A foreign swimmer participating in the FINA World Championships in Gwangju was arrested Sunday for alleged sexual harassment.Gwangju Seobu Police Station in the southern metropolitan city said it has arrested the swimmer, 22, on charges of sexually harassing an 18-year-old woman at a club around 3 a.m. Sunday. The woman called police immediately and the swimmer, whose identity was withheld, was arrested on the spot.The swimmer, accompanied by an attorney from his native country, is said to be de

Big Bang’s Daesung on Friday apologized for the ongoing controversy surrounding his building in Gangnam, Seoul, while denying any association with an alleged illegal entertainment business at his property. News outlets reported earlier Friday that an illegal entertainment business had been operating in the Big Bang member’s building in the Nonhyeon-dong neighborhood of Gangnam. An initial report said that an illegal entertainment business -- speculated to involve prostitution --

A high court on Thursday sentenced former President Park Geun-hye to five years in prison for causing losses to state coffers by unlawfully receiving money from chiefs of the country’s spy agency. The Seoul High Court handed down the five-year prison term and asked her to pay 2.7 billion won ($2.3 million) in forfeitures, a reduction of one year from the lower court’s ruling and down from 3.3 billion won. The prosecution said it would appeal. It sought a 12-year term in prison for Pa

With South Koreans increasingly taking part in a boycott of Japanese goods, the Parcel Delivery Workers’ Solidarity Union on Wednesday refused to handle Uniqlo products.“Parcel Delivery workers will participate in the boycott by refusing to deliver Uniqlo (products). We object to the Abe administration’s economic retaliation,” members of the union said in a press conference in front of the former Japanese Embassy building in central Seoul.“Uniqlo (dismissed) the boy

A bipartisan delegation representing South Korea’s National Assembly left for Washington on Wednesday morning to meet with US and Japanese counterparts in hopes of finding a breakthrough in Japan’s latest trade restrictions. Following the five-day visit to Washington, a separate delegation is to visit Tokyo next week.“Japan argues that South Korea has violated international law, but does not provide details. I plan to address that during the Korea-US-Japan Trilateral Legislativ

Cho Kuk, senior secretary to the president for civil affairs and justice, is once again in the spotlight, drawing fire from conservatives and fueling a feud between the ruling and opposition blocs. This time around, Cho -- a longtime target of the conservative opposition -- is drawing criticism for comments on social media related to Japan’s decision to impose trade restrictions in apparent retaliation over court rulings on Korean forced labor victims. While Cho has made over 40 posts

The prosecution said Tuesday it has indicted 34 people, including former company executives, for manufacturing and selling humidifier disinfectants containing toxic chemicals, wrapping up an eight-month reinvestigation into one of the worst scandals involving consumer products.The probe came after a 2011 scandal involving toxic humidifier disinfectants sold by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser rattled South Korea, leaving more than 100 people dead from lung problems. Hong Ji-ho, former president of SK Chemi

SEJONG -- Extended work hours will be approved for businesses that need hi-tech materials to replace those regulated by Tokyo, as part of efforts to cope with Japan’s stricter trade export control, the government said Monday.The Ministry of Employment and Labor mapped out a plan to allow work hours longer than the 52 hours a week stipulated by the law to facilitate the process of import substitution of three materials -- fluorinated polyimide, resist and etching gas -- imported from Japan.

A South Korean freighter was attacked by pirates near the Singapore Strait on Monday, government officials in Busan said.The pirates armed with guns and knives assaulted sailors of the South Korean-registered vessel, the 44,132-ton CK Bluebell, in the sea about 100 miles from the entrance of the strait at 4:25 a.m. before making off with $13,000 in cash, according to the officials at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.No casualties were reported from the attack, they said, noting the

Four people died and 12 were injured in a van crash Monday morning in Gangwon Province.A Hyundai van flipped over at 7:33 a.m. Monday on a road in the northeastern coastal area of Gagok-myeon in Samcheok, according to Gangwon Fire Headquarters. Fire authorities and police said the Hyundai Grace van carrying 16 passengers crashed into a guardrail and tipped over to the roadside.  Of the 16 passengers, nine were foreign nationals, including a Thai man, 44, a fire department official said.Four

A 3.9 magnitude earthquake struck the central South Korean city of Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Sunday, with no damage or injuries reported, the weather agency said.The quake occurred at 11:04 a.m. in Sangju, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration."No damage is expected but many people might have felt the tremor," said a KMA official.  Tremors from Sunday's quake were felt across the country, with 279 emergency calls report

South Korea was set to remain on alert Saturday for any remaining impact of Typhoon Danas, though it appears to by dying down, government officials said.The central government and local administrative bodies are maintaining their emergency response systems and are taking steps to minimize damage from the typhoon, small in scale though it may be."There could be some damage in mountainous areas of Jeju Island and other southern parts of the country until tomorrow from heavy rain and strong wi

South Korea was on high alert Friday for the arrival of a typhoon that is forecast to churn through southern parts of the country with heavy rain and strong winds this weekend.Jeju Island and other southern provinces, already hit by this week's seasonal downpours, issued heavy rain and high seas alerts for many areas of the regions, as Typhoon Danas is expected to make landfall on Saturday morning. The season's fifth typhoon is likely to unleash up to 50 millimeters of rain per hour through

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country’s two biggest umbrella unions, staged multiple strikes across the country Thursday in protest against key labor policies of the Moon Jae-in administration.Among the slew of policies labor groups have condemned, next year’s minimum hourly wage that will fall short of reaching 10,000 won ($8.50) is at the center of amplifying discontent.Some 50,000 members of the KCTU joined demonstrations held nationwide, of which about 5,00

The liquidation of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Korean assets is likely to be expedited as it has refused to hold talks on compensation for victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor, according to sources Tuesday.A civic group working with the victims said that the Japanese firm had not responded to the victims’ request for discussions to follow up on the South Korean Supreme Court’s order that it compensate them by the Monday deadline. “Having lost the lawsuit, Mitsub