Appellate court upholds life sentence for stalking murderer of three women

An appellate court on Wednesday upheld life sentence of a South Korean man who murdered three women in the same family. While upholding the lower court’s ruling, the Seoul High Court also insisted the 26-year-old murderer Kim Tae-hyun should be sentenced to life in prison without parole. “Although the judicial authority’s opinion has no binding force to parole decisions, the court should clarify its opinion regarding the opportunity of parole,” the court said. “Th

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2022

Yoon calls for more investment, exchanges between S. Korea, Russia

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol met with the Russian ambassador to Seoul on Wednesday and called for more investment and exchanges between the countries. Ambassador Andrey Kulik paid a visit to Yoon of the conservative People Power Party at the party's headquarters in Seoul, and the two discussed a range of areas including business and culture. "There should be more vigorous regional investment and economic and cultural exchanges, as well as strengthened cooperation o

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

Senior diplomats of S. Korea, US discuss N. Korean missiles, regional issues

Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States had a phone conversation Wednesday to discuss North Korea's recent missile tests and reaffirmed the bilateral alliance's efforts to tackle regional challenges, the foreign ministry said. Seoul's First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and his US counterpart Wendy Sherman talked over the phone after Pyongyang said it test-fired two tactical guided missiles Monday, the fourth show of force this month alone. "The vice ministers shared t

Foreign AffairsJan. 19, 2022

A battle of lion, tiger and turtle? Art of face reading offers peculiar take on presidential race

Between various scandals, the leaking of private conversations and talks of possible unified candidacies, support for the three major candidates in Korea’s ongoing presidential race has fluctuated unpredictably throughout. But there are those who believe that hints lie in the faces of the three – the ruling party’s Lee Jae-myung, and opposition parties’ Yoon Suk-yeol and Ahn Cheol-soo -- and one can read them through the art of fortunetelling known as “gwansang.&r

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

Defense minister stresses military's 'will, efforts' for OPCON transfer assessment

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook called on all armed services Wednesday to unify their "will and efforts" to ensure this year's planned assessment required for the envisioned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) will proceed successfully. Suh made the remarks during a meeting of top commanders to evaluate South Korea's efforts to retake OPCON from the United States, as the allies are set to stage the full operational capability (FOC) assessment later this year. Duri

DefenseJan. 19, 2022

Phone recordings become potholes for presidential hopefuls

Potentially damaging phone call recordings of presidential candidates and their family members continue to plague the election campaigns across the aisle, with the latest revelation hitting Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Lee responded quickly, apologizing for the contents of his phone calls with his late brother, which were filled with insults. The recording transcripts were made public on Tuesday. “Although there is a difficult background that I cannot reveal,

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases surpass 5,000 for the first time in 20 days

South Korea’s daily coronavirus cases surpassed 5,000 for the first time in 20 days as the omicron variant began to spread rapidly. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s announcement on Wednesday, the country added 5,805 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Tuesday, raising the total to 705,902. The figure was 1,733 up from that of the previous day. The figure went over 5,000 for the first time in 20 days since it reached 5,034 on Dec. 30. The number

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2022

S. Korea's spy agency detects malware infection in over 100 local IoT devices

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Wednesday it has identified more than 100 sets of Internet of Things (IoT) equipment in the country that have been infected with malware. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it has detected the Mozi botnet infection after cooperating with Russian authorities in December last year. It has found a total of around 12,000 devices exposed to the malware in 72 countries. The infected equipment, which can be used in distributed denial-of-service (

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2022

[KH Explains] Mysteries, scandals surround whistleblower’s death

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s campaign has been marred by a level of drama unusual even by the standards of Korea’s convoluted and chaotic politics -- deaths of three individuals with links to allegations involving the candidate. The latest death was reported on Jan. 12, when the police found the body of lawyer named Lee Byung-chul in a motel room in Yangcheon-gu, western Seoul. He was found about three days after his sister reported him missing. His death

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

Ex-FM Kang to face public hearing for ILO leadership bid Thursday

Former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, who is running to be the next director general of the International Labor Organization, will face a public hearing to present her candidacy and take questions from the organization’s governing body on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland. 　 The ILO on Wednesday said public dialogues with five candidates for its top job will be held on Thursday and Friday. A Foreign Ministry official said Kang’s meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. (Geneva time) on Thur

Foreign AffairsJan. 19, 2022

US calls for new UN Security Council meeting Thursday on NK’s missile launch

The US has called for a new UN Security Council meeting to discuss North Korea’s fourth missile launch this month, as Washington seeks to ratchet up pressure on the reclusive regime to curb its prohibited weapons program.   Closed-door consultations of the UN’s most powerful body are expected to take place on Thursday, at the request of the US, along with the UK, France, Albania, Ireland and Mexico, according to Agence France-Presse. 　 “We will continue to ramp up the pre

Foreign AffairsJan. 19, 2022

Ahn up in arms against one-on-one debate

The minor opposition People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Wednesday filed an injunction to stop the airing of the TV debate between presidential candidates of the Democratic Party of Korea and People Power Party, protesting the decision to exclude him. On Wednesday, Lee Tae-kyu, the head of the election committee at People’s Party, filed an injunction in Ahn’s name at the Seoul Western District Court to suspend three terrestrial TV stations KBS, MBC and SBS

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

[Newsmaker] Forensic psychologist quits Yoon Suk-yeol campaign over his wife's remarks

Lee Soo-jung, a criminal psychology professor at Kyonggi University, stepped down as an advisor to the main opposition People Power Party’s election camp after apologizing to a victim of a #MeToo scandal for remarks made by presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife Kim Keon-hee about the matter. She told a local media outlet that apologizing to the victim Kim Ji-eun ”was my conscience,” adding, “I resigned in advance because there was a difference between my pos

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

Heavy snow covers parts of South Korea

Heavy show fell in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces on Wednesday, prompting authorities to issue alerts over potential traffic disturbances and frozen roads. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Seoul received 3.5 centimeters of snow while Gangwon Province‘s Seoraksan and the southeastern Ulleung Island saw heavy snow of 18.5 centimeters and 19.5 centimeters, respectively, as of 2 p.m. The weather agency lifted a heavy snow alert, which indicates that snow of at le

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2022

Assembly speaker to visit Sri Lanka for talks on cooperation

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug will visit Sri Lanka this week for talks on expanding cooperation in mineral resources, his office said Wednesday. Park will depart Wednesday and meet with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Abeywardena, as well as the country's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during the four-day trip. The two sides are expected to discuss potential agreements on securing Sri Lanka's rare minerals, preventing double taxation, aviation

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

Lee vows legalization of virtual asset industry

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday he will institutionally recognize the virtual asset industry and guarantee various business opportunities. Lee of the Democratic Party made the remarks in a meeting with heads of the nation's four major cryptocurrency exchanges and industry experts in Seoul, apparently targeting voters in their 20s and 30s who have a relatively strong interest in virtual asset investments. Lee said he will prepare objective listing standards and

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

Yoon pledges to ease tax burden on cryptocurrency investment profits

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Wednesday to ease the tax burden on profits from cryptocurrency investments by raising the threshold from the current 2.5 million won ($2,097) to 50 million won. Yoon of the conservative People Power Party announced the pledge at the party's headquarters, saying he will raise the bottom limit to the same level as stocks and give tax exemptions for returns of up to 50 million won. The candidate also said he will introduce a digital as

PoliticsJan. 19, 2022

Military reports 70 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 70 additional COVID-19 cases, including 69 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,727. Of the new cases, 53 are from the Army, 12 from the Air Force, two from the Navy, two from the Marine Corps, and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. The Army infection count included 29 trainees at the KATUSA training academy located in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to an inf

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2022

HDC Hyundai Development raided in connection with Gwangju apartment building collapse

Investigators on Wednesday raided the headquarters of HDC Hyundai Development Co. in connection with a recent accident at its construction site in Gwangju that left one worker dead and five others missing. Officials from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the National Police Agency conducted a joint raid of the real estate developer's headquarters in central Seoul to search for evidence in connection with the accident that occurred on Jan. 11. Search operations have continued for a week

Social AffairsJan. 19, 2022

[Graphic News] Seoulites pick infectious diseases as most dangerous health hazard: survey

　People in Seoul picked infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, as the most dangerous health hazard they face, followed by fine dust and climate change, a survey showed. 　Infectious diseases topped the list of dangerous health and environmental factors with 4.21 points on a 5-point scale in an online survey of 1,000 Seoul residents and 321 experts on public health and the environment, according to the Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment. 　Fine dust came in second at 4.02

NationalJan. 19, 2022