An independent lawmaker and son of late President Kim Dae-jung appeared at the prosecutors' office in Seoul on Saturday for questioning over an allegation he intentionally underreported property ownership just ahead of the general elections in April. Kim Hong-gul said he would be "faithful" during the investigation as he walked into the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office with his lawyer. Last month, Kim was expelled from the ruling Democratic Party due to the scandal. Kim wa

Criticism is mounting over the recent revelation of a high-ranking North Korean diplomat’s defection here by S. Korean media and lawmakers. A UN official called on both Koreas to make efforts to help the safety of the defector’s remaining family in the North, while Seoul’s unification minister directed an investigation into how such sensitive information could have been published. On Wednesday, Rep. Ha Tae-keung, a member of the National Assembly’s intelligence commit

Disease prevention authorities and the police are on high alert once again as mass rallies are scheduled to be held in downtown Seoul over the long weekend starting from Hangeul Day on Friday. While the authorities maintain that outdoor rallies are still inappropriate due to COVID-19, organizers of protests against the Moon Jae-in administration are seeking to get court approval like they did for the Aug. 15 Liberation Day rallies. The Seoul Administrative Court is set to review on Thursday a

Tens of million personal data records have been leaked over the past five years but fines for the leaks averaged 258 won ($0.22), a lawmaker said Thursday, calling for tougher penalties. According to Rep. Park Kwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party, over 64 million leaks of personal information, such as names, social security numbers and mobile phone numbers, were reported from the public, private and online sectors from 2016 to last month. Of them, administrative action was taken in 50.87 mi

Private elementary schools have held more in-person classes than public ones, a lawmaker said Wednesday, claiming it to be evidence of the “unequal” disruptions in students’ learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the office of Rep. Lee Tahney of the Democratic Party, private elementary schools in Seoul offered an average of 4.2 in-person classes per week, compared to just 1.9 at public schools. The data is based on lesson plans that the schools reported to the Se

The South Korean government has maintained business deals with Japanese companies with war crime records despite a nationwide boycott on Japan-made goods since last year, according to a lawmaker Wednesday. According to Rep. Jung Sung-ho of the ruling Democratic Party, the government procured 28.7 billion won ($24.6 million) worth of products from Japanese firms with war crime histories, including Hitachi and Mitsubishi, from 2015 to August of this year. During the period, the total amount of J

Talks of a Cabinet reshuffle are rising, following a series of controversies surrounding high-profile ministers of the Moon Jae-in administration. Controversies about Cabinet members and nominees have dogged President Moon Jae-in throughout his term, but this time talks of a reshuffle are rising from within the ranks of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Ministers linked to a possible reshuffle include Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha and Ministe

A son of the fishery official killed by North Korea at sea last month doubted the South Korean government's announcement that his father sought defection and pleaded with the president to find the truth about his father's death. In a letter released late Monday by Lee Rae-jin, the official's older brother, the son asked President Moon Jae-in, "Do you think it really makes sense that my father, who never learned how to swim and weighed only 68 kg for his height of 180 cm, swam 38 km against

WASHINGTON -- North Korea will likely be one of the last in the world to reopen its borders since an outbreak of the new coronavirus would spell an "absolute disaster" for the impoverished nation, experts said Monday. The communist state was one of the first to close its border following the outbreak of the new coronavirus in neighboring China and South Korea. "As we know that North Korea was the first country to totally close its borders and I think it will be probably the last

North Korea on Monday celebrated its economic achievements as it geared up for the anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party on Saturday, at a time when its economy is faltering under UN-led sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and the aftereffects of recent floods. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency and its state newspaper released extensive coverage of what it called a “remarkable” recovery from the floods, saying hundreds of new homes and pu

South Korean and US intelligence have spotted North Korea moving an intercontinental ballistic missile, along with four mobile launchers, at an auto plant on the outskirts of Pyongyang, a Seoul official told a local media outlet on Saturday. “The missile is larger than the one they fired in 2017 and we believe they will showcase that at a military parade on Oct. 10,” the official said. North Korea fired its first ICBM, Hwasong-15, in 2017 and appears set to stage a show of force on

Overall school violence has been on a steady decline in recent years, but the number of juvenile sex offenders has spiked significantly, police data showed on Sunday. The number of teenagers arrested for acts of school violence totaled 13,584 last year, marking a decrease of 3 percent from 14,000 in 2017, according to the data from the National Police Agency (NPA). School violence is classified into four types -- sexual violence, assaults, extortion and others -- and offenders include elementa

There are many unanswered questions surrounding President Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said he only had mild symptoms, and his doctor said Trump was fatigued. But the president was being flown to Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was expected to stay a few days. Here's what we know and what we don't know: WHO INFECTED TRUMP? We don't know, although there's no shortage of possible suspects. Trump, who typically shuns masks, was

Three out of the eight South Koreans who have shown abnormal reactions to potentially defective flu vaccines are children, the public health agency said Friday. A total of 1,910 people were injected with the vaccines that were suspected to have been exposed to room temperature, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Out of the eight people who have complained of symptoms that include headaches, chills and nausea, one is under the age of 10, two are teenagers, thre

Suffering from stalled growth in recent years, the smartphone market remained dull until the first half of this year amid the gloomy sentiment driven by the pandemic. But starting with Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 20 launch in August followed by LG Electronics’ new swiveling form factor smartphone in September, the market is seeing consumer excitement grow again with the releases of new models. Among others, the launches of new form factors seem to be leading the overall recov