The World Health Organization, when asked about the monthslong medical standoff in South Korea, said Tuesday that expanding the primary health care workforce is needed to cope with future challenges. "Challenges of the future -- including aging, prevalence of noncommunicable diseases and new patterns of accessing health services -- require expanding the supply of services, particularly at primary health care settings, where most health needs should be addressed," said the UN agency

Social Affairs Oct. 15, 2024

The tension between the two largest political parties in South Korea escalated Monday as the main opposition criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s response towards a recent series of provocations from North Korea. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday announced the list of members for its own intra-party security committee through former director of the National Service Intelligence Rep. Park Jie-won. The announcement comes a day after Democratic Party Chair Rep.

Politics Oct. 14, 2024

This year’s annual National Assembly audit kicked off Monday with the rival parties locking horns over a slew of legal issues surrounding Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung and multiple allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. Seventeen parliamentary standing committees will audit a total of 802 government institutions over 26 days. Ten of the 17 standing committees were scheduled to hold hearings Monday, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Foreign Af

Politics Oct. 7, 2024

The three bills blocked by President Yoon Suk Yeol, including one for a special investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee, were scrapped Friday after failing to get the National Assembly votes required to override Yoon's veto. The bills were voted on for a second time during an afternoon plenary session, but neither got the two-thirds majority support needed to force them through. The bill for a special counsel investigation into the first lady, passed by the Assembly on Sept. 19, is an up

Politics Oct. 4, 2024

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Friday decided to let its leadership make the final decision on whether to postpone the adoption of the financial investment income tax, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1. The decision made during a general meeting of party lawmakers in the morning, comes as the ruling People Power Party has been calling for the Democratic Party, which currently holds the majority of seats in the 300-member Assembly, to agree on the abolition or a postponement

Politics Oct. 4, 2024

In a startling revelation, a leaked phone conversation in which a former presidential official urged a YouTube news channel reporter to discredit the current leader of the ruling People Power Party during the party's leadership race has alarmed the conservative bloc in recent days. Voice of Seoul, a far-left YouTube-based news channel, recently uploaded an apparent recording of a phone conversation between Kim Dae-nam, formerly the acting secretary for public communication at the presidenti

Politics Oct. 3, 2024

The Cabinet passed a motion Monday demanding that the opposition-led National Assembly reconsider three contentious bills, including the one that mandates a special counsel investigation into several allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. The motion was passed during a morning Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, 11 days after the parliament passed the bills pushed through by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea amid a ruling party boycott. "We will d

Politics Sept. 30, 2024

South Korea's main opposition party, whose lawmakers occupy a strong majority of the seats at the National Assembly, is leaning toward delaying the adoption of the financial investment income tax, observers said Sunday. The Democratic Party of Korea will likely agree with ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon's request last month to agree on postponing the implementation of the new investment tax policy set to take effect next year. During a press briefing Sunday, Democratic Pa

Politics Sept. 29, 2024

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a total of 70 bipartisan bills, including legislation that imposes stricter punishments on people who possess and view deepfake pornography knowingly. The revision to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes, seeks to penalize those who possess, purchase, store or view deepfake porn content with up to three years in jail or a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,500). After debate, lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party

Politics Sept. 26, 2024

Tuesday's dinner between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling party leadership, including Chair Han Dong-hoon, sparked criticism from both sides of the partisan divide on Wednesday, with critics pointing to the absence of meaningful discussions at the event. There was no fixed agenda for the dinner meeting, but they were widely expected to discuss issues such as the country's deepening medical crisis, caused by the monthslong walkout of thousands of junior doctors protesting the gove

Politics Sept. 25, 2024

Korea Football Association chief Chung Mong-gyu on Tuesday denied any attempts to plot a “scheme or cover up the truth,” in the hiring of men’s national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo, which has been under suspicion of irregularities. He was summoned to testify before the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee on the allegations that the KFA hired the 55-year-old star football player-turned-coach in July as the head coach of the men’s squ

Politics Sept. 24, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol and ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon are scheduled to hold a dinner meeting Tuesday, as several impending issues, such as the country's deepening medical crisis, loom over their heads. Besides Yoon and Han, the dinner will be attended by 14 officials from the ruling party leadership and the presidential office. Han recently requested a separate, private one-on-one meeting between him and Yoon on the sidelines of the dinner meeting, but the presidential o

Politics Sept. 23, 2024

A presidential security official who was recently arrested on charges of illegally taking personal profits when handling the 2022 presidential office relocation project, was found to have extorted a large sum of money from a construction broker to funnel the relocation budget, reports said Friday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, which last week arrested the official, identified by his surname Jeong, found that the suspect threatened and extorted a total of 176 million won ($132,15

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2024

South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday passed three contentious bills pushed ahead by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, including one that mandates a special counsel probe into multiple allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee. The special counsel probe bill passed 167-0 by the opposition-led parliament during Thursday's plenary meeting is an updated version of the one vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol in January. The previous version focused on appointing a specia

Politics Sept. 19, 2024

South Korea’s political climate post-Chuseok is likely to revert to a familiarly confrontational one, with the powerful opposition party poised to railroad several contentious bills, including those targeting President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee with special counsel investigations. At the National Assembly’s plenary session scheduled for Thursday, the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea plans to present three high-profile bills, Rep. Yoon Jong-kun, the party&r

Politics Sept. 18, 2024