South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Monday, as investors remained wary of a possible sharp rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in next week's policy meeting. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 1.05 percent, or 28.51 points, to trade at 2,676.20 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investors remain cautious as the Fed has signaled a more aggressive rate raise than previously estimated to tame the worst inflation in decades, with its next policy meeting set to take place M

What made Yoon’s victory closest presidential run ever?

COVID-19 economic rescue At the top of his agenda is compensating those who have sustained economic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Yoon’s plans, "fair and complete" compensations for losses will be provided, and counseling will be offered to merchants and self-employed people affected by the pandemic. Yoon pledged to establish a presidential committee dedicated to COVID-19 compensation immediately upon inauguration, and to introduce new laws and revise rela

The 2022 presidential election showed that age and regional divides in Korea continue to remain solid. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition conservative People Power Party beat his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party of Korea by 0.73 percentage points, marking the smallest point gap in the presidential election history of Korea. The previous record of the smallest point gap was set in 1997, when former President Kim Dae-jung won the election by 1.53 percent

Ruling party leadership steps down over election defeat

Disappointment with Moon pushes voters to bet on opposing side

Wednesday’s election came down to the slimmest margin ever seen in South Korean presidential election history, with the conservative opposition’s Yoon Suk-yeol beating his rival from the ruling camp, Lee Jae-myung, by just over 247,000 votes. It was the tightest race ever seen in the country’s 35-year-old democracy. Yoon, who was until March last year the country’s prosecutor general, took 48.56 percent of votes cast, just 0.73 of a percentage point ahead of former Gyeo

As the poll confirmed of his victory, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol arrived at the party’s campaign headquarter to deliver his speech at an early dawn on Thursday. Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief of the minor opposition People’s Party who dropped out of the race to merge campaign with Yoon, also came to celebrate the victory wearing a red tie to match the color of the main opposition party. “I believe (the presidential election) was a very heated, and passionate race. In that proc

Campaign ends in loss for Lee with shouts and tears from fervent supporters

Presidential race was tight as voters agonized over which candidate was the ‘lesser evil’

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition party looks to be on course for victory as the gap in vote tallies has widened during counting. With 85 percent of votes counted as of 2:13 a.m. Thursday, 48.64 percent were for Yoon, against 47.78 percent for the ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung. Although about 15 percent of votes remained to be counted, some media outlets and the country’s largest portal Naver rated Yoon’s win as “likely.” By Jo He-rim (

 Rep. Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate for the minor left-wing Justice Party, said she and her party accepted the outcome of the 20th presidential election as her share of the vote stood at 2.24 percent with 59 percent of votes counted. Sim said in a speech at her party’s situation room in Yeouido, Seoul, that she “solemnly accepts” the results and vowed that the Justice Party would make efforts again to win the minds of voters who want meaningful change to their

With the ballot count in full swing, People Power Party members cheered on as its flagbearer Yoon Suk-yeol took the lead over ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung after midnight on Thursday. With about half of ballots counted as of 12:31 a.m., Yoon edged past Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea, to garner 48.3 of the counted ballots to 48.2. As Yoon’s vote total closed in Lee’s, a number of the party’s lawmakers including the election campaign chief Rep. Kwon Young-se and the

Accusations of electoral fraud continued to surface Wednesday, as several problems with ballot handling during the 20th presidential election were reported. Local media outlet Segye Ilbo reported 10:13 p.m. Wednesday that a polling station in Incheon found a batch of ballots in a different color, forcing election officials there to halt the vote count at 10 p.m. Ballot papers used in Wednesday’s election are white, but ballots printed on yellowish paper were found in one of the ballot box

Members of the main opposition People Power Party appeared to be less than excited after the exit poll results released by the major broadcasters showed an unexpectedly tight race Wednesday evening. At the party’s election headquarters set up inside the National Assembly, People Power Party leadership, including the party’s Chairman Lee Jun-seok and election campaign chief Rep. Kwon Young-se, had come to watch the exit poll results that emerged after polls officially closed nationw