NewJeans will be the first K-pop girl group to perform at one of Japan’s largest year-end festivals, "Countdown Japan 24/25," the group's agency announced Thursday. Countdown Japan 24/25 will take place from Dec. 28-31 at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, and NewJeans will perform on the final day, adorning the last day of 2024. Countdown Japan is Japan's largest indoor year-end festival, established in 2003, featuring Japan’s top artists every year. Following their appear

South Korea’s transformer industry is booming thanks to rising global demand for clean energy and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Leading Korean manufacturers like HD Hyundai Electric and Hyosung Heavy Industries have seen a significant surge in orders for their high-capacity transformers, which are essential for handling the massive electricity loads required by renewable energy projects and data centers supporting AI. With their order books full and growing, these companies are n

South Korean prosecutors on Thursday requested an appellate court to hand a 25-year prison term to a 20-year-old over the death of a mentally disabled 18-year-old, who died after the accused pushed him into the sea for losing a game. Prosecutors want the defendant convicted of murder, after a lower court found him guilty only of a lesser offence. He pushed the victim into the sea in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, on Feb.1. The defendant lured the victim to the port by suggesting to go fishing,

Seoul police have uncovered six companies accused of mass-sending phishing messages beginning with “international sender” under the direction of criminal organizations, authorities said Thursday. After investigating the six firms from May to October this year, police sent 20 individuals -- among them a key operator named Kim, his employees and system developers – to the prosecution on charges of violating the Telecommunications Business Act and the Information and Communicati

A woman accused of causing her newborn's death and then hiding the baby's body was sentenced to a four-year prison term by a local court, officials said Thursday. Daejeon District Court on Oct. 26 found the defendant guilty of violating Article 4 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes, death resulting from child abuse. The defendant in her 30s was held responsible for the death of her child, who died a week after being born in September 2019. The de

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating has fallen to a new low in the latest Gallup Korea poll released Friday, coming in at a record 17 percent. The results, however, do not reflect reactions to Thursday’s press conference, which was met with mixed reactions. The poll, conducted between Nov. 5 and 7, indicated that public sentiment has further deteriorated, with only 17 percent rating Yoon’s performance positively -- 2 percentage points lower than two weeks ago. Over the sa

Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker at the center of a growing political scandal, appeared before prosecutors Friday for questioning over allegations of receiving illicit funds from a former ruling party lawmaker in exchange for his assistance with her candidacy in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections in violation of political funding laws. Myung, who runs a public polling agency, arrived at the Changwon District Prosecutors Office in the city about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul at

South Korea fired a Hyunmoo-II surface-to-surface ballistic missile into the Yellow Sea this week in a show of force after North Korea's recent series of missile launches, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday. The live-fire exercise took place Thursday in the western coastal county of Taean, 108 kilometers southwest of Seoul, days after North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles Tuesday and a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week. Under a scenario of a North Korean

A fishing boat carrying 27 people sank off the coast of Jeju Island on Friday, leaving two dead and 12 missing as authorities set up an emergency task force for rescue operations. As of Friday morning, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is commanding rescue operations at the emergency headquarters in Jeju City. Dozens of vessels and multiple aircraft from the Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force and the civilian sector are conducting search and rescue operations in the waters off Biyangdo Island. Pr

The South Korean central bank said Friday uncertainties have grown over global growth, inflation, and monetary policy paths of major economies following Donald Trump's presidential election victory, vowing enhanced market monitoring and timely responses. Bank of Korea Deputy Gov. Ryoo Sang-dai made the comment during a meeting meant to check the market situation after the Federal Reserve on Thursday decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage point, the second consecutive

On Nov. 16, President Yoon Suk Yeol will participate in the APEC Leaders' Summit in Lima, coinciding with his official visit to Peru. This is a significant occasion as Korea will assume the presidency of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for 2025, a forum which serves as the primary platform for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past 35 years, APEC has effectively promoted trade and investment integration in the world's most dynamic economic region, which curren

Photos of a woman practicing yoga in green leggings in front of Gyeongbokgung in Seoul have stirred up debate online. The incident occurred when a woman, 37, from Hanoi, Vietnam shared photos on TikTok showing herself doing a yoga handstand pose in front of the stone wall surrounding Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), during a visit to Seoul, Sunday. The photos went viral on social media, drawing criticism for being "rude," "disgraceful" a

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, after the US Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point. The Korean won also sharply gained against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 25.57 points, or 1 percent, to 2,590.2 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The rate cut marked the second consecutive reduction following a 50-basis-point cut in September. The move came after Republican flag