An assailant who repeatedly struck a South Korean lawmaker with a rock as she tried to resist was a 14-year-old boy who was sent to a mental health facility Friday, Seoul police said as they continue to investigate the attack. The attack Thursday on Bae Hyunjin, a member of the conservative ruling party, came just … Read more
On December 26, the national committee of the People Power Party (PPP) confirmed South Korea’s former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon as its interim leader. Han relinquished his ministerial position earlier and is expected to command the party through the general election in April. The decision comes at a critical juncture for the ruling PPP. In … Read more
South Korea’s opposition leader and former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was stabbed on the morning of January 2 during a visit to Busan. The attacker reportedly approached Lee to ask for an autograph before pulling out a knife and stabbing Lee in the neck. The attacker was immediately subdued and arrested; police declined to give … Read more
With South Korea’s general election less than five months away, the ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP) is gearing up for what is expected to be fierce competition. The coming April election is crucial for President Yoon Suk-yeol and his PPP. Back in 2020, the Democratic Party (DP) triumphed in a landslide victory that gave … Read more
In October, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was routed by the opposition Democratic Party (DP) in a by-election for the head of Gangseo-gu, Seoul’s westernmost district. It was a bitter pill for the PPP. The gaping margin of defeat – more than 17 points – caused an existential crisis among the PPP leadership. It … Read more
Advertisement Imagine the leader of a nation with an approval rating of more than 80 percent. We might rationally expect the leader to promote policies at will. Now imagine a leader inaugurated with less than 40 percent approval, which drops to the 30 percent, and sometimes 20 percent, range. One can hardly expect that leader … Read more
Family members of the victims react during a rally marking the first anniversary of the crowd surge that killed 159 people in a Seoul alleyway, at a memorial altar set up at the Seoul Plaza, South Korea, Oct. 29, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon Advertisement Bereaved relatives of victims of last year’s devastating Halloween crush … Read more
Advertisement There is an old, unwritten law in South Korea’s political circles: Whenever a president approaches the end of their term or returns to civilian life, they almost always face an ignominious end. Some have even labeled this seemingly inevitable downfall a curse. Curse or not, the phenomenon is readily observable in South Korean history. … Read more
The Koreas | Politics | East Asia The judge said the evidence collected so far raises “substantial suspicion” about Lee’s involvement in the Seongnam development case, but not to a level that warrants his detainment. Advertisement A South Korean judge on Wednesday denied an arrest warrant for the country’s opposition leader on broad corruption allegations, saying there wasn’t a … Read more
The ruling People Power Party’s lawmakers react as the parliament passed a motion to approve main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung’s arrest warrant at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Sep. 21, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon Advertisement In a surprise outcome, South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament on Thursday voted to pass a motion … Read more