Repatriated victims of 1960s North Korean abduction tortured by police: truth commission

The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Thursday that at least 150 fishers who returned home from a North Korean abduction more than 50 years ago were abused by the South Korean police during a series of interrogations. In a preliminary report released Thursday, the commission said that the 150 fishers were detained without a warrant and interrogated by the police after they were sent back to the country on May 28, 1969. The commission made the determination after looking into a to

Feb. 9, 2023

Yoon offers condolences to Turkish envoy during visit

President Yoon Suk Yeol offered condolences Thursday to Salih Murat Tamer, Turkish ambassador to South Korea, over the deadly earthquake that has killed close to 16,000 people in northern Turkey and southern Syria as of Thursday afternoon. According to Yoon’s office, the president reaffirmed his readiness to help the Turkish people in “every way possible” during a visit to the Turkish Embassy in Seoul. There, Yoon promised to field a second rescue team following a 118-member te

Feb. 9, 2023

[BREAKING] Korean team rescues 1 survivor in Turkey

A Korean rescue team on Thursday pulled a man in his 70s from the rubble in Antakya, southernmost Turkey, ravaged by the region's worst earthquake in modern history. The team also recovered four bodies from the same site during the rescue and search mission, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul. The survivor was conscious and in relatively good health by the time he was rescued, the ministry added. He was found hours after the Korean team set up base camp at a high school i

Feb. 9, 2023

Nat'l Assembly to submit impeachment motion to Constitutional Court

The National Assembly was set to submit on Thursday a motion calling for the impeachment of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over last year's Itaewon crowd crush, a day after the main opposition railroaded the motion in a vote. Rep. Kim Do-eup of the ruling People Power Party, who leads the parliamentary legislative committee, said the committee will submit a resolution on the impeachment to the Constitutional Court at 10 a.m. On Wednesday, the main opposition-controlled Assembly passed the motion

Feb. 9, 2023

Parliament passes bill to impeach safety minister

South Korea's parliament passed a bill Wednesday to impeach Minister of Interior and Safety, Lee Sang-min, charging him for the "botched response" to the Itaewon crowd crush disaster. Lee is the first Cabinet member in South Korean history to lose his authority through an impeachment bill. At the National Assembly controlled by the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the bill passed with 179 votes in favor, 109 votes against and five votes abstained. For the vote to pass

Feb. 8, 2023

Kim again takes lead in People Power Party leadership race: poll

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the ruling People Power Party has reclaimed the front-runner position in the race for party leader in the wake of a row between his rival Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol, a poll showed Wednesday. In the survey of 402 PPP supporters conducted by Realmeter on Monday and Tuesday, Kim earned 45.3 percent of support, up 9.3 percentage points from last week, while Ahn fell to second place with 30.4 percent, down 12.9 percentage points. The poll had a m

Feb. 8, 2023

Ahn Cheol-soo vows to stay in race for ruling party leader

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who ran as one of the major candidates in the 2022 presidential election, on Tuesday vowed to stay in the ruling People Power Party's leadership race. Ahn denied reports that he may bow out before the March 8 party convention, where new leaders are due to be elected. His main rival, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, is believed to be backed by President Yoon Suk Yeol. “I’m definitely not dropping out. I’m winning in the polls,” he told reporters after delivering

Feb. 7, 2023

Lawmaker cites ChatGPT to slam opposition bill on leftover rice

Could ChatGPT measure up to be an impartial referee on political debates? Apparently, a South Korean lawmaker thought so. Rep. An Byung-gil of the country’s ruling People Power Party cited the artificial intelligence chatbot to criticize a legislative proposal pushed by his liberal opponents on how to manage South Korea’s leftover rice, stressing that the bot “clearly predicts” negative side effects. In a press release Tuesday, the politician said he had asked ChatGPT to

Feb. 7, 2023

South Korea to provide $5m aid, dispatch rescue workers to Turkey

The South Korean government on Tuesday decided to provide $5 million in emergency humanitarian aid, dispatch rescue personnel and provide emergency medical supplies to support Turkey, which is suffering from massive casualties after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Monday. President Yoon Suk Yeol also sent a message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express his special condolences and promise that "all possible assistance" would be provided for a speedy recovery. &ldquo

Feb. 7, 2023

PPP warns DP should bear all responsibility for confusion over impeachment motion

The floor leader of the ruling People Power Party warned Tuesday that the main opposition Democratic Party should bear all responsibility for any confusion that could arise from an impeachment motion against the interior minister. Rep. Joo Ho-young made the remark a day after the DP submitted an impeachment motion against Interior Minister Lee Sang-min to hold him responsible for the government's alleged bungled response to last year's Itaewon crowd crush. The DP plans to pass the moti

Feb. 7, 2023

Yoon orders humanitarian aid for quake-hit Iran, Turkey

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government on Monday to come up with active measures to provide humanitarian assistance to Iran and Turkey hit hard by recent earthquakes, his office said.    Yoon gave the instruction to the presidential National Security Office and the foreign ministry.    A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central Turkey early Monday, killing at least 912 people and injuring more than 5,000, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.  &nbs

Feb. 6, 2023

Democratic Party head Lee’s alleged contact with North Korea ‘clear violation’: justice minister

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon said Monday Democratic Party of Korea chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung’s alleged interaction with North Korea in 2019 would be “a clear violation of the law.” “These are still allegations under investigation. But unauthorized contact with North Korea is a clear violation of the law,” said the justice minister in response to a lawmaker's question at the plenary session held on the day. Lee faces allegations that he got in touch with Nor

Feb. 6, 2023

Party leadership contender Ahn returns as thorn in Yoon's side

Ahn Cheol-soo, who merged his presidential candidacy with Yoon Suk Yeol last year, has distanced himself from the president ahead of a March election that picks the new leader of the ruling People Power Party, after the presidential office blasted him for using the term "Yoon-Ahn solidarity" for the race. Yoon has warned Ahn not to use the term "solidarity," with presidential aides calling it "wrong" and "inappropriate," drawing a clear line that the two

Feb. 6, 2023

Motion filed to impeach safety minister over Itaewon disaster

South Korea’s opposition parties on Monday tabled a motion to impeach Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min over the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, a neighborhood in central Seoul, on Oct. 29 last year. The impeachment motion was submitted on the grounds that Lee failed to implement measures to prevent crowd congestion and work with concerned government agencies in the event of mass disasters. The safety minister also failed to respond in time as the crowd surge turned into a mass-c

Feb. 6, 2023

[From the Scene] Police clashes, political drama at memorial for Seoul crowd crush victims

In Seoul’s central Gwanghwamun, a memorial event was held over the weekend to mark 100 days since the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon on Oct. 29 last year. Saturday’s event, meant to be a time for remembering victims of the disaster, was quickly marred by altercations with police and politicians using the occasion to push their own agenda. At least one family member of a victim was rushed to the hospital at around 2 p.m. after collapsing during a standoff with police. Squads of poli

Feb. 5, 2023

Former journalist appointed as Yoon’s new spokesperson after 5-month vacancy

Former journalist Lee Do-woon was appointed as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s new spokesperson after the position had been left empty for five months, the presidential office said Sunday. The position has been vacant since early September after former spokesperson Kang In-sun moved to the role of public relations secretary for the foreign press. Lee graduated from Yonsei University’s political science and diplomacy department and began his career as a reporter at the daily newspaper Seoul

Feb. 5, 2023

Presidential office sues reporters, ex-spokesman over reports on Yoon, fortune teller

The presidential office said Friday it has filed a complaint against a former spokesperson for the Defense Ministry for libel, accusing him of making a false claim that its decision to relocate President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence to Yongsan, central Seoul, was linked to a fortune teller whom the opposition party suspects the president of having ties with. The office also sued for libel two other reporters -- from News Tomato and Hankook Ilbo -- for writing about the ex-spokesman's clai

Feb. 3, 2023

Yoon's state visit to US under discussion: source

South Korea and the United States are in talks over a possible state visit to Washington by President Yoon Suk Yeol in the first half of the year, a diplomatic source said Friday. If it materializes, it would be the first state visit to the United States by a South Korean president in 12 years. President Lee Myung-bak was the last president to pay such a visit to Washington in 2011. The source said the allies are keeping other options open, such as an official visit or a working visit. April is

Feb. 3, 2023

DP lawmaker countersues presidential office over stock manipulation allegations involving first lady

A lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party on Friday countersued the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol for accusing him of libel after he raised stock manipulation allegations involving the first lady. Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom, the Democratic Party spokesperson, filed a complaint against the presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on charges of making false accusation. Earlier this week, Yoon's office sued the Democratic Party spokesperson on charg

Feb. 3, 2023

North Korea holding off nuclear test for leverage: elite defector

North Korea is already prepared to conduct another nuclear test, but is biding its time to gain leverage in negotiations with China and other powers, according to Rep. Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who was elected into the South Korean parliament after defecting in 2016. At a press conference on Thursday, Tae said that whether North Korea decides to test its nuclear weapons for the seventh time was “between Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping.” “The question of the next nu

Feb. 2, 2023