Allegation of proxy legal payment for Lee Jae-myung comes back into public focus

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 Fo...

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 Mexic...

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...

Lee made apology over Kim’s remarks, causing a stir in the party

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, ...

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 dis...

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 str...

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 ex...

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...

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...

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 t...

Authorities in Seoul and nearby areas remained on alert Wednesday as the greater capital region was expecting heavy snow throughout the day. The Seoul metropolitan government mobilized about 9,000 workers and 1,200 snow-removing cars and other equipment as a heavy snow alert has been issued across the city as of 9 a.m. More buses and subway trains have also been allocated during commuting hours ...

The top trade officials of South Korea and the United States on Wednesday agreed to strengthen their strategic partnership to actively respond to supply chain issues, new technologies and other major trade issues, Seoul's industry ministry said. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai held a teleconference earlier in the day ahead of Yeo's planned...

The United States takes very seriously the threat posed by North Korea's "improving" missile programs, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Tuesday. He, however, said the US is still assessing the nature North Korea's recent missile launches, apparently to learn their exact capabilities. "We will continue to take this threat and this improving program of Pyongyang's very, very seriously," h...