The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by former President Lee Myung-bak to reverse the prosecution's sell-off of his house aimed at collecting fines he was ordered to pay in a corruption case, sources said Tuesday. Prosecutors had Lee's house in Seoul's Gangnam district auctioned off last year to collect fine money after the Supreme Court finalized a 17-year prison term for Lee for corruption in 2020 along with a fine of 13 billion won ($9.6 million) and a forfeiture of 5

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's offer to help North Korea in exchange for denuclearization is entirely consistent with the United States' own plan to rid the North of its nuclear ambition, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Ned Price also called on Pyongyang to respond positively to Seoul's outreach. "We have been clear about our support for the bold or the ambitious plan that the South Korean administration has put forward," the department press secretary said in

Cultural bridges and people-to-people ties with Korea would help Sharjah, the third-largest city in the United Arab Emirates, become an international city, Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan al-Qasimi, chairman of Sharjah’s Department of Government Relations, said during a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “Sharjah aims to build comprehensive international development and relations,” said al-Qasimi, acknowledging Korea as a significant partner for Sharjah. He suggested looking bey

Democratic Party of Korea accuses Yoon administration of ‘political vengeance’

The family of Lee Dae-jun, a South Korean government worker who was shot dead by North Korean soldiers at sea in September 2020, will be meeting with Elizabeth Salmon, the United Nations’ newly appointed special rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea. Lee Rae-jin, the deceased official’s older brother, told The Korea Herald that the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul confirmed to him on Monday that the family’s meeting with Salmon would be on Sept. 3. According

While South Korea and China celebrate 30 years of their diplomatic relationship this week, Koreans’ dislike for the neighboring country appears to be reaching its peak. According to a survey of South Koreans by Hankook Research on Monday, China was the second-least popular country among five countries -- the United States, Japan, North Korea and Russia. The survey asked 1,000 South Koreans aged over 18 from July 15 to 18 to rank their positive sentiment toward five major countries. Th

Following the plan to nurture 150,000 skilled workers in the semiconductor industry over the next 10 years, the Korean government aims to nurture 1 million skilled workers for the digital industry within the next five years. The Ministry of Education announced on Monday that in cooperation with other ministries, it will train 1 million skilled workers for the digital industry by 2026, by doubling the number of information technology curriculum hours for elementary and secondary schools and re

Ulchi Freedom Shield presents real-life scenarios including N. Korean attacks on key infrastructure, GPS jamming

New Zealand police have requested the South Korean police agency’s cooperation in tracking down a woman believed to be the mother of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases. According to reports, two bodies were found in suitcases bought by a resident of Auckland, New Zealand, on Aug. 11. Local police conducted an autopsy and confirmed that the victims were two children between the age of five and 10, with relatives living in New Zealand and family in Asia. The bodies were place

Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Jie-won said Monday that North Korea will likely conduct a nuclear test ahead of November's US midterm elections to show off its nuclear capability. "They are going to do it in order to demonstrate a threat that its missile can fly to the US carrying a miniaturized and lighter warhead, and to deal a blow to the Joe Biden administration ahead of the midterm elections," Park said on KBS Radio. Park also said the North could un

The top diplomats of South Korea and China plan to attend events celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in their respective countries later this week, Seoul officials said Monday. Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, are set to join the ceremonies in Seoul and Beijing, respectively, on Wednesday, the officials said, in an apparent show of their commitment to maintaining close relations between the two countries. During the ev

A night market along the Han River in southern Seoul is set to reopen later this week, city officials said Monday, after a nearly three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Seoul city government had previously operated a number of night markets in different locations to attract tourists and provide business opportunities to small vendors. Hangang Moon Light Market at the Han River's riverside park in Seoul's Banpo district will open starting on Friday for a two-day run for a t

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases fell for the fifth consecutive day Monday, as authorities remained vigilant against the highly contagious omicron subvariant during the summer vacation season. The country added 59,046 new COVID-19 infections, including 406 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 22,299,377, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections fell below the 100,000 level for the first time in six days, with cases steadily declining since

  President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating rose for the second straight week, a poll showed Monday, in a positive sign that his rating may be recovering from unusual lows following his pledge to listen to the people in a press conference marking his first 100 days in office. In the poll of 2,011 voters conducted by Realmeter from Tuesday to Friday, 32.2 percent gave a positive assessment of his job, up 1.8 percentage points from the previous week. It marked the second straight week in whic

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) was set to convene its ethics panel later Monday to discuss disciplinary action against a party lawmaker who came under fire for making remarks wishing for more rain during voluntary cleanup work in the wake of massive downpours. Rep. Kim Sung-won drew strong criticism in early August after he was caught on TV cameras saying he wished more rain would fall for better public relations effects of their voluntary work, even though the downpours, believed to be the