(ATTN: UPDATES with details of hearing in paras 1-5, 7; CHANGES headline)SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Constitutional Court held its first open hearing Tuesday to determine the fate of President Park Geun-hye following her impeachment over a corruption scandal involving her and her lon

SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government has ordered the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, the woman at the center of a massive presidential scandal, to turn in her passport in a bid to pressure her to return home and face an investigation, diplomatic sources said Tuesday.Chung Yoo-ra was arre

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye is considering holding additional meetings with the press to rebut a slew of corruption allegations against her, an aide said Monday, in an apparent move to rally her core supporters and counter public anger over the scandal that has gripped the coun

Who’s the front runner in the latest Presidential polls published this morning in Korea?According to a report published today by popular Korean-language business daily, Maeil Kyungje, based on the result of a survey conducted on Dec. 27-28, 2016, the popularity rating of the different Presidential h

SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's opposition parties on Monday criticized President Park Geun-hye for denying her involvement in the influence-peddling scandal.Park, impeached by the parliament in December, on Sunday denied that she had behind-the-scenes ties with her longtime confidante C

A total of 29 former Saenuri Party members of the National Assembly declared the formation of a new party, provisionally named the ‘Reformist New Conservative Party.’ In the declaration, the former Saenuriy lawmakers declared, “The pro-Park Geun-hye hegemonist faction of the Saenuri Party has ruined

The main opposition Minjoo Party leader, Madam Choo Mi-ae, wants President Park Geun-hye to resign by the end of January next year while Kim Moo-sung, leader of the non-mainstream group of the ruling Saenuri Party, says President Park should not be impeached if she decides to step down by the end of

Reports indicate that leading figures of the so-called pro-Park group of political doyens such as Reps. Suh Chung-won, Choi Kyung-hwan and Yoon Sang-hyun had an emergency meeting in Yeoeuido near the National Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 28, 2016, and decided to directly recommend to President Park Geu

A total of over 20 former prime ministers, National Assembly speakers and other top leaders of the Republic of Korea had an emergency meeting at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Nov. 27, 2016, and urged President Park Geun-hye to step down as President within the next four months.Then they urged the Nati

Presidency Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria is considered a greatest leader in many countries of the world for his remarkable contributions made to the economic development of Algeria in addition to various other outstanding achievements. In particular, President Bouteflika is noted for the successfu

Stemming from the good existing relations between the Sultanate of Oman and South Korea and as part of their endeavors to promote the existing relations of cooperation between them, the 5th session of the Omani-Korean Joint Committee was held on Seoul, Korea in Nov1-4. The Omani side was headed by D

“Chairmen of Korea’s top jaebeol business groups are trembling with extreme fear,” said Chosun Ilbo, a leading Korean-language daily said this morning (Nov. 9). Trembling are the big bosses of the top Korean jaebeol business groups, including Samsung, SK, Lotte, POSCO, KT and a number others.It said

President Park Geun-hye agreed on Nov. 8, 2016 that she would cancel her appointment of Kim Byong-joon as prime minister and appoint one whomever is recommended by the National Assembly. This was reported by Korean-language daily, Dong-A Ilbo, this morning. She had appointed Kim as prime minister si

The opposition camp now no longer wants the withdrawal of President Park Geun-hye from active duty to the ‘second line’ but to step down altogether as President.According to the Korean-language daily, Chosun Ilbo, on Nov. 7, 2016, now the opposition leaders want President Park ‘out of the office.’ F

“I will use my power 100% and form an all-party cabinet,” disclosed newly appointed Prime Minister Kim Byong-joon at an informal meeting with reporters yesterday. According to Korean-language newspapers this morning (Nov. 4, 2016), including Hankyoreh, Kim stated that he will wield to the fullest po

Newly appointed Prime Kim Byong-joon served as a policy secretary to the late President Roh Mu-hyeon's, a liberal figure who is still admired by many people in the opposition camp. The 62-year-old new prime minister graduated from Yeungnam University in southern Korea and served as a professor a

President Park Geun-hye appointed yesterday Prof. Kim Byong-joon of Kook University as new prime minister to succeed former PM Hwang Kyo-ahn.President Park also reshuffled the deputy prime minister for economic affairs appointing former Chairman Yim Jong-yong of the Financial Commission as new DPM.

The Korean-language newspapers editorially questioned the existence of merit in the statements made by President Park Geun-hye following the news on the inappropriate behaviors of Mrs. Choi Sun-sil.The mass-circulated Korean-language daily newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, questioned on Oct. 26, 2016: “Is the

President Park Geun-hye made an apology on Oct. 25, 2016 concerning the leaking of confidential documents including key Presidential speeches to Mrs. Choi Soon-sil. Excerpts from her apology follow:Since the last National Assembly elections, Mrs. Choi has offered me her opinion on how my election sp

By Ms. Linda YounEditor, Korean-language edition of The Korea PostAmbassador Tomas Husak of the Czech Republic in Seoul said, “We expect that the President of the Czech Republic will visit Korea next year followed by the visit of the Speaker of Czech Senate.” Speaking at a recent interview with The