The Seoul Metropolitan Government said trains would pass without stopping in the case of severe delays at subway stations due to a disabled advocacy group’s protests on Tuesday. Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination announced Monday it would stage subway-riding protests at Seoul's Samgakji Station on Line Nos. 4 and 6 at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. the following day. A city official said, “This do...

President Yoon Suk-yeol appears to be considering granting presidential pardons to politicians and businessmen currently serving jail time, including former President Lee Myung-bak and former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, by the end of this year, according to reports quoting multiple sources from the ruling bloc. The Ministry of Justice is expected to open a pardon review commit...

Strike ended, but conflict over minimum freight rate system is ongoing

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min attended a closed-door government meeting after the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a dismissal motion against him the previous day, sources said Monday. Lee's attendance has been interpreted as signaling President Yoon Suk-yeol's intention to reject the motion and keep him in office. Yoon has not commented on the motion, but he is known to have con...

The presidential office expanded the press section of its official website Sunday, the latest move by President Yoon Suk-yeol to directly address the public amid a spat over penalizing a major broadcaster for delivering “malicious” and “fake” news. Late last month, Yoon’s office suspended daily media briefings -- the hallmark of his “open presidency” -- three days after an MBC reporter shouted a...

Amid partisan wrangling, grieving parents vow to fight for justice in Itaewon disaster

A special police investigation team questioned a former chief of the Yongsan Police Station on Sunday as part of its investigation into the bungled response to the deadly crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. The questioning of Lee Im-jae comes about a week after a court denied the investigation team's request for a warrant to arrest him, citing the need to guarantee the right to defend h...

The National Assembly was set to vote Sunday on a motion calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over the bungled government response to the deadly Itaewon crowd crush. The motion, introduced last week by the main opposition Democratic Party, was reported to the National Assembly on Thursday and was scheduled to be put to a vote at a plenary parliamentary session at 10 a.m. ...

A pair of dogs that were gifted to former President Moon Jae-in by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have found a new home at a public zoo in the southwestern city of Gwangju, officials said Friday. Moon returned the dogs to the government early last month, citing legal grounds and a lack of support. The indigenous North Korean Pungsan-breed dogs, one male named Songkang and a female name...

Former national security adviser Suh Hoon was indicted Friday on charges of irregularities surrounding the 2020 death of a South Korean government official at the hands of North Korea in the first indictment of a ranking official in the preceding Moon Jae-in government. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has been investigating the death of the fisheries official, who was fatally ...

The closest aide to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's leader Lee Jae-myung was handed over to trial on Friday on bribery charges, heightening the possibility of investigating Lee soon. The prosecution indicted Jeong Jin-sang on charges of receiving a total of 240 million won ($184,000) in bribes from Yoo Dong-gyu, the former head of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation. Yoon ...

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday that the government will set criteria within this month on determining whether to lift the indoor mask mandate. "The specific criteria for judgment will be finalized through a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters this month after an open debate and discussion by the advisory committee," Han told a response meeting. The g...

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday hosted a formal dinner for the national soccer team in celebration of the team's performance in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, officials said. The banquet was held at Yeongbingwan, a reception hall at Cheong Wa Dae, a former presidential office. It was attended by 22 members of the South Korean national soccer team, including captain Son Heung-min, coach Paulo Bent...

Amid growing speculation that Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon may run for the ruling party leadership early next year, Han dismissed the possibility Wednesday, saying he will continue to do his job as the head of the ministry. Han met with reporters before attending a plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the day and said, "No one has suggested me (to r...

Rep. Lee Eun-joo of the minor opposition Justice Party was given a suspended prison term on Wednesday for illegal electioneering, a punishment heavy enough to result in the loss of her parliamentary seat if confirmed by the Supreme Court. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee, the floor leader of the Justice Party, to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the Publi...