President Yoon Suk-yeol said the Itaewon disaster showed the nation lacks capability in crowd management, vowing all-out efforts following the tragic surge disaster and to come up with measures on crowd management to prevent a recurrence. As South Korea is in a state of mourning after the deadly Itaewon accident that killed at least 156 people and injured 151, Yoon canceled his usual morning interview and instead presided over a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan on Tuesday mo

Politics Nov. 1, 2022

South Korea is wrapped in collective shock and grief from the unprecedented tragedy that took the lives of 155 people in a popular nightlife district in central Seoul. The number of deaths continued to rise, reaching 155 people with more than 149 injured on Monday. Twenty-six foreigners were among the dead. They are from Iran, China, the US, Japan, France, Australia, Norway, Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Austria and Russia. The dead also included six teenagers. Police sai

Politics Oct. 31, 2022

At least 26 foreign nationals are among the 155 confirmed deaths from Saturday night's crowd crush that occurred amid Halloween celebrations in Seoul's Itaewon. According to authorities, foreign casualties stood at 26 as of Monday. They are from Iran, China, the US, Japan, France, Australia, Norway, Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Austria and Russia. Foreign Minister Park Jin ordered officials to urgently notify relevant embassies in Seoul of the current status

Politics Oct. 30, 2022

The area around Itaewon in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, full of excited Halloween partygoers on Saturday night, turned into a catastrophic scene in an instant. At least 153 people died and dozens were injured in a crowd crush that took place in a narrow alley near the neighborhood’s famous Hamilton Hotel. The celebratory scene quickly turned into a nightmare as screams and cries for help erupted from the crowd, and the sounds of ambulance sirens mixed with thumping music that continued to fl

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol held an emergency meeting and instructed officials to quickly dispatch the disaster medical assistance team, the presidential office said at around 1 a.m. on Sunday as dozens of people are reported to be in cardiac arrest in Itaewon, central Seoul, where large crowds were celebrating the first outdoor no-mask Halloween since the pandemic. "The top priority right now is saving and evacuating patients, and providing prompt transportation and treatment to victims (hea

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2022

At least 153 people died and more than 103 were injured in a crowd crush in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, according to fire authorities at 5 p.m. on Sunday. The fire department began to receive reports of patients having difficulty breathing at 10:22 p.m. on Saturday. Of the people who died, more than 100 were transferred to the hospital. The remaining bodies were kept on site and later moved to a nearby multi-purpose indoor gymnasium. Identifying the deceased is expected to take some ti

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2022

From the stance of Korean diplomacy, relations with Japan are the primary dilemma. Although there may be some differences in degree compared to the US according to political orientation, an alliance has immutable value. It has an absolute influence on daily life in Korea. At the same time, though we may have a different perspective from China, we cannot neglect China’s influence on Korea’s economy and policies toward North Korea. The US and China are like two strong wings flanking K

Foreign Affairs Oct. 25, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday addressed the National Assembly amid escalating partisan conflict that led to an unprecedented complete boycott by the main opposition party. Doubling down on defense In the address, Yoon stressed the need to strengthen deterrence against North Korea, saying that another nuclear weapons test by Pyongyang is imminent. “It is judged that North Korea has already completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test,” Yoon said. "North Korea has rece

Politics Oct. 25, 2022

Tensions between the ruling and main opposition parties are intensifying, as prosecutors investigations close in on Democratic Party Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung. After a previous failure to raid the party’s Institute for Democracy think tank in Yeouido, Seoul, the prosecution again raided the institute Monday morning as part of its investigation into its Vice President Kim Yong, a close aide to Lee Jae-myung. The Democratic Party immediately criticized the move and postponed the ongoing

Politics Oct. 24, 2022

Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung urged President Yoon Suk-yeol and the ruling People Power Party to accept the special prosecution of controversial property development as political tension escalates after the prosecution arrested Lee’s close aide on election violation charges. As the prosecution's investigation into the property development related to Daejang-dong spread to allegations of illegal presidential campaign funds, Lee counter-attacked by raising suspic

Politics Oct. 21, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday that the spirit of freedom and solidarity pursued by the Korean government is no different from the spirit of the Olympics, adding that global challenges should be overcome with the Olympic spirit. “We will do our best to bring the spirit of freedom and solidarity into the overall sports field and do our best to contribute to the international community through sports,” Yoon said in a keynote speech at the 26th General Assembly of the Associa

Politics Oct. 19, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed concerns about the service failures of the nation's most popular message app KakaoTalk in an emergency such as war, according to local media outlets Tuesday. During a meeting of the president's chief secretaries on Monday, Yoon expressed concerns, asking what would happen KakaoTalk becomes unavailable in an emergency such as war as the majority of members of the public and public organizations use the service, according to Yonhap News agency, citing a

Politics Oct. 18, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to move into the new presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, within this month after a monthslong delay. Yoon has been commuting to work from his home in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul since his inauguration in May. An official from the presidential office said at a briefing on Monday, "We are currently conducting a final inspection of the security and safety (for the relocation)." Most of the construction at his official residence in Hann

Politics Oct. 18, 2022

KakaoTalk's outage over the weekend has spilled over into the political arena, with the president and political parties honing in on the nation's largest messaging app operator. On Monday, President Yoon Suk-yeol said that the state would respond to revamp the system, considering communication networks as a part of the national infrastructure. The government is also looking at whether a Kakao monopoly could distort the communication network services market. Lawmakers hurriedly promis

Politics Oct. 17, 2022

Bibongi, the last Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin held in captivity in South Korea, was returned to the wild after 17 years. The government said on Sunday it had released Bibongi, at 9:40 a.m. in the sea after 70 days of training. There were a total of eight in domestic aquariums in 2012, but seven returned to nature from 2013 to 2017.

Politics Oct. 16, 2022