Yoon greeted in Turkmenistan with veal, Korean songs

SEOUL/ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol was greeted with "special and respectful courtesy" Monday in Turkmenistan on the first leg of his weeklong trip to Central Asia on a mission to expand cooperation in critical minerals and other key sectors. Principal deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo said at a press briefing that South Korea "was welcomed with the highest courtesy befitting a state guest," describing Turkmenistan's welcome. Upon arrival i

June 11, 2024

Assembly split as Democratic Party of Korea snatches control of key committees

The ruling People Power Party on Tuesday protested the Democratic Party of Korea unilaterally picking the chairs of key standing committees of the National Assembly late Monday. The Democratic Party once again used its majority in the Assembly to convene a plenary session and appoint the chairs of 11 out of the 18 committees without involving the ruling party. Last week, the Democratic Party left out the ruling party in electing the Assembly speaker, marking the first such instance in the histor

June 11, 2024

Anti-corruption watchdog accused by ex-head of bias toward Yoon

South Korea’s anti-corruption watchdog was slammed by the Democratic Party of Korea on Tuesday over its decision to strike down a petition against First Lady Kim Keon Hee. The petition, filed with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in December last year, claimed that Kim had accepted bribes. The commission said in a previously unannounced briefing Monday that it was closing the case against the first lady as the existing laws have no provisions for holding spouses of elected p

June 11, 2024

Yoon urges speedier cooperation as S. Korean firms eye $6b deals in Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday called for speedier economic cooperation with Turkmenistan, as South Korean companies were working to secure up to $6 billion in construction bids in the Central Asian country's rich gas sector. Speaking at a business forum to mark the South Korean leader's state visit to Turkmenistan, Yoon said the two countries have many opportunities for collaboration, stressing Turkmenistan's status as the world's fourth-largest

June 11, 2024

Democratic Party takes key Assembly committee chair posts

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday took 11 of the total 18 standing committee chair positions for the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly, which began its four-year term on May 30, in voting boycotted by the ruling People Power Party. The opposition-led Assembly elected representatives from the main opposition to chair 11 standing committees, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the House Steering Committee, in a plenary session held in the evening

June 10, 2024

Leaders of Korea, Turkmenistan discuss economy, energy

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- The leaders of South Korea and Turkmenistan on Monday agreed to deepen the "mutually beneficial partnership" of the two countries, which could allow more South Korean companies to join the Central Asian country's construction and infrastructure projects. At a summit held in the capital of Turkmenistan, President Yoon Suk Yeol and his counterpart Serdar Berdymukhamedov also agreed to diversify bilateral cooperation through eight documents signed to boost b

June 10, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Textile waste, rights for electronic person

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Promotion of Transition to Circular Economy and Society Proposed by Rep. Jang Hye-yeong (Green Justice Party) ● According to data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2017, the global clothing production volume has surged by 400 percent over the last two decades, and 20 percent of the global water pollution is attributable to the dyeing process of textiles. Moreover, textile production accounts for 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. How

June 10, 2024

DP leader urges two Koreas to stop 'childish chicken game' of trash balloons, loudspeakers

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called on the two Koreas to halt a chain of retaliatory actions, such as South Korea's border loudspeaker broadcasts and North Korea's trash balloon campaign, calling it a "childish chicken game" that can lead to war. On Sunday, South Korea resumed propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the inter-Korean border for the first time in six years in retaliation against the North's recent launch of balloons carrying trash into the South. The bro

June 10, 2024

Rival parties clash over selecting standing committee chiefs

The two largest parties here have locked horns over selecting the heads of the standing committee chiefs for the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly, which began its four-year term on May 30. On Friday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which accounts for the majority of the single-chamber, 300-member parliament with 175 seats, submitted a list of its nominees for the heads and members of the 18 standing committees to the Assembly’s proceeding division. The list draw

June 9, 2024

Opposition refutes 'extravagant' India trip claims about ex-first lady

Opposition party lawmakers on Friday played down a controversy that has recently resurfaced over ruling party claims surrounding former first lady Kim Jung-sook's official visit to India in November 2018, of her allegedly "extravagant" airline meals, visit to the Taj Mahal and eligibility to represent the South Korean delegation at the time. The lawmakers added that those stirring up such "unfounded and malicious distortions," including the ruling People Power Party'

June 7, 2024

Yoon on state visit to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan next week

President Yoon Suk Yeol is to embark on a state visit to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week, as he seeks to cement Seoul's business ties with Central Asia, according to the presidential office. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee are scheduled to travel for the visit from Monday to Saturday. Seoul will work to integrate South Korea's innovation prowess with Central Asian countries' potential for economic development, based on strong trust and solidarity, Kim Tae-hyo, f

June 7, 2024

Man in Mexico died of a bird flu strain that hadn’t been confirmed before in a human, WHO says

A man’s death in Mexico was caused by a strain of bird flu called H5N2 that has never before been found in a human, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The WHO said it wasn’t clear how the man became infected, although H5N2 has been reported in poultry in Mexico. There are numerous types of bird flu. H5N2 is not the same strain that has infected multiple dairy cow herds in the US That strain is called H5N1 and three farmworkers have gotten mild infections. Other bird flu va

June 6, 2024

Defectors get back at North Korea with K-pop balloons

A group of North Korean defectors in Seoul tried to fly giant balloons carrying K-pop and other South Korean popular culture content across the border, with a few appearing to have entered North Korean skies early Thursday, according to the South’s military authorities. The defector group, which calls itself Fighters for Free North Korea, said in a statement on this day they flew the balloons in a tit-for-tat response following the hundreds of North Korean balloons filled with trash and pr

June 6, 2024

Stronger South Korea can set North Koreans free: Yoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday in his Memorial Day address to the nation that South Korea must become stronger to change North Korea and free North Koreans. At the ceremony held at the Seoul National Cemetery, the president said that “fellow Korean compatriots living north of the border, just about 50 kilometers from right here, are suffering from starvation, deprived brutally of their freedom and human rights.” “Peace is maintained through strength, not through submissi

June 6, 2024

Yoon pledges to enhance critical mineral partnership with Africa

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that South Korea will establish a critical mineral partnership with major African nations to develop resources on the continent in a "mutually beneficial" way. Yoon made the remark during a business summit attended by industry leaders from Korea and Africa, an event on the second day of the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit. On the first day of the summit, Korea and delegates from 48 African countries adopted a joint declaration to boost trade and in

June 5, 2024

Controversy reemerges over former first lady’s India trip

A controversy surrounding accusations that former first lady Kim Jung-sook spent an “excessive” amount of taxpayers’ money to fund her 2018 trip to India has resurfaced in recent days, with the ruling party proposing a special counsel investigation. Ruling People Power Party Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun on Monday floated a bill that mandates a special counsel investigation into allegations that the former first lady wrongfully used her position and public funds to take a personal trip t

June 5, 2024

Assembly speaker elected without a single ruling party vote

The speaker to lead the first half of the National Assembly through its new term was elected Wednesday in a vote that was held in the absence of the ruling People Power Party. The first plenary session of the new Assembly term was convened on this day before a bipartisan agreement could be reached over appointment of committee chairs. The Democratic Party of Korea -- which outnumbers the People Power Party by 171 to 108 -- is pushing to chair all of the 17 committees of the Assembly. The ruling

June 5, 2024

Chat records show pastor sent photo of gift to first lady ahead of meeting

Choi Jae-young, a Korean American pastor who secretly filmed himself handing over a luxury Dior handbag to first lady Kim Keon Hee in 2022, persistently demanded a meeting with Kim by sending a photo of the gift to her via a chat app, according to records of messenger dialogue obtained by Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday. Choi sent a photo of the Dior handbag and a gift box to Kim via the messaging app KakaoTalk on Sept. 7, 2022, saying he wants to give Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) greetings to

June 5, 2024

Daegu, North Gyeongsang to form unified provincial govt. in July 2026

Leaders of the southeastern metropolitan city of Daegu, 240 kilometers from Seoul, and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province on Tuesday agreed on plans to launch an integrated provincial government in 2026 with support from the central government. The agreement was made at a meeting attended by Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Woo Dong-gi, chairman of the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Bala

June 4, 2024

Leaders of Korea, Africa agree to open critical minerals dialogue

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- The leaders of South Korea and African countries agreed to launch a multilateral dialogue for critical minerals to ensure their stable supply and promote technology cooperation at a summit held in Seoul to redefine diplomatic and economic ties between Asia's fourth-largest economy and the continent on Tuesday. At the first-ever summit hosted by the Korean government with African countries to strengthen mutual trust and solidarity, Seoul vowed to provide up to $10 bil

June 4, 2024