South Korea lodged a strong protest against Japan on Friday after Tokyo approved new school textbooks that downplay the coercive nature of its wartime atrocities and reinforce its territorial claims to Dokdo. The foreign ministry also called in Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi to deliver the formal protest message after Tokyo's education ministry approved two history textbooks for middle school students. The textbooks were said to have been approved last month, but the anno

A number of South Korea's local governments are actively seeking to attract long-term foreign national residents by offering region-specific work visas, amidst the country's population decline. The city of Busan announced on Friday that it will accept applications from international students who graduated from universities in the Busan area for its F-2-R region-specific visas until May 10. Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, the F-2-R visa allows foreign nationals to liv

President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to their first one-on-one meeting through a brief phone call, the presidential office said Friday. In a surprise 5-minute phone call between the two, Yoon asked Lee to meet him next week at Yongsan, where the presidential office is located, an official at the presidential office told reporters. In his first phone call to Lee, Yoon added that he hoped to frequently meet from now on to discuss national affairs “over tea

The main opposition said Friday it was looking to railroad more contentious bills before the new parliament members are sworn in, a day after it passed an amended version of the revision to the Grain Management Act that was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year. Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung emphasized the urgency of passing key bills, including an amendment to the law that strengthens protection for victims of real estate fraud, before the current assembly term concludes

Only 25 percent of 254 directly elected National Assembly representatives during the April 10 general election made climate-related policy pledges, according to a report issued by a coalition of 16 non-profit environmental organizations, including Local Energy Lab, on Thursday. Out of the 63 elected representatives who have presented climate policies, 53 belong to the liberal main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and 10 belong to the conservative ruling People Power Party. Additionally, one

South Korean Muslim YouTuber Daud Kim, who announced his plan to build a mosque on land he purchased in Incheon, faces myriad challenges, including a request to terminate the land contract, difficulties in obtaining permission due to road conditions, and resistance from the local neighborhood. Kim, a content creator in his 30s with more than 5.52 million YouTube subscribers, uploaded a post on his Instagram on April 11 announcing his plans to build a mosque, a Muslim place of worship, on land th

S. Korea says its vote doesn't constitute its recognition of Palestine as independent state

Govt. allows med schools to adjust enrollment quota freely for 2025, but medical circle remains lukewarm

The South Korean government on Friday announced its plans to bring in 100 Filipino household helpers in July and deploy them as early as August. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that discussions with the Philippine side on the plan for a pilot program for Filipino domestic workers have been completed. The Philippine government plans to post a job opening for 100 Filipino domestic workers willing to work in Seoul within this month. As Filipino workers are mandated to undergo initial and

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating was at 23 percent to mark the lowest figure since he took office, a poll showed Friday, as the ruling party struggled to recover from its crushing defeat in the general elections held last week. The Gallup Korea poll, conducted on April 16-18 on 1,000 adults across the country, showed that positive assessment of Yoon's performance dropped 11 percentage points from the previous survey, which was taken at March 26-28 before the parliamentary election. The

The vice foreign ministers of North Korea and Belarus, both key allies to Russia, agreed Thursday to strengthen high-level contacts and cooperation across various sectors, encompassing the economy and cultures, as well as on global affairs, North Korean state media reported on Friday. The bilateral talks in Pyongyang between North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon-il and his Belarusian counterpart took place amid closer alignment with Russia and their provision of support in its war against U

Police investigating the recent deaths of four people at a hotel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, have found more evidence to suggest the men had murdered the two women before killing themselves. The two men were found to have sent messages saying, "Shall we kill (them)?" "Yeah," right before overpowering the two women in the hotel room, according to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency. The case was first reported on April 11. The two killers had jumped to their deaths the