Seoul, June 21 (IANS) Protests demanding a rerun of the June 3 local elections marred by ballot paper shortages entered the 17th day Sunday at a ballot counting site in southern Seoul.Protesters continued to chant slogans and hold pickets claiming election fraud outside SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul’s southern ward of Songpa, which was used as a ballot counting site for the elections.As many as 34,000 people were gathered at the venue as of 3:30 pm, with those in their 20s and 30s accou…
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Seoul, June 19 (IANS) Seoul stocks traded sharply higher on Friday, buoyed by chips and other tech heavyweights, after topping the historic 9,000 landmark the previous session.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 200.67 points, or 2.21 percent, to 9,264.51, as of 11:20 a.m., after peaking above 9,300 at one point, reports Yonhap news agency.The index followed gains on Wall Street overnight, lead by major chipmakers, including Intel. The U.S. semiconductor company jumped a…
Seoul, June 14 (IANS) A joint team of police investigators and prosecutors will soon question election watchdog officials over shortages of ballot papers during the June 3 local elections in South Korea, legal sources said Sunday. The expected move comes as the National Election Commission (NEC) has taken flak for the shortages that temporarily suspended voting at 26 polling stations, mostly in Seoul, during the elections earlier this month.The team completed a search and seizure on NEC’s server…
Seoul, June 12 (IANS) South Korea’s justice ministry has approved a request from investigators to impose a travel ban on the former head of the National Election Commission (NEC) amid a probe into shortages of ballots during last week’s local elections, sources said Friday. The ministry took the measure against Roh Tae-ak, former chairperson of the NEC, as well as other key officials upon requests made by a team of investigators probing the case, according to judiciary sources.The move came a da…
Seoul, June 12 (IANS) Seoul stocks were trading sharply higher on Friday morning as US President Donald Trump fuelled hopes for an end to the Iran war.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was trading up 606.46 points, or 7.81 percent, to 8,370.41, as of 11:20 am, reports Yonhap news agency.After opening sharply higher, the index is remaining above the 8,000-point mark, as institutional and foreign investors snapped up blue chip tech stocks.On Thursday (U.S. time) President Tru…
Seoul, June 11 (IANS) South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Thursday called for a speedy and rigorous investigation into ballot shortages reported during last week’s local elections. During a meeting with officials from the interior, justice, education and culture ministries, as well as the National Police Agency and the prosecution, Kim said bipartisan cooperation is needed to investigate the ballot shortage to solidify democracy, Yonhap News Agency reported. His remarks came as the Natio…
Seoul, June 11 (IANS) South Korea’s National Assembly on Thursday launched formal procedures for a potential parliamentary investigation into ballot shortages reported during last week’s local elections, with requests for the probe submitted by both the ruling and opposition parties being reported to a plenary session.The head of the Proceedings Division of the National Assembly Secretariat said that the requests for a parliamentary probe were submitted separately by the ruling Democratic Party …
Seoul, June 9 (IANS) South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Tuesday he seriously takes the shocking shortage of ballot papers at dozens of polling stations in last week’s nationwide local elections, stressing that suffrage is the foundation of democracy. Kim made the remark at the start of a youth policy meeting with related ministers, saying he was ashamed of the incident.”We should have been more sensitive to such issues and should’ve responded more quickly to come up with solutions,…
Vienna, June 8 (IANS) South Korea’s planned nuclear-powered submarine program should not raise proliferation concerns, given that a solid and specific safeguards arrangement will be concluded with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency’s chief said Monday.IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi noted Seoul and the IAEA have already begun such discussions, though they are still in a preliminary stage, due largely to the lack of specific details for Seoul’s envisioned submarine prog…
Seoul, June 8 (IANS) The rival parties in South Korea each submitted a request Monday for a parliamentary investigation into an unprecedented shortage of ballots in last week’s local elections, both calling for a thorough probe into what caused the incident but differing over its scope. The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) separately filed their requests at the National Assembly’s bills division but said they will hold follow-up discussions to narrow …