A veteran lawmaker criticized opposition members who are moving to form an alliance against President Moon Jae-in, saying it was “not right” to prevent a head of state from doing his duty. In a radio interview Tuesday morning, Rep. Park Jie-won, a former culture minister and four-term lawmaker from the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace, warned of the many crises facing the country. Park Jie-won (Yonhap)Noting that that the country faces a crisis on five fronts -- denuclearization, e

In the wake of a massive judiciary power abuse scandal, a group of judges on Monday said the judges involved in the irregularities have “seriously violated the Constitution,” and addressed the need for their impeachment. The National Judges Representative Meeting kicked off its second regular meeting at 10 a.m. to discuss a resolution demanding the impeachment of judges involved in the power abuse of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae. Of 119 total judge representatives across the

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung criticized police Monday, after they announced his wife as the owner of a Twitter account that spread false rumors about his political opponents.In a press conference Monday, Lee denounced police as lacking in judgment in pointing to his wife, Kim Hye-gyeong, as the owner of the “Hyegyeonggung Ms. Kim” Twitter account.  (Yonhap)Police began investigating the case after thousands of posts spreading false information about Lee’s political rivals, including Pres

Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday that it is reviewing to introduce new taxi services for pets and women, amid rising conflict between taxi drivers and carpooling services. According to an official from the city government, Seoul City is looking to introduce new services targeting different passenger needs, such as taxis for pet owners, women and senior citizens by launching taxi transport franchises. (Yonhap)Receiving protests from corporate and private taxi drivers for allowing carpool

On the day of Suneung, South Korea’s college scholastic ability test, hundreds of thousands of students looking both determined and nervous flocked to test sites across the country. Cheering crowds gathered Thursday in front of many of the 1,190 test sites, including Yongsan High School in Seoul, to wish best of luck to students taking possibly the most important test for youths here. They beat drums and cheered loudly early in the morning, as test takers made their way through the school gate.(

Jun Won-tchack, a right-wing lawyer and political pundit who was recently fired from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party’s reinforcement committee, expressed regret over his dismissal on Wednesday.Jun was appointed as a member of the conservative party’s organization reinforcement committee in October, which is in charge of managing personnel appointment. However, the party fired him Friday, as Jun and the party’s interim leadership clashed over when to hold a national convention to elect ne

Just a day before Thursday’s college scholastic ability test, or Suneung, a tense atmosphere prevailed as students geared up for the exam for which they have long prepared. Authorities also took nation-wide measures to support test takers. At Yongsan High School, third-year students left the school early while their juniors lined up on the sidelines to cheer those who would take Suneung the next day. Third-year students leave the school gate as their juniors and teachers cheer for them, a day be

International Youth Fellowship awarded grand prizes to three winners for its 18th English Speech Contest on Saturday.The annual contest with it final round in Sejong Hall at Seoul Human Resources Development Center saw total participation of 1,315 middle school, high school and college students. 2018 IYF English Speech Contest winners (from left): Kim Jong-sung of Keimyung University, Park Sun-ae from Cheonan Ohseong High School and Oh Sun-ah from Sesory Music Middle and High School (IYF)The mid

Seoul’s education office recommended Tuesday the expulsion of twins suspected of having cheating on exams and to take strong disciplinary actions against school officials, after police concluded a teacher had leaked test answers to his twin daughters attending the school where he teaches.Cho Hee-yeon, the superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, also said the office will reinforce policies to prevent teachers and their children from working at and attending the same school. Pare

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party continues to struggle to maintain its foothold as the country’s major conservative party, following a dispute over personnel reform. The interim chief of the conservative party, Kim Byong-joon, apologized Monday for friction caused by a former member of its reform committee who was recently dismissed.Interim chief of Liberty Korea Party, Kim Byong-joon (center), speaks at a party meeting at the party's headquarter in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)“I apologize f

The Korean Service Corps Battalion held a send-off ceremony Sunday for a 22-year-old soldier who fell victim to a drunk driver last month. After the incident, the government is moving to toughen punishment against drunk driving.Yoon Chang-ho, a 22-year-old soldier of the Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army, was with a friend when they were hit by a drunk driver in Busan on Sept. 25, during the Chuseok holiday leave period.(Yonhap)The driver, surnamed Park, was intoxicated with a

Measures to tackle fine dust will be reinforced and support programs for diesel vehicles abolished, the government announced Thursday, as part of plans to combat particulate matter pollution. The Environment Ministry scrapped the “clean diesel policy” and announced other measures to curb fine dust at the government policy coordination meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon.  Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (Yonhap)Pointing to diesel vehicles as among the factors aggravating the fine dust

The Seoul Metropolitan Government lifted an ultrafine dust warning Wednesday afternoon, 24 hours after it was issued, while the ultrafine dust advisory remained in effect for the country’s western regions, including the North and South Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces.Following alarming levels of ultrafine dust in Korea, the Environment Ministry and metropolitan governments issued emergency fine dust reduction measures on Wednesday. The warning in Seoul was lifted after the level of particulate

The police on Tuesday said that five people have been booked in relation to an oil storage tank fire last month, holding an oil pipeline company and a construction worker responsible for the accident. Goyang Police Station, which has been investigating the case in Gyeonggi Province, said it booked three officials including the district chief from Daehan Oil Pipeline Corp. without detention for violating the Oil Pipeline Safety Control Act.  (Yonhap)The police also booked a former labor superviso

Gov. Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province is to file a complaint against the chief police officer of the Seongnam Police Station and other police investigators over alleged abuses of authority. In a statement on his Facebook page, Lee said he would file a complaint against the investigators and the commanding officers of the Bundang Police Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, who had filed criminal charges against him over alleged power abuses and violations of election law.  Gyeonggi Province

In an effort to encourage green growth, the Global Green Growth Institute is turning to the many young entrepreneurs around the world who have innovative business ideas, but lack finance and technical trainings.Recognizing the role of young people in accelerating the world’s transition toward green growth, the Seoul-based international organization hosted a pilot Greenpreneurs Program, designed to supercharge green growth startups particularly in and for developing countries. (GGGI)The 10-week g

Amid the global efforts to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change, President Moon Jae-in has vowed to increase the use of renewable energy to 20 percent of the country’s total power generation by 2030. Commenting on the goal, Frank Rijsberman, director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute, urged the country to aim higher -- to increase the use of renewable energy to 100 percent. “South Korea has seen a very rapid growth of its economy and the government developed (coal-fired

The recent string of murders and violent crimes making headlines are causing great frustration and anxiety among the public, who fear that they will receive light sentences after claiming they committed their offenses on impulse.　When a man surnamed Kim, 45, set fire to a convenience store in Seoul in July, he told the police he was angry at the owner for being “not kind enough” to him. The owner’s husband died from serious burns. In October, the court sentenced Kim to 13 years in prison.The rec

Gyeonggi Province’s GSEEK online education program is outperforming similar regional programs in terms of both quantity and quality, according to the provincial office.GSEEK offers some 1,200 massive open online courses for residents of Gyeonggi Province, six times more than the average for other provincial programs. Whereas other educational programs are typically one-way, with professional educators leading a group of learners, Gyeonggi Province’s program is more flexible and encourages the pr

Taking issue with inaction against a remark by a high-ranking North Korea military negotiator, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party submitted a proposal for the dismissal of Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Wednesday.It cited the pushing of the inter-Korean railway without ratification of the Panmunjeom Declaration that calls for it, the banning of a defector from covering an inter-Korean meeting in Panmunjeom and an insulting remarks made to businessmen during September’s North-South