President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to their first one-on-one meeting through a brief phone call, the presidential office said Friday. In a surprise 5-minute phone call between the two, Yoon asked Lee to meet him next week at Yongsan, where the presidential office is located, an official at the presidential office told reporters. In his first phone call to Lee, Yoon added that he hoped to frequently meet from now on to discuss national affairs “over tea

Politics April 19, 2024

The main opposition said Friday it was looking to railroad more contentious bills before the new parliament members are sworn in, a day after it passed an amended version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung emphasized the urgency of passing key bills, including an amendment to the law that strengthens protection for victims of real estate fraud, before the current assembly term concludes

Politics April 19, 2024

A main opposition-controlled parliamentary standing committee on Thursday unilaterally passed a total of five contentious bills, including a watered-down version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. The move aims to expedite their consideration, intending to usher them directly into a plenary session at the National Assembly for voting. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has accelerated the passage of contentious bills follo

Politics April 18, 2024

Several members of the conservative bloc have exchanged blows among themselves in recent days, locking horns over whether the ruling party’s former interim leader is to blame for the devastating defeat in last week’s general election. Daegu Mayor and five-term conservative lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo kicked off a round of intense debate Friday by blaming Han for the People Power Party’s latest loss through a Facebook post. “(The People Power Party), which has survived the rive

Politics April 16, 2024

The South Korean opposition's landslide victory in the latest parliamentary elections is likely to upend the conservative ruling party's push for key proposals and initiatives, observers said Sunday. One of the ideas that the ruling People Power Party had vowed to pursue, administratively merging Gyeonggi Province's Gimpo city into Seoul, otherwise known as the so-called “Megacity Seoul" project, could be scrapped, an expert said. “Discussion on the Megacity proje

Politics April 14, 2024

The ruling party’s bitter loss at Wednesday’s parliamentary elections was expected, with the majority of the voters hoping to "bring judgment" upon President Yoon Suk Yeol for failing to curb soaring food prices, end a prolonged doctors’ strike and quell a slew of scandals, critics said Thursday. The main opposition Democratic Party and its satellite party secured a total of 175 seats, while the ruling People Power Party and its sister party only won 108 seats of the

Politics April 11, 2024

Han Dong-hoon’s 107-day journey as the ruling conservative party’s interim leader officially ended Thursday, after the People Power Party failed to take back the National Assembly through Wednesday’s parliamentary elections. The 51-year-old prosecutor-turned-politician announced his resignation from his position as chair of the People Power Party emergency response committee, saying that he takes responsibility for the election defeat. “The voice of the people is always r

Politics April 11, 2024

South Korea’s liberal main opposition party and its allies clinched a sweeping victory in Wednesday’s general election, an outcome which is expected to further frustrate President Yoon Suk Yeol’s pursuit of key initiatives over his remaining three years in office. With only six proportional representation seats left to be assigned, the Democratic Party of Korea and its satellite Minjoo Union Party had secured 172 seats in the single-chamber, 300-member National Assembly, accord

Politics April 10, 2024

South Korean voters headed to the polls Wednesday for the country's 22nd parliamentary elections, as the country's political landscape continues to experience a deepening divide and increasing tensions. The outcome of the latest elections was expected to shape the policy road President Yoon Suk Yeol will walk for his remaining three years in office. The possible scenario of the liberal main opposition party maintaining a majority in the single-chamber, 300-member National Assembly was projected

Politics April 10, 2024

South Korea is poised to confront a pivotal moment Wednesday as much of the nation prepares to cast their votes for 300 new members of the National Assembly, in an election that will not only shape the political landscape of the country for the next four years but also serve as a crucial test for the president, who is currently a conservative. On the eve of the quadrennial Election Day, the rival parties fanned out to critical battleground districts Tuesday, making last-minute efforts to woo v

Politics April 9, 2024

Watching "Saturday Night Live Korea" on his laptop with a bowl of popcorn is how 33-year-old office worker Im Tae-ho unwinds after work. "I love that political satire sketches on 'SNL Korea' have returned stronger than ever this season," Im told The Korea Herald. "I feel like 'SNL Korea' is the only comedy show that dares to poke fun at politicians so brazenly in Korea. It's the only show that does political satire the right way," he added.

Politics April 8, 2024

More than 6.91 million South Korean voters headed to the polls as of 6 p.m. Friday to cast their ballots on the first day of the early voting for next week’s parliamentary election. Some 15.61 percent of all 44.28 million eligible voters here had cast their votes at a total of 3,565 polling stations across the country as of 6 p.m., according to the National Election Commission. The figure marked the highest turnout for a legislative election on the first day of early voting for the cited t

Politics April 5, 2024

Bae Yu-jin, a 33-year-old office worker in Seoul, has made several plans for April 10, when the nation’s 22nd legislative election is set to take place. But heading to the polls is not one of them. “I’m going to Daegu with my friend to blow off some steam,” Bae told The Korea Herald on Thursday. “I don’t think I’m going to vote this year. The past few months have been full of fighting and criticizing (between the two rival parties), and I don’t tru

Politics April 4, 2024

Overseas voter turnout for the April 10 general election hit an all-time high of 62.8 percent, but experts on Wednesday were divided as to whether the number will play a significant role in determining the fate of the South Korean legislative body. The state watchdog National Election Commission said in tentative data released Tuesday that 92,923 of an estimated 148,000 eligible overseas voters had cast their ballots for the upcoming election. Polls were open for a total of six days, from March

Politics April 3, 2024

Several candidates running for the April 10 general election have rolled out pledges to attract votes from pet owners in recent weeks, including tax benefits and setting up pet-friendly systems and facilities. Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Kim Byung-wook, who is running for the Bundang-B constituency -- one of the two constituencies in the Bundang district located in Seoul's satellite city of Seongnam -- sees pet owners as key voters. Kim pledged to build a budget pet hotel

Politics April 2, 2024