Anti-corruption office demands indictment of ex-Defense Minister

The anti-corruption investigation office has demanded the prosecution indict former Defense Minister Song Young-moo over suspicions of abuse of power, officials said Monday. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials has been investigating Song on suspicions of forcing then senior ministry officials to make and endorse documents refuting a media report that he had said a controversial contingency martial law plan authored by the previous Park Geun-hye government "legally

PoliticsSept. 18, 2023

Prosecution seeks arrest warrant for ailing opposition chief

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the bedridden leader of the Democratic Party of Korea on a strike against what he calls President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “tyrannical rule,” is wanted by prosecutors on an arrest warrant request for the second time this year. Seoul prosecutors said Monday they filed a request for an arrest warrant against Lee, who is already a defendant in two corruption trials, on three different counts of accusations. One is that he colluded with a policy aide while he was mayor o

PoliticsSept. 18, 2023

Opposition leader taken to hospital on 19th day of hunger strike

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was taken to a hospital on Monday due to deteriorating health as his hunger strike entered the 19th day, officials said. Lee was almost unconscious after showing a sharp drop in blood sugar levels and was brought to a nearby hospital at 7:10 a.m., according to his main opposition Democratic Party. It is unclear whether Lee will be able to continue his fast, and the party plans to keep a close watch on his conditions after emergency measures are taken, party spokes

PoliticsSept. 18, 2023

Rail workers' 4-day strike comes to end; train services to normalize by night

Unionized rail workers were returning to work Monday after a four-day general strike staged to demand better working conditions and an expansion of the KTX bullet train service. The Korean Railway Workers' Union began the first walkout in about four years on Thursday, demanding the expansion of the KTX bullet train route to Suseo Station in southern Seoul, the starting point of another high-speed rail service SRT, as well as the full implementation of the four-team two-shift system. The uni

Social AffairsSept. 18, 2023

Yoon sends letter to Pope Francis on anniversary of S. Korea-Vatican relations

President Yoon Suk Yeol sent a letter to Pope Francis on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Vatican City, expressing his hope to deepen the friendly and cooperative partnership, his office said Sunday. Yoon sent the letter via Kang Seung-kyoo, senior presidential secretary for civil society, who has been visiting the city-state as a special presidential envoy. During a meeting with the pope on Saturday, Kang conveyed Yoon

PoliticsSept. 17, 2023

S. Korea offers $2 mln in aid to flood-stricken Libya

South Korea will send $2 million in humanitarian aid to flood-stricken Libya, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The aid will be sent via the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the ministry said. More than 13,300 people have died since a powerful typhoon struck Libya's eastern coastal city of Derna last Sunday and caused devastating flooding, according to the U.N. "We hope this ai

Foreign AffairsSept. 17, 2023

Lee Jae-myung and the politics of fasting

South Korea’s main opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung has been on an indefinite hunger strike, having consumed nothing other than salt and fluids for 18 days straight. The chair of the Democratic Party of Korea says he is forgoing food to protest the way President Yoon Suk Yeol is running the country, which he has characterized using two keywords -- “tyranny” and “incompetence.” He insists he would not give up unless his demands are met, one of which is that Yoon

PoliticsSept. 17, 2023

Kim Yo-jong seen holding $7,000 Dior bag on Russia trip

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, could be seen grasping a $7,000 bag from French luxury fashion brand Christian Dior during Kim Jong-un’s visit to the Yuri Gagarin Aviation Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia on Friday. According to a picture released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo-jong was holding the black bag with quilting patterns like that of the Lady Dior bag currently being sold via Dior’s official website. Kim accom

Social AffairsSept. 17, 2023

Kim Jong-un heads home with drone gifts from Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was on his way back to Pyongyang on Sunday, wrapping up a six-day trip to the Russian Far East that focused on military cooperation with Moscow amid blistering criticism from the international community for defying sanctions. As his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin stoked fears across the West and its allies over a potential arms deal, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow is "illegal and

North KoreaSept. 17, 2023

Caffeinated drinks spark buzz on teens’ overuse

Concerns are growing over the excessive consumption of caffeine among adolescents, according to a report on Sunday, citing a teen health study. According to last year’s “Youth Health Behavior Survey” conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on some 60,000 middle and high school students in 800 schools nationwide, 22.3 percent of the respondents answered “yes” when asked if they drink high-caffeine beverages more than three times a week. Some 26 p

Social AffairsSept. 17, 2023

Man kills wife, three sons before drinking poison: police

The bodies of five found inside a family home in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, on Friday, are believed to be those of a man in his 50s who killed his wife and three sons in their 20s before taking his own life by drinking poison, police said Sunday. South Jeolla Police Agency said an initial autopsy showed the man, identified by his last name of Kim, died of poisoning, while his wife and three children died from stab wounds. Police found one knife and a bottle of insecticide in a search of the

Social AffairsSept. 17, 2023

Marking 65th anniversary of relations, ambassador aims to boost Thai-Korean ties

Thai Ambassador to Korea, Witchu Vejjajiva, hoped to stimulate bilateral ties with South Korea by activating people-to-people exchanges and expanding cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in his remarks at an event commemorating the 65th anniversary of Thai-Korean diplomatic relations on Monday. Reaffirming commitment to usher in a fresh era of cooperation under the new leadership of Thailand's new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, and his cabinet, elected by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Vejja

Foreign AffairsSept. 17, 2023

Private education fees for preschoolers, kindergarteners up 38%: study

Private education spending among households with preschoolers or kindergarteners has increased by 38 percent in the last five years, a report showed Sunday. According to a report published by Kim Hye-ja, a researcher at the Korean Educational Development Institute, on the relationship between social awareness and educational expenses, the average spending on private education for preschoolers and kindergarteners jumped from 162,000 won ($121.71) in 2018 to 224,000 won in 2022, up 38.3 percent th

Social AffairsSept. 17, 2023

1 in 5 ticketed Seoulites neglect parking fines; highest offender receives 752 fines in 5 years

One in 5 drivers in Seoul to have been ticketed has unpaid parking violation fines, resulting in an accumulated unpaid sum of 11.3 billion won ($8.5 million), the city of Seoul reported. According to data released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday, the capital city witnessed approximately 1.42 million parking violation instances during an eight-month period from January to August this year. A total of 55.2 billion won was levied in fines, but approximately 20 percent, amounting to

Social AffairsSept. 17, 2023

N. Korea's Kim holds talks with Russian defense minister on strengthening military cooperation: state media

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has held talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on strengthening bilateral military cooperation and exchange, state media reported Sunday. Kim held the talks in Vladivostok on Saturday as he is on a tour of Russia's Far East after holding a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Wednesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. They "exchanged their constructive opinions on the practical issues arising in further strengthe

North KoreaSept. 17, 2023

Statue of Korea's first Catholic priest officially unveiled in Vatican

A statue of Korea's first Catholic priest, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon (1821-1846), was officially unveiled at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican during a Mass on Saturday, the anniversary of his martyrdom. The 3.8 meter-high marble statue was erected at a niche of St. Peter's Basilica, making it the first Asian saint's statue to be installed at the universal headquarters of the Catholic Church. Created by Korean sculptor Han Jin-sub, the statue wears a traditional Korean hat, ca

Social AffairsSept. 17, 2023

Democratic Party to introduce motion for prime minister's dismissal

The main opposition Democratic Party said Saturday it has decided to introduce a motion calling for the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and take action to open an independent counsel to probe the case of a young Marine's death. "We call for the resignation of the Cabinet and will immediately file a dismissal motion for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo," the DP's floor leader Park Kwang-on read from a resolution during a media briefing after an emergency meeting of party l

PoliticsSept. 16, 2023

Italy's invasive blue crab has Korean seafood fans excited

An Italian crustacean infestation is fanning culinary excitement in Korea, with a local seafood importer reaching out to Italy for possible imports. Italy's northern Adriatic coast has been dealing with an invasive crab species called the Atlantic blue crab in recent years, with the species wreaking havoc on the country’s ecosystem and causing millions of dollars worth of damage. First introduced through the bilges of foreign vessels several years ago, the Atlantic blue crab found a h

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2023

N. Korean athletes arrive in Hangzhou for Asian Games: reports

A group of North Korean athletes has reportedly arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou to participate in the upcoming Asian Games. North Korea has registered 191 athletes to attend the Hangzhou Asian Games set to run from next Saturday to Oct. 8, according to the organizer's website. Some 60 North Korean athletes and coaches arrived at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport on Friday evening, Chinese media reported. They first arrived in Dandong, northeastern China, on Friday by b

North KoreaSept. 16, 2023

Trains operate at nearly 80 pct capacity on 3rd day of rail strike

An ongoing strike by unionized rail workers entered its third day Saturday, forcing passenger trains to operate at just less than 80 percent capacity nationwide. The Korean Railway Workers' Union began its first strike in four years Thursday, demanding improved working conditions and an expansion of the KTX bullet train service to Suseo Station in southern Seoul, which is exclusively used by another high-speed railway service called SRT. The ministry said the national train operation rate w

Social AffairsSept. 16, 2023