[Photo News] Celebrating Christmas

Just a few days ahead of Christmas, South Koreans enjoy the festive moods in varying ways possible, from going to an amusement park to watch parades to sharing love through donations and gifts. The jubilant atmosphere is spotted throughout Seoul, with Christmas-themed billboards emitting vibrant colors of yuletide and Seoulites enjoying night skating at Seoul Plaza.

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2023

3.0 magnitude quake hits near southwestern county of Jangsu

A 3.0 magnitude earthquake struck near the southwestern county of Jangsu early Saturday, firefighting authorities said, but no damage has been reported. The quake struck 17 kilometers north of Jangsu, 216 km south of Seoul, at 4:34 a.m. at a latitude of 38.5 degrees north and a longitude of 127.53 degrees east at a depth of 6 km. "There are no reports of damage from the earthquake, no dispatches or any unusual situation," a firefighting official said. Still, authorities said they recei

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2023

Actor Lee Sun-kyun to appear for 3rd police questioning over drug suspicions

Actor Lee Sun-kyun of the Oscar-winning "Parasite" will appear before the police for the third time Saturday for questioning over his alleged drug use. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency will interrogate him on charges of using marijuana and other illegal drugs in violation of the Narcotics Control Act. Lee is suspected of using the drugs at the home of a hostess working at a high-end bar in Seoul's Gangnam district on multiple occasions since early this year. He was previousl

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2023

Fire at Posco's Pohang Steelworks put out

A fire broke out at Posco's Pohang Steelworks on Saturday, partially suspending facilities before the blaze was put out, officials said. The fire started around 7 a.m. near a blast furnace at the steelworks in Pohang, 262 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to South Korea's top steelmaker and local firefighting authorities. No casualties were reported. The police initially said the fire appeared to have started from a spark caused by a gas leakage from a damaged pipe inside one of

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2023

[Newsmaker] Hype builds for Yoon’s ‘wingman’ to helm ruling party

Han Dong-hoon, the star prosecutor who was President Yoon Suk Yeol’s first justice minister, is about to make his official debut in politics as the leader of the ruling party. One of the best-known figures in Yoon’s Cabinet, Han surprised Seoul’s political capital Yeouido on Thursday when he accepted an offer to lead the People Power Party, the top seat of which had been left vacant for over a week. Previous party leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon stepped down amid an open power struggl

PoliticsDec. 22, 2023

Korail reinstates staffer fired for looking up BTS RM's info

A Korea Railroad Corp. employee who was fired for looking up personal information related to BTS' RM has recently been reinstated, a report obtained by a lawmaker showed Friday. The National Labor Relations Commission last Thursday ordered the state-run railway operator to give back the female staffer's job, along with reimbursement for wages that the staff would have made if she had not been fired in April, according to the Democratic Party of Korea's Rep. Kim Doo-kwan, who got a

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2023

S. Korea stages independent tabletop exercise simulating NK nuclear attack

South Korea staged an independent tabletop exercise simulating a North Korean nuclear attack this year as part of efforts to hone response capabilities against the North's military threats, the defense ministry said Friday. The ministry noted the discussion-based exercise as one of its key accomplishments this year in a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Shin Won-sik to evaluate progress in the Defense Innovation 4.0 plan aimed at bolstering the country's defense capabilities. T

DefenseDec. 22, 2023

Fierce winter weather grounds Jeju flights, stalls traffic

Severe weather conditions accompanied by heavy snowfall and strong winds caused major disruptions in flight operations at Jeju International Airport, with its runway suspended from the early morning on Friday. According to the airport, the runway reopened after 7 hours and 40 minutes, after the completion of snow removal operations on the runway. Back-to-back delays beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Friday had stalled more than 8,000 departing passengers in the airport. A total of 261 flights were cance

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2023

S. Korea aims to attract young foreign caregivers

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced measures to attract young foreigners to work as caregivers, as the country faces a dramatic shortage in the sector to care for a rapidly aging society. The ministry is seeking ways to allow D-10 visa holders to acquire nursing qualifications, it said Thursday. D-10 is considered a "job-seeker visa," which is designed for individuals who have graduated from Korean universities or have worked in the country for at least one year. Once a D-

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2023

Buying a home in Seoul costs a decade's salary, and then some

A Seoul resident would have to not spend a single dime of their income for 15.2 years to buy a home in South Korea's capital, a state-issued report showed Friday. The Price Income Ratio for Seoul for 2022 was 15.2, according to the latest report by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The yearly PIR increased from 14.1 in 2021, and has been on the upward trend since marking 9.6 in 2018. The PRI refers to the median home price of a certain region divided by the median yearly h

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2023

Bus runs over passengers at Suwon Station, kills 1, injures 17

A bus ran over passengers at Suwon Station in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday, killing one and injuring at least 11. The incident occurred at around 1:27 p.m., when the bus rammed into passengers who were crossing the street to the transfer center on the upper level of the station, subsequently moving to the sidewalk where it hit more people. The site of the accident draws high foot traffic, including to adjacent shopping centers. A woman in her 70s was killed, despite being carried to a h

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2023

Main street in Seocho-gu becomes utility pole-free zone

The district office of Seocho-gu in southern Seoul has removed all utility poles across Gangnamdaero, officials said Friday. Gangnamdaero is a 7.2-kilometer, 10-lane main road connecting the northern and southern part of the district, and is among the busiest roads in South Korea. It is adjacent to the commercial district of the affluent Gangnam region, along with Gangnam Station and Yangjae Station, among the most populated subway stations here. The district office said it just completed the th

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2023

Gunman opens fire in a Prague university, killing 14 people in Czech Republic's worst mass shooting

A student opened fire Thursday at a university in Prague, killing at least 14 people, officials said, and injuring more than 20 in the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting. The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released. Vondrasek said in the evening that 14 people had died and 25 were injured, after earlie

Foreign AffairsDec. 22, 2023

Army chief visits UAE, Qatar to deepen military, defense industry ties

South Korea's Army chief has made a weeklong trip to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to expand military and defense industry cooperation with the Middle Eastern nations, his office said Friday. Gen. Park An-su arrived in the UAE on Saturday for a four-day trip and flew to Qatar on Tuesday for the second leg of his trip that ended earlier in the day. During his stay in the UAE, Park met with members of the Akh unit to encourage the South Korean contingent in the nation. Park also met with

DefenseDec. 22, 2023

N. Korea to hold key parliamentary meeting on Jan. 15 to discuss budget

North Korea plans to convene a key parliamentary meeting next month to discuss the state budget for 2024, state media said Friday. The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly made a decision to hold the 10th session of the 14th SPA on Jan. 15, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. "The session will discuss the settlement of the implementation of the state budget" for 2023 and the issue of next year's state budget, the KCNA said. The announcement came

North KoreaDec. 22, 2023

S. Korea, Japan agree to realize 'full potential' in economic cooperation

South Korea and Japan agreed Thursday to work together to "fully realize" the potential in economic cooperation as they resumed high-level economic talks in nearly eight years amid a thaw in bilateral ties. The two countries reached the agreement during the economic dialogue, led by Kang Jae-kwon, South Korea's deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, and Keiichi Ono, Japanese senior deputy foreign minister, Seoul's foreign ministry said. The two sides "agreed to st

Foreign AffairsDec. 21, 2023

Govt. to again push for third-party reimbursement plan for forced labor victims

South Korea will again seek to compensate the victims of Japan's wartime forced labor under the government's third-party reimbursement system, the foreign ministry said Thursday, after the Supreme Court handed down a ruling ordering Japanese companies to compensate the victims. Earlier in the day, the top court announced the decisions on two damages suits filed against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp. between 2013 and 2014, ordering them to compensate the South K

Foreign AffairsDec. 21, 2023

S. Korea's fiscal deficit, debt to rise further in 2024: ministry

South Korea's fiscal deficit is projected to rise to nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year, the finance ministry said Thursday. The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on stricter terms, is expected to post a deficit of 91.6 trillion won ($70.19 billion) in 2024, or 3.9 percent of the country's GDP, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The amount was 400 billion won smaller than what the government expected earlier, as the N

PoliticsDec. 21, 2023

Simon Bolivar honored in Seoul

The Venezuelan Embassy in Seoul held a solemn ceremony commemorating the 193rd death anniversary of Simon Bolivar, a revered figure in South American history, on Monday. Simon Bolivar, born in 1783 in Caracas, was a Venezuelan military and political leader who is known for his key role in struggles for independence from Spanish rule in Latin America, leading to the independence of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Panama. Bolivar died on December 17, 1830. Delivering remarks at the

Foreign AffairsDec. 21, 2023

Cho Tae-yong: Who is the new pick for South Korea’s spy chief?

Cho Tae-yong was tapped again by President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this week to head the National Intelligence Service, marking his third presidential nomination under the administration that is less than two years old. Since Yoon took power about a year and a half ago, Cho was made his ambassador to the US and then his national security adviser -- a minister-level role he would be leaving if his appointment as the new leader of the spy agency is finalized. A seasoned diplomat, Cho built a career

PoliticsDec. 21, 2023