With just over 40 days left to go to inauguration, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will soon choose a candidate for the prime minister’s post for his administration, with a short list reportedly being compiled. On Monday, Yoon’s spokesperson said that the president-elect’s office plans to select the final candidates by early April, as it takes about a month to go through the appointment process. “When we choose the final nominee for prime minister, we would request for

The presidential transition committee is reviewing several ways for governmental reorganization, including abolishing the Gender Equality Ministry without eliminating its essential functions. Yoon has pledged to abolish the Gender Equality and Family Ministry, which is the Ministry of Women and Family in Korean. Yoon considers the ministry as obsolete, and has questioned the existence of systematic gender discrimination in Korea. A committee official reportedly said they will bring out a ro

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will send a consultation delegation to the United States to discuss issues regarding the US-South Korea alliance and current affairs before his inauguration, Yoon’s office said on Sunday. “Yoon will send a Korea-US policy consultation delegation to hold comprehensive and practical consultations with the US administration,” Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a statement. The delegation will be led by Yoon’s foreign policy advis

Former President Park Geun-hye was discharged from hospital on Thursday and took residence in her new home, after spending four years and nine months in prison for a series of corruption charges. Appearing in front of the Samsung Medical Center where she was treated for chronic illnesses from November, Park said she has recovered and expressed gratitude to the medical staff. “I offer my greetings to the public in five years. With all your care, I was able to recover my health. I would

The presidential inauguration ceremony in May will be held in the front garden of the National Assembly compound in Seoul following the custom, the chief of the presidential inauguration ceremony preparation committee said Wednesday. While the preparation committee reviewed several options, they concluded that the National Assembly was the proper venue and received approval from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, the committee’s chief, Park Joo-sun, said in a press briefing. “We have

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug met with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and shared his knowledge on South Korea’s experience on building an administrative capital, and discussed ways for the two countries to enhance bilateral cooperation, Sunday. Their meeting came during Park’s trip to Bali, Indonesia to attend the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly, which kicked off Sunday and runs to Tuesday. As Indonesia is currently preparing

Incumbent President Moon Jae-in’s office on Monday raised concerns over the plans to relocate the presidential office, adding to the controversy surrounding the plans. “President Moon Jae-in pledged to open the Gwanghwamun era in the past presidential election, and we do agree on the idea of returning Cheong Wa Dae to the public,” Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication for Moon, said after the government’s National Security Council meetin

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday stressed that managing the COVID-19 pandemic is the utmost priority for the presidential transition team, as the committee began its 53-day run. Speaking in the first general meeting of the committee, Yoon requested the special committee in charge of handling the COVID-19 crisis to focus on the damage compensation system for sole proprietors, and preventive measures to control the spread of the disease, citing the surging COVID-19 cases here. “No

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is pushing hard with his plan to relocate the presidential office, with transition committee officials now saying there is zero possibility of him going to the current Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House due to its iconic blue-tiled roof. From the start of his presidential campaign, Yoon has vowed to relocate the presidential office for “better communication” with the public, seeing Cheong Wa Dae as closed off from the public and a symbol of em

As the presidential transition team takes shape, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said he would pursue change in the personnel vetting process, using the United States as reference. Yoon said he plans to abolish the Office of Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, which handles discipline for public officials, and transfer its functions that include vetting nominees for Cabinet posts to other entities, such as the Justice Ministry and police, in a bid to avoid criticisms of “closed-door”

More members of the presidential transition committee for president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol were announced Tuesday, including a former vice foreign minister and a former vice speaker among others. In a press briefing, Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye released some of the names of the chiefs and members for the three subcommittees --foreign policy and national security, economy, and politics and judiciary administration. Former vice foreign minister Kim Sung-han was appointed to lead the fore

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that he will abolish the post of senior secretary for civil affairs at his presidential office, ridding it of its inspection and intelligence functions. Explaining how the office has played a role in illegal inspections on society, Yoon said he will “clear away the remnant” in his government, in a meeting with the leadership of his presidential transition committee. “In the past, the senior secretary for civil affairs at the presiden

People’s Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo will lead the presidential transition committee, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Sunday, in a speedy move to launch the committee for a smooth transition of power from the incumbent government. “Ahn Cheol-soo and I share values and philosophy on state affairs management and we have already met (for discussion) after the election,” Yoon said during a press briefing on Sunday. “Ahn is willing to lead the presidential transition

As South Korea chose its next president in a tightly contested election Wednesday, the spotlight also turned to Kim Keon-hee, the spouse of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has actively pursued her career running an exhibition planning firm. Kim, a chief executive officer and founder of the company, has kept a low-key presence on the campaign trail since being bombarded by a series of allegations and rumors. And while she had little room to show off her personality in public during the cam

As the poll confirmed of his victory, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol arrived at the party’s campaign headquarter to deliver his speech at an early dawn on Thursday. Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief of the minor opposition People’s Party who dropped out of the race to merge campaign with Yoon, also came to celebrate the victory wearing a red tie to match the color of the main opposition party. “I believe (the presidential election) was a very heated, and passionate race. In that proc

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition party looks to be on course for victory as the gap in vote tallies has widened during counting. With 85 percent of votes counted as of 2:13 a.m. Thursday, 48.64 percent were for Yoon, against 47.78 percent for the ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung. Although about 15 percent of votes remained to be counted, some media outlets and the country’s largest portal Naver rated Yoon’s win as “likely.” By Jo He-rim (

With the ballot count in full swing, People Power Party members cheered on as its flagbearer Yoon Suk-yeol took the lead over ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung after midnight on Thursday. With about half of ballots counted as of 12:31 a.m., Yoon edged past Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea, to garner 48.3 of the counted ballots to 48.2. As Yoon’s vote total closed in Lee’s, a number of the party’s lawmakers including the election campaign chief Rep. Kwon Young-se and the

Members of the main opposition People Power Party appeared to be less than excited after the exit poll results released by the major broadcasters showed an unexpectedly tight race Wednesday evening. At the party’s election headquarters set up inside the National Assembly, People Power Party leadership, including the party’s Chairman Lee Jun-seok and election campaign chief Rep. Kwon Young-se, had come to watch the exit poll results that emerged after polls officially closed nationw

Kim Ji-su, who turned 18 in January, cast her first ballot in a presidential election on Wednesday with a sense of excitement. “Adults think we are too young (to vote), but we are also citizens of this country. I am glad that I can vote to choose the president who will lead the country for the next five years,” Kim, a senior at Munjeong High School in Seoul, told The Korea Herald. This year’s presidential election marked a milestone in Korean politics, as the first time in

Even before the darkness of dawn had faded away, voters trickled into polling stations Wednesday to elect their next president, with a strong desire for a new leader who can spearhead political and economic reforms and stabilize a society hit by an unprecedented pandemic. In this year’s presidential election, 14,464 polling stations opened across the country to run from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The hours were extended from the usual 6 p.m. this year for COVID-19 patients and those in quarant