Ex-CN Blue member Lee Jong-hyun halts SNS return after one day following 8-year hiatus

Former CN Blue member Lee Jong-hyun wrote in a social media post that he would quit social media, just a day after returning to it for the first time in about eight years. As part of a lengthy message he posted Tuesday, Lee said he would "no longer engage in any SNS activity or further communication." "I will return completely to the life of a person outside the entertainment industry, reflect on my past and live an upright life that I will not be ashamed of in society," he added. On Monday, Lee

2026-08-12 13:01:45:00

Cha Eun-woo eyes new drama after W13b tax payment

Actor and K-pop star Cha Eun-woo is considering a role in the upcoming drama "Seorabeol Knife," marking a possible first acting project after he paid a 13 billion won ($9.2 million) tax assessment in April. Fantagio, Cha's agency, said Tuesday that "Seorabeol Knife" is one of several projects the singer and actor is currently reviewing. The drama shares a fictional universe with last year's hit series "Bon Appetit, Your Majesty." Jang Tae-yoo, who directed the 2025 series, will return to direct

2026-08-12 11:12:24:00

Climate change might hit N. Korea with 'complex security crisis'

Heat waves, droughts and heavy rain linked to climate change could result in a "complex security crisis" for North Korea, affecting food supplies, healthcare systems and even military facilities, a South Korean defense researcher warned. Son Hyo-jong, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, assessed in a recent report that rising temperatures and increasingly frequent droughts and downpours have heightened the country's vulnerability to natural disasters. From July 29 to A

2026-08-11 16:34:43:00

N. Korea joins China, Russia in criticizing Japan, deepens military ties

Strategic cooperation between North Korea, China and Russia appears to be deepening: Recent reports speculate that Pyongyang and Moscow have increased military cooperation, as Pyongyang echoes its allies' criticism of Japanese defense policies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday claimed that Russia is preparing to bring in as many as 50,000 more North Korean troops to join its war against Ukraine. He also claimed that "North Korea's weapons and combat experience are being enhanc

2026-08-11 14:24:08:00

Opposition lawmakers seek two-year extension of tax deferral for venture reinvestment

People Power Party Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a four-term lawmaker and former software entrepreneur, has joined with nine other PPP lawmakers to propose a two-year extension of a tax deferral scheme for venture business shareholders who reinvest capital gains back into venture businesses. Under the proposed revision to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation, the tax benefit would be extended to Dec. 31, 2028. At present the tax benefit is set to expire at the end of this year. Unde

2026-08-10 14:10:43:00

Ex-DP leader calls president 'Lee Myung-bak' ... again

Former Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who is running for a second term, mistakenly referred to President Lee Jae Myung as "President Lee Myung-bak" during a joint campaign event in Daegu on Sunday, repeating a similar mix-up he made during the June 3 local election campaign. "I will make sure the Gwangju semiconductor cluster proceeds without a hitch so that semiconductor products can be released within President Lee Myung-bak's term," Jung said during a joint speech sessi

2026-08-10 13:24:11:00

DP rules out lawmaker's 'bus house' idea, apologizes to young people

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday apologized for a lawmaker's controversial proposal to convert discarded buses into housing for young people, dismissing the idea as "virtually impossible to implement." Rep. Han Jeoung-ae, chair of the party's Policy Committee, described the proposal by Democratic Party Rep. Hwang Hee as an "idea-level suggestion" and asked the public to regard the controversy as a mishap. "It has almost no feasibility and is practically impossible," Han said at a p

2026-08-09 17:50:13:00

Former PM narrowly ahead as ruling party leadership race hits halfway point

Rep. Kim Min-seok is leading by a narrow margin in the ruling Democratic Party leadership race, indicating that the final outcome is likely to hinge on Seoul and the Jeolla provinces. After the first three of six regional rounds of voting among eligible party members, the former prime minister had 76,844 votes, or 45.4 percent of the total. Former party chair Rep. Jung Chung-rae was next with 75,380 votes, just 0.86 percentage point behind. Six-term lawmaker Rep. Song Young-gil was third with 1

2026-08-09 14:05:44:00

Military Manpower Administration to phase out supplementary service

South Korea is considering reducing and eventually abolishing the supplementary military service system, as the country faces a shrinking pool of people available for active military service. Hong So-young, commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, said the government was in the final stages of reviewing how to scale back supplementary service under a new Defense Reform Basic Plan, in an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on Thursday. Supplementary service refers to the syste

2026-08-09 13:13:31:00

Two people under probe for allegedly planning to assassinate ex-DP leader

Two suspects accused of plotting an attack against former Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Jung Chung-rae were referred to prosecutors without detention, police said Thursday. The Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul said the two, who reportedly plotted Jung's assassination in a public social media chat room, were sent to the prosecution on July 10 on suspicion of intimidation. Details such as the suspects' ages and genders had not been disclosed as of Thursday. The suspects allegedly poste

2026-08-06 16:47:07:00