Ahead of verdict on Yoon’s impeachment, Korea’s political tensions hit fever pitch Since Dec. 3 of last year when President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, South Korea has suffered an extended period of political confrontation and economic uncertainties. Regrettably, the chaotic situation shows no sign of abating amid concerns about deepening fractures within Korean society. All eyes are now on the Constitutional Court’s imminent verdict on Yoon’s fate, as more than two weeks have passed sin

Trump's tariffs cloud US economy, while Korea is mired in political turmoil Recession fears escalated as US President Donald Trump declined to explicitly rule out a recession in the US economy this year. "I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big," he said, responding to question about whether he was expecting a recession in the US this year in a Fox News interview Sunday, "And there are always periods of, it takes a little time." T

Government not to increase medical admissions, yet reform should go on The government will reduce the number of new students entering medical schools next year back to 3,058, which is the same as the admission quota for the 2024 academic year. Last year, as part of its medical reform agenda, the government increased the medical school admission quota for the 2025 school year by about 1,500 despite strong opposition from the medical community. The 3,058-student admission quota had been frozen for

Court ruling underscores importance of due process for Yoon’s impeachment case President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from jail Saturday after a court accepted his request to overturn his arrest over his short-lived imposition of martial law in early December. Yoon had been held in detention since Jan. 15 on insurrection charges related to his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law that plunged South Korea into political turmoil, national division and economic uncertainty. On Saturday, a special invest

South Korea suffers ‘triple minus’ in January amid negative export outlook due to US tariffs South Korea’s economy faces pressure on multiple fronts ranging from industrial output and facility investment to the outlook for exports and consumer prices amid growing concerns about a global trade war. The country’s industrial output, retail sales and facility investment all fell in January from a month earlier, data showed Tuesday. The figures marked the first “triple minus” since October, a signal

Pause of military aid to Ukraine, comment on Taiwan hint at Trump's 'deal-making' US President Donald Trump reportedly ordered a pause to all US military aid to Ukraine. The move comes just days after an argument at the Oval Office meeting in which Trump and US Vice President JD Vance upbraided Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being insufficiently grateful for Washington's backing. Pausing aid is a step to pressure Zelenskyy into accepting Trump's plan to end the Ukraine war through pea

Rival parties stuck with wasteful wrangling amid ongoing political turmoil, economic woes The March extraordinary session of the National Assembly is set to begin Wednesday, but concerns are mounting over whether the ruling and opposition parties can handle urgent bills including a supplementary budget due to the intensifying partisan strife that has regrettably aligned with street protests over impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. Since Yoon's Dec. 3 botched martial law declaration, South Korea h

Employment irregularities found in election commissions; inspection ruled unconstitutional The presidential audit agency said Thursday that it found irregularities in every instance of career staff recruitment conducted by Korea's election commissions for 10 years from 2013. During the 10-year period, the commissions hired experienced workers 291 times. The Board of Audit and Inspection detected 878 cases of corruption in these periodic recruitments. None of them were clean. A wide array of offi

A collapsed bridge and other disasters show the cost of inaction for Korea's safety oversight A bridge collapse at a highway construction site in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, has once again exposed the nation’s persistent safety failures. On Tuesday morning, several slabs fell from a bridge under construction on the Seoul-Sejong expressway, killing four workers and injuring six others. Emergency personnel rushed to the scene within minutes, mobilizing helicopters, fire trucks and more than 140 fi

Democratic Party pushing Commercial Act revision that businesses adamantly oppose The ruling People Power Party will ask acting President Choi Sang-mok to veto the Commercial Act amendment that opposition parties are pushing unilaterally. Floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said the bill is anti-corporate and poses a serious threat to business management activity. Kweon urged Lee Jae-myung, chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, to scrap the market-distorting law first if he wants to lead a party for

Bank of Korea cuts key rate, but more steps are needed to prop up slowing economy The Bank of Korea on Tuesday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.7 percent to prop up the slowing economy saddled with sluggish domestic demand and a growing list of obstacles in exports due to new US tariff policies. The central bank’s move came after it froze the rate in January to gauge the impact of the two rate cuts made in October and November last year. The one-month pause also

Survey finds S. Korea overtaken by China in semiconductor technologies South Korea's semiconductor technology level was overtaken by China's in two years, a survey of experts has found. The results of the survey are contained in a report by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning, titled "an in-depth analysis of technology levels in three major fields." The state-run think tank on South Korea's science and technology capabilities is said to have surveyed 39 domestic semiconductor expe

With GDP growth revised down for 2025, Korea needs to speed up extra budget plan With South Korea’s economic growth forecast to weaken to as low as 1 percent, policymakers are urged to work on the extra budget proposal to boost the economy, while passing urgent business-related bills and setting up robust policy steps against a looming global trade war. Concerns about the country’s slowing growth are mounting. On Feb. 19, British research firm Capital Economics, for instance, projected that Kore

Korea needs to refine strategy to handle US tariffs on cars, chips, pharmaceuticals As US President Donald Trump hints at heavy tariffs on South Korea’s key export items, government officials and business executives are scrambling to seek fresh opportunities and minimize the impact, a move in the right direction amid growing uncertainties. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that auto tariffs would be “in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” and that duties on chips and pharmaceutical imports would sta

Semiconductor bill in crisis; Opposition leader changes stance A bill to strengthen the competitiveness of the nation's semiconductor industry is in crisis over a clause that exempts R&D workers in the industry from the 52-hour workweek. Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties discussed the clause in a subcommittee meeting of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Monday, but failed to agree on it. The ruling People Power Party is clinging to the p