Cheong Wa Dae has pledged to facilitate communications with the business community through more frequent, official meetings, saying gone are the days of secret meetings for shady deals. According to the presidential office Wednesday, President Moon Jae-in’s new chief of staff for policy Lee Ho-seung plans to hold a series of meetings with heads of the nation’s key business groups this month in a way to better communicate with businesses in all sizes from chaebol to small merchants

Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun is heading to Iran in the next few days for talks to release a seized South Korean oil tanker and its captain, according to his office and diplomatic sources Tuesday. Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the visit earlier in the day, but did not specify a date. With the two governments still consulting on the timing, the Prime Minister’s Office said it was seeking to arrange a meeting between Chung and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. In early January,

The first face-to-face meeting between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden may come sooner than expected, with the two governments seeking to advance the date as early as April, according to diplomatic sources Monday. Considering Biden’s packed diplomatic schedule this month, including a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on April 16 and the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate he will preside over on April 22-23, a summit with Moon could come later in the mont

Japan is rising as a possible fourth player in North Korean denuclearization issues, boosted by the new US administration’s emphasis on South Korea-US-Japan ties, but the changes are likely to bring complications for Seoul, experts say. The three nations are holding a series of high-level talks. Following the new US security team’s trip to Seoul and Tokyo in March, their top security advisers plan to hold a face-to-face meeting Friday as part of Washington’s ongoing policy r

President Moon Jae-in on Monday pledged all-out efforts to fight real estate corruption, especially among public officials, as he chaired an emergency session of the government’s Anti-Corruption Policy Consultative Council for Fair Society. The meeting was attended by the ministers of finance, justice and interior, as well as the head of the Financial Services Commission and the acting prosecutor general. The last meeting was convened in June last year to discuss ways to root out corrupt

President Moon Jae-in on Monday dismissed his chief of staff for policy Kim Sang-jo, who played a key role in implementing policies to better protect tenants’ rights but was recently found to have greatly raised the jeonse deposit for his Gangnam apartment days before the new laws took effect. According to government filings, Kim raised the jeonse deposit 14 percent -- from 850 million won ($751,000) to 970 million won -- when he renewed a lease with a tenant July 29 last year. Two days l

President Moon Jae-in on Friday expressed deep concerns over North Korea’s recent missile launches, calling any action that hampers ongoing efforts for resuming dialogue “undesirable.” “I’m aware the people are concerned about North Korea’s missile launches yesterday,” Moon said in his speech during a ceremony honoring patriotic servicemen who sacrificed their lives to defend the Yellow Sea during maritime battles against North Korea. “Now is

President Moon Jae-in’s top security adviser Suh Hoon is expected to head to Washington next week to hold talks with his US and Japanese counterparts Jake Sullivan and Shigeru Kitamura as part of Washington’s ongoing policy review on North Korea. According to the White House on Tuesday, the US National Security Council will host the trilateral meeting at the end of next week, while the allies also plan to hold separate bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the daylong schedule.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Seoul Wednesday, a day after North Korea issued a fresh warning over a joint military drill currently conducted by the two allies. The two senior US officials plan to hold multiple meetings with their South Korean counterparts, including a courtesy call on President Moon Jae-in Thursday afternoon, during their two-day stay. They also visited Japan earlier this week in their first overseas trip since the Biden

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday held a meeting with ministers and ambassadors of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil to discuss digital partnership with Latin American countries. This is the president’s first face-to-face diplomatic meeting over the past year amid canceled or delayed state visits in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Korea is an optimal and reliable partner for your envisioned transition towards an ecofriendly digital economy. Korea has

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook will receive COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday next week ahead of their planned trip to the UK for the G-7 summit in June, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. The presidential couple will be given the two-dose AstraZeneca vaccines like other citizens here, the presidential office added. “Their planned vaccination also aims to eradicate safety and efficacy concerns surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine,” Moon’s spokesperson Kang Min-seok s

President Moon Jae-in on Monday vowed to root out corruption in the housing market, calling real estate speculation another form of “deep-rooted evil” that has long been prevalent in society. “Eradicating deep-rooted evil and restoring order in the real estate market will become one of the key goals in the remaining time of the administration,” Moon said in a weekly meeting with his key aides at Cheong Wa Dae. “We should keep in mind that this is the most import

President Moon Jae-in’s push to revive denuclearization talks is expected to gain fresh momentum as he plans to hold in-person talks with senior US officials next week to discuss pending issues, including Washington’s ongoing policy review on North Korea. On Wednesday, the two governments announced that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Seoul on March 17-18 after a three-day visit to Tokyo in their first overseas trip since the launc

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday denounced the alleged speculative purchases of land by officials of the state-run housing developer, calling the snowballing insider trading scandal “unacceptable.”  “It is unacceptable that officials at public organizations or public servants make speculative land purchases based on related information. This is an act of undermining our society’s integrity and trust,” Moon said before a luncheon meeting with floor leaders o

South Korea-Japan ties long strained over wartime history are showing few signs of recovery, with Seoul’s new Tokyo envoy facing almost open hostility from local authorities. According to diplomatic sources Tuesday, Korea’s new ambassador to Japan, Kang Chang-il, has yet to meet with Japanese leaders, a rarity in light of diplomatic protocol. Kang arrived in Japan on Jan. 22 and started work on Feb. 14 after a two-week quarantine. But his request for a courtesy visit to the prime m

President Moon Jae-in is expected to receive his COVID-19 jab before his planned trip to the UK in June to attend the G-7 summit, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. “The president’s vaccination plan will be set up based on the disease control agency’s manual and the president’s diplomatic schedule,” presidential spokesperson Kang Min-seok said during a media briefing. “Like ordinary citizens, the president cannot choose the vaccine type. The exact dat

South Korea’s North Korea Human Rights Act remains of little real consequence five years after its enactment, with the ruling liberal bloc showing no particular urgency in dealing with human rights violations in the North amid stalled peace talks. On Wednesday, the law marked its fifth anniversary since it was enacted on March 3, 2016, more than a decade after similar laws took effect in the US and Japan in the early 2000s. But little progress has been made in carrying out the concrete

President Moon Jae-in’s top security advisor Suh Hoon and his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan held their second phone call Tuesday to share views on the current Korean Peninsula situation and Washington’s ongoing review of its North Korea policy, Cheong Wa Dae said. “The two nations agreed to continue joint efforts in tackling COVID-19 and other regional and global issues, while pledging to further strengthen the Korea-US alliance,” said Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for Se

President Moon Jae-in on Monday reaffirmed his willingness to mend ties with Japan long strained over wartime history and trade, saying issues of the past should not drag down the forward-looking cooperation between the two neighbors. “Our government is ready to sit down and have talks with the Japanese government anytime,” he said in his speech at a ceremony marking the 102nd anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. “I am confident that if we put our heads togeth

North Korea recently appointed a former trade minister as its new ambassador to China, entrusting him with the crucial mission of reviving trade with the country’s closest ally amid deepening COVID-19 woes. According to the North’s Foreign Ministry on Feb. 19, Ri Ryong-nam, 61, will be replacing Ji Jae-ryong, 79, who has served as the top envoy to Beijing since 2010. Ri served as trade minister from 2008 to 2016, during which time the Trade Ministry was renamed the External Econo