’s nomination of two Constitutional Court justice candidates. Wednesday's court decision came after Han's appointment on April 8 of two new judges: Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu and senior judge Ham Sang-hoon. They were to replace two outgoing justices -- acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and Justice Lee Mi-son -- who are due to retire Friday. Attorney Kim Jung-hwan filed the injunction
April 16, 2025 -
DP slams deputy prime minister in hearing
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok was slammed on Wednesday for reversing his testimony about whether he had changed his mobile phone after former President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law in December. During a hearing at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held to debate a motion to impeach Choi, he denied that he had changed his phone since martial law was imposed on Dec. 3, 2024, and lifted the next morning. Choi was responding to a ques
April 16, 2025