Senior legislator bolts from Liberty Korea Party in protest against leader Hong Joon-pyo

Even after the two previous leaders’ terms ended amid disputes, the next candidate tapped as chief of the financial market watchdog is, again, another reformative nonbureaucrat, reflecting the administration’s determination for financial reform.The Financial Services Commission said Friday that it had nominated Yoon Suk-heun as the new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. He is a visiting professor of business administration at Seoul National University and chairman of the

GWANGJU -- Former President Chun Doo-hwan will stand another trial over a brutal crackdown on the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju, more than two decades after he was charged with sedition and other crimes in connection with the bloodshed.The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday it has indicted the 87-year-old on the charge of defamation of the deceased. The former Army general, who was president from 1980-88, is accused of defaming the victims of the nin

Moon Chung-in, a special national security and foreign affairs adviser to President Moon Jae-in, is once again making headlines. And again for all the wrong reasons. The latest controversy began with his contribution to the foreign policy magazine Foreign Affairs. In the article published online on April 30, Moon Chung-in outlined the Panmunjeom Declaration, which includes ending the Korean War and signing a peace treaty.  Moon Chung-in, at a forum on April 26 at the inter-Korean summit media ce

Cho Hyun-min, a former senior executive of South Korea's largest airline and a daughter of its chief, has denied allegations that she physically assaulted an advertising agency official during a business meeting in March, police said Wednesday.Cho Hyun-min, an heiress to Korean Air Lines Co., is surrounded by reporters on her way back from the Seoul Gangseo Police Station on May 2, 2018, after undergoing police questioning over assault allegations. (Yonhap)The 35-year-old is under police investi

Police on Tuesday questioned a daughter of Korean Air's Chairman Cho Yang-ho over suspicion that she assaulted an advertisement agency's employee during a business meeting last month.The Seoul Gangseo Police Station brought in Cho Hyun-min, a former Korean Air senior executive, for questioning over the allegations of assault and obstruction of business in a case that has tarnished the image of the country's flag carrier."I am sincerely sorry for having caused concerns," Cho said repeatedly as sh

The South Korean government’s first-ever measures to support victims of online and digital sexual violence, including those who have been affected by so-called “spycam porn” or “revenge porn,” took effect Monday.　The measures include a government agency deleting, upon victims’ requests, spycam or revenge porn footage that has been illegally uploaded online.　“We hope that victims of digital and online sexual violence can go back to their normal lives as soon as possible and no longer feel that th

　With the two Koreas’ leaders pledging to restore now-defunct railways and roads during the summit, hopes are high that the initiative will prompt cross-border cooperation in the economy and logistics. 　President Moon Jae-in and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un agreed to adopt “practical measures” to connect and modernize the Gyeongui Line and East Coast Line. The former is between Seoul and Sinuiju, while the latter had connected the South’s coastal city of Busan and Wonsan of the North. 　The a

Among the many spectacles Friday’s inter-Korean summit offered was the two Korea’s first ladies’ first-ever meeting with one another, and the seemingly instant bond they formed.Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, made her much-anticipated appearance at Panmunjeom at 6:18 p.m. on Friday. She did not accompany her husband when he came for talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in earlier in the day, and her attendance at the summit dinner remained unconfirmed until afternoo

The unexpected scene played out when the two leaders then crossed the line together into the Northern side at the request of Kim.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in shook hands Friday over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries in a gesture laden with symbolism ahead of a historic summit."I am happy to meet you," Moon told Kim before the visitor stepped over the line, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended in an armistice 65 years ago.The two men briefly stepped back over the line into the North before walking to th

Regional powers keen on preserving their interests as Moon and Kim engage directly

The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized an 18-month prison term for an aide to former President Park Geun-hye for leaking confidential presidential documents to Park’s friend at the center of a massive corruption scandal.It was the first Supreme Court verdict on a case implicating Park as an accomplice in the influence-peddling scandal that led to her impeachment and removal from office last year.Jeong Ho-seong was indicted last November for providing 47 classified documents, under Park’s instru

Two Vietnamese women sat nervously in a mock trial on Sunday as they awaited the ruling on their case against South Korea over massacres that took place during the Vietnam War.“Defendant South Korea should pay reparations accordingly to the State Compensation Act and officially recognize its liability (in the massacre) to regain the dignity and honor of the plaintiffs,” Kim Young-ran, former Supreme Court Justice, delivered the ruling as the chief judge of the mock trial.As Kim read out the verd

Unification is an idea that moves most Koreans, North and South, on an emotional level.For some, especially young people in the South, it may not be a burning issue. Details like the costs, the risks and what specifically both sides stand to gain are rarely given much thought by anyone who isn’t an academic, politician or activist.]But when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in meet on Friday, the prospect of unification, even if only in the abstract, will loom l