The Minister of Employment and Labor called for an end to the nationwide strike by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Friday, blasting the industrial action as politically motivated. Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik held an emergency meeting Friday morning to counter a nationwide strike by the KCTU and pointed out that some of the union demands do not fit the legal requirement that they should relate to working conditions. "The Labor Union Act allows workers to engage in struggles for the

The government was set to announce its own analysis Friday of Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The outcome of a scientific analysis of the discharge plan, based on the findings of an on-site inspection of the plant completed in late May and other related data, will be revealed at a daily briefing scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Government Policy Coordination Minister Bang Moon-kyu and Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Chairperson Yoo Geun

The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency is scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Friday to explain the analysis of the UN watchdog's safety review of Japan's planned release of treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima plant. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi's three-day visit will come on the heels of the agency's conclusion that Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the plant into the sea is consistent with internation

Korea, Japan mull summit, with Fukushima wastewater likely on agenda

A government plan to build a highway connecting Seoul with a county near the capital city was rescinded Thursday, after the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea raised allegations of possible favors having been granted to the family of the first lady. Earlier this week, the Democratic Party suggested the construction plan was tweaked so that the highway passes by a piece of land owned by the first lady’s family. After a meeting with ruling People Power Party lawmakers Thursday morning

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday appointed former Culture Minister and actor Yu In-chon as presidential adviser for cultural affairs and sports, a new position his office said was created to bolster the nation's cultural content and industry. The 72-year-old actor is returning to a public role 11 years after he led the state-run Seoul Arts Center in 2012. Between 2008 and 2011, he served as culture minister under the Lee Myung-bak administration. Kim Dae-ki, a former second vice minister

All lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party were set to launch an overnight sit-in at the National Assembly on Thursday to protest Japan's plan to discharge radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. The protest comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report earlier this week that Japan's plan to treat contaminated water and release it into the ocean meets international safety standards and its impact on people and the

South Korean opposition rejected the International Atomic Energy Agency approval of the Fukushima water discharge on Tuesday, warning of a series of actions at home and abroad to stop the water from flowing. In a joint statement, Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers said “the IAEA report is no excuse for Japan dumping radioactive waste into the sea.” “The Japanese government must retract its plan to discharge the Fukushima radioactive wastewater immediately,” the statement

The South Korean government will soon disclose a safety assessment on wastewater to be discharged from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, officials in Seoul said Wednesday, noting it respects the latest safety evaluation by the International Atomic Energy Agency. A day earlier, the UN nuclear watchdog endorsed Japan’s plans to filter and discharge the water into the Pacific Ocean in stages, saying in a report that the release “would have a negligible radiological impact

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday expressed his disappointment at the delayed legislative process to establish a national space agency, emphasizing the agency's timely formation as vital for facilitating international collaborations. At the inaugural World Congress of Korean Scientists and Engineers, Yoon said stagnant progress in the legislative process for the establishment of the Korea AeroSpace Administration is negatively affecting a space collaboration deal between South Korea and

Shin Young-kyun, a former movie star-turned-politician, said Wednesday he has offered his land in Seoul to build a memorial hall for South Korea's first president, Rhee Syng-man (1875-1965). In an inaugural meeting of a private foundation pushing for Rhee's memorial hall last week, Shin revealed his intention to donate the land measuring approximately 13,000 square meters located on the southeastern bank of the Han River in the Gangdong district. "I heard that the former President

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating has risen to 38.4 percent, a survey Yonhap News Agency conducted jointly with Yonhap News TV showed Wednesday. The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party would win 29.5 percent and 30.6 percent of the vote, respectively, if the parliamentary elections set for next year were to take place tomorrow, the poll also showed. Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News TV jointly commissioned the survey to gauge public sentiment. The sur

The US State Department expressed its support Tuesday for the planned release of treated wastewater from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, insisting "science should dictate" the planned release. A department spokesperson also emphasized that Japan's plan has been reviewed and supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The reaction comes after an IAEA task force concluded that Japan's planned release of treated water from the nuclear power plant in

The aim of ongoing reforms in our country is to ensure guarantees of a happy and prosperous life. During the short period of time, a large-scale work has been carried out in judicial and legal spheres. In particular, the Decree "on measures for further reforming the judicial and legal system, strengthening the guarantees of reliable protection of citizens' rights and freedoms" has been adopted. As priority directions of state policy, ensuring actual independence of a judicial po

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday delivered its final verdict on Japan’s planned discharge of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant as maintaining safety standards, ending a two-year review conducted amid concerns over its possible impact to marine life and human lives. Concluding that the Japanese plan to release the water into the sea was “consistent with the relevant international safety standards, IAEA said in its report that the discharge of t