South Korea's parliament is on the verge of passing a revision bill to make it mandatory for high-ranking public officials to declare any cryptocurrency asset holdings, just a few weeks after a loophole in the law aimed at preventing corruption of public officials was exposed. Lawmakers are looking to float the revision of the Public Service Ethics Act at the plenary session of the National Assembly by as early as on Thursday, following an approval at a standing committee Wednesday afternoo

Social Affairs May 24, 2023

South Korea's first lady Kim Keon Hee pledged on Tuesday to make South Korea a bucket list destination for travelers in the world, stressing a need of offering cultural experiences to visitors. "More of the world's travelers are enjoying the emerging trend of soaking themselves in the mood of being in Korea with Korean foods, cultural elements, artworks and traditional forms of architecture," she said. "I will do my best to make the world's travelers add 'K-Tou

Social Affairs May 23, 2023

Sin Chang-won, Korea's most famous fugitive, has attempted to take his own life but was not in critical condition, according to the Justice Ministry on Monday. Sin, 56, was found by a correctional officer while attempting to commit suicide in Daejeon Prison at around 8:15 p.m. Sunday. After resuscitation, he was immediately transferred to an unnamed hospital nearby. Sin was admitted to the intensive care unit, but is able to breathe without mechanical assistance, the ministry said. It was S

Social Affairs May 22, 2023

A dozen human rights advocacy groups led by the Switzerland-based MENA Rights Group have in an open letter called on World Expo organizers not to consider Riyadh as a potential host for the World Expo 2030. In the letter dated May 16, the groups cited concerns that the event could be used to "whitewash" the country's human rights record, which includes the continued use of the death penalty, crushing of human rights activism, silencing of women’s rights advocates and targeti

World News May 22, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to continue providing non-lethal aid for Ukraine upon the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their first meeting held in Hiroshima, Japan, on the sidelines of an expanded Group of Seven summit session on Sunday. Yoon told Zelenskyy that Seoul will push for sustained diplomatic, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, with medical evacuation vehicles and demining vehicles being the primary focus as of the current moment, Yoon'

Foreign Affairs May 21, 2023

A 21-member Fukushima Daiichi wastewater inspection team departed from Incheon Airport Sunday morning for a six-day trip to Japan to deliver Seoul's own assessment of the wastewater treatment facilities in the quake-hit region before Japan's planned discharge of the water starting as early as this year. The inspection team reiterated that it would affirm the safety of the facilities in Japan based on "scientific grounds and standards." This came amid persistent local backlash

Foreign Affairs May 21, 2023

The Supreme Court of South Korea cleared a man who served 17 years in prison for allegedly spying for North Korea in 1975 of his charges in a retrial on Thursday. Seoul's top court upheld an earlier ruling in 2022 that the evidence that originally put Park Ki-rae in jail for his breach of the National Security Act is not admissible, given that the investigative authorities during former President Park Chung-hee's military dictatorship had obtained the evidence and a confession by viola

Social Affairs May 18, 2023

A ruling from South Korea's top court on Thursday has stripped Rep. Kim Sun-gyo of the ruling People Power Party of his position as a lawmaker representing the city of Yeoju and Yangpyeong County, both in Gyeonggi Province. The Supreme Court upheld the high court's decision, convicting the accountant for Kim's election campaign, surnamed Lee, of excessive campaign finance and expenses during the election campaign in 2020, under the Public Official Election Act. Lee was imposed wit

Politics May 18, 2023

SEJONG -- South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Wednesday the inspection team will not take wastewater samples from earthquake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Japan, amid political opponents' calls on the team to take more proactive actions including water sampling. Sampling activities by an inspection team from a certain country could breach the independence of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Han told reporters in a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong.

Foreign Affairs May 17, 2023

A South Korean court on Tuesday ordered adoption agency Holt Children's Services to pay 100 million won ($74,700) to Adam Crapser, who was adopted to a family in the United States in 1979 but deported after four decades. The Seoul Central District Court acknowledged the agency's "failure to uphold its duty to protect the adoptee and ensure the adoptee's acquisition of citizenship," it said in a ruling. The landmark ruling is the first in the history of Korea to recognize a legal violat

Social Affairs May 16, 2023

South Korean politicians on Tuesday launched a complete investigation of the virtual asset holdings of all National Assembly lawmakers amid a widening scandal involving their alleged murky possession or transfers of cryptocurrencies. The floor leaders of the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea are in talks to have each lawmaker voluntarily disclose of their current crypto asset holdings immediately regardless of the lack of mandatory disclosure rules, Re

Politics May 16, 2023

South Korea heightened its earthquake alert level by one notch from blue to yellow as a 4.5-magnitude quake was detected off the east coast Monday morning, affecting cities on the nation's eastern coast. The alert level is raised when at least three quakes are detected in a specific area within a short range of time, and calls for cooperation between several government bodies on the issue, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's office said in a statement. Han urged the Interior Ministry to insp

Social Affairs May 15, 2023

South Korea's inspection team may ask for corrective actions in case of any safety concerns over the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's wastewater, which Japan aims to release later this year after treatment, though it does not have the power to enforce them, a government official said Friday. Disagreements between Seoul and Tokyo over the facilities and raw data regarding Japan's multi-nuclide removal system during South Korea's examination later in May will be solved throu

Foreign Affairs May 12, 2023

Flood control barriers will be installed in at least 20,000 flood-prone basement apartments in Seoul by June, the government said Thursday, as the country is expected to face more extreme summertime weather this year. The underground flats, also known as "banjiha," have been identified as most vulnerable to flooding under an ongoing government inspection of 220,000 banjiha that will end this month. It comes as the city is bracing itself for the rainy season as forecasts predict El Nino

Social Affairs May 11, 2023

Police arrested two Kazakhstan nationals and a Tajikistan national for arranging fake refugee claims for 149 people with nationalities from Russia and Central Asian countries, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday. The three brokers allegedly took up to 1.5 million won ($1,130) from each person for fabricating documents so that they could fit the qualifications required to get refugee status in Korea from May 2022 to April 2023. None of the 149 -- who claimed they were subjected to terror threats,

Social Affairs May 10, 2023