National Assembly passes bills for independent probes into ex-president and former first lady

SEOUL, June 5 (AJP) - A series of bills proposing independent prosecutors to investigate former disgraced President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee over several allegations were passed at the National Assembly on Thursday. The bills proposed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) called for investigations into about a dozen charges related to Yoon's botched Dec. 3 martial law debacle last year, as well as other allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee, who has been embr

June 5, 2025

US congratulates Lee on election win

SEOUL, June 4 (AJP) - The U.S. congratulated South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on his election as the country's 21st president and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to its bilateral alliance with Seoul. In a statement released on Tuesday, the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "We congratulate on his election" as South Korea's next president, adding that the two countries "share an ironclad commitment to the Alliance grounded in our Mutual

June 4, 2025

South Korea inaugurates new president

SEOUL, June 4 (AJP) - South Korea's newly-elected President Lee Jae-myung was sworn in on Wednesday with a low-key inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul. Lee's tenure as the country's 21st president already began when he was briefed about military readiness, following the National Election Committee's formal approval of his victory at the previous day's presidential election. He began the day by leaving his home in Gyeyang, Inc

June 4, 2025

Lee Jae-myung's resounding win paves way for strong leadership and bold policy drive

SEOUL, June 4 (AJP) - Tuesday's presidential election was a decisive win for the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), as its candidate Lee Jae-myung secured a record 49.42 percent, defeating Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) by 2.89 million votes or 8.27 percentage points. With a record turnout of 79.4 percent, the highest since the 1997 presidential election's 80.7 percent, Lee took the lead soon after votes were counted and maintained it, finishing firs

June 4, 2025

Kim Moon-soo concedes presidential race, congratulates Lee Jae-myung in early-morning remarks

SEOUL, June 04 (AJP) - People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo acknowledged his projected defeat early Wednesday morning, offering congratulations to rival Lee Jae-myung and expressing gratitude to his supporters. Speaking around 1:30 a.m. on Jun. 4 at party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Kim appeared before reporters and campaign staff following a night of sobering exit poll results and early vote counts. His remarks came shortly after major broadcasters projected

June 4, 2025

Lee Jae-myung declares intent to lead as president in early morning address amid projected victory

SEOUL, June 04 (AJP) - Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung addressed supporters in the early hours of Wednesday, Jun. 4, delivering what sounded like a de facto victory speech, even as final vote counts in South Korea’s 21st presidential election were still underway. Speaking shortly after 1:15 a.m. in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Lee acknowledged that he had not yet been officially confirmed as president-elect but said he felt a strong

June 4, 2025

Lee Jae-myung projected to win S. Korea's snap presidential election, signals end of conservative rule

SEOUL, June 04 (AJP) - Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party is projected to win South Korea’s 21st presidential election, setting the stage for a return to liberal leadership just three years after conservatives took office. The Jun. 3 snap election was triggered by the impeachment and removal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who declared martial law on December 3, 2024. Citing unspecified threats to national stability, Yoon ordered the military and police into emergency re

June 4, 2025

Conservative party officials in somber mood as exit polls show 12-point gap

SEOUL, June 3 (AJP) - South Korea's main opposition People Power Party officials watched in somber silence as exit polls showed their candidate trailing the ruling Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung by about 12.4 percentage points in Tuesday's presidential election. The party's election headquarters at the National Assembly Library fell into heavy silence when broadcasters announced the results at 8 p.m., immediately after voting concluded across the nation. Officia

June 3, 2025

Democratic Party celebrates as exit poll shows Lee Jae-myung ahead with more than 50%

SEOUL, June 03 (AJP) - The Democratic Party broke into cheers Tuesday night after exit poll results showed its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung taking over 50 percent of the vote, putting him more than 10 percentage points ahead of conservative rival Kim Moon-soo. At the vote monitoring room set up in the main conference hall of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building, campaign staff and senior party officials began trickling in just after 7 p.m., an hour before t

June 3, 2025

Lee Jae-myung advocates pragmatic diplomacy and balanced global engagement

SEOUL, June 3 (AJP) - Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, is projected to win South Korea’s snap presidential election held Tuesday, with exit polls showing him ahead with 51.7 percent of the vote. His conservative rival Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party follows with 39.3 percent, according to a joint exit poll survey by public broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SBS. At the center of Lee's diplomatic strategy is a push for pragmatic engageme

June 3, 2025