The National Assembly on Thursday passed a motion seeking parliamentary consent to the potential arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, while also passing another motion calling for the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. In a 149-136 vote during a plenary session, the Assembly passed the motion to lift arrest immunity for Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party (Democratic Party), who faces breach of trust, bribery and other charges in connection with a scandal-ridden land develop

Politics Sept. 21, 2023

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison sentence for the so-called spin kick assailant in the southeastern port city of Busan, who caused social outrage last year due to his brutal attacks on a female stranger for the purpose of rape. The defendant, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of following the victim, to whom he had no personal connection, for 10 minutes all the way to her apartment's elevator on May 22, 2022, knocking her out with a roundhouse kick to the bac

Social Affairs Sept. 21, 2023

Smartphone shipments in South Korea declined more than 13 percent on-year in the second quarter, recent data showed Thursday, as demand remained sluggish over economic uncertainties. The total shipment came to approximately 2.8 million units for the April-June period, down 13.2 percent from a year ago, as "demand for smartphones continued to slow down amid economic uncertainties," the Korea branch of International Data Corporation said. But the shipments of premium smartphones, priced

Industry Sept. 21, 2023

South Korea's exports moved up 9.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September due to a higher number of working days, but shipments of chips and petroleum products remained sluggish, data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments reached $36 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, compared with $32.7 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports fell 1.5 percent on-year to $36.4 billion during the period, resulting in a trade def

Economy Sept. 21, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a series of summits with world leaders in New York on Wednesday as part of his ongoing efforts to secure support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Yoon, on the third day of his trip to attend the UN General Assembly, is using the annual gathering to meet with dozens of leaders on the sidelines in a last-minute push to bolster the country's campaign for the Expo bid. Yoon engaged in a series of discussions with leaders from Europe,

Foreign Affairs Sept. 21, 2023

South Korean stocks started lower Thursday after the US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged while noting it may push for an additional rate hike later this year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 12.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,546.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks closed lower, with the S&P 500 dropping almost 1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite plunging 1.53 percent amid a slide in tech giants, including Apple Inc. and Te

Market Sept. 21, 2023

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Thursday the government will closely monitor rising global economic uncertainties, after the US central bank decided to hold its key rates overnight. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced the decision to hold the rate steady between 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent. It raised the rate by a quarter percentage point to the current level in July. "As shown in the recent FOMC meeting, the possibility over the protracted high interest rates have moved up

Economy Sept. 21, 2023

A KF-16 fighter jet crashed during takeoff from its base in the southwestern county of Seosan on Thursday, and the lone pilot safely ejected before being taken to a hospital, the Air Force said. The jet belonging to the 20th Fighter Wing went down at the base in Seosan, some 120 kilometers southwest of Seoul, at 8:20 a.m. while taking off on an unspecified mission, the Air Force said. "The pilot has made an emergency ejection and is safe," the Air Force said in a text message to report

Defense Sept. 21, 2023

The National Assembly was set to vote Thursday on two separate motions seeking the arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The motions will be put to an anonymous vote during a plenary session in the afternoon. The motion requesting parliamentary consent to lift the arrest immunity of Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party came after the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for him over breach of trust and other charges. By law, sitting la

Politics Sept. 21, 2023

A Seoul court on Wednesday granted an injunction to ban a documentary film that raises doubts about sexual harassment allegations against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, which led to his suicide in 2020. The Seoul metropolitan government and lawyer Kim Jae-ryon representing the female victim filed the injunction on Aug. 1 seeking to prohibit the screening of the documentary titled "First Defense." The Seoul Southern District Court accepted the request, saying it is difficult to ascer

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2023

Eight workers were injured Wednesday when a 40-meter structure for a concert stage collapsed during construction in high winds in the city of Hanam, just east of Seoul. The incident occurred at a public park at 4:26 p.m., when 13 workers were working to construct a stage for an upcoming K-pop concert scheduled for the weekend, according to police and rescue personnel. The structure, made up of steel pipes and scaffolding, suddenly collapsed for unknown reasons and some workers were briefly trapp

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2023

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife will be released on parole next week ahead of the Chuseok holidays after serving one third of her four-year prison term for her involvement in document forgery related to her daughter's college admission, legal sources said Wednesday. The parole review committee under the justice ministry convened on the day and determined Cho's wife, Chung Kyung-sim, is eligible for special parole on the occasion of Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgi

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2023

South Korean and US defense officials discussed possible space cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow during a bilateral tabletop exercise on space this week, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday. Choi Byung-ok, head of the ministry's defense policy bureau, and John Hill, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense, led the discussion-based exercise, as well as working-level talks, from Tuesday to Wednesday at the ministry in central Seoul. The exercise

Defense Sept. 20, 2023

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of the US rate decision slated for this week. The local currency declined against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 0.53 point, or 0.02 percent, to finish at 2,559.74. Trading volume was slightly thin at 407.3 million shares worth 7.4 trillion won ($5.6 billion), with decliners outpacing winners 517 to 353. Individuals and institutions purchased 88.9 billion won and

Market Sept. 20, 2023

A 30-year-old man accused of threatening a driver with a knife over a parking dispute last week was referred to prosecutors for further investigation, police said Wednesday. The suspect, identified only by his surname Hong, was formally arrested last Wednesday for allegedly revealing to the driver a sashimi knife, tucked in his waist, following a dispute after the suspect parked his Lamborghini at a road in Seoul's Gangnam district on Sept. 11. His driver's license was revoked at the t

Social Affairs Sept. 20, 2023