Senior diplomats from South Korea and the United States discussed the need for a joint response to potential ramifications from overcapacity in China's solar industry during their talks on energy security in Houston, Texas this week, a Seoul official said Friday. South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Hee-sang made the remarks as he and US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt led the 10th Energy Security Dialogue on Tues

South Korea's top prosecutor has instructed his staff to create a team dedicated to investigating allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee accepted a luxury handbag in 2022, legal sources said Friday. Prosecutor General Lee One-seok made the call during a regular meeting with Song Kyung-ho, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, on Thursday, according to the sources. First lady Kim has come under fire after a local media outlet released video footage last November that show

Lawmakers denounced Japan's actions against South Korea's top internet portal operator as "excessive," saying they potentially throw cold water on the improving bilateral relations, and urged Japan on Friday to quickly and wisely resolve a simmering row over Japan's demand for South Korea's internet platform operator to reduce its presence in Japan's most popular mobile messenger app. Tokyo demanded LY Corp., the operator of Line, the most widely used messenger

Hundreds of medical school students have filed an appeal against a district court's recent decision to deny an injunction they sought to halt their schools from increasing admission quotas, their lawyer said Friday. Earlier this week, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed an injunction request filed by 485 medical students of three state-run universities to stop their university presidents from altering medical school admission plans. The legal action was part of several suits filed by

South Korea, China and Japan agreed Friday to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, by launching a new financing facility program meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis, Seoul's finance ministry said. The agreement was made during a trilateral meeting of South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and China's Finance Minister Liu Kun held

Leaders, policy makers, industry experts and investors discuss foreign investments, reforms and strategies to achieve Uzbekistan's ambitions

Eastern Germany Commissioner Carsten Schneider on Friday emphasized the paramount importance of South Korean leadership steadfastly pursuing the goal of unification and remaining vigilant in monitoring the North Korean situation, in order to capitalize on any unforeseen opportunity for achieving unity on the Korean Peninsula. Schneider said that certain events unfold not by random chance, but rather at unforeseeable moments, reflecting on world history, after being asked about the feasibility of

A woman who was hanging from overhead power lines was rescued unharmed after falling onto a blanket held by neighbors, fire authorities reported Friday. Police and fire officials say they received a report at 11:24 a.m. on Wednesday about a woman dangling from power lines 6 meters above the ground in a multiplex housing complex in Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The woman was later identified as being 46 years old and from Uzbekistan. She fell while firefighters were still in

The rival parties appointed new leadership roles on Friday, with the main opposition electing its new floor leader, while an ex-deputy minister took the helm of the ruling party, as they brace for the next parliament. The Democratic Party of Korea elected Rep. Park Chan-dae, a current two-term lawmaker reelected for another term in the April 10 parliamentary elections and a close aide of main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, as its new floor leader at an intra-party general meeting held around n

Twice as many women say they have no intention on getting married than men

The corruption investigation office for high-level officials has called in key suspects for questioning over allegations that presidential and defense officials interfered in a sensitive military inquiry concerning the on-duty death of a Marine last year, multiple sources said Friday. Yoo Jae-eun, a legal affairs official at the defense ministry, and Park Kyung-hoon, a former acting chief of the Criminal Investigation Command under the defense ministry, underwent the Corruption Investigation Off

More than 590 out of 9,900 resident doctors have returned to their training hospitals, according to the ministry

A bill proposed by the ruling People Power Party last year to incorporate the city of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, into Seoul currently faces termination due to not being introduced even to a parliamentary subcommittee, according to the National Assembly on Friday. According to the National Assembly’s Bill Information website, no further discussions regarding the Special Act on the Change of Jurisdiction Between Gyeonggi Province and Seoul have been made since the bill was presented by Rep. C

The Korean government is seeking to employ a professional calligrapher as a civil servant to be responsible for crafting letters of appointment for high-ranking civil servants in the name of the South Korean president, according to the Ministry of Personnel Management. The ministry on Thursday announced its plan to hire a professional calligrapher by May 13. The position of calligrapher is the rarest among Korean public officials, with only four calligraphers hired by the government in the 62 ye

Children and teenagers in South Korea have not only gotten taller compared to 10 years ago but also tend to mature at an earlier age, a recent report from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed. The ministry-affiliated Korean Agency for Technology and Standards conducted research on the body measurements of 1,118 South Koreans aged between 7 and 19, the results of which were presented at Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul on Thursday. The report showed growth among all age groups and