Most Popular
-
1
Seoul vows action over Naver's Line, Yahoo dispute
-
2
[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps
-
3
[Grace Kao] American racism against Stray Kids
-
4
Key S. Korean, USFK special operations officials to hold rare meeting amid NK threats
-
5
Samsung doubles down on Vietnam
-
6
In Beijing, S. Korean top diplomat aims to jumpstart ties with China
-
7
NewJeans' members' parents complained to Hybe, email shows
-
8
Controversy brews over shakeup of prosecutors amid probe of first lady
-
9
Suspect behind murder of Korean tourist in Pattaya arrested
-
10
Prosecutors summon pastor involved in Dior bag scandal
-
[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
-
Almost 400 daily newspapers in Korea in 2016
The number of daily newspapers in South Korea -- national and regional combined -- totaled 399 as of the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Korean Association of Newspapers Friday.The number represents a gain of 16 from the previous year. (123RF)The country had 112 daily newspapers back in 1960, but the authoritarian Park Chung-hee administration that took power the following year in a coup severely cracked down on the press. As a result, the num
April 7, 2017
-
Koreans bring THAAD issue to Constitutional Court
Thousands of South Koreans on Thursday asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the legitimacy of the government's ongoing installment of a US missile defense system, the plaintiffs said.A total of 2,550 citizens joined the petition, claiming that the deployment violates their constitutional rights to "peaceful life, health, healthy environment and freedom of occupation." (Yonhap)The plaintiffs included hundreds of residents from Seongju, chosen as the site for a US Terminal High Altitude Area
April 6, 2017
-
Prosecutors to question Lotte chairman over corruption scandal this week
Prosecutors said Thursday they will question the chief of South Korea's retail giant Lotte later this week over a corruption scandal that removed former President Park Geun-hye from office.Prosecutors summoned Shin Dong-bin to appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Friday at 9:30 a.m. to bear witness to the influence-peddling scandal, they said.Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on April 5, 2017, to attend a hearing on a string of
April 6, 2017
-
Korea considers searching for missing passengers before landing Sewol ferry
The government is considering searching for the missing passengers of the Sewol ferry before it is moved to a dry dock on land, an official said Thursday.Salvage operators have been trying to move the 6,800-ton Sewol ferry onto land at the port of Mokpo, some 410 kilometers southwest of Seoul, from a semisubmersible transport ship. Originally the government wanted to launch a search for the missing victims whose remains may still be inside the wreck after it was transported to land.(Yonhap)But t
April 6, 2017
-
Near-extinct fish returns to Korean waters
South Korea’s wild pollack population, considered near-extinct since the turn of the millennium, may be making a comeback. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said Thursday that a wild pollack, locally called “myeongtae,” was caught in eastern waters near Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. The fish, procured through a net installed 100 meters underwater, was 56 centimeters long, a tad smaller in size than its typical 61 centimeters. It was transported live to a research facility under the Nation
April 6, 2017
-
Woo questioned over corruption scandal
Woo Byung-woo, ousted President Park Geun-hye’s former aide, appeared at the prosecution’s office Thursday for questioning over a corruption scandal that led to Park’s removal from power and arrest.Woo, who served Park as a presidential secretary for civil affairs from 2015 to 2016, is suspected of abetting or condoning Choi’s meddling in state affairs and exerting undue influence over the prosecution to disrupt a probe into the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014. Woo, a prosecutor-turned-presid
April 6, 2017
-
Government struggles to move Sewol onshore
Efforts to move the retrieved Sewol ferry onshore faced difficulties Thursday as engineers failed to load the wreck, heavier than originally expected, on transporters Thursday, delaying further search operations.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that it encountered some technical problems with modular trailers placed underneath the ferry.Sewol ferry shrouded in thick fog in Mokpo Port on Thursday (Yonhap)“We ran a test operation to carry the ferry on 480 transport trailers until this mor
April 6, 2017
-
[Feature] Colombian's police debacle resonates with expats
When Leo Mendoza decided to go shopping with his wife on March 30, he did not imagine that it would lead to one of the most hurtful experiences in his 16-year stay in Korea, all because he wanted to save a child’s life. As they spotted a Korean boy about to be hit by a car in the parking lot, his Korean wife Shin Jin-young instinctively screamed to stop the vehicle, which prevented an accident. The child’s grandparents, who were not paying attention when this happened, started to yell at Mendoza
April 6, 2017
-
15% of South Koreans with depression seek professional help: survey
Over 600,000 South Koreans suffer from depression, but 85 percent of them are not receiving medical treatment, government data showed Thursday.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were about 613,000 people living with depression in 2016, accounting for 1.5 percent of the national population. Among them, approximately 470,000 were women, more than twice the number of men.(123RF)However, only 15 percent of patients received medical treatment for depression, which is not even half
April 6, 2017
-
Trial on Park's former aides begins over artist blacklist
A Seoul court on Thursday held the first hearing on two former aides of ousted President Park Geun-hye accused of blacklisting cultural figures deemed critical of her administration.Ex-chief of staff Kim Ki-choon and former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun were indicted in February for masterminding the creation and management of the list, which was allegedly used to exclude certain artists from state support. Former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon (left) and former Culture Minister Cho Yo
April 6, 2017
-
Park questioned in jail again over corruption scandal
Prosecutors on Thursday grilled former President Park Geun-hye at a detention center again over corruption allegations that removed her from office.Prosecutors arrived at the detention house in Uiwang, south of Seoul, at around 11 a.m. Former President Park Geun-hye leaves her home in Seoul for prosecution questioning on March 21, 2017. Park, dismissed by the Constitutional Court on March 10, faces a probe on 13 criminal allegations, including graft and abuse of power. (Yonhap)It is the second i
April 6, 2017
-
Park’s former plastic surgeon tracked through Google Timeline
South Korean prosecutors investigating ousted President Park Geun-hye’s irregularities have used Google’s Timeline location history service to track a plastic surgeon’s secret visits to the presidential office, it was revealed Wednesday. Kim Young-jae, the 55-year-old owner of a luxury anti-aging clinic in southern Seoul who was indicted for performing illegal anti-aging treatments to the then-president and lying under oath, has entered Cheong Wa Dae at least 17 times, the investigators claime
April 6, 2017