Korea is a role model for Malaysia in its development of soft and hard power, and the two countries’ relationship has great room for cooperation, said Malaysian Ambassador Lim Juay Jin during a recent interview with The Korea Herald. Citing Keluarga Malaysia, an aspiration of the Malaysian government to forge unity and brotherhood to achieve development, and Korea’s national unity concept, Lim hoped to bring together the aspirations of Malaysia and Korea. “Malaysia aspires to b

Yoon expected to meet with leaders of US, Japan, China amid ongoing diplomatic challenges

The 100-day special counsel investigation into the sexual abuse of Air Force Master Sgt. Lee Ye-ram came to a close on Tuesday, with eight officers indicted on new charges.　 Special counsel Ahn Mi-young told a news conference that the officers of the Air Force’s 20th fighter wing where Lee served appear to have sought to help the perpetrator rather than the victim, and that the military investigators did not actively work to bring justice. “Let this be a warning that when the arme

South Korea's defense ministry warned Tuesday that North Korea's attempt to use nuclear weapons would lead to its "self-destruction," responding to Pyongyang's recent codification of an apparently assertive nuclear policy. Col. Moon Hong-sik, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, issued the warning after the North promulgated a law on its nuclear policy on Thursday last week that hinted at the possibility of the regime launching a preemptive nuclear strike in a contin

Former President Lee Myung-bak, who has been out of prison for health problems, plans to file a request with the prosecution that the suspension of his prison sentence be extended, a lawyer said Tuesday. Lee was released from prison in late June after the prosecution suspended his 17-year prison sentence for three months due to chronic illnesses, including diabetes. The suspension is scheduled to expire later this month. Lee plans to file a request for its extension around this weekend, lawyer K

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday expressed his deepest condolences after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, praising the late queen for showing a spirit of freedom and peace in a changing world. "I express my deepest condolences to the British people and the royal family," Han told a Cabinet meeting. "Through a period of upheaval after World War II, the Queen showed the world a spirit of freedom, peace, service and dedication." Han also expressed hope for South Korea and

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) announced members of its new emergency committee Tuesday, completing transition to a new leadership amid an ongoing dispute with former party leader Lee Jun-seok. Emergency Committee Chairman Chung Jin-suk announced the nine emergency committee members, including Reps. Kim Sang-hoon and Jeong Jeom-sig as well as Joo Ki-hwan, a former investigator at the Supreme Prosecutors Office known as a close aide to President Yoon Suk-yeol. The new members, whose appointm

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases bounced back to surpass 50,000 on Tuesday after reporting a steady decline last week. The country reported 57,309 new COVID-19 infections, including 272 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,099,134, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's tally is up by more than 20,000 from 36,938 a day earlier. Daily infections have slowed after peaking at around 180,000 in mid-August in the latest virus resurgence. The

The number of disposable cups consumed at major cafe and fast food chains topped 1 billion last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report showed Tuesday. According to the environment ministry report submitted to Rep. Lee Joo-hwan of the ruling People Power Party, the number of disposable plastic and paper cups consumed at stores of 14 major cafe chains and four fast food brands between 2017 and 2021, including Starbucks and McDonald's, reached more than 4.34 billion. The average yearly cons

MADRID -- National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo met with the leader of Spain's Congress of Deputies to discuss ways to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries, his office said Tuesday. Kim held a 70-minute meeting with Meritxell Batet Lamana, president of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, in Madrid on Monday (local time) in the first official visit by a South Korean speaker to the country in 14 years. The meeting came as part of efforts to strengthen parliamentary cooperation

South Korea's participation in an envisioned tech alliance led by the United States would be a "rational" decision for the country amid the intensifying competition for global technology hegemony between Washington and Beijing, a state-run think tank report showed Tuesday. South Korea is considering joining a US-led semiconductor alliance, called Chip 4, involving Japan and Taiwan. It is widely considered a grouping against China and aimed at countering Beijing's influence in

The government has seen nearly 560,000 outside hacking attempts into its key computer systems over the past six years, with a combined 43 percent from China and the United States, a report showed Tuesday. According to the interior ministry report submitted to Rep. Lee Hae-sik of the main opposition Democratic Party, 558,674 hacking attempts into key government computer systems were detected between 2017 and July this year. Since reaching 62,532 cases in 2017, such hacking attempts have been on a

 Following the return to in-person classes, violence in schools has increased this year, a government survey showed.  In the survey by the Education Ministry, 1.7 percent of students said they suffered violence in schools in 2022, up 0.6 percentage point from last year, when most schools shifted classes online due to COVID-19. The number is 0.1 percentage point higher than in 2019, before the pandemic.  About 3.21 million students, or 82.9 percent of the total, from fourth grad

Yoon will attend Britain's Queen Elizabeth II's funeral before traveling to the US for UN General Assembly, Canada

South Korea and 13 other member countries of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework kicked off negotiations for the US-led initiative to boost regional economic cooperation, prompting China to again question their intentions. Minister-level officials of the 14 countries attended the first in-person meeting of the IPEF held for two days from Thursday in Los Angeles. There, they agreed to start formal discussions to work out details of the four main focus areas, or “pillars” of the initi