President Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to move into the new presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, within this month after a monthslong delay. Yoon has been commuting to work from his home in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul since his inauguration in May. An official from the presidential office said at a briefing on Monday, "We are currently conducting a final inspection of the security and safety (for the relocation)." Most of the construction at his official residence in Hann

Politics Oct. 18, 2022

KakaoTalk's outage over the weekend has spilled over into the political arena, with the president and political parties honing in on the nation's largest messaging app operator. On Monday, President Yoon Suk-yeol said that the state would respond to revamp the system, considering communication networks as a part of the national infrastructure. The government is also looking at whether a Kakao monopoly could distort the communication network services market. Lawmakers hurriedly promis

Politics Oct. 17, 2022

Bibongi, the last Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin held in captivity in South Korea, was returned to the wild after 17 years. The government said on Sunday it had released Bibongi, at 9:40 a.m. in the sea after 70 days of training. There were a total of eight in domestic aquariums in 2012, but seven returned to nature from 2013 to 2017.

Politics Oct. 16, 2022

Boy band BTS is set to hold a concert in Busan on Saturday night to support the city's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The free show will be the group’s first performance in South Korea since March, when they staged the Permission to Dance on Stage shows in Seoul. It will also be the first BTS concert at a fully packed stadium, where most of the 50,000 seats will be taken by its fans, in three years. The singers are expected to perform their hit singles, such as "Butter,"

Politics Oct. 15, 2022

While North Korean threats intensify, concerns are growing as the nation’s grave security issues could become political strife. Although President Yoon Suk-yeol and his office did not publicly admit to reviewing the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons amid constant threats from North Korea, the information about their moves is constantly being leaked from the government and the ruling party. When asked about Yoon’s position on related reports, Yoon told reporters Thursday mo

Politics Oct. 13, 2022

While the prosecution is stepping up the investigation of Democratic Party leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung over his alleged involvement in Seongnam FC sponsorship, the opposition leader is facing yet another controversy over his holding defense stocks. According to local media outlets, Lee, who is also a member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee, is found to have stocks worth 231 million won ($162,000) in some defense-related companies, including Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engi

Politics Oct. 12, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday criticized North Korea for making nuclear threats against the world, saying there is nothing to be gained through nuclear weapons. Yoon also vowed to establish solid security cooperation with the US and Japan amid growing criticism from the opposition party. North Korea has launched ballistic missiles 23 times and cruise missiles twice this year, with 11 missile launches since Yoon took office in May. “As North Korea continues to develop and upgrade i

Foreign Affairs Oct. 11, 2022

Korea, once touted by the government as "drug-free," is seeing a fast rise in drug offences. Experts say the government’s belated crackdown is not enough, and prevention and rehabilitation efforts are needed alongside it. A country with 20 or fewer offenders out of every 100,000 people is generally considerd a drug-free nation, although there is no international index to measure it. Based on that figure, Korea hasn't been drug-free since 2015, and the number of offenders

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2022

  President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday he agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a phone call that relations between the two nations should be restored as early as possible and agreed to firmly respond to North Korean provocations. “We agreed that if Korea-Japan relations go back to the good times as early as possible and smooth corporate and public exchanges return, it will be beneficial to the economies of both countries,” Yoon told reporters when asked about the

Politics Oct. 7, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol discussed security issues related to North Korea’s successive ballistic missile provocations in a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida early Thursday evening. “President Yook Suk-yeol had a 25-minute phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida about the recent North Korean ballistic missile launch from 5:35 to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday,” the presidential office said in a written statement following the talks. “The two leade

Politics Oct. 6, 2022

The government is speeding up the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, a pledge made by President Yoon Suk-yeol when he was a presidential candidate. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Wednesday that it is preparing a reform plan of the government organization law, focusing on abolishing the Gender Ministry. If approved, the plans will see the Gender Ministry become a division under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Vice Minister Han Chang-seob reported the govern

Politics Oct. 5, 2022

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration's first parliamentary audit kicked off Tuesday, with the ruling and opposition parties clashing head-on over controversies and allegations as people’s livelihoods were put on the back burner. The ruling People Power Party focused on examining various allegations raised during the former Moon Jae-in administration, and the judicial risks of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s leader Lee Jae-myung. The Democratic Party brought up mu

Politics Oct. 4, 2022

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has strongly opposed the state inspection agency’s attempt to investigate former President Moon Jae-in, calling it “political retaliation." In September 2020, a South Korean official was shot dead by North Korean soldiers. At the time, the Moon administration defined him as a South Korean defector to North Korea. But in June 2022, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration reversed the decision, saying there was no evidence to prove that the

Politics Oct. 3, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed concerns on Thursday to US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in Seoul, about the Inflation Reduction Act that could damage Korean automakers. Harris replied that she would come up with measures to address Korean worries in the process of enforcing the act. It is the first time in 4 1/2 years for a sitting US vice president to visit Korea since the PyeongChang Olympics in February 2018, when former Vice President Mike Pence came here. In the 85-minute closed

Politics Sept. 29, 2022

The presidential office and the ruling party are ratcheting up the pressure on local broadcaster MBC over its reporting on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s controversial use of vulgar language, against rising accusations of attempts at censorship of the press. The presidential office said Tuesday night it sent an official letter to MBC President Park Sung-je asking for clarification on the matter. The letter asked the broadcaster to answer on what grounds it wrote the subtitles for Yoon’s

Politics Sept. 28, 2022