President Moon Jae-in could meet with Kim Chong-in, the interim leader of the main opposition United Future Party, in a one-on-one meeting if necessary, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Kim, whose party earlier rejected the offer, told reporters that he is open to meeting Moon if the agenda and format of the meeting are satisfactory. Moon’s senior political affairs secretary Choi Jae-sung on Tuesday welcomed Kim’s remarks and said he hoped talks could begin soon between the presidenti

The main opposition party has come under fire after some of its members joined a rally against Moon Jae-in that was held in defiance of disease control orders and was also attended by Jun Gwang-hun, a right-wing pastor who has been leading a campaign against President Moon Jae-in. In response to the ruling party criticisms, leaders of the opposition United Future Party sought to distance themselves from Jun and the rally. The pastor, who faces charges of election law violations, tested posit

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that full-fledged reopening of schools across South Korea will most likely be disrupted due to the new COVID-19 clusters centered in the Seoul metropolitan area. "With a surge in confirmed patients in the capital area, we are moving closer towards a critical juncture which will decide the success or failure of our quarantine efforts," Moon said during a videoconference with regional education superintendents held at Changdeok Girls' Middle School in

Yoo Myung-hee, minister for trade of South Korea, announced her bid to become the next director-general of the World Trade Organization, along with seven other candidates. These candidates are from the UK, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Mexico, Moldova, and Saudi Arabia. The candidates will be narrowed to five from voting among 164 members, with four votes for each member. Two candidates will then be shortlisted from two votes cast by each member, and ultimately, the appointment will be made in the

President Moon Jae-in on Sunday warned of stern responses to unlawful acts by some church members that have hampered the country's anti-virus efforts, after a far-right pastor and his followers staged massive rallies in violation of a state ban amid a surge in new coronavirus cases. On Saturday, more than 10,000 people took part in rallies in downtown Seoul, including one led by a far-right group, and participated in by pastor Jun Kwang-hoon and other members of Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul. He

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has entered an emergency phase as its approval rating fell behind that of the conservative opposition United Future Party -- for the first time in almost three years -- a survey revealed Thursday. The Realmeter survey found the ruling party’s support rating reach 33.4 percent, down 1.7 percentage points from a week earlier, while the United Future Party gained 1.9 percentage points to 36.5 percent. It is the first time the main opposition party has su

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is leading in a popularity poll for the next presidency, a survey showed Friday. In a Gallup survey of 1,001 adults in South Korea conducted from Tuesday to Thursday, Gov. Lee for the first time raced ahead of Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Nak-yon in terms of popularity. Over 19 percent of the respondents preferred Gov. Lee, up 6 percentage points from a month earlier. The endorsement rate for his political rival Rep. Lee dropped 7 percentage points to

President Moon Jae-in tapped Choi Jong-kun, a key Cheong Wa Dae aide, as new vice foreign minister Friday, according to Moon's office. Choi has served as secretary for peace planning at Cheong Wa Dae's national security office. He is known as one of the major players in Moon's drive for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. Choi, a former Yonsei University professor of political science and international studies, has expertise in the diplomatic and security field, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman K

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung has surpassed Democratic Party Rep. Lee Nak-yon for the first time in a popularity poll of South Korea's prospective presidential candidates, pollster Gallup Korea said Friday. In a Gallup survey of 1,001 adults nationwide conducted from Tuesday to Thursday, Gov. Lee was favored by 19 percent of respondents, beating out his political rival Rep. Lee, who obtained support from 17 percent. The governor's endorsement rate rose by 6 percentage points from the p

The ruling Democratic Party’s support rating has fallen behind that of the conservative opposition United Future Party for the first time in nearly three years, a survey showed Thursday. In the survey conducted by Realmeter, the ruling party’s support rating came to 33.4 percent, down 1.7 percentage points from the previous week, while that of the United Future Party rose 1.9 percentage points to 36.5 percent. The gap remains relatively small, but this is the first time the Demo

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday named new senior secretaries for public relations, and social policy, continuing the reshuffle that began last month. For the post of social policy senior secretary, Moon named Yoon Chang-yul, who currently heads the planning and coordination office under the Prime Minister’s Office. The current senior social policy secretary Kim Yeon-myung is not among the six senior aides who offered their resignation on Friday, and speculations have risen that Moo

President Moon Jae-in on Monday named three new senior secretaries, three days after six of his top aides including his chief of staff offered their resignations. The three posts replaced are that for political affairs, civil affairs and justice, and civic and social agenda, and the new secretaries will be appointed on Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae said. For the post of political affairs secretary, Moon chose former ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Jae-sung, and Board of Audit and Inspection

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the government will consider setting up a separate supervisory body, if needed, to make sure that existing policy steps to curb home price hikes work properly. He also proposed a review of ways to alleviate the tax burden of low- to mid-priced single-house owners as part of "complementary" measures. "The housing problem has become the foremost pending policy task for the people," he said at the outset of his weekly meeting with senior

Recent offers to resign by top presidential aides have presented another major hurdle for the Moon Jae-in administration, resulting in ridicule from the public and harsher attacks from the opposition bloc. On Friday, six of President Moon’s top aides offered to resign, including chief of staff Noh Young-min, over the growing controversy surrounding the government’s real estate policies. The other senior officials who offered to resign are Yoon Do-han, in charge of public communi

President Moon Jae-in's Chief of Staff Noh Young-min and all five senior secretaries of his team offered to resign on Friday, taking responsibility for recent management of administration, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The five are Kang Gi-jung for political affairs, Yoon Do-han for public communication, Kim Jo-won for civil affairs, Kim Geo-sung for civil society, Kim Oe-sook for personnel management. "They are offering to resign to take overall responsibility for recent s