A Korean American pastor accused of gifting a luxury Christian Dior handbag valued at 3 million won ($2,210) to first lady Kim Keon Hee in September 2022 was summoned and questioned by prosecutors for the first time Monday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sought to investigate the motive behind Choi Jae-young’s decision to hand the luxury bag to Kim, while using a spy cam to secretly film the meeting, according to officials. Whether Choi violated the nation’s Improper S

Politics May 13, 2024

The ruling party’s new interim leader on Sunday named members of the emergency leadership committee, who will be joining him in helping the incoming lawmakers prepare for the start of the new parliament on May 30. Hwang Woo-yea, former deputy prime minister-turned-ruling party interim leader, named incumbent People Power Party Reps. Yoo Sang-bum, Jun Joo-hyae, and Eom Tae-young alongside incoming lawmaker Kim Yong-tae, as the new members of the emergency leadership committee, according to

Politics May 12, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday rejected the main opposition's proposal to pass a bill that mandates a special independent counsel investigation into stock manipulation allegations and anti-graft law violation suspicions surrounding his wife. While apologizing for first lady Kim Keon Hee’s “unwise conduct” in accepting a luxury bag from a Korean American pastor in 2022, Yoon stressed that such in-depth probes should only be launched when the outcome of an official prosecuto

Politics May 9, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s mother-in-law, who is currently serving a one-year jail sentence for forgery, will be released some two months early, said the Justice Ministry on Wednesday. Choi Eun-soon, the 77-year-old mother of first lady Kim Keon Hee, will be released 10 a.m. on May 14, a day ahead of Buddha’s birthday, considering various factors including her age, health condition and good behavior while incarcerated, according to the ministry’s nine-member Probation and Parole

Social Affairs May 8, 2024

Police said late Tuesday they plan to seek an arrest warrant for a medical school student in his 20s accused of killing his girlfriend on a building rooftop near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul. The Seoul Seocho Police Station said the suspect, whom the authorities only identified as a student at one of the top medical schools here, was detained after allegedly stabbing his girlfriend multiple times and murdering her on the rooftop around 5 p.m. on Monday. The suspect later admitted to his cri

Social Affairs May 8, 2024

A high-profile probe zeroing in on first lady Kim Keon Hee is set to begin as the top prosecutor pledged Tuesday to carry out a "speedy and strict" investigation into accusations that she illegally received a luxury Christian Dior bag as a gift from a Korean American pastor in 2022. “The prosecution plans to conduct a speedy and strict investigation (into the allegations against the first lady) based solely on existing evidence and legal principles,” Prosecutor General Lee

Politics May 7, 2024

The rival parties appointed new leadership roles on Friday, with the main opposition electing its new floor leader, while an ex-deputy minister took the helm of the ruling party, as they brace for the next parliament. The Democratic Party of Korea elected Rep. Park Chan-dae, a current two-term lawmaker reelected for another term in the April 10 parliamentary elections and a close aide of main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, as its new floor leader at an intra-party general meeting held around n

Politics May 3, 2024

  The opposition-led National Assembly unilaterally passed a special bill on Thursday to open an investigation into suspicions that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration abused its power to disrupt a probe into the death of a young Marine last year. Of the current total 296 members of the single-chamber National Assembly, all 168 who participated in the vote moved in favor of passing the bill, which seeks to launch an investigation into suspicions that the Yoon administration coerced an investig

Politics May 2, 2024

The rival parties clashed on Tuesday over the possibility of adopting a new state pension reform plan, which pushes for an increase in contributions for a bigger future benefit. The new pension reform plan is based on a survey conducted and released by the parliamentary special committee on pension reform on April 21. The survey, which involved 500 respondents across the country aged 18 or older, showed that 56 percent preferred to pay significantly larger contributions to the National Pension S

Politics April 30, 2024

In their first meeting ever after President Yoon Suk Yeol seized power in 2022, main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday told the conservative president that his two years in office has been a "time of dominance and ruling with the absence of politics." Ahead of their first official one-on-one meeting held Monday afternoon behind doors, Lee kicked off the event by thanking Yoon for setting up the meeting and expressed hope that it would become a cornerstone to present "

Politics April 29, 2024

Tensions between the rival parties escalated Sunday ahead of the first-ever official meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung over multiple pending and contentious bills slated for 2 p.m. Monday. As the high-profile meeting unfolds amid substantial divisions between the ruling and main opposition parties on multiple fronts, considerable attention is directed toward which topics Lee will prioritize from a lengthy list of tasks during his talks wit

Politics April 28, 2024

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the minor conservative New Reform Party, hinted on Thursday at a future run for president of South Korea, though “he has a lot to learn before he gets there.” The 39-year-old politician, who was elected in the April 10 parliamentary elections to represent a constituency in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, did not rule out the possibility when asked whether he has plans to run for president during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Clu

Politics April 25, 2024

Following the ruling People Power Party’s bitter defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections, the party's ex-interim leader Han Dong-hoon has faced a barrage of criticism. The latest attack on Han, however, came not from a member of the main opposition party, but from a star politician in Han's own conservative bloc -- five-term lawmaker and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. In recent weeks, Hong has labeled Han a “traitor” and a “political celebrity who only took selfies,&rd

Politics April 24, 2024

The Justice Ministry on Tuesday blocked the early release of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s mother-in-law, who has been serving a one-year prison term for forgery, in its latest round of monthly parole reviews, according to officials close to the matter. Though Choi Eui-soon, the 77-year-old mother of first lady Kim Keon Hee, was excluded from the latest list of inmates to be released early, she will be reconsidered for next month’s review, under the current law. Following an hours-long m

Social Affairs April 23, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named his new chief of staff and senior secretary for political affairs, which observers see as a bid for a breakthrough after the ruling party’s bitter defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections. It is also an apparent aim to counter snowballing criticism surrounding the lack of communication among the presidential office, the Cabinet and the National Assembly ahead of his planned meeting with the main opposition leader, observers added. In a rare app

Politics April 22, 2024