logo
Special counsel questions unification minister in martial law probe

Special counsel questions unification minister in martial law probe

Korea Herald20-07-2025
Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team was questioning Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Sunday as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed attempt to impose martial law.
Kim was summoned to the special counsel's office inside the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul to be questioned as a witness in the case.
The minister was one of five Cabinet members called to the presidential office on Dec. 3, shortly before Yoon declared martial law.
He has previously testified that he sought to persuade the then president to refrain from issuing the decree, citing its potential damage to the economy and South Korea-US relations. (Yonhap)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

S. Korea proposes major shipbuilding investment in US ahead of tariff negotiation deadline
S. Korea proposes major shipbuilding investment in US ahead of tariff negotiation deadline

Korea Herald

timean hour ago

  • Korea Herald

S. Korea proposes major shipbuilding investment in US ahead of tariff negotiation deadline

South Korea has proposed a multibillion-dollar shipbuilding investment package in the United States as part of ongoing negotiations to avert steep US tariffs as the Aug. 1 deadline for such a deal nears, government sources said Monday, noting the proposal appears to have been well received. According to the multiple sources, Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan held talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday in New York, during which he presented the proposal, dubbed "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again". The MASGA project, whose name is inspired by US President Donald Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again", involves large-scale investments by South Korean private shipbuilders in the US The package includes not only capital investment but also financial support, such as loans and guarantees backed by Korean institutions. Public financial institutions, such as the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, are being considered as potential participants in providing financial support for the MASGA initiative, the source said. Lutnick, who is seen as a key decision-maker in the bilateral tariff negotiations, reportedly responded positively to the proposal and expressed satisfaction with Seoul's offer. As part of the ongoing talks, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol is expected to visit the US later this week and is likely to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday. Seoul aims to finalize a trade agreement with Washington before the Aug. 1 deadline to reduce the 25 percent reciprocal tariff and sector-specific duties imposed on South Korean goods under the Trump administration. The reciprocal tariffs were initially implemented April 9 but were immediately suspended by President Trump for 90 days to allow for negotiations. The suspension has since been extended, but Washington indicated plans to resume enforcement starting Aug. 1 unless a deal is reached. (Yonhap)

S. Korea vows to consistently take actions for peace after N. Korea rejects Lee's overture
S. Korea vows to consistently take actions for peace after N. Korea rejects Lee's overture

Korea Herald

timean hour ago

  • Korea Herald

S. Korea vows to consistently take actions for peace after N. Korea rejects Lee's overture

The presidential office said Monday it will consistently take necessary actions to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea rejected President Lee Jae Myung's proposal to resume dialogue. Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said North Korea is not interested in any policy or proposal from South Korea and will not sit down with Seoul for talks. The presidential office said it is "taking note of" Pyongyang's first official statement on inter-Korean affairs since Lee's inauguration in early June. "We have witnessed the high wall of distrust between the two Koreas due to years of hostility and confrontation," a senior presidential official said. "The government will consistently take necessary actions to ensure a Korean Peninsula without hostility and conflict, in line with the Lee Jae Myung administration's firm principle of establishing a state of peace where there is no need to fight," the official added. As part of efforts to repair strained ties with the North, the Lee administration has halted anti-Pyongyang loudspeaker broadcasts along the border, urged activists to stop flying propaganda balloons to the North and repatriated North Korean fishermen who had drifted into southern waters months earlier. In late 2013, the North's leader Kim defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other," vowing not to seek reconciliation and unification with the South. (Yonhap)

NK leader's sister says not interested in any proposal from Seoul, won't sit down for dialogue
NK leader's sister says not interested in any proposal from Seoul, won't sit down for dialogue

Korea Herald

time2 hours ago

  • Korea Herald

NK leader's sister says not interested in any proposal from Seoul, won't sit down for dialogue

North Korea is not interested in any policy or proposal from South Korea and will not sit down with Seoul for talks, the powerful sister of state leader Kim Jong-un said Monday. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the ruling party's central committee, made the remarks in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to ease military tension and improve inter-Korean ties. It marks the North's first official statement on the Lee administration, which took office last month. "Looking at around the past 50 days since Lee Jae Myung took office ... (he) is no different from his predecessor in blindly adhering to the South Korea-US alliance and pursuing confrontation with us," Kim said. No matter how hard the Lee government tries to draw North Korea's attention, the North's stance toward the South will not change, she said. "I make it clear once again that we are not interested in any policy or proposal put forward by Seoul, and there will be no chance of us sitting down with South Korea for any discussions," she noted. Kim pointed to a proposal in South Korea to normalize its unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs, saying the ministry should be dissolved because the two Koreas are separate countries, and accused Seoul of being "possessed" by the specter of "unification by absorption." She also dismissed Seoul's recent suspension of spy agency-operated radio and television broadcasts targeting North Korea as something that "does not deserve any appreciation." "There would be no greater misunderstanding if South Korea expected to overturn the consequences of its own making with a few sentimental words now, after having declared (North Korea) its main enemy and pursued extreme confrontation in the last," Kim noted. She also referred to proposals in South Korea to invite Kim Jong-un to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in October, calling them a "ridiculous delusion." (Yonhap)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store