Acting President summoned for questioning in martial law investigations: police

Acting president Han Duck-soo was recently summoned by the police for closed-door questioning as a suspect in connection with the short-lived martial law imposition on Dec. 3, authorities said Friday. The special investigation team for police said that Han was among nine of the 12 current and former Cabinet members who participated in the Dec. 3 Cabinet meeting preceding President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial declaration, summoned as either a suspect or a witness. Han was categorized as a suspe

Dec. 20, 2024

Heavy snow, cold wave expected this weekend

A cold wave and heavy snow will hit South Korea Saturday, with up to 10 centimeters of snowfall predicted for some areas in the central region, according to the weather agency Friday. Snow was expected to begin falling along the western coast Friday and could spread to most parts of the country by Saturday, said the Korea Meteorological Administration. Predicted snowfall ranges from 10-30 cm for Ulleungdo and Dokdo, 5-20 cm for Jeju Island’s mountainous regions, and 3-10 cm for southern

Dec. 20, 2024

[From the Scene] Tech meets trash: Transforming plastic recycling for sustainable future

BUSAN -- At Saenggok Industrial Complex in Gangseo-gu, Busan, a plastics recycling factory bustles with activity. Though Busan, South Korea's second largest port city, is already home to several companies and research institutions specializing in recycling, Yuil Industries is a pioneer. The factory here introduced the first optical automatic sorting machine for plastics recycling, which sorts plastics based on their type, color and composition much more quickly than previous methods. The fa

Dec. 20, 2024

Medical student sentenced to 26 yrs in prison for murdering his girlfriend

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a medical school student to 26 years in prison on charges of murdering his girlfriend for allegedly breaking up with him. The 25-year-old, surnamed Choi, who attended a medical school in Seoul, was indicted with physical detention for stabbing his girlfriend to death on the rooftop of a building in southern Seoul on May 6. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence for Choi, saying he had "brutally murdered" the victim, who was blindside

Dec. 20, 2024

S. Korea issues influenza alert amid soaring infection cases

South Korea's disease control agency said Thursday it has decided to issue an influenza alert this week amid an increasing number of patients. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the alert will be issued starting Friday, under which the institution will bolster its monitoring of local infections and promote related vaccinations. The announcement came after the number of people infected with influenza per 1,000 patients among sampled hospitals reached 13.6 last week, surpass

Dec. 19, 2024

Prosecutors investigate police officials over alleged role in martial law case

Prosecutors launched an investigation into around 10 police and military officials Thursday for their alleged involvement in President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief declaration of martial law earlier this month. Prosecutors seized mobile phones belonging to Woo Jong-soo, chief of the National Office of Investigation, as well as several other police and military officials, as part of their probe into the office, the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station and the Ministry of Defense's investigative u

Dec. 19, 2024

Church officials who called for 'spicy martial law' accused of instigating insurrection

Civic group Peace Tree said Wednesday it has filed a criminal complaint against a far-right church group that called for President Yoon Suk Yeol to launch a second round of martial law. The left-leaning civic group said it filed for charges of "agitation of insurrection," as stipulated in Article 90 of the Criminal Act, against multiple individuals, including a close confidant of controversial pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon. Jeon, a Christian pastor known for far-right views, has accused the o

Dec. 19, 2024

Justices at Constitutional Court hold 1st meeting

The Constitutional Court of Korea, set to deliver a final decision on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment within 180 days, held its first closed-door meeting Thursday with six justices of the nine-seat court. At the meeting, justices were expected to share opinions on the resolution of whether to uphold or overturn Yoon’s impeachment. Their discussion was based on research conducted by a 10-member constitutional task force on the legal grounds and facts behind Yoon’s Dec. 3

Dec. 19, 2024

Yoon denies insurrection charges: confidant

President Yoon Suk Yeol rejected allegations of insurrection over his short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3, his confidant told reporters Wednesday, stressing that the martial law decree was made to act against a national crisis. Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer who wished to be identified as Yoon's aide until the president's defense team is officially launched, said that Yoon feels confident to deliver his thoughts “proudly” in court. “Yoon apologized to the people

Dec. 19, 2024

Lotteria caught in crossfire of martial law debacle

Homegrown fast-food chain Lotteria has garnered unwarranted nationwide attention in relation to the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, after it was revealed that military commanders had discussed their actions concerning the president's orders at one of its branches. The fast-food brand, one of the largest in the country, has expressed discomfort in the surge of internet memes linking it to President Yoon Suk Yeol's ill-fated declaration of martial law. "We are perplexed for being

Dec. 19, 2024

DDP lights up for annual winter festival

Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, central Seoul, is celebrating the return of the holiday season with its annual media art festival, which drew up to 620,000 visitors last winter. Seoul Light DDP, jointly hosted and organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Design Foundation, showcases media artworks by projecting them onto the 222-meter-long exterior of the DDP. This year’s festival, which kicks off on Thursday, will run through Dec. 31, under the theme “5 Cheers!.&

Dec. 19, 2024

Seoul city announces 11 civic representatives for New Year's bell-ringing event

The Seoul city government on Thursday announced a list of civic representatives to take part in the bell-ringing ceremony in downtown Seoul at midnight on New Year's Eve. The 11 civic bell ringers were selected from among some 90 people recommended by the public last month for overcoming adversity or doing good deeds to inspire others, committing to sharing and volunteer work, or heightening a sense of national pride on the global stage. The representatives will join in ringing the bell 33

Dec. 19, 2024

Two coworkers win lottery within minutes of each other

Two coworkers in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, each won 1 billion won ($689,000) within minutes of each other, splitting a two-ticket jackpot, a lottery firm said on Thursday. After the first person saw that he'd won, he told his colleague to immediately buy the next ticket from the same store, which also turned out to be a winner. Their extraordinary stroke of luck came with the Spito 2000, a scratch-off lottery that allows players to instantly verify their prize. The jackpot is award

Dec. 19, 2024

[Graphic News] Idiom of the year

The four-character idiom “Doryangbalho”, meaning "the rampant abuse of power and influence," was chosen as the idiom of the year. College professors highlighted their concerns, criticizing the misuse of authority for personal gain instead of serving the public good. According to a nationwide survey conducted by The Kyosu Sinmun from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2 among 1,086 professors, “Doryangbalho” received 41.4 percent of the votes (450), reflecting both past and curre

Dec. 19, 2024

S. Korea reports new avian influenza case at duck farm

South Korea has confirmed its 12th case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) for the season at a duck farm in the southwestern region, authorities said Wednesday. The latest case was detected at a duck farm in the county of Buan in North Jeolla Province, some 190 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the authorities. The farm is located in a 10-km radius of another duck farm that reported a highly pathogenic AI case last week. To prevent further spread, officials have taken measures to co

Dec. 18, 2024

11 areas designated as special disaster zones after last month's snowfall

The government on Wednesday designated 11 areas across the country that suffered serious damage from last month's snowfall as special disaster zones eligible for state support. Acting President Han Duck-soo made the designation on seven cities and counties, including Pyeongtaek and Yongin in Gyeonggi Province, as well as four towns and villages, such as Anheung in Gangwon Province, according to the interior ministry. On Nov. 26-28, up to more than 40 centimeters of snow fell in the areas, l

Dec. 18, 2024

Secret service rejects search request for presidential office servers

The Presidential Security Service refused to comply with a search and seizure warrant regarding access to the presidential office's computer servers, according to a joint investigation unit probing the Dec. 3 martial law declaration, Wednesday. According to the interagency investigation unit, the Presidential Security Service submitted an official statement to the investigators at 4:50 p.m., citing “military secrets” and “official confidentiality” as reasons for its

Dec. 18, 2024

Will Yoon be caught up in yet another scandal?

A shaman reportedly close to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, was arrested by the prosecution Tuesday in connection with political funding allegations, drawing attention to whether the case will turn up new allegations related to the presidential couple. The prosecution announced that its joint investigation unit on virtual asset crimes arrested the 64-year-old shaman surnamed Jeon and initiated a search and seizure operation at his house in relation to political funding during the 2018 loc

Dec. 18, 2024

Prosecutors transfer Yoon’s martial law case to CIO

South Korea’s prosecution will transfer the martial law case surrounding President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, amid controversy over “overlapping investigations.” On Wednesday, the CIO announced that it had concluded with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office that it will now take over the case involving Yoon and Lee. The move comes 10 days after the CIO requested the prosecution tran

Dec. 18, 2024

Constitutional Court tells Yoon to submit Cabinet meeting minutes

The Constitutional Court of Korea said Wednesday that it had requested President Yoon Suk Yeol submit the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held just prior to the Dec. 3 martial law declaration, as well as other evidence, by Dec. 24. The court, which is tasked with upholding or overturning Yoon’s impeachment, told the press that it sent an email to Yoon on Tuesday regarding the order and asked him to submit a copy of the martial law decree, a list of evidence and a plan to prove the case agai

Dec. 18, 2024