The top court on Monday confirmed the 3 1/2-year prison sentence for former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung for raping his female aide, in the country’s highest-profile #MeToo movement case.The Supreme Court acknowledged “invisible power” held by 54-year-old An -- at one time a strong presidential contender in the liberal bloc -- in using his authority and sexually assaulting the victim -- An’s secretary -- upholding an appeal court’s ruling. The la

The parliamentary confirmation hearing of Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk Friday focused on the number of times he communicated with the president of Dongyang University.There are speculations that his wife surnamed Chung falsified the President’s Award her daughter received from the university in 2012 without the approval of President Choi Seong-hae, which is based in North Gyeongsang Province. Main opposition Liberty Korea Party lawmakers on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee

Liberty Korea Party Floor Leader Na Kyung-won’s compromise with the ruling Democratic Party on a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk has stoked discontent among some party members, raising questions about Na’s leadership.Members of the main opposition party who opposed the move said Friday’s hearing would legitimize Cho’s nomination at a time when President Moon Jae-in is already widely expected to appoint Cho as Justice Minister with o

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong's leader on Wednesday bowed to a key demand of pro-democracy protesters following three months of unrest, announcing the withdrawal of a loathed extradition bill, but activists vowed to press on with their campaign.Millions of people have taken to Hong Kong's streets since June in the biggest challenge to China's rule of semi-autonomous Hong Kong since its handover from the British in 1997.After refusing for months to permanently withdraw the bill, which aimed to allo

An opposition lawmaker came under fire Tuesday after he asked an unmarried female Fair Trade Commission chair nominee to “contribute to the country’s development” by giving birth. At a confirmation hearing for Fair Trade Commission chair nominee Cho Sung-wook, Rep. Jung Kap-yoon of the Liberty Korea Party said Cho would be a perfect candidate for the post if she were married and had a child. “What do you think is the biggest problem in Korean society?” the five

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk continue to dominate local headlines for starkly different reasons, with shifting support from liberals and conservatives.  Yoon gained fame as a lead investigator in the allegations that the National Intelligence Service interfered in the 2012 presidential election. He was then pushed away from the center of power at the prosecution, only to return to the public eye in 2016 as one of the lead investigators in the massiv

The sticking point in Cho’s hearing has been whether to summon his family

South Korean tennis player Chung Hyeon has completed a big comeback to reach the third round at the US Open.Chung, world No. 170, defeated the 34th-ranked Fernando Verdasco 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Thursday (local time). Chung rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the fifth set and saved a match point to force a tiebreak. He then charged out to a 5-0 lead before finishing off Verdasco 7-3 in a match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes.Nex

Seoul’s Defense Ministry maintained Thursday that it was closely working with the United States, following the remarks by US defense leaders expressing disappointment over South Korea’s decision to withdraw from an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan.The United States has been vocally critical of South Korea’s decision to terminate the General Security of Military Information Agreement with Japan. “As we have told you before, defense minister and the US Secretary of

Seoul police questioned Seungri, a former member of the K-pop boy band BIGBANG, Wednesday over allegations of illegal overseas gambling. The disgraced singer returned home at around 10:20 p.m. after nearly 12 1/2 hours of interrogation at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He was booked earlier this month over the allegations of habitual gambling in foreign countries and illegally securing gambling funds in violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act.  Yang Hyun-suk, former chief p

Arthritis treatment mislabeling leads to crisis for some 60,000 shareholders

Amid the harsh trade and market conditions surrounding South Korea’s largest conglomerate, Samsung Electronics, the company is on high alert as the country’s highest court is set to rule this week on a bribery scandal involving Samsung’s heir and the former president. The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver a final verdict Thursday at 2 p.m. in the cases of former President Park Geun-hye, her confidante Choi Soon-sil and Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong. The top court will decide wh

South Korea wrapped up a military exercise on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo in the East Sea on Monday after conducting the biannual maneuvers on the largest-ever scale amid an escalating row with Japan.The two-day exercise, the first of this year's two regular drills, involved all three services of the armed forces as well as the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard in a show of Seoul's determination not to back down in the row with Japan over wartime history and trade.The number of tro

The South Korean armed forces launched a two-day military exercise to defend the easternmost islets of Dokdo on Sunday amid growing tensions over trade and their shared history, in a show of its staunch defense stance against Japan's repeated claims to sovereignty over the cluster of rocks in the East Sea.The Navy announced that the drill involves Navy, Air Force and Army forces, such as naval warships and aircraft, as well as Army and Marine Corp troops."Indeed, it's an exercise to guard o

Police have launched a probe after a video and photos of a South Korean man allegedly threatening and beating a Japanese woman went viral on social media, they said Saturday."We have found the victim and the suspect in the alleged assault case, which occurred the previous day and contacted them," an official at Seoul Mapo Police Station said. "We will call them in later in the day and investigate the details of the incident."  In the video that went viral online, the man