South Korea will stage the first government-wide drill against North Korean nuclear attack scenarios as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield, an annual joint and combined exercise with the United States. The UFS this year is set to take place from Aug. 19 to 29, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command on Monday. The South Korean JCS said alongside the military exercises, the government will hold a first-ever drill training officials and staff

Defense Aug. 12, 2024

Conservatives are divided over reports President Yoon Suk Yeol may fully restore the political rights of once-prominent liberal politician Kim Kyung-soo, allowing him to run for public office. Kim, a key ally of former Democratic Party of Korea President Moon Jae-in, was already pardoned last December from serving the remaining five months of his two-year jail term. In 2021, he was sentenced to two years in jail in the Supreme Court for trying to sway voters online by manipulating comments on ne

Politics Aug. 11, 2024

Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik apologized Thursday over high-profile allegations that a Defense Intelligence Command official leaked agents’ identities to Chinese hackers earlier this year. “I would like to apologize to the South Korean people for the public display of the (alleged) leak of military secrets and the bickering that ensued among senior intelligence officials,” Shin said at a National Assembly national defense committee meeting. At Thursday’s defen

Politics Aug. 8, 2024

South Korean military officers have voiced caution over permitting new conscripts cellphones over security concerns, according to the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday. The ministry surveyed officers as a new policy taking effect in September is set to allow soldiers’ use of cellphones more widely. In the survey released by the Defense Ministry, one officer said letting soldiers use cellphones has led to “disruptions in training while violations continue to occur.” &ldq

Defense Aug. 7, 2024

A series of bills targeting foreign espionage were floated in a rare show of bipartisan lawmaking in the National Assembly in the past week, following recent allegations of identity leaks of covert military agents. The bills seeking to expand the scope of punishable foreign espionage here have been proposed by lawmakers from both ruling and main opposition parties, according to the Assembly website on Tuesday. Under the existing laws, foreign espionage is restricted to that perpetrated by an &ld

Politics Aug. 6, 2024

South Korean commandos who died as they escaped from Silmido -- an uninhabited island where they were being trained to kill then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung -- are due to receive an apology from the country’s defense chief for the first time in 53 years. In August 1971, the 24 commandos of South Korea’s secret killer squad fled the island in protest of poor treatment, after over three years of training to infiltrate North Korea and capture its leader. On their way out of Silmido,

Defense Aug. 5, 2024

The National Assembly on Friday voted to pass the impeachment bill against Lee Jin-sook, the contested chair of South Korea’s top broadcasting regulator, the Korea Communications Commission. The bill passed just two days after President Yoon Suk Yeol confirmed her nomination. The lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party walked out of the session to boycott the bill led by the Democratic Party of Korea and minor opposition parties, whose seats take up a majority in the Assembly. The bill&

Politics Aug. 2, 2024

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Foreign lawmakers from 24 countries gathered in Taipei, Taiwan to discuss China’s growing belligerence in the region at an annual meeting Tuesday. There was no South Korean representation at the meeting. South Korea currently has no member lawmakers on the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a group bringing together lawmakers from dozens of countries concerned about how democracies deal with Beijing. Both of the South Korean inaugural co-chairs -- former lawmakers Ji

Politics Aug. 2, 2024

The latest batch of trash-carrying balloons sent by North Korea made their way to South Korea more successfully this time, reportedly causing a fire and falling around the country’s most significant political buildings like the presidential office and the National Assembly. The count of North Korean balloons launched Wednesday stood at around 500 as of Thursday morning, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, with about 480 of them falling within South Korea. No balloons we

Defense July 25, 2024

At least one North Korean balloon carrying trash landed on the grounds shared by the South Korean presidential office and the National Defense Ministry in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Wednesday morning. South Korea’s Presidential Security Service said that some trash dropped by the North Korean balloon was identified on the grounds of the Yongsan presidential office and the adjacent defense ministry. The balloon contained mostly scraps of paper and plastic, according to the South Korean mili

Politics July 24, 2024

The ruling People Power Party wrapped up its 2024 national convention on Tuesday with Han Dong-hoon back at its helm. At the finale of the convention in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, Han emerged victorious in the contentious four-way race to be the party’s chair. He won more than 62 percent of the ballots from the 408,272 registered voters who participated, according to the party’s final count. In his victory speech, the former justice minister said he wanted to transform his party into

Politics July 23, 2024

As South Korea’s ruling People Power Party counts down to the national convention set for Tuesday, Han Dong-hoon -- the leading candidate for the party’s top post -- was seen promoting his views on former US President Donald Trump in a last-minute move to set himself apart from his main challengers. Han on Sunday posted to Facebook saying, “The South Korea-US alliance is at the core of our country’s progress in diplomacy, defense, economy and science, as well as peace in

Politics July 22, 2024

The National Assembly forum for potentially arming South Korea with nuclear weapons, the Mugunghwa Forum, kicked off Tuesday. The ruling People Power Party Rep. Yu Yong-weon, the Mugunghwa Forum’s founding president, said in remarks delivered at the inaugural ceremony that the forum will discuss policies and strategies for cultivating what he has termed the country’s “nuclear potential.” “I am pleased that the forum is taking off on this day at the National Assembly

Politics July 9, 2024

Rep. Kim Gunn of the ruling People Power Party on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require the government to take steps to implement United Nations Security Council resolutions. The bill establishes a legal framework for ensuring that the UN Security Council resolutions can take effect here, so that South Korea can fulfill its obligations as a member, the first-time lawmaker said. Explaining the rationale behind the bill, he pointed to the Supreme Court ruling from two years ago which said t

Politics July 9, 2024

A loud, booming voice bellowed throughout the room in the National Assembly members’ office building in western Seoul. As he spoke with The Korea Herald, switching between fluent English and Korean, Rep. Ihn Yohan of the ruling People Power Party pointed to a Hanja idiom framed and hung on the wall of his office that translates as: “There is no place where more milk and honey flows than Suncheon.” The city of Suncheon, the largest in South Jeolla Province, holds a special place

Politics July 8, 2024