The rivalry between the two former presidential candidates Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo has been laid bare in recent days, as the two have jumped into the fray of a factional fight over the party’s withering reform initiatives.While the two exchanged messages, including an open letter, and tried to patch things up by arranging a rendezvous later Tuesday evening, the damage seemed to be done as watchers likened the situation to the two’s shaky alliance talks during the 2012 presidential election

The fight at the main opposition party took an ugly turn Monday as rival factions continued to lock horns over reform initiatives and chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in’s leadership became increasingly questionable after his ultimatum last week was seen to further escalate the in-house scuffle.　NPAD chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in leaves his office at the National Assembly on Monday. YonhapMoon was absent from the party’s Supreme Council meeting for first time since he seized the chairmanship of the New Politi

The main opposition party leader said Wednesday he would leave his post as chairman if the party disapproves a package of reform measures, amid an escalating party feud that has increased pressure on him to resign.In an emergency press conference, Rep. Moon Jae-in proposed a vote of confidence in his leadership in line with the fate of the controversial reform measures, and urged the party to end factional infighting. He called for the unity of the party in order to win the general election next

The National Assembly on Tuesday approved a nominee for Supreme Court justice, ending weeks of postponement triggered by the ongoing confrontation between rival parties on state offices’ special allowances.Of the 260 attending lawmakers, 178 voted in favor of the appointment of Lee Ki-taek to the Supreme Court while 74 disapproved and eight abstained in the secret vote.With the parliament’s approval, Lee will replace Min Young-il, a retiring judge, nearly a month after President Park Geun-hye so

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday urged China to play a bigger role for unification of the two Koreas on the last day of her three-day trip that highlighted closer ties between the two countries.At a meeting with Korean residents in Shanghai, the president stressed the roles of neighboring countries surrounding the Korean Peninsula to achieve peace in the region, particularly China, to push Pyongyang to take “a right path” to change.On the breakthrough talks between the two Koreas l

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday attended the flamboyant military parade in Beijing, bolstering China’s show of rising military power in exchange for their closer regional, political and economic cooperation. Wearing a golden jacket and sunglasses, Park stood second right to her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, a prominent position on the balcony of the Gate of Heavenly Peace at Tiananmen Square, which illustrated much closer ties between the two.She was the only U.S. ally to atte

Leaders of South Korea and China are set to discuss ways to curb North Korea‘s nuclear ambitions and boost peace in Northeast Asia at a bilateral summit planned for Wednesday amid tension abating on the Korean Peninsula after breakthrough talks last week.President Park Geun-hye will leave for China for a three-day trip to attend a celebration to mark the end of World War II, but she will hold a summit with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as soon as she arrives in Beijing, Park’s senior foreig

The National Assembly’s 100-day regular session is set to begin Tuesday with the two major parties seeking to gain an advantage ahead of next year’s elections.The ruling and main opposition parties are expected to clash over bills being pushed by the Park Geun-hye administration to reform the nation’s labor, education and finance sectors.Two rounds of parliamentary inspections are also set to kick off in the second week of September and the first week of October to assess Park’s state agendas an

South Korea, China and Japan aim to hold a summit as soon as possible amid signs of gradually improving ties, a Chinese official said Thursday.Yang Houlan, the incoming chief of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat involving all three sides, made the remark during a reception marking the start of his two-year term, saying he is "keenly aware of the great responsibility" on his shoulders."Despite the twists and turns in the past three years, trilateral cooperation is gradually returning to its

President Park Geun-hye Thursday called her signature creative economy a growth engine for South Korea's economy in the latest push to revive the country's tepid business landscape.Park's creative economy vision calls for boosting the economy and creating jobs by turning creative ideas into real businesses through science and technology and information technology.Park said she hopes that 17 innovation centers will "serve as a new momentum for growth" in a ceremony marking the completion of the i

China's defense ministry on Thursday denied reports that it sent additional tanks to a border with North Korea when tensions surged on the Korean Peninsula last week. Some media reports said China might have sent additional tanks to the Chinese border city of Yanbian, citing pictures showing tanks rumbling through the street of Yanbian over the weekend. China's defense ministry spokesman Yan Yujun said the media reports were "untrue."  The latest tensions on the Korean Peninsula were triggered b

By cities, the area of urban living forest per capita stood at only 4.35 square meters for Seoul, 5.29 square meters for Gyeonggi Province and 5.95 square meters for Incheon. This is far lower than London’s 27 square meters, New York’s 23 square meters and Paris’ 13 square meters.“With the rising interest in well-being and healthy leisure, the nationwide demand for sustainable green services has been on the increase,” a KFS official said.According to the KFS data, about 85.8 percent of Korean ci

Despite tension abating on the Korean peninsula after breakthrough talks earlier in the week, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday it would cautiously deal with North Korea over recent agreements on bilateral cooperation, citing Pyongyang’s volatility.Presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook told reporters that the negotiation between the two Koreas is not over, but has just begun, noting that there is a wide consensus among the officials that Seoul should first watch to see whether Pyongyang keeps its end

 President Park Geun-hye urged Saenuri Party lawmakers to take the lead in forwarding her labor reform initiative at a luncheon for ruling party lawmakers Wednesday, calling the task a shared duty for future generations.During the gathering at Cheong Wa Dae, Park thanked the lawmakers for passing a reform bill on the civil service pension system in May, but asked them to push ahead with another set of reform bills during the upcoming regular session that kicks off on Tuesday.  President Park Geu

 South Korean President Park Geun-hye is at a crossroads, with frustration mounting over the prospects of inter-Korean ties and the heightened security tension over North Korea’s mine attack. As she passes the midway point of her single, five-year term Tuesday, the result of marathon negotiations by senior officials from the two Koreas could serve as a watershed moment for her presidency.At her term’s halfway mark, Park also remains stranded on the diplomatic front, as her efforts at achieving d

A former presidential secretary reportedly claimed Wednesday that it was President Park Geun-hye’s former top aide who ordered him to conduct an internal investigation of a rumor, which later grew into the infamous “Cheong Wa Dae document leak scandal.”Cho Eung-cheon, a former Blue House secretary for civil discipline, said that the leaked documents were written after former Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon gave a direct order to probe the rumors that Park was about to “sack him” in local vernacular

A presidential panel for Korean unification Tuesday denied a recent report that President Park Geun-hye had suggested a possible unification of the two Koreas next year by indicating a sign of sudden changes in North Korea."The president that day was requesting the panel to be better prepared for the unification because no one can predict when it could actually happen,” said the presidential committee for unification preparation in a statement. “She was neither commenting nor suggesting a sign o

President Park Geun-hye on Monday ordered the military to maintain strong readiness against North Korea’s constant threats, asserting that its land mine attack earlier this month was a “clear military provocation” intended to kill South Korean soldiers.Park made the comments at a Cabinet meeting in an underground bunker to mark the launch of the Ulchi exercise, a four-day pan-national drill against contingencies. A joint military Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise with the U.S. was also launched fo

President Park Geun-hye is facing a dilemma over her address planned for the Aug. 15 Liberation Day holiday as she struggles to set the tone of her message toward North Korea after an unprecedented land mine attack in the demilitarized zone, which has further strained inter-Korean ties.The president is to deliver her annual speech to mark the nation’s liberation from Japanese rule Saturday, urging the people to join her efforts to overhaul four major sectors and bring cultural prosperity.  She i

The government has decided to designate Aug. 14 an extra public holiday and offer free access to state-run museums and palaces on the weekend when South Korea celebrates’ the 70th anniversary of the nation’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. President Park Geun-hye speaks at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday, as part of efforts to boost the public’s sense of national pride and also