President Moon Jae-in called Tuesday for watertight national security and vowed to fulfill his duty as commander-in-chief until his term ends, a day after his office voiced concern successor-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate the presidential office could leave a security vacuum. Moon, whose term ends on May 9, said during a Cabinet meeting that his "last mission" is to "fulfill duties as head of state, chief of the administration, and commander-in-chief of the military that

South Korea plans to hold a memorial lighting event later this week to honor 55 troops who died while defending the western inter-Korean sea border from 2002-2010, the veterans affairs ministry said Tuesday. The ministry will host the nighttime event at the national cemetery in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, on Wednesday, using 55 lights that represent the fallen troops. The event is designed to remember the troops who made the ultimate sacrifice in an inter-Korean naval skirmish in 200

A sculptor couple, known for their "comfort women" statue representing wartime sex slaves, has won a libel suit against an internet media operator who claimed another of the couple's sculpture representing forced labor victims was modeled after a Japanese man. The Seoul Western District Court ordered the head of an internet media outlet and another person to pay 7 million won ($5,720) and 5 million won in damages, respectively, in the civil suit filed by the couple, Kim Seo-kyung and K

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday that North Korea's recent artillery firing was a violation of an inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement. Yoon made the remark during a meeting with members of his transition team, two days after South Korea's military said North Korea fired four shots from multiple rocket launchers into the Yellow Sea. (Yonhap)

About 58 percent of South Koreans are against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, while some 33 percent support the idea, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the poll of 1,018 adults, conducted by pollster Mediatomato on Saturday and Sunday, 58.1 percent said the presidential office should remain at Cheong Wa Dae and 33.1 percent said they back the relocation plan. On Sunday, Yoon officially announced his decision to move the presidential of

　Six out of 10 South Korean companies want the incoming government of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to focus on creating jobs to support the economic recovery, a survey showed. 　Of 157 local companies, 95, or 60.5 percent, picked job creation as the top policy priority for the new government, according to the Mono Research poll commissioned by the Federation of Korean Industries, the country's top business lobby. 　The Feb. 18-March 1 survey also showed resolving social conflicts ranked second

South Korea is set to hold a ceremony launching a new 2,800-ton frigate with enhanced anti-submarine capabilities Tuesday, the state arms procurement agency said. The ceremony for the Chuncheon will take place at the shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in Ulsan, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Some 50 people, including Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Jung-soo and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. President Lee Sang-ky

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases spiked to over 350,000 on Tuesday, adding to concerns that infections could spike again as the accumulated caseload nears 10 million. The country reported 353,980 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight, raising the total caseload to 9,936,540, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The total caseload is expected to breach the grim milestone of the 10 million mark within the day, meaning 1 out of 5 South Koreans have become infected with CO

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug met with Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and shared his knowledge on South Korea’s experience on building an administrative capital, and discussed ways for the two countries to enhance bilateral cooperation, Sunday. Their meeting came during Park’s trip to Bali, Indonesia to attend the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly, which kicked off Sunday and runs to Tuesday. As Indonesia is currently preparing

More than 400,000 people have signed petitions against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s plans to move the presidential office from the current location to the National Defense Ministry’s building in Yongsan, central Seoul. “The term of office for president is only five years…the public cannot accept spending billions of taxpayer’s money on President-elect Yoon’s office for his single five-year term,” read one petition on the president office’s web

Spy agency warns about hacking campaign targeting incoming Yoon government

North Korea stayed mum Monday regarding artillery shots fired the previous day, which were seen as part of an ongoing wintertime military exercise.   　 The North fired suspected artillery pieces into the West Sea from an unspecified location in South Pyongan Province on Sunday, likely from multiple rocket launch systems, according to South Korea’s military.   　 The North’s state media outlets, including the Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun, have not reported

South Korea‘s daily COVID-19 infections fell below 300,000 for the first time in 10 days on Sunday, prompting the authorities to speculate that the worst may be over. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 209,169 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday. The country’s total caseload came to 9,582,815. South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases have been dropping for four straight days since the country reached an all-time high of 621,281 COVID-19

As public is divided on Yoon’s relocation plan, Moon also stands at odds

The 85 students will take special language, culture classes at new school