Former President Lee Myung-bak is due to appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for interrogation as a suspect in a string of corruption allegations which include bribery, abuse of power, embezzlement and dereliction of duty.Lee, who was in office from 2009 to 2013, faces nearly 20 criminal charges including receiving illicit funds of some 11 billion won ($10.3 million) from the state spy agency, individuals and corporates, including Samsung. The prosecut

Politics March 13, 2018

Former lawmaker and a contender for the ruling Democratic Party’s Seoul mayor candidacy Chung Bong-ju on Monday denied allegations of sexual misconduct, calling them a “political conspiracy.” Chung, lawmaker from 2004 to 2008, also said he would continue with his bid for Seoul mayor in the June 13 local elections. Chung Bong-ju (Yonhap)“The news report (on the claimed misconduct) was released without checking the facts,” he said in a press meeting at the National Assembly. “It is not true that I

Politics March 13, 2018

Park Soo-hyun, the former presidential spokesman and the ruling party’s contender for South Chungcheong governor, denied all allegations of adultery and abuse of power against him on Sunday, saying they are political maneuverings.In a press briefing at the National Assembly, Park said the claim raised by his former aide Oh Young-hwan is fabricated, as part of Oh and his former wife’s revenge against him for not complying with their requests. Oh had first raised the allegations on Tuesday that Pa

Politics March 11, 2018

The wife of a lawmaker accused of sexual harassment came under fire on Sunday for saying she believes in her husband’s integrity, expressing joy over his decision to resign. Mok Hae-jung, wife of three-term lawmaker Rep. Min Byung-doo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, wrote on her Facebook late Saturday that while she admits Min is at fault, she stands by him. Min had said he would give up his parliamentary seat, just a few hours after a woman claimed he had forcefully kissed her in a kar

Politics March 11, 2018

Gwanghwamun is the largest main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the center of Seoul. Constructed in 1395, the gate was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times over the past several hundred years of history and was finally restored as it is in 2010. In the front of the gate is the Gwanghwamun Square that was redesigned to open to the public in August 2009. The backdrop of the traditional wooden palace and Bukak Mountain on one side and tall modern buildings surrounding the area on the other, Gwanghw

Culture March 9, 2018

China, Japan and Russia -- members of the six-party talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula -- are showing different views on the inter-Korean summit slated for April. While China and Russia welcome the development, Japan appeared to be perplexed, expressing cautious doubt toward the communist regime.(Yonhap)The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement late Tuesday showing support for the decision to hold the top-level meeting, which would be the third of its kind. The first inter-K

Foreign Affairs March 7, 2018

A sexual assault claim against former South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung is causing a major uproar in the political circle and the public, prompting quick actions from the ruling party to minimize the fallout from its prominent figure as it faces local elections in June.The governor’s secretary Kim Ji-eun on Monday revealed that she was sexually assaulted by the provincial governor, who was a former presidential contender for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, in a televised news interview wi

Politics March 6, 2018

The Education Ministry began a three-day investigation of a college in Seoul on Monday, following students’ sexual harassment claims against all of its male professors in the theater and visual arts department.Police are also looking into the sexual misconduct of the former dean of the department at Myongji College, Park Joong-hyeon.A petition by 37 students from the department revealed that Park had made sexually inappropriate orders to female students, and used violence against male students.

Social Affairs March 5, 2018

The installation of a “comfort women” statue in front of a university in Seoul was thwarted right before the unveiling ceremony on Thursday, as the university and students protested its installation.Seoul’s Mapo District Council planned to place a comfort women statue in front of Hongik University on the 99th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement of 1919, but they failed after students and faculty members from the school stopped the forklift truck carrying the statue from proceeding f

Social Affairs March 2, 2018

While the PyeongChang Winter Olympics ended with praise for its contribution to a thaw in inter-Korean relations, the friction between conservatives and liberals in South Korea is intensifying over the government’s approval of the visit of a North Korean delegation led by a high-ranking general accused of masterminding provocations against the South.The main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Monday held an outdoor rally in Cheonggye Square in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, denouncing the liberal Mo

Politics Feb. 26, 2018

A high-level delegation from North Korea, which arrived at a checkpoint in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, at 9:53 a.m. Sunday, took a detour to reach its accommodation at the northeastern edge of Seoul, avoiding direct confrontation with protesters on the Unification Bridge -- the official land route connecting the two Koreas. Lawmakers from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party held an overnight protest on the southern end of a border bridge to North Korea starting Saturday in an attempt to block t

Politics Feb. 25, 2018

Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump's daughter and a senior adviser to the White House arrived in South Korea on Friday, for a four-day visit to lead the US delegation to the closing ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Here are some of the photos showing Ivanka's first two days here. Trump arrived at around 4 p.m. here on Friday, and participated in a dinner meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Sangchunjae, traditional Korean house inside the presidential office.The Blue

Foreign Affairs Feb. 24, 2018

Former presidential aide Woo Byung-woo was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Thursday for dereliction of duty, abuse of power and perjury linked to the massive corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye.In handing down the sentence, the Seoul Central Court said Woo abused his authority and neglected his duty to look into wrongdoings by Park’s confidante Choi Soon-sil. The prosecution had demanded eight years in prison. The ruling came 311 days after Woo was i

Social Affairs Feb. 22, 2018

The government will review plans to hire more native-speaking English teachers and introduce video teaching, in a bid to strengthen language education in elementary schools. The Ministry of Education also announced Tuesday the launch of a 19-member consultative body, composed of school teachers, parents and professors, to work with Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation in reviewing such plans and coming up with an improvement proposal by the end of the year.  (Yonhap)While the ministry w

Social Affairs Feb. 21, 2018

Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was elected on Tuesday to chair the executive organ of the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute, the Foreign Ministry said. Twenty-eight member countries of GGGI, whose mandate is to recommend eco-friendly development solutions for developing countries, elected Ban president of the Assembly and chair of the Council for GGGI. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (Yonhap)His began the two-year term immediately, replacing Gemedo Dalle, who

Foreign Affairs Feb. 20, 2018