The third-biggest People’s Party leader Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo on Wednesday urged the legislative body to come up with a comprehensive plan for reducing gaps in society, blaming the business and political elites for worsening socioeconomic inequalitiesDuring his debut speech as a party leader at the National Assembly, the entrepreneur-turned-politician also suggested that the political parties should set up a parliamentary committee to create more jobs in the future industry. People’s Party chairman

The ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday urged the government to compile a “sizable” amount of supplementary budget, highlighting that extra spending is needed to bolster the nation’s faltering economy marred by rising unemployment. In a meeting with high-profile officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Saenuri lawmakers belonging to a special in-house committee on employment recommended that the government increase the amount of extra budget t

The main opposition party leader pledged Tuesday to enact a strict law on South Korean conglomerates’ illegal business activities, pushing his agenda for “economic democratization” in an address to the National Assembly.The Minjoo Party of Korea’s chairman Rep. Kim Chong-in said that his party will seek to revise the Commercial Act in order to prevent large businesses from abusing their power and engaging in unfair business practices. “The job of a legislative body is to keep the activities of b

In South Korea’s raucous politics, there has been one well-known gimmick favored by the nation’s power brokers to prove their point and turn things around: Going into hiding until someone finds you. Over the weekend, the ruling Saenuri Party’s interim leader Kim Hee-ok vacated his seat and stayed home to protest against the party’s decision to accept its defectors. The former justice threatened to leave his post, saying that the decision-making process was “undemocratic” and “offensive” to his l

The two leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party on Sunday took a fence-mending step to address their conflict over the issue of accepting independent lawmakers and shore up the party plagued by a persistent factional rift.   During their meeting at a cafe in southern Seoul, Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the party's floor leader, apologized for having used "rough and inappropriate" language against interim leader Kim Hee-ok last week. Kim accepted the apology.   Their relationship soured Thursday after Chung c

ROME(AFP) -- Voters in the Italian capital headed to the polls Sunday with all signs indicating that they will elect Virginia Raggi as the first female mayor of the Eternal City.   Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer and local councillor, has leapt from anonymity to become one of the best-known faces in Italian politics in the space of only a few months on the campaign trail.   The telegenic brunette, whose victory would be a blow for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, is the rising star of the populist Five

Dozens of lawmakers from the opposition parties introduced on Sunday a bill aimed to block middle and high schools from adopting history textbooks authored by the state. .The government decided last year to mandate that secondary schools use state-authored history textbooks, claiming that the previous books contained “ideologically-biased” descriptions. The Education Ministry plans to finish writing the book by this November and begin distributing them in March 2017. The measure prompted vehemen

Dozens of lawmakers from the opposition parties introduced on Sunday a bill that would require middle and high schools to adopt history textbooks published by private entities in a move meant to block the government from reinstating state-authored textbooks.The government decided last year to mandate that secondary schools use state-authored history textbooks, claiming that the previous books contained “ideologically-biased” descriptions. The Education Ministry plans to finish writing the book b

One of the most talked-about campaign ads in the last general election featured a candidate mimicking the main character of “House of Cards,” a popular U.S. show depicting the behind-the-scenes power struggle in the world of politics.  In a parody video clip that went viral, then-candidate Keum Tae-sup plays Frank Underwood, a Machiavellian politician played by actor Kevin Spacey. As the main theme music of the show plays in the background, Keum exchanges text messages with one of his campaigner

The ruling Saenuri Party announced Thursday that it would let elected defectors return to the party, allowing its total seats in the National Assembly to outnumber the main opposition party.The interim leadership reached the much-debated decision to allow back seven lawmakers who were elected as independents. Among them is former party whip Rep. Yoo Seong-min.Upon the decision, Yoo along with Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun, Kang Ghil-boo and Ahn Sang-soo immediately filed a request to return to the party.

The 20th National Assembly elected the leaders of the parliamentary standing committees on Monday, finishing the work of forming the legislative body after two weeks of wrangling, but earlier than previous parliaments.The lawmakers officially began their four-year term on May 30. It was the shortest period to form the Assembly since the lawmakers set a legal deadline in 1994. The rival parties last week had reached a consensus on how to distribute key parliamentary positions, considered key in c

A police-turned-lawmaker created an unusual debate by declaring he would not be responding to any telephone calls outside of working hours.Rep. Pyo Chang-won of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea said on Twitter on Wednesday that his office at the National Assembly would not answer any the telephone calls between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m., and between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. during the weekdays. The move -- considered bold in the country notorious for long working hours -- was met with mixed react

 The National Assembly elected the main opposition party’s Rep. Chung Sye-kyun as its new speaker on Thursday, catapulting the sixth-term moderate lawmaker to the top parliamentary job in hopes of bridging partisan gaps in the opposition-controlled parliament. Of the 287 attending lawmakers out of the 300-member Assembly, 274 voted in approval of the motion to endorse Chung as the top lawmaker. Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the ruling Saenuri Party and Rep. Park Joo-sun of the third-biggest People’s Par

The main political parties concluded the work of forming the 20th National Assembly on Wednesday, ending weeks-long debate over the distribution of key parliamentary positions including the Assembly speaker and chiefs of standing committees. The three mainstream parties’ floor leaders decided to give the speakership to the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea. In return, the ruling Saenuri Party would chair the key standing parliamentary committees, including the house steering committee as

The ruling Saenuri Party announced Wednesday that it would forgo its bid to hold the post of the National Assembly’s speaker, boosting hopes for a breakthrough in the deadlock over the formation of the new parliament. The Saenuri Party’s floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk said that his party has decided to “yield” on the speaker seat and offer it to the main opposition party. The Saenuri party had previously insisted that it is “customary” for the ruling party to keep the top job in the Assembly.“I

Moderate lawmakers of rival parties launched a policy discussion group to advance reform agenda Tuesday, fueling speculation that the centrist gathering would transform into a new political force in the run-up to next year’s presidential election. Named “Agenda 2050,” the panpartisan entity consists of 12 lawmakers including prominent centrists such as Rep. Kim Chong-in, the chairman of the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea, and Rep. Yoo Seong-min, an independent who had until earlier th

 President Park Geun-hye paid respect to the nation’s fallen soldiers during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, urging the people to unite against the security threat from North Korea and warning that Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions will lead to its “self-destruction.”　President Park’s speech, delivered after she attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Cemetery, came after her return from an overseas trip during which she spent much of her time building international coalition against th

　South Korea’s human right watchdog said Sunday that it would urge the government to amend a decree enabling the authorities to “interfere” with local entities’ efforts to gather information on North Kora’s human right abuses. 　National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced that it had concluded on Thursday that some provisions of the decree infringe upon independent agencies’ authority to access records because they are required to consult with the government before gathering due informati

Independent lawmaker Rep. Yoo Seung-min on Tuesday urged political groups to embrace the idea of a “republic state,” a move seen to emphasize his centrist agenda amid speculation over whether he would return to the conservative Saenuri Party.The four-term lawmaker and former whip defected from the ruling party in April after clashing with President Park Geun-hye and her factional Saenuri members. After winning the general election as an independent, Yoo asked to return to the party, but the requ

The 20th National Assembly kicked off Monday, with the rival parties streamlining their prioritized legislation initiatives as a start to the crucial four year-term that will include a presidential race next year.With the opposition bloc securing a parliamentary majority for the first time in 16 years, the parties pledged to devote their attention to improving people’s standard of living by loading up their own legislative agenda for the upcoming session. The National Assembly (Park Hae-mook/The