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On the second day of the holiday, May 2, Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon held a rally in downtown Seoul after meeting with former President Yoon Seok-yeol.
According to Yonhap, the Korea Righting Movement Headquarters (Daegukbon), led by Pastor Jeon of Sarang Jeil Church, staged a rally near the Dongwha Duty Free Shop in Gwanghwamun at 11:30 a.m. Police unofficially estimated attendance at about 6,000. Participants waved South Korean and U.S. flags throughout the demonstration.
From the podium, Pastor Jeon confirmed that he had met with the former president. He had reportedly visited Yoon at the Seoul Detention Center on April 30.
Pastor Jeon called for decisive action. He cited the Constitution’s preamble, saying it directs Koreans to inherit the spirit of April 19 and, when the nation is in turmoil, to act in a manner akin to that historic resistance. He added that declaring martial law is among the president’s powers and argued that, invoking a Gandhi-like approach, a nonviolent but armed mass mobilization of ten million people could rebuild the Republic of Korea.
Democratic Party mayoral candidate Jung Won-oh and People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon traded barbs on May 2 over responsibility for Seoul’s housing problems. With the June 3 local elections one month away, partisan attacks over who is to blame for the capital’s housing crisis intensified.
Speaking at a Party Members’ Victory Rally at the Seodaemun Cultural and Sports Center, Jung criticized Oh, saying that when Yoon Seok-yeol was harming the country, Oh stayed silent to avoid controversy, yet now he attacks President Lee Jae-myung, who \”gets things done.\” Jung said Oh should have spoken up when he believed Yoon was damaging the nation.
On housing, Jung accused Oh of repeatedly calling the situation a “monthly-rent hell” and a “real estate hell,” blaming the current government. Jung shot back, asking whether Oh himself had not been Seoul’s mayor. He argued that during his five years in office Oh failed to increase housing supply and did not manage rental measures effectively, which contributed to today’s difficulties; instead, Oh blames the central government for everything.
Oh responded by warning that if Jung wins, Seoul’s real estate situation will become \”hell.\”
The U.S. government warned that shipping companies that pay Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz could be subject to sanctions.
On May 2 (local time), Reuters and the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an advisory cautioning that parties who pay the Iranian regime for safe passage or seek assurances against attacks risk being sanctioned.
Iran has proposed alternative routes near its coast and is pushing to collect tolls from vessels. The U.S. has responded with measures intended to prevent the regime from raising revenue for military purposes, including a maritime enforcement posture.
OFAC specified that sanctionable payments include not only cash but also digital assets, offset transactions, informal swaps, and in-kind payments. It also warned that routing payments through Iranian embassies or disguising transfers as charitable donations is strictly prohibited.
A dispute within the People Power Party has widened over former National Assembly Vice Speaker Jeong Jin-seok’s bid for the party nomination in the Gongju·Buyeo·Cheongyang by-election in South Chungcheong Province.
The party’s Ethics Committee had scheduled a May 2 meeting to discuss Jeong’s request to be reinstated to the party, but the session was abruptly canceled. Jeong has applied both for the nomination and for readmission. The committee had planned to review whether to allow a candidate who is under indictment to run.
The Ethics Committee has previously made exceptions for candidates under investigation or indictment—such as during the cases of mayoral candidates Oh Se-hoon and Chu Kyung-ho—raising expectations that Jeong, who is under investigation for alleged evidence tampering related to a state-of-emergency matter at the presidential office, might receive similar treatment.
The sudden cancellation made the nomination process opaque and sparked public dissent within the party. Kim Tae-hum, the South Chungcheong gubernatorial candidate, issued a statement suggesting he might leave the party if Jeong receives the nomination.
BTS’s fifth full-length album Arirang (ARIRANG) entered the U.K. Official Chart Top 100 for a sixth consecutive week.
On May 2, Yonhap reported that Arirang fell four places to No. 17 on the Official Albums Chart Top 100. The title track \”SWIM\” slipped seven spots to No. 41 on the singles Top 100.
The record also held strong on U.S. Billboard charts: \”SWIM\” dropped 10 places to No. 22 on the Hot 100, and Arirang slid three spots to No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
According to HYBE, Arirang captures BTS’s identity and universal emotions, blending traditional symbols with modern sensibilities to underscore the group’s message.
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