US seeking trilateral summit with S. Korea, Japan in July: report

The United States is in talks with South Korea and Japan to arrange a trilateral summit on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit to be held in Washington in July, a report said Sunday. According to Japan's Kyodo News, which quoted diplomatic sources, U.S. President Joe Biden is considering inviting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the NATO event and holding the trilateral summit on the margins. The three leaders

PoliticsMarch 31, 2024

Yoon attends Easter service at church

President Yoon Suk Yeol attended an Easter service at church Sunday and stressed the need to practice love and solidarity in the spirit of the Christian celebration, according to his office. In his remarks during the service at Myungsung Presbyterian Church in eastern Seoul, Yoon said that at a time when the country is faced with serious challenges within and outside, everyone should reflect on and practice the true meaning of Easter. Noting that Jesus showed the infinite love of freeing humanit

PoliticsMarch 31, 2024

Police to crack down on crimes by foreign nationals

The Korean National Police Agency will crack down on the main crimes committed by foreign nationals from Monday until June 30, the agency said Sunday. According to the police agency, the main crimes include fraud, gambling, drug-related crimes and crimes involving foreign national workers based at construction sites. In addition, according to the agency's statistics, the number of criminals that are of foreign nationality that have committed what are deemed the four major crimes here -- mur

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2024

Police uncover spycams at 40 polling, ballot counting locations

Illegal spycams were discovered at approximately 40 locations nationwide, including polling stations and vote counting venues designated for early voting ahead of the April 10 general election, according to officials from Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon on Saturday. A suspect appeared for a review of his arrest warrant at the Incheon District Court on Sunday, after police had announced Friday that the suspect in his 40s had been apprehended on Thursday for allegedly installing cameras inside

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2024

Democratic Party gains momentum, takes lead in poll

  Over 45 percent of South Korea's voters are leaning towards supporting candidates from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in the upcoming April 10 general election, to keep the Yoon Suk Yeol government in check. The results of a poll conducted by Jowon C&I, commissioned by The Korea Herald and Herald Business from Mar. 25 to 27, indicate a positive trend for the Democratic Party on Sunday. Out of the total of 4,041 respondents aged 18 or older, 45.1 percent responded that &

PoliticsMarch 31, 2024

Rival parties' leaders woo voters in capital area ahead of April 10 election

Political rival parties escalated their campaigns for the April 10 general election on Sunday, particularly in the wider capital area, which constitutes about half of the 300 seats in the National Assembly and thus holds significant sway over the election outcome. Surrounded by cheering supporters, the leaders of the country's two major parties held rival events in Greater Seoul on Sunday. The move is aimed at winning voters in the capital area since the number of seats chosen by direct vot

PoliticsMarch 31, 2024

Government-doctor talks remain at standstill on quota expansion plan

Clouds are hovering over the government’s attempts to seek a breakthrough with medical circles, a week after it left the door open for talks, as doctors refuse to bend and as the government locks horns within the ruling bloc over the expansion plan. Amid a monthlong standoff, the Health Ministry on Sunday expressed regrets over the medical community’s nonchalant attitude toward talks and medical professors’ decision to reduce their working hours to 52 weekly starting Monday, on

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2024

N. Korea's Kim inspects construction site of ruling party's training school

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a construction site of the North's ruling party training school, the North's state media reported Sunday. "The training school with a total floor space of over 133,000 square meters will be equipped with advanced educational systems and have the high level of educational conditions and environment," the North's Korean Central News Agency reported. The construction of the school for cadets of the North's ruling Workers'

North KoreaMarch 31, 2024

Medical professors demand vice health minister be excluded from media responses

An association of medical professors on Saturday urged the government to exclude Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo from making media responses to facilitate talks in the upcoming negotiations for medical reform. The association, behind a campaign for medical professors' resignations, made the request one day after Park firmly rejected the medical community's call for modifying the government's plan to markedly raise the medical school enrollment quota. During a press briefing Friday, the

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2024

[Photo News] Jeju in full bloom

With cherry blossoms spotted in full bloom in mostly southern parts of the Korean Peninsula as of Saturday, the warmer weather is expected to spread the blooming of cherry blossoms across the country next week. According to local weather forecast provider Weatheri on Saturday, Seoul is expected to see cherry blossoms start blooming from Wednesday, a day after the official period for the Yeouido Cherry Blossom festival in the western part of the capital city ends. Some local governments have push

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2024

Police seek arrest warrant for man suspected of installing spy cameras at voting stations

Police said Saturday they have requested an arrest warrant for a YouTuber suspected of installing spy cameras at some 40 early voting stations ahead of the April 10 parliamentary elections. Officials at Incheon Nonhyeon Police Station said the suspect, a man in his 40s, allegedly placed hidden cameras at about 40 early polling stations in major cities, including Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Ulsan and Daegu. The interior ministry earlier said spy cameras had been found at 26 early voting stations as of

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2024

Hearings on forced labor compensation lawsuits resume following top court ruling

South Korean courts have resumed or are set to hold hearings on lawsuits filed by forced labor victims under Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule after the top court cleared the way for them to file lawsuits against Japanese companies. The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday held a hearing for the compensation lawsuit filed in 2019 by the families of forced labor victims against Japan's Nippon Steel and JX Metals, resuming the court proceedings for the first time in two years and seven mo

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2024

Officials from S. Korea, US, Japan discuss cooperation against NK cyber threats

Diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed trilateral cooperation to counter North Korea's evolving cyber threats during their working group talks in Washington on Friday, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Lee Jun-il, director general for North Korean nuclear affairs at the ministry, and US and Japanese representatives, Lyn Debevoise and Naoki Kumagai, respectively, led the second session of the trilateral working group tasked with responding to the North's thr

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2024

Yoon calls for US lawmakers' support for S. Korean firms

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday called on a group of US lawmakers to support South Korean companies operating in the world's largest economy, the presidential office said. Yoon made the request to the visiting US delegation in Seoul while discussing measures to strengthen bilateral ties in a wide range of areas from security, economy and technology to culture and space, according to his office. "Active investment and economic cooperation between South Korea and the United States have

PoliticsMarch 29, 2024

N. Korea's FM reaffirms unwillingness to talk with Japan over abduction issue

The North Korean foreign minister on Friday reaffirmed Pyongyang's stance that it does not have any intention to hold talks with Japan on the abduction issue, a day after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida voiced willingness to push for a summit with the North. Choe Son-hui made the remarks in a statement released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, saying the issue "cannot be settled and has nothing to be solved." "The DPRK has nothing to solve as reg

North KoreaMarch 29, 2024

[Photo News] Special instructor for the day

President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a lecture about the 2023 launch of the Nuri rocket after making a surprise appearance at a class of first graders as a special instructor for the after-school Neulbom program at Ain Elementary School in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yoon's class involved a presentation of a video about the domestically manufactured rocket, reading the children a book about space and rockets and hands-on activities to teach the class about rocket propulsion, according

PoliticsMarch 29, 2024

Yoon approves resignation of ambassador to Australia amid controversy over his appointment

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday approved the resignation of Ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-sup amid mounting criticism of his appointment and departure that came despite the fact that he was subject to an investigation. Lee offered his resignation earlier Friday, 25 days after he was appointed to the position, as he has been under intense scrutiny since he was named the ambassador in Canberra early this month, after revelations that he had been banned from leaving the country over the invest

PoliticsMarch 29, 2024

Spy cameras found at 26 early voting stations nationwide: interior ministry

The interior ministry said Friday it has inspected all early voting stations across the country ahead of the April 10 parliamentary elections and found spy cameras at 26 facilities as of 6 p.m. The inspection took place a day after police detained a YouTuber in his 40s on suspicions of installing spy cameras at early voting polling stations in two cities -- Incheon and Yangsan --, where early voting will take place. Police said they have found spy cameras at five stations in Incheon, west of Seo

PoliticsMarch 29, 2024

ILO requests government's stance on its back-to-work order for doctors

The International Labour Organization has asked the South Korean government to express its position on Korean doctors' request to reconsider the United Nations agency's intervention in its back-to-work order imposed on protesting junior doctors, the labor ministry said Friday. "Unlike ILO's previous notice of terminating the intervention request due to the lack of eligibility of the Korea Intern Resident Association, they are seen to have come to such a decision, taking consi

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2024

GTX-A commuter line to launch 1st leg Saturday

The Great Train Express commuter rail line connecting Seoul and surrounding cities will begin operating its first leg Saturday, with the eventual goal of bringing several cities in Gyeonggi and Gangwon Province within commuting range of the nation's capital. The first leg of the GTX-A will run between Suseo Station in southern Seoul and Dongtan Station in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. The 34.9-kilometer route will open when the 5:30 a.m. train en route to Dongta

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2024