The special counsel investigation into the Air Force sexual abuse scandal officially kicked off Tuesday, more than a year since the victim -- 23-year-old Master Sgt. Lee Ye-ram -- took her own life. Ahn Mi-young, the prosecutor tasked with leading the probe, told reporters outside the team’s office in western Seoul that the military was facing “mounting allegations of mishandling sexual abuse complaints and engaging in victim-blaming.” “Through the probe I hope to mak

Late-night services on all subway lines in Seoul will be fully back on track in early August

Seoul, Washington condemn Pyongyang’s test-firing of multiple ballistic missiles, agree to bolster nuclear deterrence measures

UN-HABITAT PARTNERS WITH OCEANIX -- The UN-Habitat Korean National Committee signed a memorandum of understanding with Oceanix, a New York-based “blue tech” company, at its Yeouido office in Seoul on Tuesday. This agreement was designed to realize the world‘s first sustainable sea city pilot model, “Oceanix Busan,” unveiled at the UN headquarters in New York on April 26 as a successful business at the international level. From left are UN-Habitat Korean National Co

President Yoon Suk-yeol named ambassadors to the United Nations, Japan, China and Russia on Tuesday. Yoon appointed Hwang Joon-kook (62), former ambassador to the United Kingdom, as ambassador to the United Nations, and Yun Duk-min (63), former head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, as ambassador to Japan. Chung Jae-ho (62), a professor of foreign affairs at Seoul National University, was appointed ambassador to China, while Chang Ho-jin (61), a chair professor at Korea Maritime &

Senior foreign affairs officials of South Korea and Ukraine met privately to discuss the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, officials said Tuesday. It is the first time that a high-level Ukrainian official made a public visit to Korea since the Russian invasion in February. Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon met with Ukraine’s Vice Foreign Minister Dmytro Senik on Tuesday and exchanged views on the recent situation in Ukraine, support for the country, economic cooperation between the tw

Beleaguered party looks to retired, reputable heavyweights

A personnel vetting unit under the justice ministry officially went into operation Tuesday, taking over the role of looking into the qualifications of senior position candidates from the presidential office, officials said. Following up on his campaign promise, President Yoon Suk-yeol abolished the office of the presidential senior civil affairs secretary that had been in charge of vetting candidates for Cabinet seats and other senior government jobs amid illegal surveillance accusations. Instea

A US veteran of the Korean War is hoping to find his long-lost South Korean fellow who fought together during the 1950-53 conflict and gave him an unforgettable gift: a Korean national flag, Seoul's veterans affairs ministry said Tuesday. Upon the request by James Lantz, the 90-year-old veteran, the ministry launched a campaign to find the Korean Marine that he met in Daegu, 302 kilometers south of Seoul, in 1951. He does not remember the Marine's name. Lantz made the request in April

　More than 8 out of 10 people who reported sexual harassment at the workplace said they suffered from some form of retaliation, a civic group reported.  　Gapjil 119, which campaigns against workplace abuses, announced its analysis of the 205 reports it received from abuse victims between January 2021 and March 2022. 　About 100 of the reports were from those who had filed complaints about sexual harassment to either their employer or other institutions. 　About 90 percent of them said the

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to below 10,000 for the third consecutive day Tuesday amid a slowing virus trend. The country added 6,172 COVID-19 infections, including 35 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,174,880, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily cases have been on a steady decline since mid-March when the daily caseload had spiked to over 620,000 amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant. The country a

Senior government officials of South Korea and the United States had talks here Tuesday on North Korea and pending alliance issues, two weeks after their presidents agreed during a Seoul summit to upgrade Seoul-Washington ties to a "Global Comprehensive Strategic Alliance." The meeting between Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman came a couple of days after the North fired eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea. It m

Drivers demand government guarantee minimum cargo rates; Yoon vows stern response to irregularities

North Korea reported more than 61,000 new fever cases Tuesday, with the daily count remaining under 70,000 for the second consecutive day. Over 61,730 more 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 provided no further information regarding additional deaths. The total number of fever cases since late April came to over 4.19 mill

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain concerned that North Korea may conduct a nuclear test in the near future, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Ned Price, however, said the US also remains prepared for such a contingency. "So we remain concerned that the DPRK could seek a seventh nuclear test in the coming days," the department press secretary said when asked about US measures to deal with recent North Korean provocations. "It's a concern we have wa