President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted a dinner for businesspeople from small and medium-sized enterprises Thursday as part of efforts to praise their contribution to the economy, featuring surprise menu items: spicy chicken ramyeon and frozen gimbap. Yoon attended the annual SMEs Entrepreneur's Day held at the presidential office for the third consecutive year, which drew around 500 people from SMEs, venture companies and startups. The guests also included Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong

A Seoul court on Thursday rejected a request by embattled popera star Kim Ho-joong to postpone an arrest warrant application hearing on his reckless driving charges. The previous day, prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant for Kim on charges of ramming into a stationary taxi in the opposite lane with his vehicle late on the night of May 9 in Seoul's southern Gangnam district while driving drunk. He then allegedly left the scene without taking post-accident measures. The Seoul Central Dis

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula, as well as the Seoul-Washington alliance, the presidential office said Thursday. During the meeting held in Seoul with Pompeo, who served as the top US diplomat under then President Donald Trump from 2018 to 2021, Yoon asked him to continue to pay close attention to South Korea's efforts to seek peace on the Korean Peninsula backed by the strong alliance. Yoon also e

South Korea asked the Czech Republic on Thursday to pay closer attention to the ongoing bilateral efforts for cooperation in the commercial nuclear power plant sector, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Kim Hee-sang, deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, delivered the request to Petr Tresnak, deputy industry minister of the Czech Republic, during their joint economic dialogue earlier in the day, the ministry said. Kim used the session to highlight South Korean industry's strengths

South Korea remains committed to respecting the "One China" policy amid tensions in the Taiwan Strait following the inauguration ceremony of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te earlier this week, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Earlier in the day, China's military began two days of what it calls "punishment" drills around the island, just days after the inauguration ceremony, which Beijing strongly condemned. "There is no change in our government's stance of r

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun visited the Iranian Embassy in Seoul on Thursday to extend condolences over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this week, a Seoul official said. The official said South Korean Ambassador to Iran Kim Jun-pyo plans to attend a memorial service to pay respects to the late president on behalf of the government as soon as the venue is arranged by Tehran. Iran's state media confirmed Raisi's deat

Summer in South Korea this year is expected to be hotter than usual, with similar or more heavy rainfall than the average, the Korea Meteorological Administration said on Thursday. "Amid seeing the frequent occurrences of abnormal weather worldwide, such as heat waves exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in Southeast Asia and floods in the United Arab Emirates, Korea is also forecast to have hotter temperatures (this summer) than in the last 30 years’ average, with the possibility of more rai

An international student studying in South Korea was caught riding a bicycle in public while naked, allegedly due to stress, local police said Thursday. The 23-year-old, who was only identified as a Chonnam National University student who is from an African country, is under investigation for public indecency, according to the Gwangju Bukbu Police Station. He is accused of taking off all his clothes and riding a bike at around 11:34 a.m. on Wednesday near the dormitory of his school, located in

People Power Party interim leader meets former President Moon Jae-in for first time since Yoon took office

Trilateral summit likely to shy away from sensitive topics centering around East Asia

Satellite to be launched to space in 2031

South Korean workers' average annual salary hit high of $48,922 in 2022, nearing OECD average, but women earn only 68.8 percent of what men do

Test run to last for three months, beginning this Saturday

The body of a woman in her 40s had been found in the waters near the Haeundae Beach in Busan, local coast guard said Thursday. Officials at the Busan Coast Guard said they received a report of what appears to be a person floating in the water at around 8:57 p.m. on Wednesday. Officials found that it was a woman, wearing everyday clothes. Initial inspection of her body showed that she had drowned to death, and that she had no signs of physical trauma. Officials noted that it does not seem likely

The busiest subway station in the Seoul Metro system in terms of daily users was Jamsil Station on Line Nos. 2 and 8, the main operator of the metro system for the nation's capital and parts of the surrounding cities said Thursday. According to the Seoul Metro, 155,229 people used the Jamsil Station between January and April of this year. The state-run company surveyed the ridership for each station, based on the number of people who either entered or exited the system at the said station.