President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday postponed his plan to attend a meeting to review drug control measures, according to the presidential office, hours after he agreed to the parliament's request to revoke martial law. "The meeting to assess the current status of drug control measures, originally set to take place at the presidential office, has been rescheduled," an official said.

Politics Dec. 4, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol conceded Wednesday morning to the National Assembly's request to lift the martial law, as he pledged he would preside over the Cabinet meeting immediately, admitting his surprise declaration of martial law was short-lived. "I will immediately accept the National Assembly's request and lift the martial law through the Cabinet," Yoon said in a televised address to the nation at around 4:20 a.m. "I convened the Cabinet immediately, but the quorum has not yet b

Politics Dec. 4, 2024

The presidential office press corps faced an eviction order from its building in Seoul, according to Park An-su, who led the headquarters of the Martial Law Command. The order came into effect as of 12:45 a.m. Wednesday. This was the latest result of President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on Tuesday, which the opposition-controlled National Assembly claimed had a procedural fault and was deemed invalid.

Politics Dec. 4, 2024

In an emergency address to the nation Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in South Korea. Yoon said at around 10:20 p.m. that the declaration was made to prevent "anti-state forces" from depriving South Korean citizens of their freedom and happiness. "I will wipe out anti-state forces as soon as possible and normalize the country's operation," Yoon said in a televised briefing in his office, less than an hour before the martial law went into effect na

Politics Dec. 3, 2024

South Korea plans to encourage new fathers to take paternity leave for child care, aiming for a 70 percent usage rate by 2030, the government announced Tuesday. The percentage of men taking paternity leave to care for children stood at 6.8 percent, in the public sector and private sector combined, as of 2022. The Yoon Suk Yeol government aims to increase the rate to 50 percent by 2027, the final year of the administration, and to 70 percent three years later. The administration believes that its

Politics Dec. 3, 2024

The leaders of South Korea and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday inked the Comprehensive Partnership at the summit in Seoul, elevating the bilateral ties for the first time since the two established their diplomatic relations 32 years ago. President Yoon Suk Yeol received Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, the first Kyrgyz leader to have visited South Korea in 11 years. Yoon and Japarov last held bilateral talks in September 2023 on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Yoon said duri

Politics Dec. 3, 2024

The National Assembly is on a collision course as the parliament, where the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea holds the majority of seats, pushed through a budget cut proposal that would strip authorities in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration of their confidential funds. This came along with another high-stakes opposition-led move to impeach the head of the state-run Board of Audit and Inspection and three prosecutors who found Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee not guilty of her alleged involvement

Politics Dec. 1, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a delegation from Ukraine led by the country's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Wednesday at his office in Seoul, according to Yoon's office. Yoon was quoted by the presidential office as saying that he hoped South Korea and Ukraine could find a practical breakthrough to counter the security threat posed by military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Yoon's office did not disclose what Umerov said during his meeting with Yoon. Following t

Politics Nov. 27, 2024

Talk of a constitutional amendment to ease the presidential term limit has reemerged in South Korea, with a new proposal allowing a president to seek reelection. Chyung Dai-chul, a former lawmaker who served five terms until 2004, said Wednesday he would work to let either the legislature or the government finalize their proposal of an amendment to the Constitution by the end of 2025. His proposal will allow presidents to serve a second term, while shortening the length of a single term from fiv

Politics Nov. 27, 2024

The leaders of South Korea and Malaysia forged a strategic partnership on Monday to bolster cooperation in trade, the defense industry, clean energy and critical materials as they eye the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year. This came as President Yoon Suk Yeol received Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the occasion of his official visit to South Korea. It was the first visit by a Malaysian leader in five years. During the talks, Yoon expressed anticipation that their "bil

Politics Nov. 25, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol's national security adviser said Friday that Russia had already provided North Korea with military equipment and "anti-air" weapons in return for North Korea's recent troop dispatch to the Ukraine war. Shin Won-sik, director of the presidential National Security Office, said in a televised interview with SBS Friday that these weapons were sent to Pyongyang, which would "allow North Korea to address vulnerabilities in its anti-air defense capability." T

Politics Nov. 22, 2024

Akiko Ikuina, parliamentary vice minister at Japan's Foreign Ministry, will attend the Sado gold mine memorial ceremony on Sunday to commemorate wartime forced labor victims there, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Friday. From Saturday to Sunday, Ikuina will visit Sado, in Japan's Niigata prefecture, to "attend the memorial service for the Sado Island Gold Mine and also tour (the mine)," the Japanese government said in a notification. South Korean Ambassador

Politics Nov. 22, 2024

The presidential office on Friday signaled it would consider a supplementary budget with President Yoon Suk Yeol addressing the issue of social polarization as the policy priority its administration should tackle. A senior official of the presidential office said that it "will not rule out the possibilities of the proactive fiscal intervention including the allocation of an extra budget," adding the timing for the supplementary budget "has yet to be determined." This signals

Politics Nov. 22, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol's job approval rating has remained unchanged for two straight months, despite Yoon's handling of foreign affairs during his trip to the South American countries and the conviction of the opposition leader for election law offenses the previous week. According to Gallup Korea's weekly poll result of 1,001 respondents released Friday, Yoon's popularity came to 20 percent. His job disapproval rating edged up 1 percentage point to 72 percent compared to th

Politics Nov. 22, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday departed for South Korea after he wrapped up his visit to South America to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Group of 20 summit. At Galeao Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro, Yoon boarded South Korea's Air Force One at 4:37 p.m. on Tuesday. Yoon was set to arrive in Seoul Thursday as tentatively scheduled, according to the presidential office. His wife Kim Keon Hee did not accompany Yoon on this trip. The date for Yoon's return remained

Politics Nov. 20, 2024