NATO ramps up pressure on China. What does it mean to South Korea?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's joint declaration issued Wednesday in Washington signaled a change from the Western military alliance's traditional focus on Russia with its rare open rebuke of China, calling it a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war in Ukraine. The rhetoric comes at a time when NATO declared its bid to bolster cooperation with its so-called "Indo-Pacific 4" partners -- namely South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand -- in their late

PoliticsJuly 14, 2024

Yoon promises incentives for companies hiring NK defectors

President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged Sunday to provide financial incentives to South Korean companies hiring North Korean defectors, as the conservative leader commemorated North Korean Defectors' Day designated for the first time. In its inaugural ceremony in Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, formerly used as the presidential office, Yoon promised to tackle the problem of unemployment among North Korean defectors who often struggle to land a proper job here. Tax credits or government subsidies could be p

PoliticsJuly 14, 2024

Extortion of YouTuber Tzuyang highlights 'cyber wrecker' issues in S. Korea

Following YouTuber Tzuyang's recent revelation about her being assaulted and financially exploited by her former boyfriend for four years, a group of YouTubers were suspected to have blackmailed her for money in exchange for keeping quiet about her past. The revelation shocked and angered viewers over what many are calling the moral bankruptcy of the so-called "cyber wreckers," who make a profit by posting rumors or negative news about celebrities often in a maliciously edited f

Social AffairsJuly 13, 2024

Ruling party hails Seoul-Washington nuclear deterrence pact as 'strong deterrent'

The ruling People Power Party on Saturday lauded the joint nuclear deterrence guidelines signed by Seoul and Washington, describing them as a potent deterrent against North Korea's provocations. "Mutual trust between South Korea and the United States, restored under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, has become a strong deterrent against the North Korean regime's reckless provocations," the PPP's spokesperson Ho Jun-seok said. On Thursday (US time) in Washington, DC, th

Foreign AffairsJuly 13, 2024

FM Cho meets Blinken to discuss alliance, joint response to N. Korea-Russia cooperation

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul has met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit and discussed the two nations' alliance and ways to jointly deal with growing cooperation between North Korea and Russia, Cho's office said Friday. Cho and Blinken held talks in Washington on Thursday (US time) to discuss the latest outcome of the summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden, and ways to enhance bilate

Foreign AffairsJuly 13, 2024

N. Korea condemns NATO statement as 'illegal document'

North Korea on Saturday vehemently objected to the declaration adopted by the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last week, labeling it an "illegal document." The declaration "violates the legitimate rights of independent sovereign states and a confrontational program that incites new Cold War and military confrontation on a global scale," according to a statement released by North Korea's foreign ministry through the Korean Central News Agency. On Wedne

North KoreaJuly 13, 2024

S. Korea urges Japan to drop its repeated claims to Dokdo in defense white paper

South Korea strongly protested Friday after Japan restated its territorial claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo as the foreign and defense ministries called in senior officials at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to lodge a complaint. The move came as the Japanese government adopted the 2024 defense white paper at a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, in which it reiterated the argument that Takeshima, the Japanese name for Dokdo, is part of its own territory and the issue ove

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 13, 2024

Yoon returns home from US trip focused on security

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Friday from his five-day trip to the United States that was focused on bolstering security against rising threats posed by deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia. Yoon attended the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday as South Korea was invited to the summit for the third consecutive year as one of four Indo-Pacific partners alongside Japan, Australia and New Zealand. During the main session and

Foreign AffairsJuly 12, 2024

Defense chief vows to strengthen solidarity with France

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik vowed Friday to strengthen solidarity with France and other countries that share common values at an event commemorating France's national day, his office said. Shin made the pledge during the Bastille Day ceremony organized by the French Embassy in Seoul and the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Sebitseom artificial islands on the Han River in Seoul, according to the ministry. This year's Bastille Day falls on Sunday. "The Repub

Foreign AffairsJuly 12, 2024

Ruling party warns leadership contenders to halt mudslinging

The ruling party People Power Party’s election management committee formed to handle the ongoing race to select its next leader said Friday it issued a warning to two of its contenders, requesting them to halt their “personal attacks” against each other. The committee revealed that it had sent warning letters to former Justice Minister and party interim leader Han Dong-hoon and former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong – two of four candidates for the chairman position –

PoliticsJuly 12, 2024

Ex-Ssangbangwool chairman sentenced to imprisonment over N. Korea remittance scandal

A former chairman of the underwear manufacturer Ssangbangwool Group was sentenced to prison on Friday on charges including illegally remitting US$8 million to North Korea in 2019 on behalf of the Gyeonggi provincial government while opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was governor. The scandal centers on allegations that Ssangbangwool illegally transferred US dollars to North Korea in 2019 as expenses for the Gyeonggi government's inter-Korean smart farms project as well as then Gyeonggi Gov. L

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2024

60% of N. Korean defectors advocate for changing official term: survey

Nearly 60 percent of North Korean defectors believed it necessary to change the official terminology labeling them as "North Korean defectors," according to a survey released Friday by the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification. The KINU reported that 58.9 percent of 505 North Korean defectors aged 18 and above, who were surveyed online, believed the term "should be changed," while 28.9 percent felt it "doesn't need to be changed." The remai

North KoreaJuly 12, 2024

Minimun wage for 2025 exceeds 10,000 won threshold for first time

The minimum wage for 2025 has been set at 10,030 won ($7.30) per hour, surpassing the 10,000 won mark for the first time since the system was introduced in 1988 and eliciting mixed reactions from business owners and employees. This decision, reached during the Minimum Wage Commission’s 11th plenary meeting Friday, represents a 1.7 percent increase from the current 9,860 won per hour. The new rate translates to a monthly wage of approximately 2.1 million won, based on a standard 40-hour wor

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2024

Busan floats ban on Japan’s colonial-era symbols

Japan’s Rising Sun flag, seen by many as an offensive symbol of Japan’s colonial rule in the 20th century, could soon face a permanent ban in Busan public spaces, alongside other symbols alluding to Japanese militarism. A council member from Korea’s second-largest city floated an ordinance that empowers the Busan mayor to remove from public view emblems associated with Japanese wartime aggression -- a period that includes Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Penins

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2024

Medical circle attacks non-protesting, returning medics by creating blacklist

The medical circle once again appears to be at odds as some are drawing up a "blacklist" of doctors who have refrained from joining the strike and returned to their workplaces amid the ongoing dispute with the government over the medical school expansion plan. A Telegram online chat room created on July 7 aptly named "grateful doctors and medical students, thank you" began disclosing personal details of non-protesting medical students and doctors on Thursday and has since rap

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2024

S. Korea, US sign guidelines for decisive, integrated response to NK nuclear attacks

South Korea and the United States signed joint guidelines Thursday to ensure a swift and decisive response to any North Korean nuclear attack by integrating South Korea's advanced conventional forces and US nuclear capabilities into a strengthened combined defense strategy. The "Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula" were signed by South Korea's Defense Ministry and the US Defense Department just before the summit between South Korean Presiden

DefenseJuly 12, 2024

YouTuber vows zero tolerance for threat against his daughter

Popular South Korean YouTuber Chimchakman released a statement concerning a recent online threat made against his 11-year-old daughter, saying he will not tolerate any foul play against his family. Officials from the Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul said Thursday that they have launched an investigation into a threat against the daughter of the YouTuber, whose real name is Lee Byeong-geon. The unidentified individual, who posted the threat on an online community at around 9:34 p.m. on Tuesda

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2024

1 in 5 S. Koreans aged 65 or above: ministry

The number of South Koreans aged 65 or above has surpassed the 10 million mark for the first time, making up nearly 20 percent of the total population, government data showed Friday. According to data provided by the Interior Ministry, the population of senior citizens reached 10,000,062 as of Wednesday, which accounted for 19.51 percent of the officially registered population of nearly 51.27 million. The figure shows a sharp increase from the corresponding figure from January 2013, when the reg

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2024

Citizens save woman pinned under a bus

An elderly woman pinned underneath a bus was saved Thursday by a group of citizens nearby who lifted the bus to get her out. According to Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul, the woman in her 70s had been getting off a bus at a stop near Hongje Station around 6:25 p.m., when she slipped and fell. The driver did not see her fall, and when the bus moved forward her arm was pinned down by one of the wheels. The people at the bus stop came to her rescue by collectively lifting the bus to free her. T

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2024

N. Korea expands inter-Korean railway demolition to Gyeongui line: Seoul

Signs that North Korea has been dismantling part of a western inter-Korean railway have been detected, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday, the latest in Pyongyang's apparent move to eliminate routes once seen as symbols of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation. The military has detected the North removing ties and rails on the northern side of the Gyeongui line that connects the military demarcation line to the North Korean border city of Kaesong since late June, according to the

North KoreaJuly 11, 2024