Plans to relocate the National Assembly and halting livelihood debates — Ep. 11

On this week’s episode of The Korea Pro Podcast, we start by discussing the Seoul city bus drivers’ strike, which began just hours before our recording and ended just hours after we finished recording. The drivers demanded higher wages, and the strike marked the first in 12 years.

Next, we explore People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon’s pledge to relocate the National Assembly from Seoul to Sejong City, the latest development in the government’s long-running “move-out-of-Seoul” campaign.

We then examine President Yoon Suk-yeol’s decision to temporarily halt his People’s Livelihood Debates until after the general elections to avoid accusations of election interference.

Next, we discuss South Korea’s ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-sup’s extended return to South Korea just days after being appointed to his post. He faces allegations of interfering with investigations into the death of a South Korean marine in July 2023. A day after we finished recording, Lee offered to resign to “strongly respond to [investigative] procedures.”

On the international front, we discuss the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which is expected to result in an upgrade to their mutual alliance. We consider the potential implications for South Korea, especially if Donald Trump is re-elected in Nov. 2024.

Finally, we cover the Korean Medical Association’s election of Lim Hyun-taek, a fierce critic of the Yoon administration’s decision to increase medical school admissions.

About the podcast: The Korea Pro Podcast is a weekly 15-minute conversation hosted by Editorial Director Jeongmin Kim (@jeongminnkim) and Editor John Lee (@koreanforeigner), diving deep into the most pressing stories shaping South Korea — and dissecting the most complicated ones for professionals monitoring ROK politics, diplomacy, culture, society and technology. Uploaded every Friday.

This episode was recorded on March 28, 2024. 

Audio edited by Joe Smith