Prosecutors who worked closely with President Yoon Suk-yeol while he was the prosecutor general are returning to fill top jobs at anti-corruption departments of the prosecution service.　　 Many of the reshuffled prosecutors were those who were demoted during the Moon Jae-in administration for their role in special counsel investigations against the former president’s close aides. The Ministry of Justice announced on Tuesday a large-scale shake-up of the prosecution service with some 683

President Yoon Suk-yeol wrote back to the son of Lee Dae-jun, the South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korean troops at sea in 2020, and apologized. “I am deeply ashamed our nation left you and your family with irreversible scars, and I am sorry,” he said in the letter dated June 22.  “I hope your courage in stepping up to restore the honor of your father, and quest for the truth continues to guide you in your life.” He then went on to say that his &ld

Maintaining good relations with China may be difficult, experts say

First lady Kim Keon-hee is currently in Spain accompanying President Yoon Suk-yeol on a five-day trip to Europe to attend the NATO summit. After arriving in Madrid on Monday, Kim’s first official activity was a visit to the Korean Cultural Center in the capital city on Tuesday afternoon.  Later in the evening, the presidential couple attended a dinner hosted by Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.      　

The thousands of cases South Korea is still counting every day may be as low as the numbers are going to get, according to some top public health officials. In the last 24 hours ending Tuesday midnight, South Korea logged 10,463 new cases, exceeding the 10,000 mark for the first time in nearly three weeks.  Lim Sook-young, a senior Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official, told a news briefing Tuesday that the downward slope of the country’s COVID-19 curve may have hit

N. Korea censures S. Korean government for stepping up cooperation with NATO

Lax management of ‘extracurricular leave’ exposes blind spot for child safety

SEJONG, -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has said it would be a lack of courtesy for China to take issue with President Yoon Suk-yeol taking part in a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Han made the remarks during a dinner meeting with reporters Tuesday as Yoon was in Madrid to attend the NATO summit. South Korea is not a member of NATO but was invited to the summit along with Japan, Australia and New Zealand as the organization's Asia-Pacific partners. China has opposed

The outgoing UN special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation made clear Wednesday that North Korea is responsible for the killing of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020 and stressed that the bereaved family has the right to know details of how the death occurred. "I have said that the government of North Korea is responsible for violating the right and killing this fisheries official," Tomas Ojea Quintana said in a press conference in central Seoul. "It is

Bilateral talks with European countries expected to discuss economic security

Korea, Australia reaffirm commitment to climate change, NK denuclearization on sidelines of NATO summit

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon was to depart for the United States on Wednesday for a nine-day visit that includes a meeting with the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), officials said. Upon arrival in Washington, Han will hold meetings with two of the World Bank's vice presidents to discuss anti-cybercrime cooperation. On Thursday, he is scheduled to meet with FBI Director Christopher Wray to discuss cooperation in personnel vetting and investigation. The trip also inclu

South Korea's new coronavirus cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time in 20 days Wednesday, though in recent months the pandemic has shown a downward trend. The country added 10,258 new COVID-19 infection cases, including 205 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,349,756, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The pandemic has loosened its stranglehold on the country since mid-March when infections peaked at more than 621,000. Daily virus caseloads re

A subcommittee of South Korea's state defense procurement committee has endorsed a basic proposal to purchase some 20 F-35A radar-evading fighters, Seoul officials said Wednesday. The Defense Project Promotion Committee's subcommittee approved it on June 9 in a push for a 3.9 trillion won ($3 billion) project to introduce the fighters, manufactured by the US defense giant Lockheed Martin from 2023 through the mid to late 2020s. The approval came as the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol admini

PYEONGTAEK -- South Korea's Navy on Wednesday held a ceremony to commemorate the sacrifices of sailors killed in an inter-Korean naval skirmish near the western sea border two decades ago. The memorial event took place at the Navy's Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, with the attendance of some 300 people, including the sailors' families and fellow troops. The naval conflict occurred near the South's frontline island of Yeonpyeong on June 29, 2002, as t