The news of former President Roh Tae-woo’s death on Tuesday was met with mixed reactions. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea expressed condolences, but also pointed to his part in military regimes. Saying that the party wishes for Roh to rest in peace, Democratic Party spokesperson Rep. Lee Yong-bin said the late ex-president extended military rule despite being elected democratically, and that he was a “criminal in history” for his part in crushing the 1980 Gwangju Democ

Roh a key player in brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters; first elected president

Despite a complicated assessment of his political career, the late former President Roh Tae-woo is widely credited for opening a new chapter in South Korea's diplomatic ties with communist nations under his signature Nordpolitik and laying the groundwork for promoting inter-Korean relations. Roh, who died at the age of 88 Tuesday, was the country's first president to establish diplomatic relations with the traditional allies of North Korea in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the Sovie

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) expressed condolences over the death of former President Roh Tae-woo but also promised not to repeat the faults of his political legacy. Roh, who served as president from 1988-93, died Tuesday at 88 after failing to recover from health problems. The former general who succeeded Chun Doo-hwan as president has been credited for building ties with socialist states, including the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1990 and C

Vice governor has to implement “populist” policies before new chief starts in July

Former President Roh Tae-woo, the country's first directly elected president, died Tuesday at age 88, leaving behind a checkered legacy as well as a list of diplomatic accomplishments intended to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. Roh’s aides announced Tuesday that Roh, who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993, died at around 1:45 p.m. while receiving treatment at Seoul National University Hospital. He was brought to the hospital's emergency room at 1:10 p.m.

President Moon Jae-in met with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of Democratic Party of Korea, at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday, marking the ruling liberal bloc’s formal consolidation for next year’s presidential election. Their tea meeting that lasted for about 50 minutes early in the day started as the president congratulated Lee for being elected the party’s presidential nominee.  “After finishing a fierce competition, it is also important to heal the scars and

Former President Roh Tae-woo, who accepted popular calls for a direct presidential election system at the start of South Korea's democratization and sought to broaden diplomatic ties with socialist nations while in office, died Tuesday, his aides said. He was 88. Roh, who served as president from 1988-93, was recently admitted to a hospital after his health deteriorated but failed to recover, they said. Roh, a former general, succeeded former President Chun Doo-hwan after helping the latter se

Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong was sentenced to a 70 million won ($60,055) fine Tuesday for illegally using propofol, an anesthetic medication, dozens of times over a period of years. The Seoul Central District Court also ordered an additional forfeiture of 17 million won as it convicted Lee of violations of the Narcotics Control Act. The fine and the forfeiture are the same as what prosecutors had demanded for Lee. In June, prosecutors indicted the Samsung Electronics Co. vice chairman on

Police will ban late night questionings and minimize the use of handcuffs and ropes in an effort to improve human rights of detainees, officials said Tuesday. The measures are among the recommendations that a civic human rights panel made to police as part of a program that the National Police Agency (NPA) launched in 2018 to study ways to improve rights conditions throughout the police institution. In announcing the results of the program, police said they have decided to prohibit in princip

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), registered with the national election watchdog as a preliminary presidential candidate on Tuesday. Lee's aides, DP Reps. Park Hong-keun and Park Chan-dae, filed the registration on the candidate's behalf at the National Election Commission's office in Gwacheon, 18 kilometers south of Seoul. The move came the same day Lee stepped down as governor of Gyeonggi Province to focus on his presidential campaign. "I begi

A Seoul court questioned a prosecutor Tuesday to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant for him over allegations he conspired with the main opposition party to investigate pro-government figures when opposition presidential contender Yoon Seok-youl was in office as prosecutor general. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sought the warrant for Son Jun-sung on charges of asking a prosecutor-turned-lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party to file co

An arrest warrant has been sought for a sitting prosecutor accused of conspiring with the main opposition party to investigate key ruling camp officials last year when Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said it sought the warrant over the weekend for Son Jun-sung, who served at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office last year, as he has not cooperated with the inv

President Moon Jae-in on Monday pledged a last-ditch effort to bring normalcy back and cement the economic recovery in his final address at the National Assembly before he leaves office in May. “With six months left for my presidency, I’m deeply impressed by this final speech,” the president said as he opened his seventh parliamentary speech earlier in the day. “I’ll make an all-out effort until the very end for a complete return to normalcy and an economic recove

An arrest warrant has been sought for a sitting prosecutor accused of conspiring with the main opposition party to investigate key ruling camp officials last year when Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said it sought the warrant over the weekend for Son Jun-sung, who served at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office last year, as he has not cooperated with the inve