‘There must be wartime situation,’ wrote ex-commander in note on martial law plot

Prosecution questions if that meant inducing North Korean attack to justify martial law A note written by Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, currently under investigation for his part in suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged insurrection, contained what the prosecution has suspected are plots to induce attacks from North Korea to justify Yoon's Dec. 3 imposition of martial law, a local broadcaster reported. JTBC recently reported the content of note that the prosecution had procured from Yeo's phone d

Feb. 25, 2025

S. Korea blocks sales of products recalled for safety concerns

Authorities have blocked sales of 1,336 items that were being distributed in South Korea despite being recalled overseas, which marked a 35.5 percent increase from the year before, the state-run consumer rights agency said Tuesday. The Korea Consumer Agency said that of the faulty items found to be sold here, 577 were caught for the first time while the remaining 759 were being redistributed after receiving warnings before. Of the 577 newly discovered faulty products, food accounted for 26.9 per

Feb. 25, 2025

Spring flowers to bloom later than usual, starting mid-March

Spring flowers in South Korea are expected to bloom relatively late this year, starting March 14-15 on the southern island of Jeju. The Korea Forest Service on Monday distributed its annual infographic detailing when blunt-lobed spicebush, azalea and cherry blossoms are expected to flower across the country. This year's spring flowers will be witnessed from March 14, which is when blunt-lobed spicebushes at the Halla Arboretum and azaleas at the Aewol Gotjawal forest are expected to bloom. Both

Feb. 25, 2025

Apple delegates refused to comment on unauthorized transfer of customer data

South Korean delegates of Apple refused to comment directly on the company’s role in the recent unauthorized transfer of 40 million local users' personal data to the China-based firm Alipay, according to a transcript released Tuesday of a meeting held last month by the state-run personal information agency. The Personal Information Protection Commission last month imposed fines on both Kakao Pay and Apple in response to the Kakao subsidiary transfering the user data to Apple using Alipay as an i

Feb. 25, 2025

Purported recording of phone call between first lady and 'political broker' leaked

In revealed dialogue supposedly between Kim Keon Hee and Myung Tae-kyun, woman discusses party's election candidacy matters A recently released private phone recording suggests that first lady Kim Keon Hee discussed what appears to be details of parliamentary nominations with Myung Tae-kyun, an arrested pollster and self-proclaimed political broker, who is at the center of a potentially explosive political scandal. Weekly magazine Sisa Journal on Monday evening uploaded the recording of a phone

Feb. 25, 2025

Court denies dual citizenship application, citing 'birth tourism'

A Seoul court has supported the rejection of an application for dual US-South Korean citizenship because their parent’s residence in the US was for the purpose of their child gaining US citizenship. The Seoul Administrative Court said Monday that it had ruled in favor of the Seoul Southern Immigration Office, which rejected the plaintiff's February 2024 application to retain the citizenships of both countries. South Korea's Nationality Act states that a child of a citizen obtains citizenship at

Feb. 24, 2025

Fire station asked to pay for doors broken during rescue operation

A local fire station has been asked to pay the repair costs for the doors of a multi-unit residence, which firefighters broke down during a rescue operation in a recent fire. Gwangju Bukbu Fire Station said it recently received a request from residents of a residential building in the city's Buk-gu district. In the request, the station was held accountable for the electric locking mechanisms and doors damaged in a Feb. 11 fire. Firefighters evacuated five people in the fire that killed one, but

Feb. 24, 2025

Ex-defense minister ordered files destroyed after martial law: witness

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun instructed an unofficial aide to destroy the files on his desk after the short-lived martial law ended early on Dec. 4, just hours after it was declared, according to prosecution records unveiled Sunday. Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea released files from the prosecution's investigation into Kim for his part in the Dec. 3 martial law declaration. They showed a civilian surnamed Yang destroyed the files after receiving the ins

Feb. 24, 2025

Self-proclaimed mercy killer of wife sentenced to 7 years in jail

A man who strangled his terminally-ill wife to death was sentenced to seven years in jail, as the court acknowledged the difficulties of the defendant but said a strict punishment is necessary to prevent similar crimes in the future. The Suwon District Court recently found the defendant, in his 70s, guilty of murder, which is punishable by a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of the death penalty under the Criminal Act. "The court took into consideration the facts that the defendant r

Feb. 24, 2025

Man convicted of sexual attack, murder of girlfriend gets heavier punishment on appeal

A Busan court on Sunday increased a man's sentence to 30 years in prison for the sexual abuse and murder of his girlfriend after he appealed a lower court's 25-year sentence. The Busan High Court also ordered the defendant to undergo 40 hours of treatment for sexual violence, while prohibiting him from working at facilities for juveniles or people with disabilities for 10 years after his release. The court also ordered that he be registered as a sex offender for 20 years. The defendant, in his 3

Feb. 23, 2025