Drones seen in Pyongyang’s footage don’t seem South Korean: ADD

The head of the South Korean government agency for defense research and development said Tuesday the uncrewed aerial vehicles seen in footage released by North Korean state media do not seem to be South Korean. “These UAVs do not seem distinctly South Korean, although there are similar-looking ones among commercial kinds as well as those developed (by the military),” Lt. Gen. Lee Kun-wan, president of the Agency for Defense Development, said in response to questions from lawmakers. &

DefenseOct. 15, 2024

Why we're single: Korean women say high standards, men say no chances to date

Finding the right person to marry is a tall order anywhere, but South Koreans in particular say that their high standards for potential partners or lack of opportunities to meet them are their main reasons for remaining single. Local match-making application Noon Date recently revealed the results of a survey of 12,060 unmarried men and women across the country, and asked why respondents remain single. For women, 28 percent said it is because their standards for a potential romantic partner ar

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2024

Vietnam holds Pho festival in Seoul as part of food diplomacy

Vietnam hosted the Pho Festival in Seoul earlier this month to celebrate its iconic noodle soup, pho, and to strengthen Vietnam-Korea relations through food diplomacy. Attracting more than 28,000 attendees on Oct. 5, the first day of the two-day festival, visitors could enjoy Vietnamese food, including pho, a fragrant soup made with rice noodles, herbs, and either beef or chicken. The event facilitated more than 100 business meetings between Vietnamese and Korean enterprises across the tourism,

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2024

Yoon calls for bipartisan efforts to scrap financial investment income tax

President Yoon Suk Yeol urged Tuesday bipartisan efforts to abolish the planned financial investment income tax and instructed the government to prepare lifting a temporary ban on short selling in March 2025 to shore up the stock market. During a Cabinet meeting, Yoon addressed the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the financial investment income tax, which would impose a 20 percent tax on capital gains exceeding 50 million won ($38,000) from stock investments, or a 25 percen

PoliticsOct. 15, 2024

Russia urges S. Korea to avoid provocations amid N. Korea's drone allegations

Russia has called on South Korea to refrain from further provocations in response to North Korea's accusation that Seoul had deployed unmanned drones. North Korea claimed Friday that South Korea sent unmanned drones carrying anti-North propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang on Oct. 3, as well as on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, however, said he could not confirm the North's claim. "The South Korean authorities should take Pyongyang&#

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 15, 2024

Nobel prize laureates tout S. Korea's 'remarkable' economic rise, but note challenges ahead

This year's Nobel economics prize laureates on Monday applauded South Korea's economic rise, a key subject of their research, but pointed out a set of challenges ahead, including the fast-graying population of Asia's fourth largest economy. They also drew a stark contrast between the economic backwater of North Korea -- a repressive country under an institutional framework that they said serves only a certain elite class -- and South Korea under a more "inclusive" system

Foreign AffairsOct. 15, 2024

[Exclusive] South Korean defense companies lacking cyber security workforce

Even South Korea’s largest defense companies do not have adequate cyber security workforce in place, and their contractors exempt from government monitoring, leaving loopholes for cyber threats, Rep. Lim Jong-deuk said Monday, citing Defense Acquisition Program Administration data. According to DAPA data submitted to Lim’s office, as of this year, just 0.6 percent or 124 of 18,043 defense-related employees across 18 largest defense companies in South Korea were in charge of cyber sec

PoliticsOct. 14, 2024

N. Korean leader's sister accuses S. Korean military of flying drones over Pyongyang

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accused the South Korean military on Monday of sending unmanned drones carrying leaflets over Pyongyang in recent days, while also blaming the United States for the incident. "We clearly know that the main culprit behind the Pyongyang drone incident is the trash of the South Korean military," Kim said in a statement carried by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency. She, however, provided no eviden

North KoreaOct. 14, 2024

Court upholds police punishment on officer for ordering subordinates to run personal errands

A South Korean court sided with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s decision to punish a police officer for repeatedly ordering subordinates to run personal errands and denying them vacation leave. Judges in the Seoul Administrative Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the officer, who sought to overturn a disciplinary action imposed by the police agency in December 2022. The police agency handed down a punishment of a two-month pay reduction, after the officer was found to have

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2024

Yoon's former chief of staff named ambassador to China

Kim Dae-ki, who was President Yoon Suk Yeol's chief of staff during the first two years of Yoon's term, has been named the ambassador to China. Kim, a 68-year-old career bureaucrat, will replace the incumbent Chung Jae-ho, who served in the position since August 2022. Kim has expertise in handling trade-related affairs countering China and has a good command of Chinese, Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk told reporters Monday. Seoul is awaiting China's approval of Kim's nomination,

PoliticsOct. 14, 2024

Rival parties lock horns over N. Korean provocations

The tension between the two largest political parties in South Korea escalated Monday as the main opposition criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s response towards a recent series of provocations from North Korea. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday announced the list of members for its own intra-party security committee through former director of the National Service Intelligence Rep. Park Jie-won. The announcement comes a day after Democratic Party Chair Rep.

PoliticsOct. 14, 2024

87% of adults willing to work after retirement: survey

A survey showed Monday that nearly 90 percent of South Korean adults are willing to work after retirement, mostly due to financial reasons. An online job-seeking portal Saramin surveyed 4,056 adults across the country from Oct.7 to 10, asking them if they were willing to work after retirement. Some 87.3 percent of the respondents said they would, with 95.8 percent of those in their 50s saying so. They were followed by 81.9 percent of those in their 40s, 74.4. percent of those in their 30s and

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2024

Korea, Mongolia strengthen ties in education

The Ministry of Education announced plans to hold the 4th Korea-Mongolia Joint Commission on Education in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Scheduled for Tuesday, the meeting is part of an ongoing consultative process that began in 2015 to deepen bilateral educational cooperation. The commission aims to review past agreements and explore new opportunities for collaboration in education, the ministry explained. One of the primary focus areas of the meeting is the promotion of Korean language education in Mo

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2024

[From the Scene] S. Korea, Philippines deepen cooperation in water

MANILA, Philippines -- As the Philippines contends with ongoing water shortages and management challenges exacerbated by climate change, South Korea is set to deepen its cooperation with the Southeast Asian country and expand its support to address these critical issues. At the heart of this expanding cooperation is the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water), a public enterprise specializing in water development and management. Since 2014, K-water has partnered with the Philippine governmen

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2024

Border tensions heighten as North Korea builds up drone incursion claims

The South Korean military is closely watching developments and making necessary preparations in response to the North Korean military ordering its troops near the border to be prepared to open fire. Col. Lee Sung-jun, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, told reporters Monday that the South Korean military is “prepared for any actual provocation.” ”The responsibility for current circumstances lies entirely with North Korea, and we strongly warn them to stop wit

DefenseOct. 14, 2024

Teacher suicides averaging 20 per year: data

An average of 20 teachers made the tragic decision to take their own lives each year from 2021 to 2023, data showed Monday, sparking concern over the mental health and well-being of teachers in South Korea. The problem persists this year too, with 19 teachers having taken their own lives this year through August. This disturbing trend points to a deeper crisis within the education system, where teachers feel increasingly vulnerable and unsupported, according to Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2024

No. of female earners surpasses 10 million

The number of female workers receiving wages and salaries in South Korea has surpassed the 10 million mark this year, government data showed Monday. According to data released by Statistics Korea, the female wage and salaried workforce in 2024 reached 10.15 million, an approximately 17.7-fold increase since the government began collecting such data in 1963. Specifically, 6.962 million of these female workers were regular employees, 2.907 million were temporary workers, and 283,000 were categoriz

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2024

Kim Jong-un struggles to sell '2 Koreas' narrative at home

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not yet mustered public support for his bid to redefine the two Koreas as separate, hostile states -- a sharp break from his predecessors’ vision of a unified peninsula under a single nation and state -- former North Korean diplomats said. Some warned that Kim may ramp up military threats against South Korea to push his agenda forward. Seven of 12 former North Korean diplomats who have publicly defected to South Korea gathered on Thursday for a rare foru

North KoreaOct. 14, 2024

Yoon-Han meeting to take place next week

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office said Monday that a meeting between Yoon and ruling People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon will be held next week. According to Yoon's office, the meeting of the conservative ruling bloc's two prominent leaders will take place sometime early next week, following Wednesday's by-elections this week. The office also said it was coordinating with the ruling party. The meeting is drawing keen attention over whether Yoon and Han are able to fully mend fences. Han, Yoon'

PoliticsOct. 14, 2024

Man wrongly incarcerated for 'spying for NK' compensated 54 years late

An 82-year-old man who served a seven-year prison term after being wrongly accused of being a North Korean spy will receive compensation from the state, over 50 years after the conviction. Seoul High Court on Oct. 4 ruled that Kim Sin-geun should get compensation worth 901.2 million won ($664,000) as "criminal compensation," after he was exonerated from the charges back in July. Kim, who was a Korea University graduate student in the 1960s, was accused of conducting espionage activit

Social AffairsOct. 14, 2024