Amid partisan wrangling, grieving parents vow to fight for justice in Itaewon disaster

A special police investigation team questioned a former chief of the Yongsan Police Station on Sunday as part of its investigation into the bungled response to the deadly crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. The questioning of Lee Im-jae comes about a week after a court denied the investigation team's request for a warrant to arrest him, citing the need to guarantee the right to defend himself. Lee has been booked on charges of professional negligence and manslaughter by neglig

The National Assembly was set to vote Sunday on a motion calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over the bungled government response to the deadly Itaewon crowd crush. The motion, introduced last week by the main opposition Democratic Party, was reported to the National Assembly on Thursday and was scheduled to be put to a vote at a plenary parliamentary session at 10 a.m. A vote must take place within 72 hours after a motion is reported at a plenary session or it is automat

A pair of dogs that were gifted to former President Moon Jae-in by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have found a new home at a public zoo in the southwestern city of Gwangju, officials said Friday. 　 　Moon returned the dogs to the government early last month, citing legal grounds and a lack of support. 　 　The indigenous North Korean Pungsan-breed dogs, one male named Songkang and a female named Gomi, were given by the North‘s leader after an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in 2018. 　 　Des

Former national security adviser Suh Hoon was indicted Friday on charges of irregularities surrounding the 2020 death of a South Korean government official at the hands of North Korea in the first indictment of a ranking official in the preceding Moon Jae-in government. 　 　The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has been investigating the death of the fisheries official, who was fatally shot by North Korean coast guard members near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, a day

The closest aide to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's leader Lee Jae-myung was handed over to trial on Friday on bribery charges, heightening the possibility of investigating Lee soon. The prosecution indicted Jeong Jin-sang on charges of receiving a total of 240 million won ($184,000) in bribes from Yoo Dong-gyu, the former head of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation. Yoon was also indicted for giving bribes to Jeong. Jeong was alleged to have received the money from Y

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday that the government will set criteria within this month on determining whether to lift the indoor mask mandate. "The specific criteria for judgment will be finalized through a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters this month after an open debate and discussion by the advisory committee," Han told a response meeting. The government will advise or ask people to voluntarily wear face masks indoors if COVID-19 contai

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday hosted a formal dinner for the national soccer team in celebration of the team's performance in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, officials said. The banquet was held at Yeongbingwan, a reception hall at Cheong Wa Dae, a former presidential office. It was attended by 22 members of the South Korean national soccer team, including captain Son Heung-min, coach Paulo Bento and other support staff. The celebration dinner was to honor the South Korean team for reaching

Amid growing speculation that Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon may run for the ruling party leadership early next year, Han dismissed the possibility Wednesday, saying he will continue to do his job as the head of the ministry. Han met with reporters before attending a plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the day and said, "No one has suggested me (to run for the party leadership)." "I have done my best as a justice minister although

Rep. Lee Eun-joo of the minor opposition Justice Party was given a suspended prison term on Wednesday for illegal electioneering, a punishment heavy enough to result in the loss of her parliamentary seat if confirmed by the Supreme Court. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee, the floor leader of the Justice Party, to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, for violating the Public Official Election Act. Rep. Lee was found guilty of making phone calls to party members while runnin

The government on Wednesday urged striking truckers to return to work immediately, estimating industrial losses from the two-week-long walkout to reach 3.5 trillion won ($2.64 billion). The government also said it will provide personal protection for cargo truck drivers who suffer harm due to their decision not to join the strike, as supply disruptions continued to beleaguer major industries, including steel, petrochemicals and oil refining. The loss estimate and anti-strike measures were releas

Rep. Chang Je-won of the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday slammed the ongoing police investigation into the deadly Itaewon crowd crush, calling on the prosecution to take over the case. Chang, one of President Yoon Suk-yeol's closest confidants, made the remarks in a Facebook post after a court denied an arrest warrant for Lee Im-jae, former chief of Yongsan Police Station covering the Itaewon district, earlier this week. A special police investigation team in charge of probing the ca

The South Korean and Vietnamese presidents agreed to take ties to a higher level at a summit held in Seoul on Monday, as Asia’s fourth-largest economy steps up its push to expand its reach into Southeast Asia amid the rising US-China tech rivalry. The three-day summit, which started Sunday and had last taken place 11 years ago, is the latest highlight of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s drive to reduce its economic dependence on Seoul’s largest trading partners -- China and t

Park Jie-won, a former head of the National Intelligence Service under investigation over an alleged cover-up in North Korea’s killing of South Korean fisheries official Lee Dae-jun in 2020, told The Korea Herald the Yoon Suk-yeol administration was playing the communist card against his predecessor Moon Jae-in. “All I’m going to say is that the Yoon administration is cracking down on the Democratic Party by portraying Moon as a communist sympathizer,” he said over the ph

Vicious cycle will repeat if government succumbs to 'illegal actions,' Yoon tells aides