President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to soon accept the resignation offer of Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook, officials said Tuesday. Kim offered to resign in September to take responsibility for the mismanagement of the 25th World Scout Jamboree the previous month but was retained pending a replacement. Yoon had tapped Kim Haeng, a former member of the ruling People Power Party's interim leadership panel, as the new gender minister, but she withdrew herself from consideration during

Govt. considering giving tax benefits to companies that give cash to employees who have babies

Dozens of alumni from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology on Tuesday accused the presidential security of abusing its power and exerting violence by forcibly removing a student from the graduation ceremony venue. The bodyguards of President Yoon Suk Yeol ejected an attendee, named Shin Min-gi, from the ceremony in Daejeon when he protested the budget cut in scientific technology research and development for this year during Yoon's commencement remarks on Friday. The alumni, co

Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, the floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Tuesday that democracy has regressed under the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol, calling for voter support for the party in the April 10 parliamentary elections. Hong made the remarks during an address at the National Assembly as representative of the largest parliamentary negotiating bloc, asserting that the Yoon administration has failed to uphold fairness and common sense as previously promised. "In ju

President Yoon Suk Yeol called on the government Monday to make utmost efforts to protect the people's lives and health amid a looming walkout by doctors protesting a planned increase in the medical school enrollment quota, his office said. Yoon issued the call during his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. "Please make utmost efforts in the response to protect the people's lives and health," he was quoted as

Kim Keon Hee appeared to have resumed her engagements as South Korea's first lady, albeit unofficially, for the first time in over two months. Kim reportedly joined a lunch meeting with Netflix Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos and "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae, who had been received by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday at the presidential residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The initial statement from the presidential office about the meeting did not indicate that Kim was presen

The South Korean constitutional agency overseeing election administration said Monday it formed a task force aimed at fighting artificial intelligence-generated deceitful content related to the general election in April. The National Election Commission said in a release that it busted a total of 129 deepfakes that were deemed to violate the laws on elections of public officials between Jan. 29 and Feb. 16. The “politically motivated” deepfakes were caught by the watchdog through a s

South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea recruited a former National Intelligence Service official who was suspected of alleged wrongdoing in the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in 2019, when former President Moon Jae-in was in office. Kim Joon-hwan was Moon’s deputy director at the NIS at the time the Democratic Party administration decided to return the two North Korean fishers forcibly. Several at the NIS, including then-director Suh Hoon, and the Moon

Alliance of political defectors aims to end deep polarization in S. Korea's politics, but appears to be in internal battle already

This month’s provisional session of the National Assembly is set to kick off on Monday, but the opposition-led Assembly has yet to decide when to cast a revote on the special probe bill against the first lady. The rival parties in recent weeks have locked horns over the timing of the revote after President Yoon Suk Yeol, on Jan. 5, vetoed a bill that would allow the Assembly to order a special investigation into the stock manipulation allegations surrounding his wife Kim Keon Hee. The bill

The South Korean government said Friday it is closely communicating with Japan and the US over North Korea extending an invitation to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida a day earlier. An official in Seoul said that any exchanges between Tokyo and Pyongyang “must unfold in a way that aids efforts for denuclearizing North Korea.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Yo-jong said late Thursday that North Korea is open to “a new future” with Japan, if Kishida is

Presidential office cites safety reasons

South Korea on Friday unveiled plans to introduce a basic allowance for graduate students taking part in state-sponsored scientific projects, in high hopes of boosting the nation's scientific research capabilities. Any master's degree student in Korea who contributes to state-backed research will receive at least an 800,000 won ($600) stipend each month regardless of the amount of work done. The amount of the allowance will be at least 1.1 million won for an eligible doctor's degr

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday tapped Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Seok Jong-gun as the new minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the presidential office announced Friday. Seok will begin in the position on Monday, replacing Eom Dong-hwan, who has served since June 2022. Yoon's office said in a statement that Seok is the right fit for the role of setting up coordinating structures between the government, military, DAPA and local defense industry. The major general will

By Nemanja Grbic, Serbian ambassador to Korea As the Embassy of Serbia in Seoul proudly celebrates its National Day together with the small Serbian community living here, as well as our Korean friends, it is an opportunity to once again recall the close and decadeslong friendly relations that so happily exist between our two countries and two peoples. Statehood Day or National Day is celebrated every Feb. 15 in Serbia to commemorate the outbreak of the First Serbian Uprising in 1804, which e