Indo-Pacific Command's role key to 'rock-solid' Korea-US alliance: Yoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed the United States Indo-Pacific Command's role in taking the alliance between Seoul and Washington to a new level, amid growing geopolitical tensions beyond the Korean Peninsula. Yoon on Tuesday local time visited the headquarters of the Indo-Pacific Command at Camp H. M. Smith in Halawa, Hawaii, near Honolulu. The last time a South Korean head of state visited the base was then-President Kim Young-sam 29 years ago. "Among many other important missions,

PoliticsJuly 10, 2024

US top envoy for NK steps down without successor

Jung Pak, who served as the United States' top diplomat for North Korea issues, has recently resigned, leaving the position vacant again amid stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang since the Biden administration's inauguration in January 2021. Pak's resignation is noteworthy in light of the Biden administration's trend of downgrading similar positions. The trend led to the US special representative for North Korea position within the State Department remaining unfille

North KoreaJuly 10, 2024

29 probed in baseball drug scandal, including 9 active players

Over two dozen people are being investigated in a drug scandal surrounding former professional baseball player Oh Jae-won, Seoul police said Wednesday. Seoul Gangnam Police Station said it has forwarded the case to the prosecution, with 29 people facing charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. The list includes 13 active or retired pro baseball players, a trainer for Oh's former team the Doosan Bears of the KBO, parents of a player from Oh's baseball academy, three people who

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2024

Man cleared of spy charges, wrongful imprisonment and 55 years too late

South Korea's highest court recently upheld a lower court ruling that cleared an 82-year-old man of spy charges, for which he served a seven-year prison term after being convicted over five decades ago. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the prosecution, who claimed that the man, surnamed Kim, was guilty on some of the charges pressed against him back in 1969. The court said the evidence presented against him did not indicate that Kim could potentially threaten the nation's securi

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2024

Actor caught drunk driving, 'attacks' citizens who reported him

An actor in his 40s is being investigated on the charge of drunk driving, with additional allegations of him assaulting the people who reported him to the authorities. The officials at Seoul Seongdong Police Station said they have handed prosecutors a drunk driving case that occurred at on July 2 in Seongdong-gu, eastern Seoul. The actor is believed to have been drinking at a restaurant in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, before driving his car some three kilometers to his home in Seongdong-gu. The m

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2024

Over half of sudden unintended accelerations involve under-60 group: report

More than half of recorded incidents suspected of being sudden unintended acceleration have involved drivers under the age of 60, government data showed Wednesday, contrary to the spreading belief that many such cases are caused by operator error on the part of older drivers. There have been 456 reports of SUA in South Korea from 2014 through last month, according to a Korea Transportation Safety Authority report submitted to Rep. Ahn Tae-jun of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2024

S. Korea adds fewer than 100,000 jobs for 2nd month in June

South Korea added fewer than 100,000 jobs for the second consecutive month in June due to the slowing growth of manufacturing jobs and the weak construction industry, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 28.91 million last month, up 96,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. In May, 80,000 new jobs were added on-year, which was the fewest since February 2021, when the country shed 473,000 positions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In Januar

Social AffairsJuly 10, 2024

Yoon pledges to enhance combined readiness with US against N. Korea

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to bolster South Korea's combined defense readiness with the United States to deter North Korea's growing threats during his visit to the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii on Tuesday. Yoon made the remark during his meeting with Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of Indo-Pacific Command, and Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of US Forces Korea, and other US military leaders. "North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile capabilities and continued provocations

PoliticsJuly 10, 2024

'Anything' South Korea can do for Ukraine's defense ability will be 'warmly welcomed': NATO official

"Anything" that South Korea can provide to help strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities will be "warmly welcomed," a senior NATO official said Tuesday, stressing the "strategic" implications of Russia's war in Ukraine for both Europe and Asia. The official made the remarks as Seoul has said it would reconsider its policy ban on the provision of lethal weapons to Ukraine following last month's summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North

Foreign AffairsJuly 10, 2024

Labor side proposes 13.6 pct hike in 2025 minimum wage; management suggests near freeze

The labor segment of the Minimum Wage Commission proposed a 13.6-percent increase in next year's minimum wage Tuesday, while management representatives called for a near freeze. The proposals were made during the ninth plenary session of the commission tasked with determining the legal minimum wage per hour for 2025. This year's rate is set at 9,860 won (US$7.13), with an eye being placed on whether it will surpass 10,000 won for the first time. The labor side of the commission, which

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2024

N. Korea-Russia relationship will end when Ukraine war is over: ex-Trump official

The growing alignment between Russia and North Korea will end when the war in Ukraine is over, and bringing the conflict to a stop will be a priority if ex-U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House, a former U.S. official said Tuesday. Fred Fleitz, a former chief of staff of the National Security Council under the previous Trump administration, also said it will be a "bad precedent" for South Korea if it were to acquire its own nuclear weapons. "This relationship show

North KoreaJuly 9, 2024

Another round of heavy downpours forecast till early Wednesday, Seoul expected to receive up to 120 mm

Another round of monsoon rains will hit most regions of the country till late Wednesday with the greater Seoul area to receive up to 120 mm of rainfall until late Wednesday, the state weather agency said Tuesday. Heavy downpours have left one person missing, and many houses and roads inundated in the southern regions, and heavy rain warnings across the country may be issued later in the day, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The downpours will continue in the wider Seoul area

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2024

Leader of crime ring sentenced to 23 years for drugging, blackmail

A South Korean court sentenced a 27-year-old man who led a scam that involved spiking teens' drinks with drugs and blackmailing parents to 23 years in jail Tuesday. The defendant surnamed Lee is believed to have been the leader of a crime ring that made drinks out of methamphetamine and milk and distributed them to middle and high school students in Daechi-dong, southern Seoul on April 3, 2023. The perpetrators falsely claimed that the drinks would help students concentrate. Lee ordered his

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2024

National Assembly launches forum for potential nuclear armament

The National Assembly forum for potentially arming South Korea with nuclear weapons, the Mugunghwa Forum, kicked off Tuesday. The ruling People Power Party Rep. Yu Yong-weon, the Mugunghwa Forum’s founding president, said in remarks delivered at the inaugural ceremony that the forum will discuss policies and strategies for cultivating what he has termed the country’s “nuclear potential.” “I am pleased that the forum is taking off on this day at the National Assembly

PoliticsJuly 9, 2024

Quarrel over first lady’s text messages opens new rift in ruling bloc

Rumors that former ruling party interim leader Han Dong-hoon ignored a total of five text messages from first lady Kim Keon Hee have opened a new rift within the conservative bloc, with some questioning the intention behind the alleged texts by the wife of the president, who is expected to remain politically neutral. The intra-party rift intensified after the Telegram text messages reportedly sent by Kim to former ruling party interim leader and ex-Justice Minister Han, ahead of the April 10 gen

PoliticsJuly 9, 2024

Assembly committee to hold hearings on petition to impeach Yoon

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly approved a plan to hold two rounds of hearings later this month on the online petition on the parliament's website calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The committee, controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, also decided to summon Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, to testify before the National Assembly on July 26. This is the first time in modern Korean history that the parliament has summoned a fir

PoliticsJuly 9, 2024

NK military delegation in Russia after Putin-Kim pact

North Korea has dispatched a military training delegation to Russia, marking the first military exchange since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty in mid-June. The move has drawn warnings from Seoul that any action aiding North Korea's military buildup contravenes UN sanctions. The delegation, comprising military training officials from the Korean People's Army and led by Kim Kum-chol who serves as the president of Kim Il Sung Military University, departed Pyongyang for Ru

North KoreaJuly 9, 2024

Bill sought for enforcing UN Security Council resolutions

Rep. Kim Gunn of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require the government to take steps to implement United Nations Security Council resolutions. The bill establishes a legal framework for ensuring that the UN Security Council resolutions can take effect here, so that South Korea can fulfill its obligations as a member, the first-time lawmaker said. Explaining the rationale behind the bill, he pointed to the Supreme Court ruling from two years ago which said t

PoliticsJuly 9, 2024

DJ sentenced to 10 years in jail for deadly drunk driving

A local DJ was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for a February drunk driving accident that resulted in the death of a 54-year-old motorcyclist. The Seoul Central District Court found Ahn Ye-song guilty of death by dangerous driving, hit and run, drunk driving and not taking appropriate measures after causing an accident. It also ordered that her car be seized as a relatively rare form of punishment imposed on particularly severe drunk-driving cases. The investigation found that Ahn, whi

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2024

Speed limit of e-bikes, e-scooters slashed to 20km/h in pilot plan

To address a sharp rise in accidents involving e-scooters and e-bikes, the South Korean government plans to implement a lower speed limit for micromobility vehicles in a project scheduled for the latter half of this year. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Tuesday, the maximum speed for micromobility vehicles will be slashed to 20 kilometers per hour, from the present 25 km per hour, in major cities like Seoul and Busan from July to December. Once the pilot project proves

Social AffairsJuly 9, 2024