Below is a full, official translation of President Yoon Suk Yeol's address to the nation on Thursday. My fellow Koreans, I stand here today to clarify my position regarding the declaration of martial law. The opposition parties are currently going berserk, claiming that the declaration of martial law equates to insurrection. Is what they claim true? Who are these forces paralyzing state affairs and disrupting the constitution in the Republic of Korea? Over the past two and a half years, t

Politics Dec. 12, 2024

A majority of ruling People Power Party lawmakers have left the main chamber of the National Assembly after voting on the bill for a special counsel probe into the first lady, in line with the party’s position of boycotting the vote on the motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. Despite the ruling party’s stance, some lawmakers, including Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, remained in their seats in the main chamber. More news to follow.

Politics Dec. 7, 2024

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in the early hours of Thursday, 19 kilometers southeast of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. According to the KMA, the initial earthquake occurred at about 4:55 a.m., followed by five tremors ranging up to 1.5 magnitude until 5:50 a.m. The earthquake led to emergency national disaster alert across the country being sent out about 8 seconds after the event was detected. No reports of damages or injuries have been

Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2023

For Kim Ju-ho, a student of Korean music at Seoul National University, language takes two forms -- one expressed through his vocal cords and the other through kkwaenggwari. “(Kkwaenggwari music) is another language for projecting myself,” Kim said, describing his relationship with the instrument. Kkwaenggwari is a traditional percussion instrument made of brass that is beaten with a wooden mallet. The instrument is known for its distinctive metallic clang that is used to set the rhyt

Culture July 29, 2023

A woman has been taken into custody on suspicion of murdering her two newborn children, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police revealed Wednesday. According to the police, a woman in her 30s was taken into custody in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, after the bodies of two babies were found in her fridge. The children were born in November 2018, and November 2019, but were killed immediately and their bodies stored in the fridge, according to reports. The suspect is said to have told the police that she kill

Social Affairs June 21, 2023

A man in his 40s has been apprehended for murdering his neighbor, Suwon Nambu Police Station said Monday. According to the police, the man killed his next door neighbor and then reported the incident to the police saying “(I) killed my next door neighbor over noise issues.” The police found the suspect at the scene of the crime. He had collapsed near the victim’s body with self-inflicted wounds. The wounds sustained by the suspect are not thought to be life threatening. Accordi

Social Affairs May 9, 2023

A Busan court on Thursday reduced the sentence for a man charged with killing his father on the day of his mother’s funeral, citing petitions from his family and for showing remorse. The Busan High Court on Thursday reduced the 56-year old man’s sentence to 27 years in prison from the previous 30-year imprisonment. The court cited petitions from the man’s sister, wife and son pleading for leniency, and the man showing remorse for his crime during the appeal. The 56-year old man

Social Affairs March 30, 2023

There will be "no major difficulties” in lifting the rule to wear face masks on public transportation in the country, and a decision is likely after Wednesday, Jung Ki-suck, chief of the country’s COVID-19 response team said Monday. Speaking at a briefing Monday, Jung said that the matter of changing the mask mandate for public transportation into an “advisory” had been brought to the advisory board, and that most of the experts on the board agreed with the idea. &ld

Social Affairs March 13, 2023

A man in his 50s has been indicted under detention on charges of damaging private and and public property. According to the Busan prosecutors’ office, the man used a hammer to damage windows and doors at a police outpost in Busan on Feb. 28. The suspect is reported to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time, and cited discord with the local police for his actions. The suspect, who has a history of causing public disturbance under the influence of alcohol, is also reported to h

Social Affairs March 13, 2023

South Korea’s disease control authorities are considering lifting the mask mandate on public transport. The mask mandate, introduced to prevent the spread of COVID-19, has mostly been lifted here, with the exception of on public transportation and at high-risk facilities such as hospitals. The central disease control team has been discussing the possibility of lifting the public transport mask mandate with experts, according to government officials. The final decision will be made after th

Social Affairs March 9, 2023

A woman and two men have been arrested and put on trial for forcing a woman into prostitution for three years, the Daegu District Prosecutors’ Office said Wednesday. Another suspect has been indicted without detention. According to the prosecution, the victim was beaten, tortured and forced into prostitution by the three suspects from October 2019 to September 2022. The suspects forced the victim to carry out prostitution on about 2,500 occasions, and took the proceeds amounting to 500 mil

Social Affairs March 9, 2023

Three Vietnamese nationals have been fined for neutering a cat without anesthesia, filming the process and posting the video online. According to reports, one of the individuals neutered a male cat without anesthesia while the other two looked on in January last year at one of the individuals’ homes in Gwangju. None of the individuals are licensed veterinarians. All three were found guilty of violating the Animal Protection Act, and were fined 2 million won ($1,500), 1 million won and 700,

Social Affairs March 9, 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria is visiting Korea to attend the "World Bio Summit," which is co-organized by the Korean government and WHO (World Health Organization). Due to geographical distance, Nigeria is not well-known to the Korean public. However, Nigeria has the biggest economy in Africa; with the world’s 6th largest population of 220 million; and abundant natural resources. Nigeria plays the leading role in West Africa and the African Union. It is also an active

Foreign Affairs Oct. 24, 2022

On Sept. 13, the Korean drama “Squid Game” won six awards at the 74th Emmy Awards, including those for outstanding lead actor and outstanding directing for a drama series -- the first non-English TV series to do so. “Squid Game” enjoyed explosive popularity internationally, made history, and received high praise at home and abroad. It seemed like an event that deserves to sweep the world at least once. In this sense, we cannot help but recall director Bong Joon-ho&rsq

Foreign Affairs Oct. 5, 2022

Now is the time for Korea and China to look back on the past, face the present and talk about the future. Over the past 30 years, Korea-China relations have developed explosively. The establishment of Korea-China diplomatic relations was an important turning point in advancing the new era of prosperity in Northeast Asia. And now both Korea and China have grown into the core countries in the international community. China has grown into a major powerhouse in the international community, and Korea

Foreign Affairs Sept. 21, 2022