With increased autonomy, Jeonbuk State seeks growth

A new law to elevate North Jeolla Province to Jeonbuk State came into effect on Thursday, giving the region the autonomy to foster new industries in the field of agricultural biotechnology, the silver economy and the K-pop industry, as well as burgeoning technologies related to batteries and autonomous mobility. President Yoon Suk Yeol hailed Jeonbuk State's elevation by a special law promulgated in December as the momentum needed for rebalancing national growth -- one of his policy focal points

PoliticsJan. 18, 2024

S. Korean, US nuclear envoys vow to 'resolutely' counter NK-Russia arms trade

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States on Thursday pledged to resolutely counter the continuing illicit military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, emphasizing bilateral alignment and close coordination with the international community. South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn, and US Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak, met in Seoul, two days after a publicly disclosed meeting between Russian President Vladim

Foreign AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Blind spots of welfare in nursing lead to another family homicide

A man in his 50s was found dead in the garden of an apartment in Daegu on Wednesday, in an apparent suicide, according to the police. While searching his home in an investigation soon after, police also found the man's father had apparently been murdered, leading police to believe the son had killed his father and then ended his own life. The police investigation revealed that the son and father had been living together, and the son had taken care of his father, who suffered from dementia

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

S. Korea to expand mobile traffic ticket system

South Korean police on Thursday said they plan to expand the recently implemented system of sending out mobile phone notifications for traffic law violations, instead of having officers print the notification and handing it to offenders directly. The mobile traffic ticket system was implemented by the National Police Agency on Dec. 21 as a measure to minimize the equipment that police officers have to carry. The previous system required officers to submit information on traffic violations to th

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Man assaults bus driver after being asked to put his leg down

South Korean police on Thursday said a man had been arrested without warrant on suspicion of hitting a bus driver with a small hammer following an argument. The man is reportedly a Chinese national. According to Anseong Police Station in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, the suspect in his 20s got on a bus at a stop in Miyang-myeon at around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The man reportedly placed his leg on top of his luggage while sitting at the back of the bus, which prompted the driver to ask the man to

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Apink's Jung Eun-ji's stalker gets suspended jail term

A South Korean woman was given a suspended jail term for stalking singer-actress Jung Eunji, a local court said Thursday. Seoul Central District Court handed a one-year prison term, suspended for two years, to the 59-year-old defendant surnamed Jo, who was indicted for violating the Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking. She was also ordered to pay a 100,000 won ($75) fine, perform 120 hours of community service and complete a 40-hour lecture program to protect against stalking recidivism. Acco

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

99-year-olds in Seocho-gu honored with W1m

Seoul’s southern district of Seocho has started providing one million won ($745) in longevity cash bonuses to its 99-year-old residents, the district office said Thursday. Starting this year, adults aged 99, or born in 1925, with their residential registration in Seocho-gu, for at least one year, are eligible to receive the cash gift to commemorate their long lives. Additionally, this particular district office will extend the same financial benefits to those aged over 100 -- only for this

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Reinvestigation ordered into 2 ex-presidential officials over 2018 Ulsan mayoral election meddling scandal

The prosecution has ordered a reinvestigation into two former high-ranking presidential officials over their suspected involvement in the election meddling scandal surrounding the 2018 mayoral election in the southeastern city of Ulsan, officials said Thursday. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office issued the order to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, determining that an additional investigation into former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok and former senior presidential secretar

PoliticsJan. 18, 2024

Rare mandarin duck flock spotted in Seoul

About 200 mandarin ducks have been spotted in the stream Jungnangcheon in eastern Seoul, Seongdong-gu district office said Wednesday, sparking excitement here at the sighting of the relatively rare avian species. According to the district office, the birds were sighted near the southern end of the bridge Yonbigyo in Geumho-dong. Yun Mu-bu, a professor of biology at Kyunghee University locally known as "Dr. Bird" for his research of local birds, reported the sightings to Seongdong-gu. &

Social AffairsJan. 18, 2024

Anti-corruption office raids office of Marines commandant over alleged influence peddling

The anti-corruption investigation office has raided the office of Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. Kim Kye-hwan over an alleged influence-peddling case related to the death of a young Marine last year, multiple sources said Thursday. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials searched Kim's office at the Marine Corps headquarters in Hwaseong, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, Wednesday to seize documents and files related to the case, according to the sources familiar w

DefenseJan. 18, 2024

N. Korea slams Japan Self Defense Forces members' visit to Yasukuni Shrine

North Korea on Thursday lambasted senior officers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces for visiting a war shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past. The criticism came after Lt. Gen. Hiroki Kobayashi, vice chief of staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force, and dozens of officials visited the Yasukuni Shrine last week, prompting Tokyo's defense ministry to investigate whether they violated a regulation that bans military units from visiting religious facilities. The shrine honors J

North KoreaJan. 18, 2024

PM emphasizes S. Korea's commitment to global challenges at Davos forum

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo emphasized South Korea's commitment to playing a leading role in the global fight against challenges during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, his office said Thursday. Han participated in the annual meeting of government and business leaders with the theme "Rebuilding Trust" on Wednesday. The five-day event brought together around 2,800 leaders from government, business, civil society and academia to discuss pressing global challenges. Dur

Foreign AffairsJan. 18, 2024

US warns against N. Korea's weapons aid to Russia after N. Korean FM's visit to Moscow

The United States warned Wednesday against North Korea's potential provision of additional military aid to Russia for use in Ukraine, as Pyongyang's top diplomat visited Moscow this week in an apparent sign of deepening bilateral ties. At the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui visited Russia from Monday to Wednesday, during which she also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Clearly, North Korea and Russia have a relations

Foreign AffairsJan. 18, 2024

[Graphic News] Over 8,000 permanent residents volunteered for military service over past 2 decades

Over 8,000 permanent residents have fulfilled South Korea’s military service over the past two decades under a voluntary enrollment system, the Military Manpower Administration said. The manpower agency adopted the voluntary enrollment system in 2004 to allow overseas residents whose mandatory military service was exempted or postponed due to their permanent residence status. All able-bodied Korean men are obliged to serve in the military for at least 18 months. The number of cumulative ap

DefenseJan. 18, 2024

KBS employees fined W30m for abuse and death of horse

A Seoul court on Wednesday fined three KBS employees a total of 30 million won ($22,338), holding them accountable for the death of a horse on the set of a drama production in 2021. The Seoul Southern District Court convicted the three employees -- a 59-year-old drama producer surnamed Kim, a martial arts director and an equestrian -- of animal abuse among other charges for the torture and killing of a horse while shooting a scene for the local broadcaster’s "The King of Tears, Lee

Social AffairsJan. 17, 2024

N. Korea broadcasts map highlighting only northern Korean Peninsula in red

North Korea's state-run broadcasting station on Wednesday aired a map that highlights only the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in red after its leader vowed to no longer seek reconciliation and unification with South Korea. In the initial segment of a program broadcast on Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central Television, the network presented a map highlighting only the northern region of the Korean Peninsula in red. The station used the same map on another program Monday, which h

North KoreaJan. 17, 2024

[Out of the Shadows] Body heat scanners help hunt for drugs at airport

INCHEON -- Blue lights flashed on a walk-through screening machine after a man with drugs strapped to his left abdomen and his right thigh stepped into the checkpoint at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1. A group of airport security personnel immediately rushed in to check the substances hidden on the man’s body. The scripted demonstration arranged by the Korea Customs Service officials painted how the latest scanning technology has become a quintessential part of the airport's drug

Social AffairsJan. 17, 2024

South Korea’s spy chief vows to restore public faith in agency

Cho Tae-yong was sworn in on Wednesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s second director of the National Intelligence Service, filling the vacancy since his predecessor, Kim Kyou-hyun, left the post about two months ago. In his first address Wednesday as the NIS chief, Cho vowed to turn the NIS into an agency “worthy of the trust of the South Korean people” during his tenure -- in an apparent reference to the internal power struggle at the agency, which had spilled over into public

PoliticsJan. 17, 2024

Putin's meeting with NK envoy raises Pyongyang trip possibility

Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with the North Korean foreign minister in Moscow raised the possibility of his trip to Pyongyang, Wednesday, intensifying concerns about deepening bilateral military cooperation posing challenges to the international order. North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, on her first solo overseas trip since her promotion to the position in June 2022, made a three-day trip to Russia that began Monday. The Kremlin announced that Choe and Russia�

North KoreaJan. 17, 2024

Seoul mayor vows major public transport reform this year

From the launch of a new service that enables unlimited subway and bus access in Seoul to a water bus that transports passengers from Yeouido to Gangseo-gu in 30 minutes, 2024 is to be marked by a series of major transformations in the capital's public transportation services, Seoul's mayor said Wednesday. At a New Year's press conference, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the "climate card," set to launch on Jan. 27, was the result of a new policy adopted to both mitigate pol

Social AffairsJan. 17, 2024