South Korea

[Inter-Korea] : A U.S. website dedicated to tracking North Korea says Pyongyang continues the restoration of tunnel number three at its Punggye-ri nuclear testing facility.Citing satellite imagery from Wednesday, 38 North said the original tunnel entrance...

[Domestic] : Catholic Archbishop of Seoul Peter Chung Soon-taick says this year's lantern lighting festival marking Buddha's birthday will be a more joyous event as it will be held at full scale for the first time in three years.Chung made the rem...

[Politics] : President Moon Jae-in says he will decide whether to grant a pardon to former President Lee Myung-bak based on a careful review of legal concerns and public consensus.Moon made the remark on Friday in response to an online petition opposing a...

[Politics] : The presidential transition team has expressed dismay over the government's decision to lift the outdoor mask mandate from Monday.The team's deputy spokesperson, Hong Kyung-hee, told reporters on Friday that while the team agrees that...

[Politics] : President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol will tour the Chungcheong Provinces for a second day on Friday.Yoon is scheduled to visit industrial complexes and traditional markets in Daejeon as well as the city of Cheongju and Eumseong County in North Chung...

[Domestic] : Daily COVID-19 cases remained in the 50-thousands for a second day amid the continued recession of the omicron wave.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Friday that 50-thousand-568 cases were compiled throughout the previou...

[Politics] : The Japanese government is reportedly making arrangements that do not include Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's attendance at the inauguration of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol.Japan's Sankei Shimbun issued the repor...

[Economy] : Fuel tax cuts will be expanded from the current 20 percent to 30 percent from next month.According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday, the fuel tax imposed on gasoline will drop by 83 won to 573 won per liter from May 1.The diese...

[Domestic] : The government has decided to lift the outdoor mask mandate next week amid the continued decline in COVID-19 cases.Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced the decision on Friday in his opening remarks in a government meeting on COVID-19 respons...

[Politics] : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly called on the North Korean military to bolster its strength to annihilate the enemy.According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) on Friday, Kim made the call on Wednesda...

[Economy] : Industrial output rebounded after drops of two straight months, but consumption and investment decreased in March.According to Statistics Korea on Friday, the nation's overall industrial production increased one-point-five percent on-month...

[Economy] : Natural gas prices for households will rise again next month amid soaring international energy prices.According to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy on Friday, natural gas prices for households are set to increase by eight-point-four ...

[Politics] : President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's policy consultation delegation to Japan returned from a five-day trip on Thursday.Upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Chung Jin-suk, who headed the delegation, to...

[Inter-Korea] : A government researcher says North Korea may ramp up its provocations after May, with the launch of a new government in South Korea. Lee Sang-min, researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, made the assessment during a forum o...

[Domestic] : Korean American singer Steve Yoo has lost his second lawsuit against South Korea's diplomatic mission in the United States. The Seoul Administrative Court on Thursday ruled against Yoo, who had filed a lawsuit against the Korean Consulate...

[Politics] : The Defense Ministry's command units have begun relocation, after the South Korea-U.S. combined military drills came to close, the last such maneuvers under the Moon Jae-in administration. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) on Th...

[Economy] : LG Electronics reported its highest ever first-quarter revenues in the January-March period this year. The Korean tech giant said on Thursday that it racked up sales of 21-point-11 trillion won and an operating profit of one-point-88 trillion ...

[International] : The North Korean-linked hacking group "Stonefly" is continuing digital counterintelligence efforts, targeting specific engineering companies most likely to possess sensitive intellectual property.U.S. cyber security firm Symantec...

[Inter-Korea] : A military officer and the head of a cryptocurrency investment company have been arrested on charges of espionage.The police and the Defense Security Support Command said on Thursday that the two suspects were taken into custody for violat...

[Economy] : The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) rose 28-point-43 points, or one-point-08 percent, on Thursday, closing the day at two-thousand-667-point-49.The tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell however, losing three-point-96 points, or zero-point-...

[Economy] : The government has examined corporate grievances one month after implementing export controls against Russia and Belarus over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.In a meeting held on Wednesday related to the export curbs, the trade ministry discu...

[Domestic] : The government is leaning toward lifting the outdoor mask mandate from next week.Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is expected to make the announcement during a virus response meeting on Friday.One government official noted that infection numbers c...

[Politics] : The presidential transition committee has announced that it will provide disaster relief funds for over five-point-five million small businesses once a second extra budget passes after the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.Announcing...

[Economy] : An employee of Woori Bank has turned himself in for allegedly embezzling about 60 billion won from the company.Namdaemun Police Station in Seoul said they arrested the employee after he gave a confession late Wednesday night.The bank filed a p...

[Domestic] : The government will make an announcement on whether to abolish its mandate on wearing masks outside.The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said on Thursday it will consider various opinions, including those of the presid...

[Inter-Korea] : A North Korean defector group claimed that it flew anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets with photos of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol across the inter-Korean border.Fighters for Free North Korea said on Thursday that it released 20 large ball...

[Inter-Korea] : The unification ministry has urged North Korea to stop escalating tensions and return to dialogue.Assessing that North Korea's large-scale military parade on Monday was held to "boast its national defense capabilities and its resol...

[Politics] : The head of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's policy consultation delegation to Japan said he had sufficiently delivered a message that Seoul alone cannot resolve issues related to compensation for Korean victims of Japan's wartime forc...

[Politics] : President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's top aide slammed the election watchdog's assessment that it would be impossible to hold a referendum on a set of disputed bills aimed at stripping the prosecution of its investigative power.Yoon's c...

[Politics] : Confirmation hearings for the Cabinet nominees of incoming Yoon Suk Yeol administration have been postponed to early next month amid partisan wrangling over document submission and witness selection.According to parliamentary sources on Thurs...

[Culture] : The 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival(JIFF) will kick off on Thursday for a ten-day run in the southwestern city of North Jeolla Province.The nation's largest showcase of indie and art house films will be held offline this year, unli...

[Economy] : The government has decided to supply Europe with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its reserves as the region faces a shortage in the natural gas as a consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy s...

[Politics] : The National Election Commission(NEC) has assessed that under existing laws, it would be impossible to hold a public vote on reform bills that seek to weaken the investigative powers of the prosecution.The commission revealed the assessment o...

[Politics] : President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol is set to hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on May 21.Yoon's spokesperson, Bae Hyun-jin, revealed the date on Thursday as she said that Yoon has welcomed Biden's plan to visit South Korea from M...

[Economy] : Samsung Electronics posted a quarterly sales record of over 77 trillion won for the first quarter of the year on the back of strong semiconductor and smartphone sales.The South Korean tech giant said on Thursday that its sales for the first qu...

[Domestic] : Daily COVID-19 cases fell to 50-thousands to remain below 100-thousand for the eighth consecutive day, amid the continued recession of the omicron wave.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Thursday that 57-thousand-464 case...

[Economy] : Finance minister Hong Nam-ki said on Thursday that the government will take measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market if needed.The minister made the remarks during an emergency economy meeting in Seoul as the local currency plunged to...

[Politics] : The foreign ministry has issued a special travel advisory for El Salvador amid growing security concerns in the Central American country.The ministry said the travel alert went into effect as of 12 a.m. on Thursday as El Salvador earlier this...

[International] : The White House said on Wednesday that U.S. President Joe Biden will visit South Korea and Japan from May 20 to May 24 for summit talks with his counterparts.The White House said in a statement that Biden will travel to the two nations t...

[Science] : South Korea will launch its first satellite equipped with a domestically developed global positioning system(GPS) in late June.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Thursday that the satellite will be launched around ...

[Economy] : Business sentiment improved in April as the nation lifted most social distancing measures with declining COVID-19 cases.According to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the business survey index(BSI) for all industries stood at 86 for April, up thr...

[Politics] : The extraordinary parliamentary plenary session came to an end on Wednesday, automatically ending the main opposition People Power Party's(PPP) filibuster to prevent the passage of controversial prosecution reform bills.The main oppositio...

[Politics] : The defense ministers of South Korea and Malaysia have discussed ways to enhance cooperation among their defense industries. According to the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook and his Malaysian coun...

[Economy] : POSCO plans to expand its oxygen and nitrogen storage facilities to explore the industrial gas market in earnest. Korea's top steelmaker broke ground on its oxygen factory in Pohang on Wednesday to build additional gas tanks. Currently, th...

[Politics] : The first of two revision bills making up the Democratic Party(DP)-driven prosecution reform initiative has been presented to a plenary session of the National Assembly on Wednesday. Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug convened the session at 5...

[Politics] : Former President Park Geun-hye has expressed her intention to attend President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's inauguration ceremony to be held in front of the National Assembly next month, according to the event chief. Head of the inauguration pre...

[Politics] : The government of incoming President Yoon Suk Yeol may consider holding a public vote on the Democratic Party-led initiative to weaken the investigative powers of the prosecution.Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Yoon's chief of staff C...

[Politics] : A plenary vote on a pair of contested prosecution reform bills is set to take place later Wednesday afternoon after floor leaders of rival political parties failed to find common ground in a last-minute meeting.Coming out of the meeting with ...

[Domestic] : A state agency monitoring data protection ruled that the government's use of facial information for the development of an artificial intelligence(AI)-based immigration review system is not in violation of the law.The Personal Information ...

[Politics] : The Tokyo government has protested South Korea's plan to conduct a detailed topographic survey of the Dokdo islets.According to Japan's Sankei News, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno in a Wednesday press conference said that he...