Most Popular
-
1
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
2
S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
-
3
Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
-
4
Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
-
5
Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
-
6
Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
-
7
Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
-
8
Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
-
9
Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
-
10
[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
-
Cracks in Park’s defense team?
Former President Park Geun-hye has fired seven of her nine lawyers, revealing cracks in her defense team as prosecutors continue their intense interrogation of the jailed leader. Senior Prosecutor Lee Won-seok questioned Park on Monday at a detention facility south of Seoul where she has been in custody since March 31, in her fourth interrogation session in jail, zeroing in on the bribery allegation.The ousted president's attorney Yoo Young-ha (left) and Park Geun-hye (Yonhap)The prosecution is
April 10, 2017
-
Korea to announce inspection schedule for salvaged Sewol later this week
MOKPO -- The South Korean government said Monday that it will disclose later this week detailed plans on how it will search for the remains of the nine missing victims from the salvaged Sewol ferry that has been placed ashore.The government-led salvage team has transferred the ship onto a dry dock at the port of Mokpo from a semisubmersible transport ship Sunday, around three years after the ferry sank.The Sewol ferry lies on a dock at the port of Mokpo on April 10, 2017. (Yonhap)The team said p
April 10, 2017
-
Dispute over Seoul City youth subsidy ends
Seoul City’s controversial plan to hand out cash allowances to young job seekers has finally gotten the nod from the central government, ending a yearlong dispute. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had opposed Seoul’s plan, calling it a populist move, but it decided to endorse it Friday, citing revisions made by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to the original program at the ministry’s request.The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Yonhap)“We refused to ratify the program last year when it failed
April 10, 2017
-
Seoul Plaza still occupied by pro-Park campers
The city of Seoul is gearing up for its annual spring festival lineup, but is facing difficulties as the events’ main venue, Seoul Plaza, is illegally occupied by die-hard supporters of ousted President Park Geun-hye. Despite the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s repeated requests to vacate the space, about 40 pro-Park tents remain clustered in one-third of the area, refusing to yield both to government orders and the Constitutional Court’s decision to expel Park from power.Pro-Park protest tents
April 10, 2017
-
UNICEF to reopen office in Seoul to shift from assistance to partnership
The United Nations Children's Fund will reopen its office in Seoul this week to boost its partnership with South Korea over assistance for children, the foreign ministry here said Monday.The ceremony to mark the opening in central Seoul on Tuesday will be attended by Vice Foreign Minister Ahn Chong-ghee and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Omar Abdi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. (Yonhap)Ahn will deliver a welcoming speech where he plans to commit the South Korean government's continuing
April 10, 2017
-
PC distribution at schools doubles over past decade
The personal computer distribution ratio at South Korea's elementary and secondary schools has nearly doubled over the past decade, according to a report released Monday by the Ministry of Education.The ministry's "2016 school informatization white paper" said that the number of students per PC stood at 3.6 for elementary schools, 3.4 for middle schools and 3.1 for high schools. A decade earlier in 2006, the corresponding figures were 6.8, 6.1 and 5.6 students for elementary, middle and high sch
April 10, 2017
-
Court to hold hearing on arrest of ex-presidential aide Tuesday
A Seoul court will hold a hearing this week to decide whether to issue a warrant to arrest a former presidential secretary in connection with a corruption scandal that led to the removal of former President Park Geun-hye from office, officials said Monday.The Seoul Central District Court will hold the hearing Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. to decide whether to arrest Woo Byung-woo, who served as senior presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016, they said.Woo Byung-woo (C), former senior
April 10, 2017
-
Man indicted for attacking reporters during protest against Park's ouster
A 56-year-old man has been indicted on charges of attacking two journalists during a violent street rally against the Constitutional Court's decision to dismiss Park Geun-hye as president last month, prosecutors said Monday. supporters of ousted President Park Geun-hye attempt to cross over the barricades of police buses during a protest held against the Constitutional Court's decision to remove her from office on the same day. (Yonhap)The defendant, identified only by his last name Lee, is accu
April 10, 2017
-
Fried chicken beats out 'jajangmyeon' noodles as Koreans' go-to soul food
The number of times fried chicken is being mentioned on South Korea's social media has increased at an average clip of 33 percent annually since 2011, an artificial intelligence firm said Monday, indicating it is fast becoming more of a South Korean comfort food than "jajangmyeon," or black bean sauce noodles.Artificial intelligence-based big data analyzer Daumsoft revealed that fried chicken was mentioned 846.19 million times on Internet blogs and 1.25 billion times on Twitter between 2011 and
April 10, 2017
-
Sewol recovery leaves unique trail for Chinese veteran diver
The recovery of the South Korean sunken ferry has been an unprecedented challenge that gave the veteran salvage team many "first" experiences, the chief diver involved in the project said Sunday."I have dived about 6,000 times, spent some 30,000 hours of my life in water, but the Sewol operation has been somewhat different," Jin Feng, the head of diving unit of the Shanghai Salvage, told Yonhap News Agency in an interview on Sunday. Jin Feng, the head of the company's diving unit, on April 9, 2
April 9, 2017
-
Japanese author backtracks on comments on ‘comfort women’ statue
A Japanese author rushed to offer an explanation of his comments on a “comfort woman” statue that touched off a wave of criticism via social media in South Korea. According to Japanese media reports Saturday, Yasutaka Tsutsui, author of “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” said he didn’t intend to insult the statue and claimed it was just a joke.(Yasutaka Tsutsui`s Twitter)“The comment was just a joke aimed to arouse a heated controversy over the issue,” he said.His novel, “The Girl Who Leapt Thro
April 9, 2017
-
Prosecution seeks warrant for Woo Byung-woo
Korean prosecutors on Sunday applied for an arrest warrant for former presidential aide Woo Byung-woo in connection with the scandal surrounding former President Park Geun-hye.Charges against Woo, a former public prosecutor who served Park as presidential secretary for civil affairs in 2015 and 2016, include abuse of authority leading to obstructing another of exercising lawful rights.(Yonhap)Woo has been accused of a host of wrongdoings ranging from abetting or condoning Choi Soon-sil’s alleged
April 9, 2017
-
[Election 2017] Fringe candidates include shaman, ‘Dr. Corn’
The May 9 presidential election is just a month away, and the arena is full of independent candidates vying against the big names in the race to become the 19th president of South Korea. They include a shaman from sacred mountain Gyeryongsan, a former spy agency chief and “Dr. Corn,” who is credited with creating a new hybrid of the vegetable. According to the National Election Commission, the number of preliminary candidates registered to run for the election stood at 21 as of Sunday. To regist
April 9, 2017
-
Sewol finally moved ashore
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Sunday the raised Sewol ferry had been moved onto land, almost three weeks after the sunken Sewol ferry was brought back to the surface.Engineers worked Sunday to move the raised ship onshore, after it ran a final test to move the shipwreck to land that morning.The entire hull of the 145-meter Sewol ferry, loaded on some 600 modular trailers, is towed to land in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, Sunday. (Yonhap)“Following a successful test run, operators beg
April 9, 2017
-
Park questioned in jail again over corruption scandal
Prosecutors on Saturday grilled former President Park Geun-hye at a detention center again over corruption allegations that removed her from office.Prosecutors visited the detention house in Uiwang, south of Seoul, where Park was arrested at the end of last month following the Constitutional Court's approval of her impeachment on March 10.Saturday's questioning marked the third one in jail.A vehicle carrying prosecutors enters the detention house in Uiwang, south of Seoul, on April 8, 2017, to q
April 8, 2017
-
[Weekender] Air pollution thrust onto presidential election agenda
Environmental issues have rarely received attention in South Korean elections, but the nation’s worst-ever air pollution in the first three months of this year has changed that. With slightly over a month left to the May 9 presidential election, major contenders are releasing pledges on tackling the aggravating fine dust problem, facing conspicuously growing public awareness and voter demand. With a slew of mobile apps providing nearly real-time updates on air quality, many pollution-conscious c
April 7, 2017
-
[Weekender] Hazy future of South Korean skies
South Korea is more shrouded in dust than ever. In three months this year, the country has seen 85 ultrafine dust advisories issued, more than double in the same period last year, which had 41. With ominously gray skies, low visibility and warnings about the health effects of airborne dust, South Koreans have become increasingly anxious.A high-rise building in downtown Seoul is shrouded in fine dust on April 3. (Yonhap)This has given rise to a breed of citizens raging their own battles against a
April 7, 2017
-
Trial of Samsung heir apparent begins
A Seoul court on Friday began the trial of the country’s most prominent businessman -- Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong -- on bribery charges in connection with the scandal that removed President Park Geun-hye from power. On the same day, prosecutors sought to extend the arrest of the ousted president and questioned Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin on a related allegation -- providing donations to foundations allegedly controlled by Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil. Lee is brought to
April 7, 2017
-
Korean ambassador to Myanmar offers to resign following revelation on Choi's involvement in appointment
South Korea's top envoy to Myanmar has offered to resign after it was revealed that a close friend of Park Geun-hye, who was ousted as the country's president over a corruption scandal, was involved in his appointment, a foreign ministry official said Friday."Ambassador Yoo Jae-kyung officially expressed his intention to resign Thursday," the official said on condition of anonymity. "He cited personal reasons for the decision."(Yonhap) His resignation was apparently related to the revelation t
April 7, 2017
-
More transporter vehicles to be deployed to move Sewol ferry on land
More transporter vehicles will be deployed in an effort to move the salvaged Sewol ferry onto land, government officials said Friday. Salvage workers have been trying to move the ill-fated ferry onto land at the port of Mokpo, some 410 kilometers southwest of Seoul, from a semisubmersible transport ship. The ferry was raised from the bottom of the sea last month.The salvaged Sewol Ferry (Yonhap)But the land-transfer operation has run into an obstacle as the ferry is estimated to weigh about 16,0
April 7, 2017