DP's Lee maintains lead as presidential race tightens

SEOUL, May 23 (AJP) - With South Korea’s presidential election just two weeks away, Lee Jae-myung, candidate of the Democratic Party (DP), maintains a clear lead over his rivals despite recent setbacks, a new poll showed on Friday. According to a survey of 1,002 voters conducted earlier this week by pollster Gallup Korea, Lee garnered 45 percent support as the preferred presidential candidate. Kim Moon-soo, the candidate for People Power Party (PPP), followed in second pla

May 23, 2025

Soprano Sumi Jo to receive France's highest cultural honor next week

SEOUL, May 22 (AJP) - Soprano Sumi Jo is set to receive France's highest cultural honor next week, according to the Korean Cultural Center in Paris. Jo will be awarded the Commander's medal of the Order of Arts and Letters in recognition of her contributions to French art. Established in 1957 by the French Ministry of Culture, the prestigious award recognizes individuals who have made "significant contributions to the arts and literature both in France and int

May 22, 2025

Search underway to find new US envoy for North Korean human rights

SEOUL, May 22 (AJP) - Washington's post for a special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, which has remained vacant since early this year, is expected to be filled soon. When asked during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday whether there are plans to appoint someone to the post left vacant since former envoy Julie Turner stepped down in January, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that thorough vetting procedures are currently underway to &quo

May 22, 2025

Seoul records season's hottest morning temperature

SEOUL, May 21 (AJP) - Seoul recorded its hottest morning temperature for May in more than a century on Wednesday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The morning low soared to 23 degrees Celsius, the highest early summer temperature since weather observations began in 1907, breaking the previous record of 21.8 degrees set in May 2018. Partly due to humid southerly winds, the unusually warm conditions came, coinciding with "Soman," the eighth of t

May 21, 2025

Can conservative candidates unite to end stalemate in voter support?

SEOUL, May 21 (AJP) - With just less than two weeks left until next month's presidential election, urgency is rising among conservatives to unite behind a single candidate. While Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) maintains his huge lead in recent polls, with around 50-percent support, Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) who has been struggling to catch up with him is hoping to join hands with Lee Jun-seok of th

May 21, 2025

Massive fire at Kumho Tire factory fully contained at last

SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - A massive fire at a tire-manufacturing plant in southwestern South Korea was fully extinguished on Tuesday, nearly three days after it first broke out over the weekend. According to fire authorities, the blaze started early Saturday morning at Kumho Tire's factory in Gwangju, forcing about 400 workers to evacuate and leaving three people injured including two firefighters. Some 1,236 cases of damage have been reported so far by residents near the factory

May 20, 2025

Lee targets key swing regions as Kim highlights welfare issues in Seoul campaign push

SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - With just two weeks left until South Korea’s snap presidential election on Jun. 3, Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo are stepping up their campaigns in the capital region on Tuesday, each appealing to core and swing voters with contrasting schedules. The election was called after former president Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office for abuse of power. On Dec. 3 last year, Yo

May 20, 2025

South Korean expats to begin voting for new president this week

SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - Overseas voting for the June 3 presidential election is set to begin on Tuesday at some 223 polling stations in 118 countries around the world, election watchdog National Election Commission (NEC) said on Monday. Some 258,254 overseas South Koreans will be eligible to vote over a six-day period that runs until next Monday, at around 182 embassies and consulates abroad, along with some 41 newly added polling stations set up for military units dispatched to Leban

May 19, 2025

Teen South Korean baseball player signs with Texas Rangers

SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - Teen baseball player Kim Seong-jun has signed with the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball in the U.S. Announcing their deal with Kim as an international free agent, the Rangers said on Sunday, "Kim, a shortstop and right-handed pitcher, is in his final year at Gwangju Jeil High School in South Korea and will graduate in January 2026, at which point he will join the organization." "We're so excited about , a world-class talent and

May 19, 2025

Presidential candidates to clash again in televised debate later this week

SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - With just two weeks or so left until next month's presidential election, four presidential hopefuls are set to clash once again in another televised debate later this week. During their first televised debate hosted by election watchdog National Election Commission last Sunday, Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Lee Jae-myung of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), Lee Jun-seok of the minor centrist Reform Party, and Kwon Youn

May 19, 2025