Kim Min-seok takes over South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party after a preference-ballot win
The former prime minister defeated Chung Cheong-rae 54.08% to 45.92%, giving President Lee Jae Myung a closely aligned party chief for the next two years. The immediate test is whether that alignment produces faster policy delivery without turning the ruling party into a rubber stamp.
Pentagon says it will implement Trump’s order to scale back U.S.-South Korea drills
Ulchi Freedom Shield is already under way, but Seoul still lacks a public account of what will actually be reduced. Korean coverage now shows the issue is firmly on the domestic security agenda, not merely a Washington talking point.
Lee puts a peace regime back at the center of Seoul’s North Korea policy
On Liberation Day, President Lee Jae Myung called for talks aimed at replacing the Korean War armistice with a peace regime. The proposal matters less as a sudden diplomatic breakthrough than as a clearer statement of how Seoul wants to manage a frozen relationship: reduce the risk of accidental conflict first, then create room for negotiations that can also address nuclear constraints.
Lee revives the four-year presidency debate, but the bigger proposal is about presidential power
A renewable four-year presidency is the headline. The more consequential part of Lee Jae Myung’s constitutional agenda is the attempt to redistribute powers that have long been concentrated in the presidency.