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Posted : 2021-07-25 16:29
Updated : 2021-07-25 18:12
In this May 3, 2007, file photo, then-President Roh Moo-hyun, left, and his then-chief of staff Moon Jae-in speak at Cheong Wa Dae. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
DPK contenders question each other s party loyalty
By Nam Hyun-woo
The late former President Roh Moo-hyun is being invoked in a fierce verbal battle between ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential contenders, who appear to be appealing to the party s loyalists for support.
Leading contenders Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon are clashing over whether the latter cast a ballot to impeach Roh, a liberal president serving from 2003 to 2008 who belonged to a DPK predecessor, the Millennium Democratic Party. Despite some DPK members concerns over internal strife, other contenders are also joining the fray, questioning each other s loyalty to the party.
By Lee Kyung-min
A legislative move to set up the legal groundwork to protect small- and medium-sized enterprises hit by the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming politicized ahead of April mayoral by-elections, with the issue emerging as a major source of discord among top policymakers.
Presidential hopefuls as well as many other politicians are arguing for the highly populist policy in an apparent vote-seeking attempt, whereas the issue has become more of a short-lived power struggle defined by the prime minister overpowering the finance and vice finance ministers.
Experts say clearly targeted support for those companies that have experienced a drop in sales would be far better than across-the-board financial assistance, adding the expected budget shortfall can be filled by drastically removing spending plans allocated for repetitive, ineffective state-run projects.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun (Yonhap)
SEOUL: South Korea will be able to start the coronavirus vaccination of its people in the first quarter of next year on a limited basis, according to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.
“Inoculation will begin as early as in February or March at the latest,” he said in an interview with KBS, a Seoul-based broadcaster.
But the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca would only be available in the first half of 2021 under a current contract, not shots made by such other foreign drugmakers as Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen, he added.
His remarks came amid growing concerns that South Korea is lagging behind other nations in the procurement of coronavirus vaccines.