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

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned North Korea's continued violation of UN Security Council resolutions but reiterated his commitment to diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Biden made the remarks in a speech at the UN General Assembly as a recent summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin deepened concerns about a potential arms deal that would violate multiple UNSC resolutions. "We condemned the DPRK's continu

Foreign Affairs Sept. 20, 2023

South Korean stocks started almost flat Wednesday as investors remained cautious awaiting the US Federal Reserve's rate decision. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 1.61 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,557.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All three US stock indexes closed lower Tuesday on the eve of the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement, which is expected to keep rates on hold. But the market expects the US central bank may deliver one more rate hike th

Market Sept. 20, 2023

A special train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in Pyongyang after traveling to Russia for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the North's state media reported Wednesday. The train reached Pyongyang on Tuesday evening, after completing "external revolutionary activities" that will shine in the history of strengthening friendly relations between North Korea and Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim was welcomed by top party and

North Korea Sept. 20, 2023

South Korea's producer prices expanded 0.9 percent on-month in August on the back of higher global oil prices, the central bank said Wednesday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, came to 121.16 last month, up from 120.08 tallied in July, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. From a year earlier, it rose 1 percent. It marked the sharpest on-month growth since a 1.6 percent rise tallied in April 2022. Producer prices are one of the key indicators that d

Economy Sept. 20, 2023

A US energy firm said Tuesday it will appeal a district court's decision earlier this week to dismiss its lawsuit filed to stop two South Korean state-run companies from exporting nuclear power plants. On Monday, the District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the complaint that Westinghouse Electric Co. filed against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Korea Electric Power Corp. last October. The court determined that Westinghouse "lacks a private cause of action" and wa

Foreign Affairs Sept. 20, 2023

The foreign ministry said Tuesday it has asked the Japanese police to carry out a "prompt and fair" probe into an incident in which a restaurant served water containing bleach to a South Korean national. The request came after a South Korean national was hospitalized in Tokyo late last month after showing symptoms, such as vomiting, after drinking water served by the restaurant that contained bleach. The victim informed the South Korean embassy of the incident earlier this month, with

Foreign Affairs Sept. 19, 2023

The South Korean foreign ministry summoned the top Russian envoy to the country Tuesday to lodge a complaint over Moscow's discussions of arms deals and military cooperation with North Korea. Seoul's Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin called in Russian Ambassador Andrey Kulik earlier in the day and called for Moscow to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions, the ministry said in a message to reporters. The summons came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit with Rus

Foreign Affairs Sept. 19, 2023