Family of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who died in 2017 shortly after being released from prison in North Korea, is expected to visit Seoul next month for a meeting of international victims of abduction by the North. The Korean War Abductees’ Family Union said Wednesday the American victim’s parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, have accepted its invitation for the convention slated fo...

Democratic Party Chairman Lee Hae-chan on Wednesday apologized for the Cho Kuk controversy that gripped the country for months after President Moon Jae-in tapped him as justice minister in August. During a press conference at the National Assembly, the ruling party leader issued his first formal apology over Cho’s family corruption scandal that erupted following his Cabinet nomination. Cho quit ...

An obstetrician was detained on allegations of performing an abortion on a woman who was 34 weeks pregnant and killing the fetus after it survived the procedure. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Tuesday that the 60-something obstetrician faces charges of murder and performing an abortion. According to police, the fetus allegedly survived the hysterotomy abortion, which involves opening...

Gender discrimination in the workplace is responsible for Korea’s low fertility rate, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare and the OECD held a joint conference on Monday to address policy responses to the country’s declining fertility rate. “Governments need to modernize their family policies to provide families with a co...

An earthquake of 3.4 magnitude was reported in South Gyeongsang Province at 3:37 p.m. Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The weather agency said the earthquake, whose epicenter was around 15 kilometers south of Changnyeong County, was about 11 kilometers deep. Reports of tremors came in from the surrounding areas of Changwon, Gimhae, Geoje and Haman. A nuclear power ...

Former President Park Geun-hye’s confidante Choi Soon-sil faces a prosecution probe over allegations that she did not pay taxes on a real estate transaction. The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said Saturday the National Tax Service has reported Choi and her daughter Chung Yoo-ra for violating laws on tax offenses. According to the tax agency, Choi sold a building in Gangnam, southern Seoul,...

Police said Sunday that they are investigating a professor who called Japan’s World War II sexual enslavement of girls and women “a form of prostitution.” Police have interviewed civic groups who lodged a defamation complaint against Lew Seok-choon, a sociology professor at Yonsei University, for his remarks regarding “comfort women,” as the wartime sex slaves are euphemistically called. On Sep...

The government on Wednesday warned against using liquid e-cigarettes, or e-liquids, until health perils associated with them are better understood. “The Health and Welfare Ministry strongly recommends discontinuing the use of liquid e-cigarettes until the link between lung injuries and liquid e-cigarettes is clearly identified,” said Health Minister Park Neung-hoo in a press briefing Wednesday m...

Lawmakers have officially filed a bill that would invalidate the statute of limitations for a series of rape-murders from the mid-1980s and early 1990s in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. On Sept. 20, 13 lawmakers jointly submitted a motion seeking to punish killer Lee Chun-jae, 56, despite the statute of limitations having expired. The police booked Lee on Oct. 14 after they determined there were ...

An orb with a set of ears, blinky eyes and the voice and speech manners of a chatty child is making advances in dementia therapy at a hospital in Seoul. Named Bomy, the robot assists cognitive training for patients in the early stages, or at the risk of developing dementia. Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital’s Robot-assisted Cognitive Training Center opened its doors in April, and is heade...

As controversies surrounding his family peaked, Cho Kuk resigned as justice minister on Monday, but protests continued, both for and against President Moon Jae-in’s key aide. A pro-Cho group called Gaegukbon -- a Korean acronym for People’s Brawl Movement Headquarters -- kicked off its 10th demonstration at 5 p.m. Saturday, this time in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido. Its former gathe...

Court proceedings for recently resigned Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s family began Friday. The trial preparation hearing for Cho’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, 57, was held at the Seoul Central District Court at 11 a.m. The pretrial hearing is intended to allow defendants to clarify their positions on the charges pressed against them. As defendants are not obliged to attend, Chung did not appear. Chun...

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk is returning to the faculty of Seoul National University School of Law. According to the school on Tuesday, Cho faxed a request to return to his teaching job at the school around 6 p.m. Monday. Earlier that afternoon, Cho announced his resignation as justice minister in a statement. President Moon Jae-in accepted the resignation at 5:38 p.m. Cho’s request was ap...

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Police said Tuesday that Lee Chun-jae, 56, has been booked in connection with a series of rape-murders in the 1980s and early '90s and his case will be referred to prosecutors despite the expired statute of limitations. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency confirmed in a press briefing Tuesday morning that Lee’s status was changed from “suspect” to “accused” as...

With Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s resignation on Monday, questions remain on the future course of prosecution reform -- a key Moon Jae-in agenda. In his resignation letter, Cho said he was a “kindling” to spark the fire of the reform drive, and that his resignation was necessary to complete the bigger goal of prosecutorial reform. The second reform draft hereleased on Monday morning centers on sc...