Latest news with #SKorean
RTHK
6 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
S Korean cabinet meets amid Lee race on economy
S Korean cabinet meets amid Lee race on economy Lee Jae-myung, seen here on TV at a railway station in Seoul, says the South Korean economy is stagnating in a challenging global environment. Photo: Reuters South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung held his first cabinet meeting on Thursday focused on devising an emergency package to address stagnating economic growth and aid households, moving swiftly to start tackling a top campaign pledge. Lee took office on Wednesday just hours after riding a wave of anger over a brief martial law imposed by Yoon Suk-yeol to win the snap election. The attempt at military rule led to Yoon's ouster and sent shockwaves through Asia's fourth-largest economy. In brief remarks open to the media, Lee told the cabinet carried over from the caretaker government put in place following Yoon's impeachment in December that there was no time to waste in getting to work as the people were facing hardship. Lee has so far only nominated a close political ally and legislative veteran as prime minister and is racing to form a cabinet and staff his office to maintain continuity in administration. The new leader expressed bewilderment on Wednesday after walking into the presidential office to find it stripped of computers, printers and even pens and was quiet like "a graveyard" with government officials who had been assigned there sent back to their posts. Most of the officials have been ordered back, Lee's spokesperson said on Thursday. Lee has made economic recovery one of his top priorities and vowed to immediately unleash fiscal spending of at least 30 trillion won to boost growth, which was projected by the central bank in May to be almost half of its earlier estimate this year at 0.8 percent, down from 1.5 percent in February. Kim Min-seok, whose appointment as prime minister requires parliamentary approval, said on Wednesday the country was facing even more economic turmoil than during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, complicated by unfavourable external factors. "Today, the economy is heading downward and stagnating, which is why I believe it's much more difficult," he said. The previous government had made little progress in trying to assuage crushing US tariffs that would hit some of the country's major export-reliant industries, including autos, electronics and steel. Lee faces what could be the most daunting set of challenges for a South Korean leader in decades, analysts said, ranging from healing a country deeply scarred by the martial law attempt to tackling unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States. On Thursday, Lee withdrew the nomination of two judges to the Constitutional Court, made by acting president Han Duck-soo before the election, his office said. Lee has said Han had no power to nominate judges as an unelected acting leader. The ruling Democratic Party-controlled parliament also passed on Thursday special counsel acts to investigate former president Yoon on insurrection charges and his wife Kim Keon-hee over corruption allegations. The party had previously passed the special counsel acts on multiple occasions, but they were repeatedly vetoed by Yoon and then the acting president. Yoon is currently facing a separate trial on insurrection charges. (Reuters)
RTHK
26-05-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
S Korean frontrunner vows to reach out to North
S Korean frontrunner vows to reach out to North Lee Jae-myung pledged to 'stably manage' relations with China that he said had reached the 'worst state' under the previous administration. Photo: AFP South Korea's liberal presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said on Monday he would pursue the restoration of communications between Seoul and North Korea, including via a military hotline if elected. The two Koreas have in the past communicated using hotlines but Pyongyang had stopped responding since 2023 amid a sharp deterioration in ties between the neighbours. Lee, who is the front-runner in opinion polls for the June 3 election, also said in a Facebook post that he would "stably manage" relations with China, which he said had reached the "worst state" under the previous administration. He vowed to develop the US-South Korea relationship into a comprehensive strategic alliance and respond in principle to past historical and territorial issues related to Japan while strengthening cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan. Advisers to Kim Moon-soo, Lee's main conservative election rival, said Lee's proposals had much in common with Kim's pledge to strengthen the alliance with Washington and keep doors open for dialogue with Pyongyang. Yet, Kim Gunn, a former nuclear envoy, and one of Kim's foreign policy advisers, criticised Lee for changing his policy direction in what he saw as a bid by the candidate to appeal to more moderate voters. Another adviser Kim Hyung-suk, a former vice unification minister, also said Lee's promises did not address North Korea's serious nuclear threat but only sought to re-engage with the isolated state. "So I think that regarding the pledges laid forth by Mr Lee, we will have to see if he can put them into action," Kim Gunn told a meeting with the foreign press on Monday. (Reuters)
RTHK
08-05-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
S Korean right-wing in intraparty fight ahead of polls
S Korean right-wing in intraparty fight ahead of polls Kim Moon-soo acknowledges applause after being chosen as the People Power Party candidate for the presidential election in Goyang on Saturday. File photo: AFP South Korea's right-wing presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo accused his party on Thursday of trying to force him out and threatened to take legal action just weeks ahead of a snap election slated for June 3. Kim said he believed the party leadership was trying to "bring him down" in favour of another candidate, former prime minister Han Duck-soo, even though he had been chosen as the party's "legitimate" nominee. The People Power Party (PPP) selected Kim as its candidate on Saturday through primaries but has since demanded Kim and Han negotiate which one of them would represent the party in the election. Han, who resigned as acting leader last week to run in the polls, is not a member of the PPP but was prime minister under ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was from the party. Unifying the conservative candidates is seen as one of the few options in order to stand a chance against Democratic Party frontrunner Lee Jae-myung in the election. In a two-way race, Lee has 44 percent support against Han with 34 percent, while Lee leads 43 percent against Kim's 29 percent, according to a National Barometer Survey released on Thursday. Han was the preferred candidate among 53 percent of PPP supporters versus 32 percent who backed Kim. Conservative leader Yoon was removed from office in April over his shock martial law order, prompting the snap election. But efforts to form a unity ticket among conservatives have proved difficult. "The forced unification process that's underway now is a forceful candidate replacement and an attempt to bring me down... so it could lead to legal disputes. Stop it immediately," Kim said of the party leadership. Kim's supporters filed an injunction to stop the party from holding a convention this weekend to officially pick either Kim or Han as a candidate, Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday. The feud has overshadowed the conservative party's already uphill battle to retain the presidency and policy debate has taken a back seat, while Lee met business leaders to discuss job creation and deregulation and urged North Korea to stop military provocation and come to dialogue. Senior PPP leaders and Han's campaign are pressuring Kim to come to an agreement before May 11 when the registration for presidential candidates closes. Kim has rejected the calls and proposed a one-week campaign for each candidate and a public survey afterwards to pick a unified candidate. (Reuters)
