Binding plastic pollution treaty unlikely: ministry

With less than a week left for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution at its fifth and final session, the Ministry of Environment told the press Wednesday that reaching a deal “could be difficult.” "Out of the five scheduled rounds of negotiations, four have been completed,” said an Environment Ministry official. “However, the process remains deadlocked due to sharp conflict between cou

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Japan to hold 1st memorial for Korean forced labor victims at Sado mine

The first official memorial ceremony honoring Korean victims of forced labor at the gold mines on Sado Island during Japan's colonial rule from 1910 to 1945 will be held in Sado on Sunday, attended by South Korean and Japanese government officials and bereaved families of the victims. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and Japan’s executive committee for the Sado Mine memorial jointly announced Wednesday that the event, officially titled the "Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony,"

Foreign AffairsNov. 20, 2024

S. Korea sees second-highest immigration surge in OECD

Immigration of a permanent type to South Korea jumped by 50.9 percent last year, the second biggest surge among the 38 member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In an OECD report titled “International Migration Outlook 2024,” released last week, a record 6.5 million people moved to the 38 high-income countries committed to democracy which make up the OECD last year, up 10 percent from 2022. The United States was the top destination country, adding

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Illegal gambling franchise busted, over 700 under investigation

South Korean police said Wednesday they are pursuing criminal charges against 715 individuals related to a nationwide illegal gambling operation, which is thought to have brought in around 100 billion won ($72 million) in revenue. Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested seven individuals suspected of running a poker-themed bar franchise with 15 local branches across the country that conducted an illegal gambling operation from March 2021 to April this year. The others are being investigated wi

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Supreme Court hands down maximum prison term for 'jeonse' fraudster

A 50-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for orchestrating a massive real estate scam that defrauded 229 tenants out of 18 billion won ($13 million) in deposits entrusted to her under the "jeonse" lump-sum lease system. The Supreme Court’s First Division upheld a lower court’s ruling on Wednesday, confirming the 15-year prison sentence for Choi, who was convicted of fraud and other charges. This marks the Supreme Court's first definitive ruling in a larg

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia, NIS confirms

North Korean troops are mobilized on the Russian front lines fighting Ukraine, according to a South Korean intelligence agency briefing presented to lawmakers Wednesday. Around 11,000 North Korean troops, many of them part of special forces, had already been trained and deployed to Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine by late October, Rep. Park Sun-won told reporters. Park, who sits as the deputy chair of the National Assembly intelligence committee, was speaking after he was

PoliticsNov. 20, 2024

Presidential aide calls journalist's question about Yoon's apology 'rude'

A senior secretary to President Yoon Suk Yeol criticized a journalist's question, which had asked the president to elaborate on the specifics reasons for his public apology during a televised press conference, calling it "rude." At a parliamentary session Tuesday, Hong Chul-ho, Yoon’s senior political secretary, made the criticism while trying to defend the president and the latter's 140-minute-long Q&A session with the media on Nov. 7. “The president apologiz

PoliticsNov. 20, 2024

Korea to extend paid leave for miscarriage, stillbirth

South Korea will extend paid leave for women who experience a miscarriage or stillbirth before the 11th week of pregnancy, doubling the current allowance from five to 10 days. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that it has announced partial amendments to the related laws, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, Employment Insurance Act, and Labor Standards Act, which will be open for public consultation until Dec. 30. These changes are slated to take effect on Feb. 23,

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Yoon to return without early Trump meeting

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday departed for South Korea after he wrapped up his visit to South America to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Group of 20 summit. At Galeao Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro, Yoon boarded South Korea's Air Force One at 4:37 p.m. on Tuesday. Yoon was set to arrive in Seoul Thursday as tentatively scheduled, according to the presidential office. His wife Kim Keon Hee did not accompany Yoon on this trip. The date for Yoon's return remained

PoliticsNov. 20, 2024

10-year jail term finalized for Rolls-Royce hit-and-run

The Supreme Court on Wednesday finalized a 10-year prison term for a hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian by driving his Rolls-Royce onto a sidewalk while under the influence of drugs. The accident happened in near Apgujeong Station in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul in August 2023. The victim, aged 27, was on her way home after working a part-time job. She died in November last year. He then left the scene without taking any measures to deal with the accident. The 28-year-old driver, identif

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

'Don't fear failure, pursue what you love,' says Faker

South Korean gamer Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok advised youth not to fear failure, noting that the journey is crucial to success. "Success is equated with being the best and winning in the professional world, so I always strived to win," Lee, a five-time winner of the League of Legends World Championship, said during a keynote speech during the 2024 Future Dialogue for Global Innovation event held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. However, Lee said failure taught h

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Man kills 'violent' grandfather; grandmother asks court for leniency

A man under trial in South Korea for killing his grandfather has claimed that the victim had frequently abused his grandmother, while the grandmother in question has requested a lenient punishment for her grandson, saying "she would gladly give her own life for it." Prosecutors asked the Seoul Eastern District Court to sentence the 23-year-old man accused of killing his grandfather to 24 years in prison, in a court hearing Tuesday. They said that, although the defendant said his grandf

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Monk jailed for threatening teen with ax

Seoul court said Wednesday that it had sentenced a 10-month prison term for a monk, who threatened to cut off the injured leg of a high school student with an ax for no apparent reason. Seoul Central District Court found the 63-year-old defendant guilty of special intimidation -- meaning it involved a weapon or collective force. The verdict was a result of an appellate case regarding two separate threats the defendant made with a weapon. The defendant in April of last year approached a high scho

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Assigning trans boy to girls' room is discrimination: human rights body

A school assigning a female-to-male transgender student to stay in the girls' room on a school trip is discriminatory, the state-run human rights body said Tuesday. The National Human Rights Commission said Tuesday it recommended the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to provide a comprehensive education policy that can attend to the needs of LGBTQ+ students and allow diversity in the classroom. The NHRC's decision was in response to a complaint filed in February by a student at

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

Criminal ring accused of posing as soldiers, UN officials to swindle W1.4b in romantic scam

An international fraud ring is accused of perpetrating a romantic scam against 14 victims, assuming the fake identities of US soldiers, UN officials and foreign students, Seoul police said Tuesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it has forwarded the case of the criminal organization with a 44-year-old Russian leader to the prosecution for fraud charges. The Russian leader and eight others have been placed under physical detention. They are believed to have swindled a total of 1.4 bi

Social AffairsNov. 20, 2024

CFC deputy commander to visit US this week to discuss military cooperation

Gen. Kang Shin-chul, the deputy commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, was set to depart for the United States on Wednesday to discuss ways to improve the allies' combined defense posture, according to the CFC. Kang's trip, which runs through Nov. 28, will begin by laying flowers at a monument dedicated to those who served in the 1953-53 Korean War and involve visits to institutions, including the US Department of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CFC said in

PoliticsNov. 20, 2024

N. Korea, Russia discuss issues of mutual cooperation at committee meeting on economy

North Korea has held the 11th meeting of the intergovernmental committee on economic cooperation with Russia and discussed a range of issues on mutual cooperation, the North's state media reported Wednesday. Yun Jong-ho, the external economic relations minister of North Korea, and Russia's Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov attended the meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology in Pyongyang the previous day, the Korean

North KoreaNov. 20, 2024

N. Korea's Kim inspects regional factory construction site, urges successful completion

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected industrial factories under construction and urged their successful completion in 20 regions as planned, the North's state media reported Wednesday. Kim gave a "field guidance" at regional industrial factories under construction in Songchon County, South Phyongan Province, the previous day, stressing the country's policy of opening up "a new era of regional development," the Korean Central News Agency said. In a parliamen

North KoreaNov. 20, 2024

US has not yet seen N. Korea's atmospheric reentry missile capability: Indo-Pacific Command chief

The commander of US Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday that the United States has "not yet" seen North Korea's atmospheric reentry capability, a key technology required for the recalcitrant regime to advance its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program. Adm. Samuel Paparo made the remarks during a forum in Washington as Pyongyang has been doubling down on its quest to secure reliable long-range warhead delivery vehicles as seen in the test-launch last month of a new Hwason

North KoreaNov. 20, 2024

Trump taps Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Lutnick as his commerce secretary

US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as his commerce secretary, saying that if confirmed, Lutnick will spearhead the tariff and trade agenda of the incoming administration. Trump issued a statement on the nomination of Lutnick, a co-chair of his transition team, as US allies and partners have been paying keen attention to how Trump's trade policy would take shape and affect their economies after he takes office in January. "He will l

Foreign AffairsNov. 20, 2024