President Yoon Suk-yeol called Tuesday for bold measures to reform public institutions and cut back their growing debts. Yoon issued the call during a Cabinet meeting, saying the debts of public institutions have soared over the past five years to reach 583 trillion won ($452 billion) as of the end of 2021. "Public institution reform is a task that cannot be delayed any further," he said, lamenting that public institutions have grown in size and personnel despite their debts. "Pub

South Korea was preparing Tuesday to launch its homegrown space rocket Nuri in the second attempt to put satellites into orbit, a critical mission for the country's space program. The 200-ton Nuri is set to blast off from the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung at around 4 p.m., the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said. The state-run institute plans to announce the exact time of the liftoff at 2:30 p.m. South Korea had planned to launch the

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said K-pop superband BTS will continue to serve as a public relations ambassador for South Korea's bid to host the World Expo in 2030 in the southern port city of Busan, despite the septet's decision to suspend group activities. Han is on a visit to Paris to attend a general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which is an intergovernmental body in charge of overseeing World Expos. BTS accepted the Busan city government's request

President Yoon Suk-yeol suggested Tuesday his administration could investigate the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean sailors, saying many people have questions about the then government's decision to send them back. Yoon was referring to the repatriation of two North Korean sailors who tried to defect to South Korea after allegedly killing 16 fellow crew members on a fishing boat, which happened under the previous administration of Moon Jae-in. "We're still looking into it, bu

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 10,000 for the 12th day Tuesday, marking a steady decline in the virus curve amid the slowdown in the omicron spread. The country added 9,310 new COVID-19 infections, including 76 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,289,373, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is more than double the previous day's 3,538, but the daily counts tend to fall sharply on Mondays due to fewer tests before cli

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 20,000 for the third consecutive day, according to its state media Tuesday. More than 17,250 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of last Wednesday, the death toll stood at 73, with

China slammed the US as the “largest source of disruption” to world order, making explicit its discontent over Washington’s China policy. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a fact sheet late on Sunday dubbed “Falsehoods in US Perceptions of China,” in response to a recent speech made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where he raised concerns about Beijing posing “the most serious, long-term threat.” The speech was delivered to the Asia Society

State weather agency says no lightning or thunder forecast around launch time at 4 p.m.

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is looking to impose sanctions against AstraZeneca over allegations that the global pharmaceutical firm colluded with a local firm to hinder the launch of cheaper generic drugs. The FTC has recently sent out an audit report to the two drug makers, according to industry sources on Monday. The audit report, which is considered as a prosecutor’s indictment, contained the regulator’s opinion that AstraZeneca provided financial benefits to Alvoge

Democratic Party leadership “victim blaming”

Police interpreters in South Korea are often underpaid, mistreated and unprotected, prompting many to avoid taking on the role, a local study shows. Police interpreters are individuals who engage with non-native speakers in interpreting in police interviews and courts. The study, written jointly by police officer Choi Seob-min of National Office of Investigation and professor Jeong Ji-su of Korean National Police University, said many police interpreters here have experienced burnout. Acc

Yoon calls for bipartisan efforts as assembly disarray continues

Soaring Eagle open to public for first time since 2017 amid North Korea’s continuing ballistic launches

Democratic Party prepares to elect new leader as ruling bloc’s fate depends on its ethics panel

South Korea's Air Force on Monday kicked off a biannual aerial combat exercise, involving its radar-evading F-35A fighters and dozens of other warplanes, in order to ensure a "firm" readiness posture, the armed service said. The five-day Soaring Eagle exercise began amid lingering tensions caused by North Korea's continued ballistic missile launches and speculation that it has completed preparations for what would be its seventh nuclear test. The training got under way at the