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FM holds 1st phone talks with Australian counterpart
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held telephone talks with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, on Monday to discuss bilateral relations, the foreign ministry said, marking their first phone conversation since Cho took office. During the call, Cho stressed that the summit between President Lee Jae Myung and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June has helped further deepen the two countries' ties, according to the ministry. Cho also expressed appreciation for the warm hospitality extended
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Defense media agency chief dismissed over alleged power abuse
The head of the state defense media agency was dismissed Monday over power abuse allegations, the defense ministry said, following accusations he unfairly exerted influence on the agency's coverage. The decision came after the ministry conducted a weeklong audit into the agency chief, Chae Il, in July after receiving public complaints over his alleged power abuse and verbal misconduct, according to the ministry. Chae has faced criticism over political neutrality in the process of editing news in
Aug. 4, 2025 -
PPP launches filibuster to delay DP-led legislation
The main opposition People Power Party launched a filibuster Monday to delay the vote on a contentious bill proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea, denouncing what it called a "unilateral" legislative push by the ruling liberal bloc. The filibuster is the first by the conservative party in over a year. It targeted a revision of the Broadcasting Act, concerning the governance structure of public broadcaster KBS. Dozens of Democratic Party lawmakers walked out of the session as Rep. Shin Dong-u
Aug. 4, 2025 -
South Korea pulls plug on AI textbooks
South Korea’s National Assembly passed a bill on Monday stripping artificial intelligence-powered digital textbooks of their legal status as official teaching materials, dealing a heavy blow to the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s flagship education reform project. The amendment narrows the legal definition of textbooks to printed books and e-books, excluding “learning support software using intelligent information technology." This reclassifies AI-powered textbooks as just another type o
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Man who killed abusive father gets reduced sentence
A man convicted of patricide received a reduced sentence in his appellate trial, as the court took into consideration that the murder had been an unplanned act in response to the victim's frequent abuse of his family. The Seoul High Court upheld the ruling that found the defendant in his 30s guilty of the murder of an ascendant, but reduced the prison term to six years from the lower court's 10 years. It rejected the defendant’s claims that his actions were in self-defense against the victim, wh
Aug. 4, 2025 -
More extreme rain expected in drenched southern regions
South Korea is bracing for another bout of heavy rainfall this week, just a day after powerful downpours swept through southern portions of the country. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday, a narrow band of concentrated rain clouds is expected to stretch across the country from north to south between Wednesday and Thursday. “Rain clouds resembling such a shape and pattern could bring another round of extreme, localized torrential rainfall — specifically focused on the
Aug. 4, 2025 -
South Korea begins dismantling border loudspeakers to ease tensions with the North
South Korea began dismantling its loudspeakers near the border used for anti-Pyongyang propaganda in a "practical step" to ease tensions with North Korea, Seoul's Defense Ministry said Monday. “The removal is a follow-up measure to the suspension of loudspeaker broadcasts in June,” said Col. Lee Kyung-ho, vice spokesperson of the Defense Ministry, during a press briefing. “It is being carried out within a scope that does not affect our military's readiness.” The ministry's vice spokesperson adde
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Seoul to boost river bus connectivity
Seoul is working to improve access to the Hangang Bus and its docks by operating and establishing free shuttles and more public bike rental stations ahead of its official launch in September, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. A pilot program for the city’s new waterborne public transportation system began in July and has since identified several areas that need to be upgraded or improved. In particular, limited transport connections to the stops was found to be a major shortcoming.
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Abuse of ER staff rises 37% in three years
A total of 801 cases of abuse in hospital emergency rooms were reported across the country last year, a government data showed Sunday, having risen each year since 585 reported in 2021. The most frequent problem was abusive language, accounting for 73.3 percent of all cases (587), according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare data submitted to Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the main opposition People Power Party. It was followed by 123 cases of physical assault, 36 cases of threats, and 28 cases of destroy
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Pope Leo XIV says 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul to take place Aug. 3-8
Pope Leo XIV announced on Sunday that the next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, Korea, from Aug. 3 to 8, 2027. The announcement came just before he led the Angelus — a brief prayer traditionally said at noon in the Catholic Church — at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome. “With this jubilee concluded, the ‘pilgrimage of hope’ for young people continues and will take us to Asia,” he said in front of 1 million Jubilee of Youth participants from 146 countries, including Korean pilgrims.
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Cancellation of treasury stocks, support for semiconductor industry
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Choi Eun-seok (People Power Party) ● This bill would introduce shareholder rights plans (poison pills), allow the issuance of dual-class shares, introduce veto-right shares and codify the business judgment rule to expand measures to defend corporate control. Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Hyun-jung (Democratic Party of Korea) ● This bill would mandate the immediate cancellation of
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Banker's death caused by stress from new duties: court
A South Korean court has ruled that the death of a bank employee was work-related, caused by excessive stress from his new assignment. The Seoul Administrative Court ordered the state-run Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (K-Comwell) to pay full benefits to the bereaved family and reimburse them for funeral expenses, ruling in favor of the family, who filed a lawsuit last year. The man, who was 38 years old when he died, had been working at a local bank since 2012 and was assigned
Aug. 4, 2025 -
New leader of ruling party begins official schedule by paying tribute at national cemetery
The new leader of the ruling Democratic Party on Monday began his first official schedule by paying tribute at Seoul National Cemetery. The DP's new leadership, including leader Jung Chung-rae, and members of the party's Supreme Council paid their respects at the cemetery in the southern Dongjak Ward. Jung wrote a message in the guestbook that read, "I will build a more democratic Democratic Party, a more competent Democratic Party and a stronger Democratic Party to support the Lee Jae Myung adm
Aug. 4, 2025 -
Special counsel summons ex-FM Park in probe into ex-first lady
A special counsel team said Monday it has summoned former Foreign Minister Park Jin to appear for questioning over corruption allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee. Park has been asked to appear as a reference witness at the office of special counsel Min Joong-ki at 2 p.m. to undergo questioning about the circumstances that led to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife's surprise trip to Ukraine in July 2023. Min's team is looking into possible links between the Ukraine visit
Aug. 4, 2025 -
KOTRA to offer consulting services to small businesses amid new US tariff
The state-run trade promotion agency said Monday it has launched a consulting program for small and medium-sized businesses to help them develop trade strategies following the recent trade deal between Seoul and Washington. Last week, South Korea struck a trade agreement with the United States under which Washington began imposing 15 percent tariffs on South Korean goods, down from the initially proposed 25 percent. The reciprocal tariffs went into effect Friday (US time). The Korea Trade-Invest
Aug. 4, 2025