The government and ruling party on Friday vowed to draw up an expansive budget for next year in order to pursue President Moon Jae-in’s welfare programs, while cutting down costs in conventional land development projects.Representatives from the ruling liberal Democratic Party of Korea and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance sat together at the National Assembly to share their views on how the state operation budget should be allocated.“We have been drawing up the budget upon the be

For President Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s first progressive state chief in almost a decade, challenging goals include reducing economic inequality and expanding state-led public welfare, without financially burdening the average taxpayer.To achieve the goals, the president has been saying that his set of economic democratization plans do not require an extra tax increase, while leaving room for “further discussion” on the matter. “It is absolutely crucial to stabilize real

South Korea’s finance minister and fiscal policy chief on Wednesday vowed to take stern measures to stabilize the financial markets if necessary, as response to the tensions caused by North Korea’s nuclear provocations.Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol attended a luncheon, seeking cooperation amid the challenging economic situations.“(The government), together with the BOK, will keep a close watc

Science, Technology and Innovation Office chief Park Ky-young leaves the Ministry of Science and ICT in Gwacheon on Friday. (Yonhap)Park Ky-young, President Moon Jae-in's newly appointed senior science innovation chief official, stepped down Friday amid escalating controversy over her involvement in a stem cell research scandal 11 years ago."I once again apologize for disappointing the people and causing continuous controversies," she said through a written statement released Friday evening."I s

President Moon Jae-in said Friday that a tax hike was inevitable to fund the new government's 100 policy tasks but that there will be no tax increase for average citizens or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)."Initially, the ways to fund the policy tasks included a tax increase, but we have been unable to set the scope or direction of the tax hike," the president said in a meeting with over 200 policymakers from the government and the ruling party to discuss ways to finance his

President Moon Jae-in again stressed the importance of creating new jobs Friday, calling it a fundamental solution to most serious problems facing the country, including its low birth rate.His remarks came in a meeting involving some 220 top policymakers from the government, including the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, and political parties, to discuss and set the direction of the new administration's financial strategies for the next five years, according to Cheong Wa Dae.The two-day meetin

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Friday it will offer diesel engine software updates for over 110,000 vehicles in South Korea in line with the decision made for some three million cars sold in Europe.The response comes as South Korea's environment ministry said it will start a probe next month to find out if the German carmaker manipulated the exhaust control of its diesel-powered vehicles to fake emissions levels. "Daimler (Group) has decided to provide voluntary service actions for improving nitrogen

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that "something has to be done" about North Korea as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping days after the North's test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile."I appreciate the things that you have done relative to the very substantial problem that we all face in North Korea, a problem that something has to be done about," Trump said at the start of the talks with Xi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, according to Whit

President Moon Jae-in (far right) on Friday attends the group photo shoot at the G-20 summit held in Hamburg. (Yonhap)HAMBURG, Germany -- When all of the leaders of state and government participating in the Group of 20 summit posed for their official photograph on Friday, President Moon Jae-in stood in the front row on the far right.Some may wonder why the South Korean leader was located so far from the central spotlight, but his disposition was quite in accordance to protocol.According to the c

HAMBURG, Germany -- Upon meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, President Moon Jae-in completed his initial diplomatic mission of making acquaintance with the “Big Four” nations during his visit to Germany.The South Korean leader attended a bilateral summit with his Russian counterpart in Hamburg on Friday, local time, on the sidelines of the annual Group of 20 summit which is taking place until Saturday. President Moon Jae-in (left) sits with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin

The following is the full text of the joint statement from the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan, following their trilateral summit held in Hamburg on Thursday.  -- Ed. Joint Statement from the United States of America, Republic of Korea, and Japan  July 7, 2017 President Donald J. Trump, President Moon Jae-in, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met in Hamburg, Germany, on July 6 to discuss the serious and escalating threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclea

This is Cheong Wa Dae's unofficial translation of President Moon Jae-in's speech delivered Thursday at Berlin's Old City Hall upon the invitation of the Körber Foundation. -- Ed. President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)Respected German citizens, My fellow countrymen at home,Dr. Paulsen, member of the executive board of the Körber Foundation, Mr. Modrow, former Prime Minister of East Germany,Distinguished Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,First of all, I would like to express my endless respect to Germany and th

HAMBURG -- The leaders of South Korea, the US, and Japan shared the view that stronger sanctions are needed in order to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and to bring the communist regime back to the negotiating table.President Moon Jae-in met with US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Hamburg on Thursday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit to run on Friday-Saturday in the German port city.President Moon Jae-in (left) meets with US President Donald Trump a

HAMBURG -- President Moon Jae-in landed in Germany's port city of Hamburg on Thursday, local time, to attend the annual Group of 20 summit which is to run on Friday-Saturday. President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook arrive at Hamburg on Thursday, local time, for the Group of 20 summit. (Yonhap)He spent the first two days of his trip in capital Berlin where he met with German counterparts President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Councellor Angela Merkel, as well as Chinese President Xi Jin

(AFP) Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has clinched a new five-year deal worth $201 million, the richest contract in NBA history, ESPN reported on Friday.Curry, who recently helped the Warriors to their second NBA Finals crown in three years, is the first player to break the $200 million barrier, ESPN said, citing the player's agent Jeff Austin.News of the agreement wipes away any uncertainty concerning the future of Curry, who had been on a four-year contract worth a relatively mod

The ruling Democratic Party welcomed the summit between the leaders of South Korea and the United States as paving the way for Seoul to play a leading role in resolving the North Korea problem. The party said in a statement that the first meeting between President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump was more successful than expected and filled the diplomatic void that lasted for more than six months in the wake of former President Park Geun-hye's corruption scandal and subsequent impeachme

South Korea's exports extended their winning streak for the eighth month in a row by expanding 13.7 percent last month on recovering global commerce, the trade ministry said Saturday.Outbound shipments came to US$51.4 billion in June, up from $45.2 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The latest number marked the second-largest monthly volume since October 2014, when shipments reached $51.6 billion, while it posted double-digit growth for six mo

A member of a minor opposition party was arrested Thursday for making false allegations about President Moon Jae-in's son during the election campaign earlier this year. A Seoul court approved the prosecution's request for the arrest warrant for Lee You-mi, a member of the People's Party, on charges of spreading misinformation in violation of the election law. Lee is accused of fabricating a story in the lead up to the May 9 presidential election about an unfair hiring of Moon Joon-yong by a pub

The presidential officel Cheong Wa Dae renewed its official webpage, featuring President Moon Jae-in on its main page and sharing his daily schedules as part of his pledge to communicate more closely with the public.The renewed version of Cheong Wa Dae's webpage (http://www.president.go.kr/) was open Sunday, Moon's fifth day as the nation's 19th president. Screen capture from Cheong Wa Dae's webpage as of May 14.The main page shows Moon waving his hands to the audience during his inauguration ce

Responding to disputes over his son’s nonperformance of military service, Prime Minister nominee Lee Nak-yon on Friday revealed his past petition to prove that he had struggled to have his son fulfill his duty.“I even sent a petition to the Military Manpower Administration so as to have my son serve his military duty,” the prime minister’s office quoted Lee as saying.“I never wanted my son to fail on his sacred military obligation and neither did my son.”Lee also revealed his past petition and t