After South Korea closed a deal with Pfizer to obtain additional doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, Samsung Electronics’ de facto chief, Lee Jae-yong, is receiving much attention in local media for his reported role in facilitating talks between the two sides. Seoul announced Friday that it had secured enough additional vaccine for 20 million people in a deal that soothed public worries over a shortage. Adding to those worries were the reported side effects associated with the AstraZeneca

South Korea's biggest bookstore chain has ceased sales of memoirs of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung following a legal and political controversy surrounding the eight-volume series. On Wednesday, a local publishing company said it has begun selling the memoirs, titled "With the Century," here for the first time since the books were published by the North Korean regime in the early 1990s. The memoirs, which mostly feature Kim's anti-Japanese fight, have sparked controversy as they ar

A traditional Korean outfit worn by BTS’ Jimin that was scheduled to go under the hammer was removed last minute on Thursday. His fans however are calling for the modern “hanbok” suit to be put up for auction as planned. The K-pop superstar wore it for a September performance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Myart Auction on Thursday removed the outfit from its online auction list last minute and it was only available for preview as the a

Police searched offices of a public housing corporation in Seoul on Friday as part of an investigation into bribery allegations involving its employees. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said investigators searched the headquarters and two branch offices of Seoul Housing and Communities Corp. (SH) affiliated with the city government. Three employees of the company are being probed over suspicions they took bribes from real estate agents operating in an SH-led housing development area. The

The Belgian ambassador to South Korea apologized on Thursday for his wife’s assault of a clothing store staffer in Seoul, which was captured on security camera and spread on social media earlier this week. The footage shows Xiang Xueqiu, wife of Ambassador Peter Lescouhier, slapping a storekeeper who tried to stop her from approaching a colleague behind the store counter. The colleague suspected that Xiang, 63, was trying to leave the shop wearing a piece of clothing she didn’t pay

New Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon promised Thursday to bring hope and vitality to a city plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic and matters of people's livelihoods. Oh said he would make five pledges to the nation's capital of 10 million during a virtual inauguration ceremony held two weeks after he took office. Those promises, he implied, are based on the failures of the Moon Jae-in administration to address the plight of small business owners in a pandemic and fix a turbulent housing market. "The R

With clever planning, celebrities shorten mandatory career break for military service

North Korea is continuing to work on a submersible missile test stand barge at its Nampo shipyard, a US think tank said Tuesday, suggesting the work could be part of preparations for a ballistic missile test. Citing satellite imagery taken Monday, the think tank said the North has positioned a "cylindrical object on the submersible missile test barge at Nampo." It said the image alone could not confirm an imminent missile launch, but noted the round object could be a launch tube for

Conscripting women into the armed forces now would be premature, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday, amid fresh debate about making military service compulsory for both women and men. At present, all able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the military or complete an alternative public service program. Women can join the military as officers or noncommissioned officers. “Expanding conscription isn’t a yes-no, black-and-white question because we need to l

A group of South Korean nuclear researchers on Tuesday called on Japan to withdraw its decision to release contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, urging for more information over the plan. South Korea has expressed concerns over Japan's announcement last week to release about 1.3 million tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the plant, citing potential health risks. A group of experts at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute said J

Former chief prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl, who rose to stardom by defying the Moon Jae-in administration’s prosecutorial reform drive, beat his closest rival by a whopping 16.2 percentage points in the latest poll on presidential preference. In the survey of 1,011 adults nationwide, conducted Friday by Realmeter and commissioned by YTN, 37.2 percent chose Yoon as their most preferred presidential hopeful. The second-most-popular choice was Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung with 21 percent support

SEJONG -- The number of South Korean stay-at-home fathers reached an all-time high in March as fewer women took charge of bringing up kids, government data showed Monday. A total of 13,000 South Korean men outside the labor force were in charge of child care last month, up 6,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS). It was the largest number since data tracking began in 1999. The on-year increase was also the biggest since March 201

Popular radio host maligned by critics for political partisanship, questioned on pay

South Korea will allow three more airports to run international "flights to nowhere" to help the pandemic-hit airline and duty-free industry ride out the prolonged crisis, the transport ministry said Sunday. Flights to nowhere start and end at the same airport and offer tax-free sales, while passengers are exempted from mandatory COVID-19 testing and the quarantine process after arrival. Starting from May, airlines will be allowed to operate international flights without destinations

Posco C&C decided to end their business partnership with Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL), one of Myanmar’s two largest military holding companies, the company said Friday. The affiliate of South Korea’s steel giant Posco said it will end its partnership with MEHL by purchasing all the stakes MEHL has in their joint venture, Myanmar Posco C&C Co., following public outcry against Myanmar military’s brutal crackdown on its citizens after a coup in