S. Korean loudspeakers blare again after North Korean trash balloon barrage

South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts into North Korea on Sunday, in response to North Korea's launches of trash-laden balloons into South Korean territory over the weekend, the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed. Despite warnings of retaliation from Seoul, North Korea flew 330 additional balloons loaded with trash from late Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday morning, apparently in response to activists' launches of leaflet-carrying balloons headed the other way. "Our military conduc

DefenseJune 9, 2024

Government may disclose info related to work-life balance at local firms

The South Korean government said Sunday it has hired experts to conduct research on adopting a new system in which local companies submit detailed information about their benefits related to workers' well-being. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the system would have firms disclose the state of the various systems they have to allow their workers a better life, such as maternity leave, parental leave, shortened working hours for parents, telecommunicating and flexible worki

Social AffairsJune 9, 2024

Singer's fans 'donating' records to charity sparks controversy

Scandal-ridden trot star Kim Ho-jung has found himself at the center of yet another controversy, after it was reported that his fans have donated mass amounts of his records to charity. Fans of the 32-year-old singer, currently under investigation for drunk driving, recently petitioned the state-run broadcaster to withdraw its ban of Kim, saying his "good influence" has led to fans donating close to 10 billion won ($7.25 million) to charity over the past four years. KBS denied the requ

Social AffairsJune 9, 2024

'Equality of both genders', not gender equality? Planned ordinance change accused of discrimination

Seoul Metropolitan Government recently notified the legislative process for a revision an ordinance on gender equality to change the mentions of "gender equality" to "equality of both genders" touching off a dispute that the revision amounts to discrimination toward the LGBTQ+ people. The revision of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Framework Ordinance on Gender Equality was proposed by councilwoman Hwang You-jung of the ruling People Power Party, and will replace all the

Social AffairsJune 9, 2024

Rival parties clash over selecting standing committee chiefs

The two largest parties here have locked horns over selecting the heads of the standing committee chiefs for the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly, which began its four-year term on May 30. On Friday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which accounts for the majority of the single-chamber, 300-member parliament with 175 seats, submitted a list of its nominees for the heads and members of the 18 standing committees to the Assembly’s proceeding division. The list draw

PoliticsJune 9, 2024

S. Korea court allows family of slain official to continue damage suit against N. Korea

A South Korean court has allowed the family of a South Korean fisheries official, killed by North Korea in 2020, to continue their damage suit against North Korea through service by public notice, which enables the plaintiffs to serve legal documents through public circulation. The Seoul Central District Court’s Appellate Division recently issued a retrial order to the Seoul Central District Court. This retrial concerns a 200 million won ($150,000) damages suit initiated in April 2022 by t

Social AffairsJune 9, 2024

Yoon to embark on three-nation Central Asia trip this week

President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to pay state visits to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week to explore expanding cooperation in critical minerals and other key sectors. Yoon will embark on the six-day trip Monday, accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee, and visit the resource-rich Central Asian nations through June 15, his office said. On the first leg of the trip, Yoon will arrive in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Monday, hold a summit with the country's President Serdar Berdimuham

Foreign AffairsJune 9, 2024

Doctors mull all-out strike amid lingering deadlock over medical reform

South Korea's largest organization of doctors was set to announce its future course of action against the government's medical reform on Sunday, potentially including an all-out strike, amid the lingering walkout by junior doctors that has lasted nearly four months. The Korea Medical Association plans to hold a press briefing later in the day to release the result of a vote carried out last week on whether to launch a strike, including community doctors, according to medical sources. A

Social AffairsJune 9, 2024

Dozens of N. Korea's trash balloons spotted in Seoul metropolitan area

Dozens of North Korean balloons filled with trash were spotted in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province on Sunday, prompting authorities to scramble to detect and retrieve them. North Korea once again sent balloons presumed to be carrying trash to South Korea on Saturday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, after it launched nearly 1,000 similar balloons across the border since last week. The latest balloon campaign came after South Korean civic groups' launch of large balloons carrying anti-P

North KoreaJune 9, 2024

North Korea resumes trash balloon launches: JCS

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said late Saturday that North Korea was flying balloons loaded with trash once again, as the wind was forecast to veer south. Following the JCS announcement an alert was issued across Seoul and areas near the border warning residents to beware of falling objects and to report sightings to authorities. The South Korean military has been watching for another wave of the North Korean balloons after a group of activists called Fighters for Free North Korea t

DefenseJune 8, 2024

N. Korea, China, Russia expanding nuclear arsenals at 'breakneck' pace: White House official

  WASHINGTON -- North Korea, China and Russia are expanding and diversifying their nuclear weapons stockpiles at a "breakneck" speed, a White House official said Friday, warning that absent a change in the trajectory of their arsenals, the United States may have to increase its own. Pranay Vaddi, senior director for arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, made the remarks at a forum, noting that the three countries are driving the US and it

North KoreaJune 8, 2024

Nearly 190,000 foreigners visit Gangnam for medical service, half for skin care

A record-high number of foreigners received medical services at hospitals and clinics in Gangnam last year, the district office said Thursday. The Gangnam-gu Office said 185,559 foreign nationals visited the district for medical services in 2023, which accounted for 30.6 percent of all 605,768 foreign patients in South Korea. The number of foreign patients in Gangnam tripled from the year before, marking an all-time high. Gangnam-gu is one of the three districts in the affluent Gangnam region

Social AffairsJune 8, 2024

Largest association of doctors may stage walkout on June 20: sources

Medical doctors and professors may stage a walkout later this month in protest against the government's recent decision to hike medical school admissions, informed sources said Saturday. The Korean Medical Association (KMA), the largest doctors' organization with over 129,000 members, may stage a walkout on June 20, pending on the outcome of a recent vote, they added. More than 70,000, or 54.8 percent, of KMA members took part in the vote held for four days since Tuesday, according to

Social AffairsJune 8, 2024

UN Security Council to hold meeting on NK human rights next week

WASHINGTON -- The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will have an official meeting on North Korean human rights issues next week for the first time in less than a year, its work schedule showed Friday, as South Korea as this month's UNSC president seeks to highlight the link between the North's security challenge and its repressive political climate. The council is set to hold a briefing on the North's human rights situation on Wednesday. It last held a meeting on the same i

Foreign AffairsJune 8, 2024

S. Korea, US to hold 3rd round of defense cost-sharing negotiations in Washington next week

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States will hold their third round of cost sharing negotiations for stationing US Forces Korea (USFK) in Washington next week, the chief US negotiator said Friday. Linda Specht, senior advisor and US lead negotiator for security agreements at the State Department, said that the two sides will have the negotiations over the cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) from Monday through Wednesday. The South Korean delegation is led by Le

Foreign AffairsJune 8, 2024

Will North Korea fly trash balloons into South Korea again? A look at rising tensions between them

South Koreans were alert Friday for possible new launches by North Korea of balloons carrying rubbish into the South, a day after Seoul activists flew their own balloons to scatter political leaflets in the North. Any resumption of trash balloon launches by North Korea would likely prompt South Korea to respond, possibly with anti-North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts or live-fire exercises along their heavily fortified border. North Korea would probably retaliate with its own measures, further es

North KoreaJune 7, 2024

Prosecutors indict 1 suspect behind Pattaya murder

Prosecutors on Friday indicted one of three suspects behind the murder last month of a South Korean tourist in Pattaya, Thailand. The suspect in his 20s was apprehended last month in the southern city of Jeongeup, 217 kilometers south of Seoul, in connection with the murder of a South Korean traveler in his 30s and the abandonment of his body in Pattaya in early May. Thai police earlier found the victim's body inside a black plastic container filled with cement from a reservoir in the Thai

Social AffairsJune 7, 2024

Japanese researcher reveals 'massacre' of Koreans in Mili Atoll

Calls for the truth behind the massacre of Koreans by the Japanese military on the Mili Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1945 resurfaced Friday, coming from a Japanese modern history researcher and an organization dedicated to uncovering the history behind forced labor victims during the Japanese occupation. Referring to the "Mili Atoll massacre," historical researcher Yasuto Takeuchi stressed the need for truth and accountability, describing the case as an act that "forcibly mobi

Social AffairsJune 7, 2024

Opposition refutes 'extravagant' India trip claims about ex-first lady

Opposition party lawmakers on Friday played down a controversy that has recently resurfaced over ruling party claims surrounding former first lady Kim Jung-sook's official visit to India in November 2018, of her allegedly "extravagant" airline meals, visit to the Taj Mahal and eligibility to represent the South Korean delegation at the time. The lawmakers added that those stirring up such "unfounded and malicious distortions," including the ruling People Power Party'

PoliticsJune 7, 2024

Yoon on state visit to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan next week

President Yoon Suk Yeol is to embark on a state visit to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this week, as he seeks to cement Seoul's business ties with Central Asia, according to the presidential office. Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee are scheduled to travel for the visit from Monday to Saturday. Seoul will work to integrate South Korea's innovation prowess with Central Asian countries' potential for economic development, based on strong trust and solidarity, Kim Tae-hyo, f

PoliticsJune 7, 2024