Korean American Sen.-elect Andy Kim stressed the need Thursday to make sure that President-elect Donald Trump's "America First" policy does not mean "America only," as he expressed concerns over some of Trump's personnel choices. Kim, the first Korean American elected to the upper chamber of Congress, made the remarks, underscoring his position against an "isolationist" foreign policy and vowing to play a role to reinforce the relationship between South Ko

President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Peru on Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and meet world leaders to discuss security and economic issues. On Friday, Yoon will deliver a keynote speech as South Korea prepares to host next year's APEC summit and join the main session and CEO summit. On the same day, Yoon is scheduled to hold a trilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the margins of the summit. On Saturday, he

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, have held talks on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Peru, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. The top diplomats of the two nations held a meeting in Lima on Thursday to discuss bilateral ties and North Korean issues, according to the ministry. It marked the first in-person meeting between Cho and Iwaya since the top Japanese diplomat took office last month with the launch of the new

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discussed bilateral ties and concerns about North Korea's troop dispatch to Russia, vowing close coordination against Pyongyang and Moscow's growing alignment, Cho's office said Friday. Cho and Blinken held talks on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Peru on Thursday, where the top diplomats accompanied their leaders on the APEC summit. In the meeting, both sides expressed c

The upcoming trilateral summit between South Korea, the United States and Japan in Peru will be a chance for the three countries to discuss a "coordinated" response to North Korea's troop dispatch to support Russia's war in Ukraine, a senior US security official said Thursday. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the remarks as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba are set to hold a trilateral summit on

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is set to be sentenced Friday on charges of lying during the previous presidential campaign when he was a candidate, a decision that will affect whether he can run in the next presidential election in 2027. Lee, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, is accused of lying during a media interview in December 2021 that he did not know the late Kim Moon-ki, a former executive of Seongnam Development Corp., which was behind a corruption-ridden development

US President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is aiming to end a tax credit for electric vehicle (EV) purchases, a key element of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, as part of broader tax reform legislation, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two unnamed sources. The potential repealing of the $7,500 consumer tax credit is being discussed in meetings by an energy-policy transition team, which is headed by Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources, and North Dakota Go

A regional court on Thursday fined the wife of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung 1.5 million won ($1,070) for providing free meals during her husband's run in the party primary to select the candidate for the 2022 presidential election. Kim Hye-kyung, wife of Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee, was indicted after providing meals worth 104,000 won to the wives of three former and current party lawmakers and three of her aides at a restaurant in Seoul in August 2021, shortly after Lee declar

South Korea's consul general in New York has offered to step down amid growing criticism from the opposition party in Seoul over his personal ties to first lady Kim Keon Hee. In a statement released to media on Wednesday (New York time), Kim Euy-whan said he had already submitted his resignation to the foreign ministry on Oct. 26, following the parliamentary audit where he came under intense scrutiny from opposition party lawmakers. Kim denied that his connection to the first lady was the r

Delivery platforms and their partnered restaurants reached an agreement Thursday on reducing controversial commission fees to 2 to 7.8 percent from the current 9.8 percent starting next year, officials said. The decision came in the 12th round of a meeting held by a government consultative body overseeing the discussions, attended by representatives from Baedal Minjok, or Baemin, as well as smaller competitors Coupang Eats and Yogiyo, along with small business owners registered with these platfo

South Koreans who suffered damage from trash-filled balloons launched by North Korea will now be eligible for compensation. The National Assembly on Thursday passed changes to the laws on civil defense to allow the victims of damage caused by North Korea's trash balloons to seek compensation from the government. Under the revised laws, the government can provide partial or full compensation for those who suffered harm to their health or property as a result of the North Korean balloons. Nor

South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday passed a revision to permit undercover investigations of digital sex crimes targeting adults, in a move to curb the spread of deepfake sexual images rampant online. At a plenary session of the 300-member National Assembly, the bill to revise the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes earned 272 votes in favor out of 273 lawmakers present. The bill expands the range of undercover police investigations from those targeting childr

A bill to appoint a special counsel to investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife Kim Keon Hee passed the National Assembly on Thursday. All 191 lawmakers present voted to pass the bill, which was tabled by the opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The entire ruling People Power Party abstained from casting a ballot. This was the third time a bill for a special counsel to investigate the first lady has been put to vote at the Assembly. The last two times the bill passed, the president veto

Cho Byung-jae, former chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy for training diplomats, says many watchers of the US presidential election in Seoul were caught off guard by Donald Trump’s victory because of a failure to grasp shifts in US conservatism. He was speaking at the Security Forum 2024 co-hosted by The Korea Herald at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday. “Most election forecasts got it wrong this time again, like how they got it wrong in 2016 and then in 20

A pastor who embezzled 367 million won ($261,063) in church funds, including offerings made by church members, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to a court ruling on Thursday. The Seoul Northern District Court said it handed down the prison term last Thursday on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. The defendant, who served as head pastor at a church in Seoul, is accused of misappropriating church funds for personal expenses between 2010 and 2020. With the pocketed funds, t