The court has once again denied a warrant to detain former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung on sexual offense charges. The Seoul Western District Court decided not to issue the warrant early Thursday, saying the accusations against An are arguable and there is not enough proof that he may flee or destroy evidence. This is the second time the court has denied a warrant for An, who is ...

Ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday failed to narrow differences on how to revise the Constitution and normalize this month’s extraordinary National Assembly session. Floor leaders Woo Won-shik of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Sung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Kim Dong-cheol of the Bareun Future Party and Roh Hoe-chan of a joint floor negotiation bloc of the...

The Seoul mayoral election in June is expected to be a three-way race, with former opposition leader and presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo running against contenders of the two main parties. Ahn will declare his candidacy Wednesday, an official of the Bareun Future Party said Sunday. Ahn currently heads the party’s committee for recruiting local election candidates. Incumbent Seoul Mayor Par...

The court has extended the detention period for former President Lee Myung-bak until April 10 for further investigation into corruption allegations against him. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said on Friday that the court has approved the extension by 10 days as more time was needed to indict him. Under the law on criminal procedure, a suspect can be kept in custody for a maximu...

The chief of Ulsan police, who has been accused of political maneuvering by the Liberty Korea Party, is now under fire for playing golf with members of a partner organization. According to news reports, Hwang Woon-ha, commissioner of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency, played golf with members of a committee for youth safety in November, and a committee official paid the green fee for Hwang. ...

South Korea‘s political parties showed mixed responses to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea said it believes the summit “created an opportunity that would help find a peaceful resolution to the North’s nuclear issue through dialogue.” “The more North Korea comes out to the diplomatic stage, the easier it will be to s...

All passengers of motor vehicles on all roads will be required to wear seat belts starting late September under revised road traffic rules, the National Police Agency said Tuesday. This means backseat passengers will have to buckle up not just on highways but on any road. From Sept. 28, following a six-month grace period, the driver will be slapped with a fine of 30,000 won ($28) if a passenger...

With former President Lee Myung-bak behind bars, his family members and associates are also expected to face charges of abetting him. Prosecutors suspect some of Lee’s family members were involved in the delivery of 2.26 billion won ($2.1 million) in kickbacks from Lee Pal-seung, who headed Woori Finance Holdings from 2008 to 2013, to the former president, and stated them as accomplices of bribe...

Former President Park Geun-hye refused to be questioned by the prosecution on allegations that her presidential office lied about the time at which she was first informed of the deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry four years ago. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that a senior prosecutor visited Park at the Seoul Detention Center on Monday, but could not interrogate her due to he...

Former leader of the People’s Party Ahn Cheol-soo took up an official post in the Bareun Future Party on Friday, adding weight to speculation he may run for Seoul mayor in the local elections in June. Ahn stepped down from the leadership when the People’s Party merged with the Bareun Party a month ago to form the Bareun Future Party. The new party’s co-leaders Yoo Seong-min and Park Joo-sun hav...

Prosecutors have investigated nearly 20 close associates and relatives of former President Lee Myung-bak as they look into corruption allegations against Lee. The associates implicated include Choi See-joong, former head of the Korea Communications Commission, known to be Lee’s mentor; Kim Paik-joon, former senior presidential secretary for administrative affairs often dubbed as Lee’s “butler”; ...

The prosecution’s investigation into corruption allegations involving former President Lee Myung-bak took a major turn in the past two months, as his close associates began to speak out. While investigating former National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon, prosecutors last year found that money from the NIS’ audit-free account was delivered to Cheong Wa Dae officials during the Lee admini...

Lee Myung-bak will be the country’s fifth former president to be grilled by the prosecution when he appears at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday for questioning over corruption allegations. After five months of investigation into suspicions of bribery, abuse of power and embezzlement, among other charges, the prosecution summoned Lee for interrogation as a suspect. For...

Prosecutors are questioning people close to former President Lee Myung-bak as they prepare for his interrogation Wednesday over a string of corruption allegations that include bribery, abuse of authority, embezzlement and dereliction of duty. The prosecution on Sunday questioned Lee’s son-in-law Lee Sang-joo, former Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Park Young-joon and the chief of Lee’s Cheong...

Prosecutors on Tuesday detained a human resources officer of KB Kookmin Bank as they investigate allegations that the bank gave favors to well-connected job applicants. It is the first time the prosecution has detained someone since it began looking into the bank’s hiring irregularities early last month. The Seoul Southern District Court issued a warrant Monday to detain the human resources off...