Opposition lawmakers are stepping up attacks on President Moon Jae-in over North Korea‘s killing of a South Korean civil servant, aiming to frame the incident as a case of mishandling, or even neglecting duty, by the top office. 　 Five members of the People Power Party took turns holding a one-person protest outside Cheong Wa Dae, each staging an hour-rally with a sign that read “President Moon Jae-in, where are you now,” denouncing the president and the government for a &rdqu

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun renewed warnings Sunday against illegal anti-government rallies planned by some conservative groups, amid worries that the mass gatherings could undercut the nation's fight against the new coronavirus. During a session of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, Chung vowed to take a zero-tolerance policy against any unsanctioned demonstrations on the Oct. 3 National Foundation Day, warning illegal participants will face immediate arrests. Rega

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug has embarked on a trip to Sweden and Germany as part of his parliamentary diplomacy aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation, officials said Sunday. From Sunday through Tuesday, Park plans to visit Sweden, becoming the first South Korean parliamentary chief to visit the country since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1959. In Stockholm on Monday, Park plans to pay a courtesy call on King Carl XVI Gustaf and meet Foreign Trade M

The leader of the ruling Democratic Party on Sunday urged North Korea to swiftly agree to a joint investigation with South Korea into the shooting death of a South Korean fisheries official in North Korean waters. Rep. Lee Nak-yon made the remark in a Facebook posting, saying the North's account of what happened is different from South Korea's findings, including whether the body of the 47-year-old official was set on fire or not. South Korea said the North shot and killed the fisheries offic

South Korea's deputy national security adviser made an unannounced visit to Washington earlier this month for talks with US officials and experts on the bilateral alliance, North Korea and other issues, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. Kim Hyung-chong visited the US capital from Sept. 16 to last Sunday, before President Moon Jae-in's Sept. 22 speech for the UN General Assembly that renewed his call for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War and proposed a r

President Moon Jae-in was briefed on four occasions between Tuesday and Thursday on developments concerning the South Korean civil servant killed by the North Korean military, Cheong Wa Dae said. According to the presidential office, Moon was first briefed on the matter at 6:36 p.m. on Tuesday in the form of a written report. The report was made about three hours after the South’s military obtained intelligence that the civil servant was spotted by the North Korean military. At 10:30

President Moon Jae-in assured the South Korean people Friday that his government will deal resolutely with any act that threatens their lives and safety. He was addressing the 72nd Armed Forces Day ceremony held at the headquarters of the Special Warfare Command in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, following reports that North Korea fatally shot a South Korean government official and burned his body earlier this week. Moon stressed that South Korea will further beef up its security and defense postur

Rep. Lee Sang-jik of the ruling Democratic Party, the founder of the embattled low-cost airline Eastar Jet, said he will leave the party Thursday amid a probe into unpaid wages and mass layoffs at the airline.  "I will cease to cause trouble for the party and leave it for a while," the two-term lawmaker said in a press conference at the National Assembly. He also apologized to Eastar employees and the public for causing concern. "I will do everything to revive Eastar Jet

The low-ranking South Korean fisheries official who was shot and burned by North Korea earlier this week after going missing in the Yellow Sea had financial problems, his colleagues said Thursday. The 47-year-old official, who belongs to the West Sea Fisheries Management Service, an organ under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, once considered filing for bankruptcy because of debt, they said. The official, whose identity was withheld, divorced four months ago and had reportedly borrowed m

Shortly after South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed Tuesday in his UN address that the international community help to bring an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War with the end-of-war declaration, the US State Department highlighted a “unified response” to North Korea, while one former US official called the overture “out of sync” with the US position. “The United States and the Republic of Korea coordinate closely on our efforts related to the Democratic

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday, during which he proposed that the two countries seek an "optimum" resolution to the wartime forced labor issue at the center of soured bilateral relations. Moon noted there are different positions between the two sides on the issue of South Korean victims of Japan's World War II forced labor but expressed hope that Seoul and Tokyo will explore an "optimum" solution th

The government will not permit any modified forms of mass rallies in central Seoul on a national holiday early next month, the prime minister said Thursday as the country is bracing for a potential flare-up of COVID-19 cases ahead of the extended traditional holiday. The remark is seen as directed at "drive-thru" rallies proposed by some main opposition party members as an alternative to the prohibited mass outdoor rallies at Gwanghwamun in central Seoul on the Oct. 3 National Founda

Several members of the main opposition party have proposed "drive-through" rallies as an alternative to the mass anti-government protests planned for next month, drawing harsh criticism from the ruling party. The government has banned rallies of 10 or more people on the Oct. 3 National Foundation Day due to fears of another resurgence of the infectious coronavirus. Proponents of the idea say a drive-through will pose no risk to anti-COVID-19 efforts, while opponents blasted it as &q

Rival parties on Tuesday agreed to process the fourth supplementary budget bill. The bill was set to be put to the parliamentary Special Committee on Budget and Accounts later in the day. The 7.8 trillion won ($6.7 billion) supplementary budget bill was put to the National Assembly on Sept. 11. The agreement was made at a meeting between the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party, where a number of changes were made to the bill proposed by th

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called on the government to step up efforts to complete the reform of the prosecutors’ office, police and state intelligence agency, saying that remaining tasks will require more effort despite the progress made so far. “Our government‘s reform of the power institutions is making irreversible progress,” Moon said at the meeting with government and ruling Democratic Party officials including Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, Interior and Safety