Minister warns against trusting NK stated intentions, says Moon misguided

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Monday issued a warning of the severe adverse security consequences that South Korea could face if it relies on the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's professed intentions of denuclearization. The minister's remarks directly contradict the memoir of former President Moon Jae-in, in which he wrote that Kim Jong-un "earnestly explained his commitment to denuclearization." "Placing complete trust in North Korea's intentions would only

North KoreaMay 20, 2024

North Korea selling ICBM-themed fireworks

North Korea is selling fireworks that look like its intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to its state broadcaster Korean Central Television. In a news report broadcast late Sunday, the KCTV said more than 90,000 fireworks in 20 different types were being sold at a shop in Pyongyang. One of the workers at the shop said in the interview with the state broadcaster that the latest range of fireworks that they carry included ones that were modeled after Hwasong, the name of the ICBM series

North KoreaMay 20, 2024

South Korean army chief meets with ally counterparts in US trip

The South Korean army said Monday its chief of staff Gen. Park An-su met with his US, Japanese and Australian counterparts during his eight-day trip to the US, for talks on North Korea deterrence. At the annual Land Forces Pacific Symposium in Hawaii on May 14-16, Park participated in a panel discussion alongside the commanding general of the US Army Pacific Gen. Charles Flynn, Gen. Yasunori Morishita of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force and Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart of the Army Australia. The

DefenseMay 20, 2024

Yonsei University to inspect dorm after collapse rumors, students' evacuation

Yonsei University said Monday that it will conduct safety inspections of a dormitory on its Seoul campus, responding to rumors of a possible collapse that caused several tenants to vacate the building over the weekend. Several students of the prestigious school evacuated the building over the weekend after an anonymous post on the Yonsei University page of the online college student community Everytime claimed that the dormitory "seems to be tilting." The post included a photo showing

Social AffairsMay 20, 2024

Hospital visits to require IDs for insurance coverage

Starting Monday, an identity verification process has been mandated for those wishing to receive national health insurance benefits for medical services in South Korea. The recent revision to the National Health Insurance Act came into effect, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as patients are required to carry a certified form of identification with them when they visit medical facilities. Those who do not must pay the entire medical fee, even if they are subscribed to the Nationa

Social AffairsMay 20, 2024

Opposition leaders urge Yoon to stop using veto power

President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing calls from multiple opposition leaders to stop vetoing bills, as the fate of a bill mandating a special counsel to probe alleged state interference in an investigation into the death of a young Marine is to be determined later this week. Yoon, who has just passed two years in office, has already used the presidential power to veto nine times, only the second-most of all South Korean presidents since President Syngman Rhee took office in 1948. The main opposition

PoliticsMay 20, 2024

First 100 Filipino domestic helpers due September

The first 100 Filipino domestic workers will arrive in Seoul as early as September, with observers saying they are expected to earn at least 1.5 million won ($1,135) per month, in line with this year's minimum wage, according to South Korea's Labor Ministry, Monday. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that the Philippine government posted a job notification earlier this month for 100 Filipino domestic workers willing to work in Seoul. The notification followed a wrap-up of discus

Social AffairsMay 20, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Support for Saemangeum Project, platform monopoly regulations

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Special Act on Promotion and Support for Saemangeum Project Proposed by Rep. Lee Won-taeg (Democratic Party of Korea) ● The Saemangeum Project, launched in 1989, is an ongoing national project designed to develop an economic hub for business and tourism. Unlike the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Project, which has progressed swiftly due to being exempt from preliminary feasibility surveys, the Saemangeum Project has faced delays in business promotion be

PoliticsMay 20, 2024

Yoon, British PM say AI Seoul Summit will discuss innovation, safety, inclusivity

A global summit on artificial intelligence to be co-hosted by South Korea and Britain this week will present global AI governance principles to foster innovation, safety and inclusivity, the two nations' leaders said Monday. In a joint opinion article, President Yoon Suk Yeol and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the upcoming AI Seoul Summit aims to build on the conversation from the first AI Safety Summit held in England last November to address risks and triumphs of the fast-evolvin

Foreign AffairsMay 20, 2024

Govt. calls for junior doctors who left worksites to return to hospitals by Monday

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong called for junior doctors who left worksites for months to return to hospitals by Monday, while urging the medical community to resolve a protracted standoff over the government's medical reform through dialogue. The latest appeal by Cho came as a Seoul appellate court last week rejected an injunction filed by the medical community to block the government's plan to increase the medical school admission quota, paving the way for authorities to proceed with

Social AffairsMay 20, 2024

N. Korea slams US subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence

North Korea threatened Monday to take powerful deterrent action against what it claims is the US nuclear threat, denouncing Washington for its recent subcritical nuclear test. The US carried out a subcritical nuclear test in Nevada last week, the third of its kind under President Joe Biden. The US said it was designed to collect "essential data" about its nuclear warheads. An unnamed spokesman at the North's foreign ministry said North Korea cannot but reconsider the measures necessary

North KoreaMay 20, 2024

[Graphic News] Increase of multiple jobholders in Korea

Data from Statistics Korea has shown that the number of multiple jobholders, who engage in one or more side jobs, is rapidly increasing, particularly among the younger generations and those in their 40s. For the first quarter of this year, the number of employed individuals who have engaged in side jobs increased by 22.4 percent (101,000) compared to the same quarter last year, reaching a total of 552,000 people. Although multiple jobholders in the workforce are not yet prominent, the growth t

Social AffairsMay 20, 2024

Seoul halts plan for cross-border shopping limits

South Korea on Sunday withdrew its plan to ban foreign businesses from selling goods for cross-border shopping without South Korea's safety certifications just three days after the government mapped out the plan to protect its consumers. Lee Jeong-won, second vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said in a briefing in Seoul on Sunday that it is not true that the government was seeking a "preemptive all-out ban on cross-border shopping of 80 items," adding the

PoliticsMay 19, 2024

‘Kim desperately wanted to denuclearize,’ Moon writes in memoirs

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is keeping nuclear weapons strictly for self-defense and has no intention of actually ever using them, former President Moon Jae-in wrote in his memoir published Saturday. In his first memoir since his presidential term ended in 2022, Moon recalled Kim in his encounters with him as “expressing, time and time again, that nuclear weapons were only for the purpose of guaranteeing safety and that he has no thoughts of ever using them.” The former D

PoliticsMay 19, 2024

Korea set to finalize medical school expansion plans

South Korea is set to finalize the implementation of plans for university medical school admissions for the upcoming year, anticipated this week, integrating the government's proposal to augment the annual medical school enrollment quota. The finalization follows the Seoul High Court's rejection Thursday of an injunction sought by the medical community to halt the plan's implementation. The ruling paves the way for an expansion of enrollment at medical schools, despite vehement op

Social AffairsMay 19, 2024

Seoul City to open 'hotel' on river bridge

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday unveiled plans to open a detached, private lodging facility on a bridge of Han River that will offer guests stunning views of the river and city skyline through its windows. According to the municipal government, the planned structure, referred to as a "scenic hotel," is slated to open in July and will claim the title of the world's first lodging facility built on a river bridge. Inside the self-contained structure, which used to be a co

Social AffairsMay 19, 2024

Yoon, first lady celebrate return of Buddhist relics after century

President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee on Sunday celebrated the return of 14th-century Buddhist relics that Seoul believes were illegally removed from the country about a century ago during the Japanese colonial era. In his opening remarks, Yoon praised the relics as a "precious national heritage symbolizing the authenticity and spiritual lineage of Korean Buddhism," emphasizing that the improving ties between the allies were instrumental in achieving their return. "I

PoliticsMay 19, 2024

Calls recorded through ‘spy app’ cannot be used as evidence of adultery: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently ruled that files from a “spy app” for illegally recording voice files cannot be used as evidence of adultery as it violates a communications-related law. In 2022, a woman sought compensation from her ex-husband’s mistress based on calls recorded between her ex-husband and his mistress as evidence. The woman collected the evidence using a spy app she had secretly installed on her husband’s phone. Two lower courts admitted the evidence, ruling t

Social AffairsMay 19, 2024

[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea

A wave of unexplained cat deaths has sparked a dispute between pet owners and authorities in South Korea, with owners unconvinced that the pet food thought to be at the center of the controversy was not to blame. According to local animal activist groups Life and Myoeon, a total of 513 cases of cats displaying similar symptoms -- acute neuromuscular diseases, high fever, elevated liver enzymes and kidney failure -- have been documented as of May 12. Of the affected animals, 181 have died. The ac

Social AffairsMay 19, 2024

US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies

Gen. John Adams Wickham Jr., the US military commander in South Korea during the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, has passed away at age 95. Legacy.com, a US website providing obituaries and memorials, noted on Friday that Wickham had died on May 11 in Oro Valley, Arizona. Wickham was the commander of the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command from 1979 to 1983, a particularly tumultuous period in South Korea. During Wickham's time here, a military coup led by future President Chun D

Social AffairsMay 19, 2024