The Supreme Court on Friday upheld lower courts' acquittal of a religious sect leader of charges that he obstructed the government's response to COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020. Lee Man-hee, the 91-year-old founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, was indicted two years ago for allegedly underreporting the number of Shincheonji followers and church locations to the government when the virus was quickly spreading among the followers. The top court also approved an appellate court's d

South Korea's patriots ministry on Friday unveiled part of rare documents confirming a group of Korean independence activists fought alongside British troops in a joint military campaign against Japan's imperial forces during World War II. The documents from Britain's National Archives were revealed as the ministry is commemorating the sacrifices of those who fought against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, ahead of South Korea's Liberation Day that falls on Monday. The doc

The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea declined for the second straight day Friday, but infections stayed above 100,000 for a fourth day amid a fast-spreading omicron variant of the virus. The country added 128,714 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 21,111,840, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Of the new cases, 464 were from overseas. The tally marked a fall from 137,241 the previous day, but it was higher than 112,858 a week earlie

Jung Kwang-sun, first project leader, explains how S. Korea developed KF-21 aircraft from scratch

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Friday instructed the government to swiftly take steps to designate areas that were hit by heavy rains early this week as a special disaster zone. If designated, the rain-hit areas will be eligible for the government's financial support in recovery work, relief funds for victims and other benefits. "The government will make its utmost efforts to stabilize the lives of residents in the affected areas and to support a swift recovery," Han said during a

WASHINGTON -- The United States is preparing for all contingencies amid signs of a potential North Korean nuclear test but is concerned by Pyongyang's "strengthened rhetoric" around its nuclear program, a state department spokesperson said Thursday. Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, said Pyongyang is continuing to prepare for what will be its seventh nuclear test. "The U.S. assesses the DPRK is preparing its Punggye-ri (nuclear) test site for wha

The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other major powers reaffirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and support for diplomacy toward the goal during a regional security forum, a statement showed Thursday. The chair's statement was released five days after the annual ASEAN Regional Forum held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, with the attendance of top diplomats from the ASEAN member states, the two Koreas, the United Stat

Seoul is banning subterranean living spaces after a series of deaths due to flooding. Over the last three days of downpour, a child and three adults drowned in their semi-basement homes, known as “banjiha.” Seoul announced Wednesday that in the next two decades, it would phase out all forms of underground residences that are home to about 5 percent of all families in the city. Mayor Oh Se-hun said in a press release that banjiha homes were “residential structures

Defense chief says Pyongyang moves to lay ground for provocations in the run-up to large-scale combined military exercise

The section of the Olympic-daero between Gayang Bridge and Dongjak Bridge has been closed off from Thursday 3 p.m. due to heavy rain. The outflow of the Paldang Dam increased due to torrential rains in Seoul and the upper regions of the Han River, and the water level of the Han River rose, said the official from the Seoul city government and requested nearby vehicles to make a detour. The same section was also closed off once on Tuesday night.

Rep. Kim Sung-won of ruling People Power Party is facing criticism over his remarks wishing for rain at a flood recovery volunteer work site. “I hope it rains for nicer photos,” Kim was caught saying by a television camera, at a recovery site in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. Kim was taking part in volunteer work along with the party’s lawmakers including interim committee chair Rep. Joo Ho-young and floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong. Kim made the comment while waiting to help with th

China hits a sour note after ‘amicable’ bilateral talk with South Korea, raising the issue over Korea‘s THAAD deployment

Nearly 60 people died with the COVID-19 virus Wednesday, the highest in around three months, and is expected to keep rising along with cases. According to data released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday, South Korea added 59 deaths from the virus during the previous day, the highest since May 11, when the government added 63 deaths. The death toll came to 25,441, and the fatality rate was 0.12 percent. Health authorities added 89.8 percent or 53 deaths were

　Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Wednesday blamed South Korea for the COVID-19 outbreak in the North, and threatened the “extermination” of South Korean authorities. 　According to the North’s Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo-jong blamed “unusual objects” of South Korean origin -- anti-North Korea leaflets sent from the South -- for COVID-19 outbreaks in North Korea at a disease control meeting presided over by her brother. 　&ldqu

President Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to exclude politicians, including former President Lee Myung-bak, from the list of special pardons for National Liberation Day on Aug. 15, apparently because he is mindful of public opposition to the pardon of politicians amid low approval ratings. Yoon has hinted at a possible pardon for former Lee since taking office. In early June, he told reporters during a morning press briefing that it is “not right” for Lee to serve 20-something years in pr