The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is planning to pass a bill that raises the threshold for a planned tax on virtual asset-related gains, up to 50 million won ($35,800) from the previously planned 2.5 million won, sources said Thursday. The original scheme for crypto tax gains would have taxed crypto-related income of over 2.5 million won per year starting January 2022, but it has been pushed back twice to January 2025. Main opposition Rep. Jin Sung-joon said the party would carry out

A second Donald Trump administration is expected to bring a slew of uncertainties to the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, which calls for Seoul to bolster its alliance with Washington and find a key role in the US’ potential policy shifts, experts pointed out Wednesday. During a panel discussion at the Korea Herald Security Forum titled "Alliance After US Election 2024: A Seoul Perspective" held at the National Assembly in Seoul, four experts addressed looming concerns

The political future of Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung is likely to be decided this month, as South Korean courts are expected to deliver several court rulings that could potentially bar the main opposition leader from running for president. The Seoul Central District Court is set to deliver rulings in two separate cases against Lee on Friday and Nov. 25, marking the first decisions in his four ongoing criminal cases. On Friday, the Seoul court is expected to deliver a verdic

With a Seoul court scheduled to deliver a verdict later this week on charges that the main opposition leader violated the Public Official Election Act, ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon on Monday called for the judicial authorities to carry out a fair trial, saying that “the nature of the crime is very severe.” “I request South Korea’s judicial authorities to make judgments in accordance with the law, no more nor no less, than how it does with the ordinary cit

As President Yoon Suk Yeol hit the halfway mark of his five-year term Sunday, he faced pressure from a record-low approval rate coupled with growing threats from the opposition to approve a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the first lady. Yoon's approval rating fell to 17 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released Friday, marking an all-time low since the president took office in May 2022. An unnamed official from the local pollster explained the recently surfaced

South Korea’s political sphere expressed divided opinions on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s public address delivered Thursday, with the main opposition party criticizing it as a speech “full of excuses” and the ruling party praising it as “honest.” In the televised address and press conference marking the second half of his term, Yoon did not directly mention his wife, but offered an apology amid the public discontent due to the multiple controversies surrounding f

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that he and US President-elect Donald Trump agreed to “meet at an early date” to discuss possible resolutions on North Korean provocation and the prosperity of the alliance, in a 12-minute phone call held early in the day. "We talked for some 10 minutes on the phone at 8 a.m. I, of course, offered him my congratulations first and discussed several (issues) including (the need) to build strong solidarity and partnerships in the A

South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Wednesday expressed hope that US President-elect Donald Trump's second term would serve as an opportunity to forge a "deeper" alliance between Seoul and Washington. "We anticipate the South Korea-US alliance, forged by blood (since the 1950-53 Korean War) will become deeper," the ruling party here said in a commentary released via senior spokesperson Rep. Kwak Kyu-taek. "We sincerely congratulate Republican candidate D

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon said Wednesday that the alliance between Seoul and Washington will strengthen regardless of who wins the latest US presidential election. “The South Korea-US alliance will strengthen regardless of the candidate who is elected president of the United States,” Han said in an emergency intra-party meeting on foreign affairs and security matters. The meeting was held a day after ruling party lawmakers compiled and reviewed

South Korea looks to bolster cooperation with Asian nations to adjust and deal with the spread of legal services utilizing artificial intelligence, an official said Friday. Lee Wan-kyu, minister of government legislation, highlighted the growing incorporation of AI technology in legal services across the world and the need for Asian nations to join heads to brace for future growth, at the 12th Asian Legislative Experts Symposium held in Yeouido, western Seoul. “As you are witnessing the si

Ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon on Wednesday said that the controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee must be resolved by the end of next month, as he stressed the need to regain public trust in the conservative bloc. Han’s remarks made at a press conference marking his first 100 days in office came as a widening rift is observed within the ruling party over how to deal with multiple allegations regarding the president's wife, including her alleged involvement in

It used to be that when Park Ji-sun, a 45-year-old office worker, thought of a Korean doctor, it was the 2020 tvN drama series "Hospital Playlist" that first came to her mind. The series became an instant hit in South Korea, depicting the lives of five doctors battling to save lives together. It was so successful that it was renewed for a second season, which is rare for a Korean drama. "They were heroes with white gowns during the day, sometimes sacrificing their private lives in

The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday officially launched a joint consultative body for livelihood issues amid persistent tensions over various controversies surrounding the first lady. The establishment of the joint consultative body aimed at carrying out common policy pledges comes nearly two months after an agreement was made between leaders of the two rival parties early last month during their first official talks. The consultative body wi

[코리아헤럴드=정민경 기자] 세계보건기구(WHO)는 8개월째 이어지는 한국의 의정갈등에 대해 "1차 의료 환경에서 서비스 공급 확장 필요"가 있다고 말했다. 이달 중순 WHO 관계자는 한국의 의정갈등에 대한 유엔 전문 기구의 입장을 물어보는 코리아헤럴드의 질의에 "WHO는 환자들이 지역사회에 기반한 시설에서 가깝게 진료를 받을 수 있게 해주는 1차 의료 체계를 지지"하며 1차 의료 환경에서 서비스 공급 확정 및 인력 충원은 "인류가 미래에 직면할 문제"들을 돌파할 때 반드시 필요할 것이라고 했다. 미래에 직면할 문제들로 고령화 사회 속 노화 그리고 암, 당뇨병, 알츠하이머 등을 포함한 비전염성 질환(Non-Communicable Diseases)들을 관계자는 예시로 들었다. 관계자는 또한 WHO는 '의대증원'을 놓고 팽팽히 맞서고 있는 정부와 의료계가 "보건 인력 없이 (한 국가의) 보건 체계는 존재할

Controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee are likely to top the agenda at the upcoming second meeting between the leaders of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party, observers said Sunday. People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party Rep. Lee Jae-myung recently agreed to hold a second round of talks, following up on their first official meeting in early September. The date for the second meeting, however, is yet to be announced. The agreeme

This year's National Assembly audit was slammed by critics on Thursday as the worst to date, with civic groups denouncing both sides of the political sphere for failing to carry out a proper audit. A monitoring group consisting of 270 different local civic groups here graded this year’s National Assembly audit a near-failing score of D-minus. The National Assembly Audit NGO Monitoring Group called this year’s parliamentary audit, which kicked off Oct. 7 and is set to wrap up Fri

The South Korean government is stepping up its efforts to make the country more foreigner-friendly by building an accessible database system of the country's laws and legislation, the minister of government legislation told the Korea Herald earlier this month. As South Korea pushes to embrace foreign workers and immigrants to address population decline, the Ministry of Government Legislation -- a body focused on making the nation's legal system clear, consistent, and accessible both do

South Korea's conservative ruling bloc on Friday was divided over the prosecutors' recent decision to not indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scandal involving a local BMW dealer. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office on Thursday dismissed the charges that the first lady violated the Financial Investment Services And Capital Markets Act. The announcement came some four years after the probe into allegations that Kim's stock trading ac

Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon on Thursday stepped up his call for first lady Kim Keon Hee to refrain from public activities and explain multiple allegations against her, which include claims of her illegal involvement in the April 10 parliamentary elections. Han’s remarks come a day after the conservative bloc won two of the five seats in the regional by-elections in its respective strongholds -- Busan's Geumjeong District and Incheon's Ganghwa County – as President Yoo

In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s by-elections for Seoul’s new education superintendent and four local government heads, ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon has been exceptionally busy. Han has visited Busan six times since Sept. 11, so far, in a bid to sway voters into backing the conservative candidate and tax accountant-turned-politician Yoon Il-hyun for the next Geumjeong district head. Busan has been considered the conservative party’s home turf for decades,