Son Woong-jung, the father of South Korean football star Son Heung-min and director of his namesake football academy, has been questioned by prosecutors over his child abuse allegations, sources said Wednesday. Per sources, prosecutors in Chuncheon, some 75 kilometers northeast of Seoul, questioned Son and two of his coaches at Son Football Academy on Tuesday over charges that they had physically and verbally abused a young player. The academy is also located in the same Gangwon Province town. O

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited major munitions and machinery factories, calling for efforts to expand production in the overall economic sector, according to state media Wednesday. The inspection took place Tuesday, a day after North Korea wrapped up four days of a plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Accompanied by party officials, Kim visited a defense industrial enterprise, which the North s

North Korea's obnoxious sending of trash-filled balloons to South Korea is a "form of soft terrorism," a US think tank report said Tuesday, stressing it should not be taken lightly though it reflects the recalcitrant regime's "weakness" and "insecurity." Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Andy Lim, an associate fellow with the CSIS Korea Chair, released the report that analy

The Minimum Wage Commission on Tuesday voted down a proposal to adopt different rates by industry next year. In a vote that took place during the commission's plenary session at the government complex in the central city of Sejong, 15 were against the different minimum wage rates, while 11 were in favor. There was one invalid vote. Since differentiated minimum wages were adopted for the first time in 1988, the same minimum wage has been set annually across all industrial sectors. The ma

Yoon’s impeachment ‘not possible’ unless he violated law: presidential office

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday reaffirmed his country’s stance backing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, stressing its consistent support for peace and stability. “It is Vietnam’s consistent stance to support the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, alongside peace, stability and cooperation,” Chinh said in an opening speech ahead of a closed-door meeting with his counterpart, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, at the Government Complex Se

Teachers and parents at a middle school in Gwangju have strongly protested a lack of action by school officials, who failed to report to authorities a recent violent outburst by a student wielding a knife. According to the Gwangju branch of the Korean Teachers and Educational Worker's Union, 25 of the 27 teachers of the school submitted a petition to the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education on Tuesday calling for its principal and vice principal to be replaced. "The principal did n

Low birth rates are not just statistics; their implications are evident across various aspects of Korean society, including the vacation scene. As childless couples and solo vacationers emerge as key target customers, more South Korean hotels and resorts are adopting adults-only policies to cultivate a serene and sophisticated ambience for adult guests. This trend, coming on top of an increase in “no-kid” venues in the country, raises questions about inclusivity and how to balance

A high school student boy has stabbed his female classmate and jumped out of a high-rise apartment building while on the run -- the latter suspected to be a suicide attempt. The girl sustained a serious injury and is currently recovering from surgery. Meanwhile, the boy remains in a serious condition as of Tuesday. According to Ansan Danwon Police Station in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, the suspect launched the attack on the victim at around 3:40 p.m. on Monday, in the bathroom at a hagwon they bot

Seoul's first K-pop specialized performance venue, Seoul Arena cultural complex, in Chang-dong in Dobong District, northern Seoul, officially commenced construction on Tuesday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced. The groundbreaking ceremony took place at the construction site in Chang-dong on Tuesday afternoon. Key attendees included Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a, First Vice Minister of Culture Chun Byong-geuk, Dobong-gu District Head Oh Un-Seok, Nowon-gu District

Of victims, four were bank employees celebrating colleague's promotion; families devastated by sudden deaths

68-year-old driver claims sudden unintended acceleration; car experts say negligence likely behind crash

Debate over scrapped government plans to issue limited driving permits to older people resurfaces in light of Monday’s accident

Students of multinational background increase 272% since 2012, Cho says

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh lauded South Korean investments for driving Vietnam's economic development. Speaking at a business forum on Monday in Seoul, the prime minister highlighted Korea's position as the largest foreign investor in Vietnam. "Korea is the largest investor among the 146 countries investing in Vietnam, with more than $87 billion in over 10,000 projects. We highly value the contribution of Korean companies to Vietnam’s economic and social d