The deputy director of the South Korean spy agency said Friday that President Yoon Suk Yeol had ordered him to arrest prominent political figures including the leaders of both the ruling and multiple opposition parties on Tuesday night following his sudden declaration of martial law. Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, told the National Assembly that he had been ordered to take into custody several prominent political figures, revealing the names of 11

Politics Dec. 6, 2024

A total of 1,610 school workers with non-guaranteed contracts across the country participated in a one-day strike Friday, disrupting lunch plans at 220 schools, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. The strike, led by an umbrella group of unions representing "non-regular" workers, was held in protest of their wage disparity with school workers with guaranteed contracts. Korean companies usually sign permanent employment contracts with their "regular workers,&quo

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2024

The National Election Commission on Friday said the government dispatching soldiers to its offices Tuesday night was a clear violation of South Korea's Constitution and also of other laws, vowing legal action against those responsible. "After the emergency martial law was declared on Dec. 3, about 300 martial law forces forced their way into the NEC headquarters and other offices. ... The troops confiscated the cellphones of five officials, blocked off the entrances and set a perimeter

Politics Dec. 6, 2024

A North Korean defector who escaped the communist state with eight other members of his family last year has died, a fellow defector said through his YouTube channel Thursday. Kim Yi-hyeok, who made headlines in May 2023 with the dramatic escape, died in a sea diving accident on Wednesday, another defector, Lee Cheol-eun, said on an online community. "The tragic news of Kim Yi-hyeok, who left repressive North Korea and only had happy days to live in democratic South Korea, breaks my heart

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2024

The operator of the Seoul subway system reached a last-minute deal in wage negotiations with unionized workers early Friday, avoiding an all-out strike that was slated to begin the same day. Seoul Metro inked the deal with all three of its labor unions, which took the 2.5 percent wage increase based on the government guidelines. The two parties also compromised on the state-run company's plans to reduce staff, with Seoul Metro pledging to hire some 630 new employees instead of the initially

Social Affairs Dec. 6, 2024

Employees of South Korea’s major railway system were headed toward a general strike on Thursday, as the operator of the Seoul's subway system struggled to settle their differences with labor unions over salaries and layoff plans. The employees of Seoul Metro were to go on a strike starting Friday if negotiations fall through, which will mark the third year straight since 2022. Subway users in the nation's capital region are already experiencing delays and cancellations, amid th

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2024

The emergency martial law declared Tuesday night by President Yoon Suk Yeol lasted just six hours, but the aftermath is still being felt by both Koreans travelling abroad and those visiting the country. As of Thursday, several countries across the world have issued travel advisories of varying levels for those seeking to travel here. The US government, in an alert issued late Tuesday following President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law, which remained in effect as of Thursday af

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2024

A captain of a fishing boat was sentenced to 28 years in prison for murdering one of his crew and discarding the body at sea, after subjecting the victim to over a month of abuse. The Mokpo Branch of the Gwangju District Court said Thursday that it found the 45-year-old defendant guilty of murder and abandonment of a corpse. Another 48-year-old crew member, the vessel's chief cook, was also found guilty of abandoning a corpse and inflicting violence upon the victim. The three men had crew

Social Affairs Dec. 5, 2024

Insights into President Yoon Suk Yeol's reasoning behind his ill-fated martial law declaration emerged late Wednesday during a meeting among key figures of the ruling bloc. It appeared that the president anticipated the measure's rejection by parliament but proceeded nonetheless, framing it as “a warning to the opposition party.” Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party and a participant in the meeting, dismissed Yoon’s claim afterward, saying, &ld

Politics Dec. 5, 2024

The most preferred career for elementary school students is professional athlete while middle and high school students picked teaching as their dream job, according to a government report Wednesday. The Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training and the Ministry of Education surveyed 38,481 students, parents and faculty members at 1,200 schools across the country from May 23 to June 31 to ask about their future plans. Some 12.9 percent of the elementary school students said t

Social Affairs Dec. 4, 2024

While most politicians berated President Yoon Suk Yeol for an "unconstitutional and illegal" declaration of martial law, a handful of conservative politicians expressed their support for the beleaguered president. One of the biggest names to openly support the president's move is Hwang Kyo-ahn, a member of the ruling People Power Party who was prime minister under ex-President Park Geun-hye. On coattails of Yoon declaring martial law on Tuesday night, Hwang wrote in a Facebook p

Politics Dec. 4, 2024

One of the soldiers mobilized during the martial law declared on Tuesday was seen apologizing to citizens, in a YouTube video posted by a local journalist early Wednesday. Heo Jae-hyeon, an investigative reporter, posted a video of the South Korean troops leaving the National Assembly in the early hours of Wednesday. One of the soldiers who crossed paths with Heo and others gathered at the building -- most of whom were there to protest President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law -- bowed his he

Social Affairs Dec. 4, 2024

A photo of soldiers mobilized during martial law suggests that the military armed them with live ammunition, a local media outlet reported Wednesday. Kyunghang Shinmun revealed a photo, which it received from one of its readers, that showed Army soldiers sitting next to what appear to be boxes of live bullets at the National Assembly sometime between late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Another photo showed a soldier carrying what is believed to be a box of ammunition while entering the legislature

Social Affairs Dec. 4, 2024

The notion that a democratic-era South Korean president would declare martial law in a non-combat situation would’ve appeared far-fetched even a day ago. But what had been dismissed by the presidential office as a cock-and-bull story to "shake the administration" became reality Tuesday night, as the country saw emergency martial law declared for the first time since the days of military dictatorship. Now some people are questioning whether members of the main opposition Democrati

Politics Dec. 4, 2024

Here are what some of South Korea’s prominent political figures had to say about Tuesday night’s martial law drama initiated by President Yoon Suk Yeol and ended by the National Assembly, controlled by Yoon's political foes. Han Dong-hoon, chair of the ruling People Power Party - "(Yoon) should immediately sack the minister of national defense, and hold liable anyone who is responsible." * The defense minister was identified as the key person who advised Yoon

Social Affairs Dec. 4, 2024