Most Popular
-
1
[Behind the K-pop Scene] 'K-pop is all about money'
-
2
Seoul to mull more Ukraine support based on Pyongyang’s level of involvement: official
-
3
Seoul unveils plan to move 68km of railways underground
-
4
N. Korea's support puts Putin in its debt: experts
-
5
[KH Explains] Tesla’s vague robotaxi vision may let Hyundai-Waymo narrow gap
-
6
[ASEAN Plus Korea] 'Restrictive immigration may dampen Southeast Asian interest in Korea'
-
7
[LLG] Repairing toys seemed like simple task. It turned out to be deeply emotional
-
8
[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Jennie, Rose set career-highs
-
9
What would N. Korean troops mean for the war with Ukraine?
-
10
Gangbuk office apologizes for video parodying NewJeans' Hanni
-
Rival parties lock horns over Marine's death at committee meeting
Rival parties clashed Monday over a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military's response to a Marine's death last year. The parliamentary House Steering Committee held a plenary meeting and questioned Chung Jin-suk, the presidential chief of staff, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and other officials about the Marine's death. Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party reiterated their calls for a special probe bill surrounding
July 1, 2024
-
Dior bag in first lady's scandal stored by presidential office: official
The controversial luxury Christian Dior bag at the center of the antigraft law violation scandal involving the first lady is currently being managed and stored by the presidential office, an official said Monday. “To my knowledge, the Dior bag that was received by first lady Kim Keon Hee is currently stored in the presidential office building in the state that it was first gifted to her,” presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-seok told a parliamentary hearing at the National Assembly
July 1, 2024
-
How Putin-Kim summit tips South Korea’s balance on Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin signing a defense treaty with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has South Korea rethinking its stance on arming Ukraine. Through nearly 2 1/2 years of Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine, Seoul has not strayed from its policy of “nonlethal aid only” to Kyiv over two administrations, both liberal and conservative. That may change now that Putin has committed to fight on Kim’s side in the event of an invasion under the new military pact signed du
July 1, 2024
-
Opposition blasts president's alleged comment Itaewon crowd crush was 'induced'
Members of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday continued to lambast President Yoon Suk Yeol over a claim in a high-level politician's recently published memoir that Yoon had said he "cannot rule out the possibility that this accident (the deadly Itaewon crowd crush) may have been induced and manipulated by a certain force," in December 2022. Rep. Park Hong-geun of the Democratic Party railed against Yoon's alleged comment in an interview on MBC Radio, de
July 1, 2024
-
S. Korea to create new deputy PM post for population planning
The government will propose new legislation next month to create a deputy prime minister post dedicated to population planning, marking a major organizational shift to address the nation's aging population and low birth rate, the presidential office announced Monday. The proposed reorganization will have Education Minister Lee Ju-ho hand over his deputy prime minister role -- overseeing social affairs-related issues in education, labor and welfare -- to the newly created position of populat
July 1, 2024
-
Presidential office to create position of political affairs minister
The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol will create the position of political affairs minister at the top office in an effort to strengthen communication with the National Assembly, Yoon's chief of staff said Monday. Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk made the remark during a parliamentary steering committee meeting amid calls for Yoon's office to make greater efforts to reach out to the opposition-controlled parliament to better take care of state affairs and move its agenda forw
July 1, 2024
-
[Bills in Focus] Non-regular workers' rights, semiconductor growth support
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act Proposed by Rep. Lee Yong-woo (Democratic Party of Korea), Rep. Shin Chang-sik (Rebuilding Korea Party) and Rep. Yoon Jong-o (Progressive Party) ● This amendment expands the definition of workers to guarantee the three basic labor rights for non-regular workers, such as specially employed workers and platform workers. It also prohibits employers from claiming damages for collective action against individual wo
July 1, 2024
-
Seoul eyes new measures to fight voice phishing scammers
High-ranking officials of the government and the ruling party on Sunday agreed on the need to increase efforts to bust voice phishing scammers by the end of October and to strengthen cooperation with Interpol and Chinese state security authorities to crack down on organized crime overseas. Officials in President Yoon Suk Yeol's office, his administration and the ruling People Power Party also agreed to inspect messaging service providers to look into security vulnerabilities by the end of J
June 30, 2024
-
Assembly strife intensifies as parties mull bills Yoon vetoed
Rival parties are expected to bicker in the coming weeks, as the opposition parties are mulling reintroducing contentious bills that President Yoon Suk Yeol had vetoed. South Korea's National Assembly is ready to float a bill calling for a special counsel probe into alleged state interference in a Marine Corps investigation into the cause of a young Marine's death during a rescue operation last summer. Rep. Park Chan-dae, acting chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, said during a ral
June 30, 2024
-
1st court verdict for ex-DP leader on election law violation charges due in Oct.
A final court hearing for former opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on an alleged election law violation will take place in September, with a verdict expected around the following month, officials said Friday. The final hearing session regarding Lee's alleged election law violation will be held on Sept. 6 following the interrogation of Lee in August and other processes, according to the Seoul Central District Court. Lee is accused of making false statements during the presidential campaign in
June 28, 2024
-
Parties set for clash over bills as Assembly gets back to business
The two largest political parties here are likely to wrangle over several bills in upcoming months, despite their recent agreement on the formation of parliamentary standing committees. The ruling People Power Party on Thursday officially ended its weekslong boycott of the National Assembly over the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s decision to take 11 out of the total 18 standing committee chair positions, including that of the key legislation and judiciary committee, without th
June 28, 2024
-
Yoon to meet US spy chief amid deepening NK-Russia ties
President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to meet with US National Intelligence Director Avril Haines on Friday, sources said, amid growing concerns over a recent military pact between North Korea and Russia. During the meeting at Yoon's office, the two sides are likely to exchange their views on the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss joint efforts to counter the growing Pyongyang-Moscow military tie
June 28, 2024
-
Assembly back on track with agreement on committee chief assignments
The rival political parties got the newly launched session of the National Assembly back on track Thursday by officially agreeing on the selection of all 18 committee chiefs for the first two years of the parliamentary term. Twenty-eight days after the 22nd Assembly kicked off its term, the ruling People Power Party and the opposition parties voted in favor of the ruling party’s candidates for seven parliamentary committee chiefs, in a plenary session held in the afternoon. The Assembly me
June 27, 2024
-
Seoul to expand science R&D budget
South Korea may propose a budget related to state-backed scientific research and development amounting to nearly 30 trillion won ($21.6 billion), according to the presidential office on Thursday. "The total amount of the state R&D budget could certainly reach 30 trillion won, but the final proposal will be handed in (to the Finance Ministry) in late August," Park Sang-ook, senior presidential secretary for science and technology, told reporters. Park revealed that what is included
June 27, 2024
-
Yoon names chiefs of tax, fire, weather authorities
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday announced picks for four vice-ministerial officials including chiefs of the tax, fire and weather agencies, as well as first vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination amid reports that he might carry a major Cabinet reshuffle soon. Kang Min-soo, who heads the Seoul Regional Tax Office, was nominated as the new chief of the National Tax Agency. Kang, 56 is the only vice-ministerial official out of four named Thursday to go through the parli
June 27, 2024
-
Yoon likely to keep PM amid reports of Cabinet reshuffle
President Yoon Suk Yeol is likely to retain Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to local reports over an imminent Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday. Prime Minister Han has served in his post since Yoon's inauguration over two years ago. Han has stayed in the post even after he offered his resignation following the ruling bloc's defeat in the April general elections. The Cabinet reshuffle "will unlikely take place before end-June, and will likely be done after mid-July," a sen
June 26, 2024
-
South Korea plans overhaul of mental health policy
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday vowed an overhaul of the nation's mental health policy as he presided over the first meeting of a presidential committee dedicated to expanding state support and changing the general perception toward mental illness. The government will start injecting an expanded state budget to address people's mental health starting next year. According to a senior official from the presidential office who declined to be named, the state support package is estima
June 26, 2024
-
Seoul littered with trash dropped by North Korean balloons
North Korea floated balloons filled with trash toward the South for the fifth time late Monday, on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, which was June 25, 1950. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that as of Tuesday morning more than 350 trash balloons from North Korea had been identified, the majority of which fell in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital city. So far, this latest batch of balloons appeared to contain mostly waste paper that was de
June 25, 2024
-
Yoon condemns NK-Russia pact as 'step back in history'
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday denounced a pact signed between North Korea and Russia last week as "an anachronistic act" that goes against the progress of history and Pyongyang's repeated provocations as "despicable and irrational." During his televised speech to mark the 74th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, Yoon said the pact, which forges stronger military and economic cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, "blatantly violat
June 25, 2024
-
Yoon visits site of battery plant fire that killed at least 22
President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the site of a battery plant fire that killed at least 22 people on Monday and ordered government officials to draw up measures to prevent similar accidents from occurring, his office said. Yoon decided to visit the plant run by lithium battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, to carry out an emergency inspection after being briefed on the fire by Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, according to his office. Yoon earlier instructed the minister a
June 24, 2024