The rival parties appointed new leadership roles on Friday, with the main opposition electing its new floor leader, while an ex-deputy minister took the helm of the ruling party, as they brace for the next parliament. The Democratic Party of Korea elected Rep. Park Chan-dae, a current two-term lawmaker reelected for another term in the April 10 parliamentary elections and a close aide of main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, as its new floor leader at an intra-party general meeting held around n

  The opposition-led National Assembly unilaterally passed a special bill on Thursday to open an investigation into suspicions that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration abused its power to disrupt a probe into the death of a young Marine last year. Of the current total 296 members of the single-chamber National Assembly, all 168 who participated in the vote moved in favor of passing the bill, which seeks to launch an investigation into suspicions that the Yoon administration coerced an investig

The rival parties clashed on Tuesday over the possibility of adopting a new state pension reform plan, which pushes for an increase in contributions for a bigger future benefit. The new pension reform plan is based on a survey conducted and released by the parliamentary special committee on pension reform on April 21. The survey, which involved 500 respondents across the country aged 18 or older, showed that 56 percent preferred to pay significantly larger contributions to the National Pension S

In their first meeting ever after President Yoon Suk Yeol seized power in 2022, main opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung on Monday told the conservative president that his two years in office has been a "time of dominance and ruling with the absence of politics." Ahead of their first official one-on-one meeting held Monday afternoon behind doors, Lee kicked off the event by thanking Yoon for setting up the meeting and expressed hope that it would become a cornerstone to present "

Tensions between the rival parties escalated Sunday ahead of the first-ever official meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung over multiple pending and contentious bills slated for 2 p.m. Monday. As the high-profile meeting unfolds amid substantial divisions between the ruling and main opposition parties on multiple fronts, considerable attention is directed toward which topics Lee will prioritize from a lengthy list of tasks during his talks wit

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the minor conservative New Reform Party, hinted on Thursday at a future run for president of South Korea, though “he has a lot to learn before he gets there.” The 39-year-old politician, who was elected in the April 10 parliamentary elections to represent a constituency in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, did not rule out the possibility when asked whether he has plans to run for president during a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Clu

Following the ruling People Power Party’s bitter defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections, the party's ex-interim leader Han Dong-hoon has faced a barrage of criticism. The latest attack on Han, however, came not from a member of the main opposition party, but from a star politician in Han's own conservative bloc -- five-term lawmaker and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. In recent weeks, Hong has labeled Han a “traitor” and a “political celebrity who only took selfies,&rd

The Justice Ministry on Tuesday blocked the early release of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s mother-in-law, who has been serving a one-year prison term for forgery, in its latest round of monthly parole reviews, according to officials close to the matter. Though Choi Eui-soon, the 77-year-old mother of first lady Kim Keon Hee, was excluded from the latest list of inmates to be released early, she will be reconsidered for next month’s review, under the current law. Following an hours-long m

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday named his new chief of staff and senior secretary for political affairs, which observers see as a bid for a breakthrough after the ruling party’s bitter defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections. It is also an apparent aim to counter snowballing criticism surrounding the lack of communication among the presidential office, the Cabinet and the National Assembly ahead of his planned meeting with the main opposition leader, observers added. In a rare app

President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to their first one-on-one meeting through a brief phone call, the presidential office said Friday. In a surprise 5-minute phone call between the two, Yoon asked Lee to meet him next week at Yongsan, where the presidential office is located, an official at the presidential office told reporters. In his first phone call to Lee, Yoon added that he hoped to frequently meet from now on to discuss national affairs “over tea

The main opposition said Friday it was looking to railroad more contentious bills before the new parliament members are sworn in, a day after it passed an amended version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung emphasized the urgency of passing key bills, including an amendment to the law that strengthens protection for victims of real estate fraud, before the current assembly term concludes

A main opposition-controlled parliamentary standing committee on Thursday unilaterally passed a total of five contentious bills, including a watered-down version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. The move aims to expedite their consideration, intending to usher them directly into a plenary session at the National Assembly for voting. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has accelerated the passage of contentious bills follo

Several members of the conservative bloc have exchanged blows among themselves in recent days, locking horns over whether the ruling party’s former interim leader is to blame for the devastating defeat in last week’s general election. Daegu Mayor and five-term conservative lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo kicked off a round of intense debate Friday by blaming Han for the People Power Party’s latest loss through a Facebook post. “(The People Power Party), which has survived the rive

The South Korean opposition's landslide victory in the latest parliamentary elections is likely to upend the conservative ruling party's push for key proposals and initiatives, observers said Sunday. One of the ideas that the ruling People Power Party had vowed to pursue, administratively merging Gyeonggi Province's Gimpo city into Seoul, otherwise known as the so-called “Megacity Seoul" project, could be scrapped, an expert said. “Discussion on the Megacity proje

The ruling party’s bitter loss at Wednesday’s parliamentary elections was expected, with the majority of the voters hoping to "bring judgment" upon President Yoon Suk Yeol for failing to curb soaring food prices, end a prolonged doctors’ strike and quell a slew of scandals, critics said Thursday. The main opposition Democratic Party and its satellite party secured a total of 175 seats, while the ruling People Power Party and its sister party only won 108 seats of the

Han Dong-hoon’s 107-day journey as the ruling conservative party’s interim leader officially ended Thursday, after the People Power Party failed to take back the National Assembly through Wednesday’s parliamentary elections. The 51-year-old prosecutor-turned-politician announced his resignation from his position as chair of the People Power Party emergency response committee, saying that he takes responsibility for the election defeat. “The voice of the people is always r

South Korea’s liberal main opposition party and its allies clinched a sweeping victory in Wednesday’s general election, an outcome which is expected to further frustrate President Yoon Suk Yeol’s pursuit of key initiatives over his remaining three years in office. With only six proportional representation seats left to be assigned, the Democratic Party of Korea and its satellite Minjoo Union Party had secured 172 seats in the single-chamber, 300-member National Assembly, accord

South Korean voters headed to the polls Wednesday for the country's 22nd parliamentary elections, as the country's political landscape continues to experience a deepening divide and increasing tensions. The outcome of the latest elections was expected to shape the policy road President Yoon Suk Yeol will walk for his remaining three years in office. The possible scenario of the liberal main opposition party maintaining a majority in the single-chamber, 300-member National Assembly was projected

South Korea is poised to confront a pivotal moment Wednesday as much of the nation prepares to cast their votes for 300 new members of the National Assembly, in an election that will not only shape the political landscape of the country for the next four years but also serve as a crucial test for the president, who is currently a conservative. On the eve of the quadrennial Election Day, the rival parties fanned out to critical battleground districts Tuesday, making last-minute efforts to woo v

Watching "Saturday Night Live Korea" on his laptop with a bowl of popcorn is how 33-year-old office worker Im Tae-ho unwinds after work. "I love that political satire sketches on 'SNL Korea' have returned stronger than ever this season," Im told The Korea Herald. "I feel like 'SNL Korea' is the only comedy show that dares to poke fun at politicians so brazenly in Korea. It's the only show that does political satire the right way," he added.