South Korea recorded its first-ever decline in total population last year, data showed Thursday, with fewer births, an aging society, and falling numbers of foreigners entering the country due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the census data released by Statistics Korea on Thursday, 51.74 million people were living in Korea in 2021, about 91,000 less than the year before. It is the first time Korea’s population shrank since the records began in 1949. Annual population

News of heinous crimes spark calls for end to ‘lenient’ punishment of criminals, but some experts warn against ‘punishment populism’

President Yoon Suk-yeol traveled to the southeastern port city of Ulsan to join a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the country’s first 8,200-ton Aegis destroyer, the Jeongjo the Great destroyer, on Thursday. “We have now become capable of building a world-class Aegis destroyer with our own technologies,” Yoon celebrated the launch of the new destroyer, during his speech at the ceremony held at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, joined by some 150 people, in

An appeals commission upheld the cancellation of a driver’s license for drunken use of an electric scooter Thursday. An office worker’s license was revoked after they were caught using an electric scooter while drunk in April. The worker’s blood alcohol level was above 0.08 percent, the threshold at which drivers lose their licenses. The person requested an administrative trial to the Central Administrative Judgment Commission of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commissio

As China appears to relay stronger words to express its discomfort against Seoul’s diplomacy plans largely aligning with the United States, eyes are on how the Yoon Suk-yeol administration will navigate its way through the US-China rivalry. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday demanded the Yoon administration, which was inaugurated in May, to up hold the previous government’s China policy of the so-called “Three Nos” -- no additional deployment of the US-made Term

Kim Jong-un sends first warning messages to Yoon; Presidential office remains silent

The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized suspended prison terms handed down to two former presidential officials for destroying the minutes of the 2007 inter-Korean summit to cover up then President Roh Moo-hyun's alleged offer to surrender the de facto western sea border. Upholding a lower court's ruling, the top court sentenced Baek Jong-chun and Cho Myoung-gyon -- national security aides for the late former president -- to one year in prison, suspended for two years. The ruling comes

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft maker, has signed a basic $3 billion deal with Poland to export 48 FA-50 light attack fighters, its officials said Thursday. The largest FA-50 export deal was part of the "framework contracts" that the Polish government inked the previous day to procure 980 K2 battle tanks and 648 K9 howitzers on top of the FA-50s. In addition to the fighter deal, KAI seeks to establish a maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO) center in Poland

Nearly 1.4 million people have visited the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae since it opened to the public on May 10, data showed Thursday. A total of 1,396,859 people, including 5,055 foreigners, visited the complex in central Seoul through Wednesday since its public opening, according to data from the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) submitted to Rep. Kim Seung-su of the ruling People Power Party. The figure is far bigger than the number of visitors to the Gyeongbok and Chang

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 20 for the second consecutive day, according to its state media Thursday. The number of people who newly showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day stood at 11, the state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of July 5, the death toll stood

WASHINGTON -- A new Korean War monument was dedicated in Washington on Wednesday, permanently displaying the names of over 43,000 US and South Korean service members killed during the war. The dedication of the Wall of Remembrance was marked by a ceremony attended by some 3,000 people, including government officials, Korean War veterans and their families and many others from both South Korea and the United States. The wall features the names of 36,634 US troops and 7,174 members of the Korean A

Poland is set to purchase an estimated 10 trillion won ($7.6 billion) of South Korean arms, including FA-50 light attack aircraft, a Defense Ministry joint press corps report said Wednesday. This will be the first time Korean military aircraft have been sold in Europe. Poland will also purchase K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers. The Polish government said Wednesday that it signed a framework agreement to acquire 980 K2 tanks and 648 K9 self-propelled guns, including 48 FA-50 light a

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday launched a presidential committee tasked with promoting national unity across all sectors, including politics, the economy and culture.    The Presidential Committee of National Unity is the first panel directly under the president to be launched since Yoon's inauguration in May. It is headed by former Democratic Party leader Kim Han-gil and composed of 24 members, including professors, former lawmakers and artists.    "National un

   BEIJING -- The Chinese government pressed South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol administration Wednesday to maintain a policy on the advanced US missile defense system called THAAD.    It was referring to the so-called three "No"s -- no additional THAAD deployment in Korea, no participation in a US-led missile defense network and no involvement in a trilateral military alliance with Japan -- a principle held by the liberal Moon Jae-in government.    "Sout

In private conversation, Lee Jun-seok described by president as “picking fights”