Seoul City names former PPP supreme council member as new vice mayor

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it has appointed Kim Byung-min, a former member of the ruling People Power Party's Supreme Council, as its deputy mayor for political affairs. The 42-year-old will be Seoul's third vice mayor, alongside the first and the second administrative deputy mayors. Kim's main task will be to assist Mayor Oh Se-hoon in overseeing public relations affairs and serving as a mediator between the city administration and media, city council, and nat

Social AffairsJune 18, 2024

Lotte World set to reunite families with time capsules frozen for 20 years

Lotte World Adventure, one of South Korea's most visited theme parks, announced Tuesday its plan to reunite two-decade-old frozen memories from time capsules kept under its ice rink with their rightful owners. In June 2004, the theme park in central Seoul invited 50 guests to participate in an event celebrating the 15th anniversary of the ice rink. Guests tucked messages and family photos into 13-centimeter capsules, which were then buried beneath the ice as part of the rink's thawin

Social AffairsJune 18, 2024

N. Korean soldiers briefly cross border for 2nd time in less than 2 weeks

North Korean soldiers working in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas briefly crossed into the South again Tuesday before returning to their side after the South fired warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. It marked the North's second border violation in less than two weeks after a similar incident on June 9. Around 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers carrying work tools crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the DMZ in the central section of the border at

North KoreaJune 18, 2024

S. Korea, US, Japan to hold industry ministerial meeting next week

South Korea, the United States, and Japan plan to hold a trilateral industry ministerial meeting in Washington next week, a government official said Tuesday, with possible agenda items including ways to maintain a stable supply chain and address China's trade policies. The meeting, scheduled to be held on Wednesday, comes as the three countries' leaders agreed to hold industrial ministerial meetings regularly during a summit at Camp David in Maryland in August. "A meeting among In

Foreign AffairsJune 18, 2024

Govt. orders some striking community doctors to return to work

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Tuesday the government ordered community doctors who joined a one-day walkout to return to work, warning that they would face legal punishment unless they comply with the order. The order came as about 4 percent of the nation's 36,371 community hospitals, excluding dental and Oriental medicine clinics, have been expected to take a day off in protest of the government's medical reform. The one-day walkout took place a day after about 55 percent of medi

Social AffairsJune 18, 2024

[Graphic News] 1 in 10 Korean households buy lottery tickets

According to Statistics Korea, 1 in 10 Korean households purchased lottery tickets in the second quarter of this year, marking the highest proportional increase in the past five years. These households spent an average of 7,321 won ($5.30) per month on lottery purchases. Approximately 2.2 million households bought such tickets, encompassing the scope of Lotto, the pension lottery, horse racing and bicycle racing, in the last quarter. This accounts for 10.1 percent of the surveyed households. T

Social AffairsJune 18, 2024

Dispute over 'disrespectful' form of speech leads to knife attack

The Korean custom of paying respect to elders through a particular form of speech took a wrong turn recently when a quarrel over a supposed disrespectful form of speech resulted in a stabbing attack. Ulsan District Court said Monday that it sentenced a man in his 40s to two years in prison for stabbing another man in his 20s after the defendant's use of "banmal" -- an informal way of addressing another person -- caused a dispute. The incident occurred in Ulsan in January when bo

Social AffairsJune 17, 2024

Civic group files complaint against anti-corruption chief for dropping inquiry into luxury bag scandal

A civic group filed a complaint Monday against the chief of the state anti-corruption watchdog on charges of dereliction of duty after the agency dropped an inquiry into a luxury bag scandal involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. Last week, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission closed its inquiry into the allegations that Kim accepted a luxury handbag as a gift in 2022, citing the absence of rules on punishing a public official's spouse under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. T

Social AffairsJune 17, 2024

Thai travel to S. Korea plummets

Despite overall growth in the number of foreigners visiting South Korea this year, the number from Thailand fell significantly, largely in relation to the country's electronic travel authorization system, K-ETA. South Korea saw some 119,000 Thai visitors from January to April 2024, down 21.1 percent from the same period last year, data from the Korea Tourism Organization showed Monday, as the country struggled to balance attracting tourists with keeping a check on its biggest source of ille

Social AffairsJune 17, 2024

Police says man's death after being tasered was accidental

A police officer who used a stun gun on an armed suspect will not be held responsible for the man's subsequent death after autopsy results pointed to sudden heart failure, according to the Gwangju Police on Monday. According to officials at the Gwangju Bukbu Police Station, the National Forensic Service who conducted the autopsy found that the suspect had suffered sudden cardiac death. SCD refers to natural death from an unidentified cause within a short period of symptom onset, often wi

Social AffairsJune 17, 2024

Democratic Party's charter amendment clears leader's path to presidential election

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday amended the party charter to allow its leadership to choose the term of its chair and supreme council members. The party’s decision will allow current Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung to run for the 2027 presidential election, if he wishes, even if he is reelected as the party chair at the upcoming convention scheduled for Aug. 18. While the charter states that a party chair or a supreme council member must resign fr

PoliticsJune 17, 2024

FM Cho to chair cybersecurity meeting at UN Security Council

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will chair an open debate at the UN Security Council on Thursday to underscore the significant impacts of cyber threats on international peace and security, including North Korea’s cryptocurrency theft that endangers the nonproliferation regime, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced Monday. South Korea will host an open debate to be broadcast live, allowing all UN members to participate, as the "signature event" of its presidency at the

Foreign AffairsJune 17, 2024

Mayor Choi an administrative expert with compassion and justice

Mayor Choi Min-ho, the driving force behind Sejong City, stands out as a seasoned public administrator boasting 31 years of comprehensive service in pivotal roles spanning central and local governance. Originating from Daejeon in 1956, he completed his education at Boseong High School and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. Subsequently, he pursued a master's degree in public administration at Yonsei University, a law degree at Tokyo University in Japan, and achieved a doctorate

PoliticsJune 17, 2024

Korea, China to hold first diplomatic security dialogue since 2015

South Korea and China are set to hold a high-level diplomatic and security dialogue on Tuesday in Seoul, elevating the talks from the director-general level for the first time in nine years, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced Monday. "The upcoming 'Korea-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue' will be held following the agreement between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang to actively operate communication channels in the diplomatic and security fields be

Foreign AffairsJune 17, 2024

Standoff in National Assembly intensifies over key committees

Rival political parties on Monday extended their standoff over picking the chairs of key standing committees of the National Assembly, leading to surging tension in the political sphere. Tensions stemmed from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s unilateral decision last week to snatch 11 of the 18 standing committee chair positions for the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly, which began its four-year term on May 30. The opposition-led Assembly has so far elected mai

PoliticsJune 17, 2024

Sejong evolving beyond a city for civil servants

Sejong City, strategically located in the heart of South Chungcheong Province, emerged as a pivotal player in the nation's balanced regional development strategy when it was established in 2012. Situated approximately 150km south of Seoul, Sejong City shares borders with Daejeon, Gongju, Cheongju, and Cheonan, creating a unique urban landscape in an otherwise rural setting. Despite its relatively modest population of around 400,000 residents, Sejong City boasts administrative significance c

PoliticsJune 17, 2024

Mayor Choi proclaims Sejong as 'Hangeul Culture Capital'

SEJONG -- To commemorate his second year in office, Mayor Choi Min-ho of Sejong City shared his vision for transforming the government administrative city into a global standard capital model. During an exclusive interview at his office early this month, Mayor Choi underscored Sejong's forthcoming identity as the "Hangeul Culture Capital" of the nation, highlighting a commitment to nurturing the legacy of King Sejong the Great within the city's development plans until his ter

PoliticsJune 17, 2024

College students fined after burning 'Rising Sun' flag in anti-Japan protest

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld an earlier ruling that found three college students guilty of holding an illegal protest near the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, during which they set fire to a controversial flag regarded as a symbol of Japanese imperialism. The defendants were found guilty of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act, which bans protests that had not been reported to the police in advance. The court did not accept their claim that their action was not a protest, and fined th

Social AffairsJune 17, 2024

Incheon high-rise residents face summer without elevators

Imagine living on the 15th floor with the elevator out of order -- not just for a few days, but for the entire summer. Residents of an apartment complex in Jung-gu, Incheon are facing this nightmarish scenario. As of Monday, all 24 elevators in the 608-unit Life Beach Mansion are out of service after failing a safety inspection on June 5. According to local reports, many of the 34-year-old complex’s over 1,400 residents are seniors. The elevator problem stemmed from the complex’s man

Social AffairsJune 17, 2024

Tajikistan calls for accelerated water action

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- Leaders, experts and policymakers called for urgent action to address water challenges at the Third Dushanbe Water Action Decade Conference held in Tajikistan's capital of Dushanbe last week. Held June 10-13, the conference was part of a biennial series co-organized by the government of Tajikistan, the United Nations and the European Union to support the International Decade for Action under the theme, “Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028,” and

Foreign AffairsJune 17, 2024