President Moon Jae-in is set to receive a policy briefing on the country's vaccination plans and ongoing efforts to fight the new coronavirus this week, a presidential official said Sunday. Moon will hold a teleconference at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday with relevant ministers -- including Welfare Minister Kwon Deok-cheol, Food and Drug Safety Minister Kim Ganglip and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency chief Jeong Eun-kyeong, according to the official. The officials are expected to report

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has formally invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to an in-person G-7 summit, scheduled to be held in June, via a personal letter, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. Moon plans to reply it, expressing his commitment to making contributions so that this year's summit of the G-7 nations can produce a significant accomplishment, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. A presidential official later told reporters that they may construe the message as

A Seoul court on Friday rejected a request to cancel the seizure of a building owned by former President Chun Doo-hwan's family in western Seoul. The Seoul Administrative Court issued the ruling in response to an October 2018 lawsuit filed by one of Chun's daughters-in-law, surnamed Lee, who claimed the seizure of the annex inside the former president's residential compound was unjustified because it is under her name. The entire residence was put up for auction in 2018 at the request of the p

The unification ministry on Friday unveiled guidelines on a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea in an effort to ensure better interpretation of the law. The amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, which passed the National Assembly and the Cabinet last month, has raised concerns among critics that it could hurt freedom of expression and undercut efforts to send outside information into the reclusive North. Concerns were also raised th

New South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kang Chang-il said Friday that Seoul has a "firm" will to normalize relations with Tokyo, as he departed for the country amid a protracted row over wartime history and trade. "The Moon government has a firm will to normalize relations between South Korea and Japan, and the president also expressed the will during a New Year's press conference," he told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "I plan to relay this

A former official of the ruling Democratic Party was sentenced to two years in prison by a local court on Friday for taking bribes from a key suspect in a massive financial fraud case. The Seoul Southern District Court also ordered Lee Sang-ho, who formerly headed a Busan chapter of the Democratic Party, to forfeit 30 million won ($27,230) after convicting him of receiving about 86 million won in political and other funds from Kim Bong-hyun, a prime suspect in the financial fraud case involving

President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed his commitment to reviving the stalled nuclear talks with North Korea at a meeting Thursday, where he was briefed by his security aides on major initiatives this year to improve inter-Korean relations and South Korea’s ties with the outside world. At the briefing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would work closely with the Biden administration to help restart nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. Senior-level talks with the US to d

President Moon Jae-in pledged Thursday to maintain close partnerships with the new US administration, chairing a rare plenary session of the National Security Council (NSC) hours after Joe Biden's inauguration. "The government will develop the South Korea-US alliance as a more comprehensive and mutually beneficial one," he said at the outset of the session held at Cheong Wa Dae, which was briefly open to pool reporters. Moon also said his government will make utmost efforts to restar

Moon completes task his liberal predecessors left unfinished for almost 20 years

Deaths from industrial accidents rebounded in South Korea last year, the labor minister said Thursday, despite the Moon Jae-in government's pledge to halve the number of workers killed in the line of duty during its term. Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-kap said industrial disasters and work-related accidents took the lives of 882 workers in 2020, marking a rise of 27 deaths from the previous year. The number of workers killed on the job had increased from 964 in 2017 to 971 in 2018 b

Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-young said Thursday that he felt a sense of "immense responsibility" amid "difficult" diplomatic environments, as he faces the North Korean nuclear quandary and other policy challenges if appointed. President Moon Jae-in designated Chung, the former director of the National Security Office, as new foreign minister on Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to tighten up cooperation with the new US government of Joe Biden to resume stalled nuclear diploma

President Moon Jae-in's latest job approval rating has shown a strong rebound, landing back in the 40 percent range for the first time in two months, following his New Year's press conference and a Cabinet shake-up, a poll showed Thursday. In the three-day tracking survey by Realmeter of 1,510 voters nationwide from Monday, Moon's approval rating stood at 43.6 percent, soaring 5.7 percentage points from a week ago. Moon's approval ratings tallied by Realmeter, which stood at 43.8 percent in la

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday ordered state finance authorities to take legislative steps to legally enable compensations for small businesses that have suffered losses due to forced closures from the government's antivirus measures. "I've been well aware of the hearts of small business owners, who have reached their limits as COVID-19 has lasted for over a year. The four separate extra budgets and the tailored support programs remain insufficient in fully healing the pain,&quo

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has sent a congratulatory message to new US President Joe Biden on his inauguration, stressing Seoul's commitment to unswerving coordination for regional peace and prosperity, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. In the note delivered to Washington, Moon expressed hope for a meeting with Biden in the near future to build "trust and friendship" as well as to have "candid dialogue" on issues of mutual concern, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kan

President Moon Jae-in’s longtime aide who has served as his top security adviser since the presidential campaign, Chung Eui-yong, 74, has been nominated to serve as foreign minister. Chung has long helped shape Moon’s engagement policy for North Korea as well as his vision for the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. When Moon took office in 2017, Chung was picked to lead the presidential National Security Office at Cheong Wa Dae and held the post for three years.