Yoon to meet US spy chief amid deepening NK-Russia ties

President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to meet with US National Intelligence Director Avril Haines on Friday, sources said, amid growing concerns over a recent military pact between North Korea and Russia. During the meeting at Yoon's office, the two sides are likely to exchange their views on the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty signed between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss joint efforts to counter the growing Pyongyang-Moscow military tie

PoliticsJune 28, 2024

S. Korea urges N. Korea to give prior notice over border dam water discharge

The unification ministry urged North Korea on Friday to give prior notice if it releases water from a dam near the inter-Korean border, citing the need to prevent damage in border areas from possible heavy rains. The request came as North Korea opened the floodgates of the Hwanggang Dam to release water during the summer monsoon season without notifying the South in advance. "The government urges North Korea to give prior notice if it releases water from the dam to prevent flooding in borde

North KoreaJune 28, 2024

Court dismisses damages suit by former broadcasting watchdog chief against YTN

A Seoul court on Friday dismissed a damages suit filed by Lee Dong-kwan, a former head of the state broadcasting watchdog, against local news channel YTN for covering allegations that his wife had received bribes in return for job favors. Lee, former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, filed the suit after the news channel reported on allegations that his wife had received money in exchange for job favors in 2010 before returning it two months later. He claimed the news channel had

Social AffairsJune 28, 2024

US congratulates S. Korea on taking Minerals Security Partnership chair

The United States on Thursday welcomed South Korea undertaking the one-year chair of a multinational partnership aimed at developing diverse and sustainable supply chains for critical energy minerals. South Korea is set to start leading the Minerals Security Partnership on Monday, the State Department said. Launched in 2022, the MSP is a collaboration of 14 countries and the European Union to catalyze public and private investment in the global supply chains of critical minerals. "The ROK h

Diplomatic CircuitJune 28, 2024

Top US envoy in Seoul calls for int'l cooperation against cybersecurity threats

The US ambassador to South Korea stressed Thursday the importance of international cooperation in building resilience against cybersecurity threats, including those posed by North Korea. Amb. Philip Goldberg made the remarks during a forum hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank based in Seoul. "The ever growing scope of cybersecurity means that no country can get far on its own. This is why the United States has bilateral and multilateral engagements with key allies

Foreign AffairsJune 27, 2024

Authorities confirm identities of all 23 deceased in Hwaseong battery plant fire

HWASEONG -- Authorities said Thursday they have confirmed the identities of all 23 people killed in the fire at a lithium battery factory south of Seoul, three days after the blaze that took the lives of many foreign workers. Police received the DNA results of six more victims from the National Forensic Service, making the identification process for all 23 deceased individuals complete, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police investigating the case said. The fire at the Aricell lithium battery pl

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

3 senior judges nominated as top court justices

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae recommended Thursday three senior judges as candidates to replace three outgoing justices at the top court, court officials said. Cho picked Roh Kyung-pil, a senior judge at the Suwon High Court; Park Young-jae, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court; and Lee Sook-yeon, a judge at the Patent Court, and delivered the recommendation to President Yoon Suk Yeol, according to the Supreme Court. The appointment process will begin, including the parliamentary h

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

Top Seoul envoy raises alarm on Putin-Kim treaty in Moscow

South Korean Ambassador to Russia Lee Do-hoon voiced alarm over increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia during his meeting with Andrey Rudenko, the Russian deputy foreign minister in charge of the Asia-Pacific region, on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Thursday. The meeting, which Seoul described as an opportunity to hear Russia's stance on the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" signed by President Vladimir Putin and North Korean lead

Foreign AffairsJune 27, 2024

Errors found in state guidelines on water-reactive chemicals

Information regarding how to extinguish fires involving water-reactive chemicals was found to be either incorrect or missing in the information guide of the National Institute of Chemical Safety, a government institution under the Ministry of Environment, according to local media reports. Controversy surrounding the institution’s information guide was raised following a fire that engulfed a lithium battery manufacturing factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Fire officials had tro

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

Assembly back on track with agreement on committee chief assignments

The rival political parties got the newly launched session of the National Assembly back on track Thursday by officially agreeing on the selection of all 18 committee chiefs for the first two years of the parliamentary term. Twenty-eight days after the 22nd Assembly kicked off its term, the ruling People Power Party and the opposition parties voted in favor of the ruling party’s candidates for seven parliamentary committee chiefs, in a plenary session held in the afternoon. The Assembly me

PoliticsJune 27, 2024

N. Koreans executed for sharing K-pop, films: Seoul

Testimonies from North Korean defectors have revealed that the Kim Jong-un regime has conducted public executions of individuals caught distributing South Korean TV series, movies or K-pop music under a 2020 law, South Korea's Unification Ministry said Thursday. According to the 2024 North Korean Human Rights Report released by the ministry in Seoul, testimonies suggested an "increase in public executions based on violations of the Law on Rejecting Reactionary Ideology and Culture.&quo

North KoreaJune 27, 2024

Seoul to expand science R&D budget

South Korea may propose a budget related to state-backed scientific research and development amounting to nearly 30 trillion won ($21.6 billion), according to the presidential office on Thursday. "The total amount of the state R&D budget could certainly reach 30 trillion won, but the final proposal will be handed in (to the Finance Ministry) in late August," Park Sang-ook, senior presidential secretary for science and technology, told reporters. Park revealed that what is included

PoliticsJune 27, 2024

S. Korea to merge nurseries, kindergartens by 2026

Operations of nurseries and kindergartens will be integrated with the Education Ministry becoming the single institution to manage the overall policies of children up to age 11, the government said Thursday, stressing that the plan is aimed at improving efficiency in policies to tackle the nation's plummeting birth rate. For more than 30 years, Korea's early childhood education and care system has been divided into kindergartens and day care centers under the supervision of the Ministr

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

Battery plant workers died from asphyxiation: police

The 23 deaths in the battery plant fire this week were found to have been caused by asphyxiation, according to officials on Thursday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police's investigation team for the accident at local battery manufacturer Aricell, the operator of the lithium battery plant, said that they received a verbal autopsy opinion from the National Forensic Service that it believed the victims had died of asphyxiation due to the fire. Asphyxiation happens when a substance such as car

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

Figure skater accused of sexual harassment denies allegations, says she was dating the victim

South Korean figure skater Lee Hae-in on Thursday spoke out on the recent allegations about her harassing a younger male skater during last month's training camp, saying the supposed victim and she had been in a romantic relationship at the time. The Korea Skating Union last week suspended Lee for three years for allegedly sexually harassing a male underage skater and drinking alcohol during last month's training camp of the national team conducted in Italy. Another unidentified fema

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

Jeju police enforce laws, issue on-site fines to foreign tourists

Jeju police have launched a crackdown on minor offenses, including jaywalking, littering, smoking on cigarette-free streets and public urination in response to recent complaints from locals over unruly sights involving tourists, officials said Thursday. Within the first hour of Tuesday's crackdown, which lasted around one and a half hours, the police caught nine law violators, the majority of whom were foreign tourists jaywalking. All nine violators were issued on-site fines that were requi

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

Yoon names chiefs of tax, fire, weather authorities

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday announced picks for four vice-ministerial officials including chiefs of the tax, fire and weather agencies, as well as first vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination amid reports that he might carry a major Cabinet reshuffle soon. Kang Min-soo, who heads the Seoul Regional Tax Office, was nominated as the new chief of the National Tax Agency. Kang, 56 is the only vice-ministerial official out of four named Thursday to go through the parli

PoliticsJune 27, 2024

Basketball star claims to have been blackmailed by ex-girlfriend

South Korean basketball player Heo Ung of the 2024 KBL champion KCC Egis has recently filed complaints to the police against his former girlfriend for alleged stalking, intimidation and extortion. The Seoul Gangnam Police Station said Wednesday that it is investigating the case involving Heo and a woman he dated from 2018 to 2021. The 30-year-old athlete has claimed that she has been blackmailing him for the past three years, requesting him to pay her a large sum of money. He also accused her of

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

Cash subsidies offered to singles who date, marry in Busan's Saha-gu

Busan’s Saha-gu is preparing a meeting event and support program to provide direct cash subsidies to local residents and workers in the district to start dating and get married. The Saha-gu district council passed a revised supplementary budget to fund the meeting day for local singles, a pilot project for which will take place in October, according to local media reports on Wednesday. The pilot project will select eligible singles born between 1981 and 2001 who either live or work in the

Social AffairsJune 27, 2024

N. Korea launches nearly 200 trash-carrying balloons overnight: JCS

North Korea sent more than 180 trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea overnight, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday, in what marked its third consecutive balloon launch this week. Some 70 balloons, largely carrying small pieces of paper, mostly landed in Seoul and the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital, the JCS said in a notice to reporters. As of 9 a.m., there were no balloons floating in the air, while an analysis of retrieved trash has so far indicated they

North KoreaJune 27, 2024