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≡ Confirmation Hearings To Be Held For Seven Ministerial Nominees This Week
Parliament is set to hold confirmation hearings for President Moon Jae-in's seven new ministerial nominees.
Transport minister nominee Choi Jeong-ho will be the first to be grilled by lawmakers today, followed by candidates for the unification, culture and oceans ministries tomorrow.
Confirmation hearings for minister nominees of interior and safety, science and ICT and SMEs and startups will be held on Wednesday.
Rival parties are expected to clash as opposition lawmakers grill the nominees heavily to verify their moral standards and expertise.■[2019.03.25]
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≡ S. Korean Officials Man Joint Liaison Office After N. Korea's Abrupt Pullout
Dozens of South Korean officials have headed to the joint inter-Korean liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong for work as usual.
According to the unification ministry, around 40 to 50 officials, including Kim Chang-su, deputy chief of the liaison office, crossed the western land border this morning.
They joined 25 officials already there to staff the office this week.
Their dispatch came despite the North's abrupt pullout of its staff last Friday, which North Korean officials said was based on an order from "higher-ups."
Experts and analysts say the move appears to be designed to pressure Seoul to do more to persuade Washington to lower its demands in the stalled denuclearization negotiations.■[2019.03.25]
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≡ Consumers In S. Korea Can Buy LPG Vehicles From Tuesday
From tomorrow, anyone in South Korea can buy LPG-powered vehicles.
This comes after a bill was passed earlier this month to lift regulations on the use of cars that run on liquefied petroleum gas, which were only permitted for taxis, buses, rental cars and the disabled.
The government hopes the move will help reduce the number of old diesel and gasoline-fueled cars on the roads, amid the country's mounting fine dust problem.
Newly purchased LPG vehicles can be registered at local city, county and district offices.
Drivers can also convert gasoline or diesel powered cars to LPG at a professional auto service center.■
[2019.03.25]
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≡ Young Job Seekers To Benefit From New Govt Subsidy
The government plans to dole out allowances to about 80,000 young jobless people to help support their employment activities.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor says it will begin receiving applications for the assistance today.
The monthly "youth employment promotion subsidy" of 500,000 won will be paid for up to six months to unemployed people aged 18 to 34 who have graduated from or dropped out of secondary schools, universities or graduate programs within the last two years.
Only those who belong to households earning less than 120 percent of the nation's median income will be eligible for the new subsidy.■
[2019.03.25]
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≡ Court Reviews Arrest Warrant For Ex-Environment Minister Over 'Blacklist'
The Seoul Eastern District Court is reviewing an arrest warrant for former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung, who stands accused of pressuring those considered critical of the incumbent administration to step down from their government posts.
Appearing at the court around 10:20 a.m., Kim told reporters ahead of the warrant hearing that she will do her best to explain herself to the court and wait for a decision.
She declined to answer questions about whether the top office may have been involved.
Prosecutors suspect she had a list of high-level officials at ministry-affiliated entities to be pushed out of office in order to open up positions for those close to the Moon Jae-in administration when she led the ministry from July 2017 to November 2018.
If a warrant is issued, she will be the first former Cabinet member under the Moon administration to face trial on criminal charges.■[2019.03.25]
