Efforts to live up to being global player will be hallmark of Yoon’s presidency

At least five people died and 37 people were injured as of 5 p.m. Thursday as a fire engulfed a soundproof tunnel on a highway in Gwacheon, southern Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday afternoon. President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the Interior Ministry and Health Ministry to conduct a thorough search at the scene of the incident to prevent more deaths. He also ordered an all-out inspection of the road structures like sound barriers to check whether the materials used are fire-prone, in a move to preve

The first sunrise of 2023 is expected to be seen at 7:26 a.m. from Dokdo, the easternmost part of Korea, with a forecast of clear skies, according to the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute on Thursday. The last sunset of 2022 will begin at 5:05 p.m, it said. Clear skies are expected for the last day of 2022 and the first day of 2023, making for spectacular sunset and sunrise views, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Until Jan. 3 of the new year, the country will generally h

Days after local media reported that volleyball player Jo Jae-sung tried to avoid his mandatory military service, OK Financial Group OKman’s opposite striker admitted his guilt in a social media post late Wednesday night, saying he had attempted draft evasion with a local broker. “I’m sincerely sorry. I’ve committed an unforgivable crime. I was ignorant because I only knew volleyball,” the Instagram post read, calling it a case of "blurred judgment." All a

President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered South Korean military to protect the peace on the peninsula by preparing overwhelming war capabilities, during a visit to a defense development agency on Thursday in the wake of Pyongyang's airspace invasion. “If we are to achieve peace, we must prepare for war with overwhelming superiority,” Yoon said. “We must clearly realize that a disguised peace cannot protect (our) security, and its foundation will collapse.” Reiterating his

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it would raise the fares for the public transit system in South Korea's capital by as early as April 2023 for the first time in about eight years. While the city did not confirm the degree of the fare increase, it projected subway and bus fares to rise by 300 won (24 cents) to keep the public transportation system afloat. Currently, adults in Seoul pay 1,250 won for a regular subway fare and 1,200 won for a regular bus ride. The fare

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below the 80,000 mark on Thursday, with health authorities remaining cautious to prevent a wintertime surge. The country confirmed 71,427 new coronavirus infections, including 72 from overseas, bringing the total to 28,931,140, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Thursday's tally is lower than 87,517 cases reported on the previous day and down from 75,729 a week ago. The KDCA reported 76 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has laid out ways to enhance the role of suborganizations of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, attending the third-day session of the party's plenary meeting, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday. During the enlarged meeting of the WPK's central committee Wednesday, Kim stressed the need to spur the "fighting efficiency" of party organizations and conduct party duties in a fresher manner, according to the Korean Central News Agency

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday ordered the military to “punish and retaliate against any North Korean provocations in no uncertain terms” without the fear of nuclear weapons, amid growing public concern about security in the aftermath of the cross-border infiltration of North Korean drones. Speaking at a meeting with aides, Yoon said that immediate retaliation is the “most powerful means to deter provocations,” according to Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary

Oh seeks to change response to addiction from punitive to therapeutic

A man who confessed to killing a woman and a taxi driver this week was arrested Wednesday, amid a widening probe into alleged serial killing. The Goyang Branch Court of Uijeongbu District Court in northwestern Gyeonggi Province issued an arrest warrant for the unnamed 32-year-old on charges of beating a 60-year-old taxi driver to death and concealing the body inside a closet in his house in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, citing concerns about him destroying evidence and fleeing. The arrest warrant

Plan aims to make Seoul rule setter dealing with global issues

Korea Communications Commission designated 17 institutions Tuesday, to take down sexually abusive material distributed online on behalf of the victims, at request. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family defines digital sex crime as taking photos or videos of a person's body or part of the body without consent with cameras or any other digital devices, as well as distributing, threatening to distribute, downloading, displaying, or buying and selling the illegally captured material, and

A special delegation led by the ruling People Power Party’s interim chief, Chung Jin-suk, will attend the inauguration ceremony of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Jan. 1, the presidential office said Wednesday. Chung will deliver a letter from President Yoon Suk-yeol expressing his expectation to “work closely with the new Brazilian government to further deepen and develop the comprehensive cooperative partnership” between the two countries. Elected for the thi

Global cities have already started competing to be the host city for the 2030 World Expo, and South Korea’s largest coastal city Busan is one of them. The World Expo is a world fair that takes place every five years and is a place where representatives from over 170 countries meet to share ideas, technology, and culture. Every World Expo has a different objective to tackle a global issue. The city of Busan wants to highlight the problem of rising sea levels and hopes to be a global leader