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

Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo offer different visions for constitutional reform

SEOUL, May 19 (AJP) - With South Korea heading to the polls on Jun. 3 for a snap presidential election, constitutional reform has emerged as a key dividing line between the two leading candidates, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party. Both agree the Constitution needs to change, but their proposals reflect fundamentally different priorities and political philosophies. The snap election was triggered by the impeachment and removal of form

May 19, 2025

Lee Jae-myung builds commanding lead as Kim Moon-soo trails, Lee Jun-seok stays in single digits

SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - One week into South Korea’s snap presidential election, Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung is beginning to break away from the pack, a survey showed Saturday. Lee’s campaign, steady and cautious, is gaining traction even in regions once considered hostile ground. People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo remains stalled in second place, while Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok stays in the single digits, aiming to position hims

May 18, 2025

Firefighters bring major blaze at Gwangju Kumho Tire plant under control

SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - A large fire at Kumho Tire’s Gwangju plant is nearing containment, prompting fire authorities to consider scaling back the emergency response level as of Sunday. The National Fire Agency said that as of the morning of May 18, the blaze was about 80 percent contained. A total of 462 firefighters and 168 pieces of equipment have been deployed in an ongoing effort to fully extinguish the flames. The fire broke out around 7:11 a.m. Saturday in the mixing

May 18, 2025

Massive blaze at tire factory in Gwangju might last one week

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) - A fire broke out at a tire manufacturing factory in a southwestern city on Saturday morning and could take a week to fully extinguish. The blaze began at a facility mixing raw rubber and chemicals at the Kumho Tire plant in Gwangju. Early investigations suggest an unknown spark ignited nearby flammable materials, quickly spreading the fire to adjacent buildings. About 400 employees immediately evacuated, but a worker in his 20s sustained a leg fracture a

May 17, 2025

Former S. Korean President Yoon exits ruling party PPP

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) - Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his resignation from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Saturday, a decision that comes just weeks before the upcoming snap presidential election. Yoon joined the PPP in July 2021, becoming its presidential nominee and securing the presidency under the party's banner. Despite his impeachment over his botched martial law debacle last year, he remained with the party until Saturday’s decision.

May 17, 2025

Pyongyang criticizes US counterterrorism non-cooperation listing

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) -North Korea criticized the United States on Saturday for a "political provocation" after being re-designated as an "uncooperative state in combating terrorism," warning this would escalate "irreconcilable hostility" between the two countries. North Korea's state-run news media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported that North Korea's Foreign Ministry described the annual designation as a "unilateral and ma

May 17, 2025

Presidential candidates to face off in first televised debate this weekend

SEOUL, May 16 (AJP) - With just a few weeks remaining until next month's presidential election, four presidential hopefuls are set to face off in a televised debate scheduled for this weekend. In their first debate hosted by election watchdog National Election Commission slated for Sunday, Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) will present their vi

May 16, 2025