NK’s diplomatic isolation deepens under international sanctions　

Two leading opposition candidates for Seoul mayor will conduct a public opinion poll early this week to determine who should run as the single unified candidate in next month's by-election, their campaigns said Sunday. The campaigns for Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party said they agreed during working-level talks to hold the survey from Monday to Tuesday and announce the winner as soon as the results of the survey are o

Lee Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto leader of Samsung Group, underwent surgery for appendicitis, officials here said Saturday, according to Yonhap News. Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., was transferred to Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul and received the surgery on Friday night due to a ruptured appendix, the report said. In January, the 52-year-old tycoon was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Par

A breakdown of everything you need to know about Big Hit's new identity

President Joe Biden on Thursday instructed all public facilities, including the White House and military installations, to honor the victims of deadly shootings in Atlanta by flying the US flag at half-staff over the next five days. The proclamation came shortly after the US president declared the shootings "un-American." "As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on March 16, 2021, in the Atlanta Metropolitan area ... I hereby order that

　Local expat communities are expressing anger and disappointment over the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province government mandates for all foreign workers to submit themselves to be tested for COVID-19. The Seoul city government said Tuesday that all foreign workers will be required to take COVID-19 tests by the end of this month. The measure follows Gyeonggi Province’s order made days earlier to have all foreigners in the province undergo COVID-19 testing by March 22. The measures drew mixed res

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday once again apologized to the victim of alleged sexual harassment by late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, pledging its full support to help her return to normal life. "On behalf of the DP, I once again give my sincere apology to the victim," floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, who is acting as the party chairman, said during a party meeting. "(The DP) will take full responsibility in helping the victim return normally to her everyday

Former national soccer team captain Ki Sung-yueng continues to face allegations that he sexually assaulted two of his elementary school teammates 21 years ago, as a television program aired interviews of the purported victims on Tuesday. The two, who were themselves punished for school violence four years later in 2004, said they now realize that they should have sincerely apologized to their victims. The two told MBC’s “PD Notebook” that Ki and another teammate, who were six

Police conducted raids on Wednesday into multiple places, including the land ministry, in a widening investigation into alleged land speculation by employees of a state housing developer. Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency has sent investigators, 33 in total, to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the administrative capital of Sejong, some 120 kilometers south of Seoul. The raid is said to be aimed at corroborating allegations that employees at the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH)

South Korean health authorities said Wednesday that the rollout of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will continue despite major European countries' decision to pause vaccinations to investigate reported side effects. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a press release that there is no evidence suggesting correlation between vaccines manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University and reports of blood clots in some recipients. A

On Monday night, Youn Yuh-jung became the first South Korean actor to be nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress. She is being recognized at the 93rd Academy Awards for her performance in the US film “Minari,” directed by Lee Isaac Chung. “I am actually honored just to be nominated,” Yoon said in a statement released through her management agency after the announcement on Monday. “I am not a big fan of competition. I cannot even watch TV programs that r

The founder of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Kakao Corp. said Tuesday that he will donate half of his wealth -- currently estimated to be more than 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion). "Through this pledge today, we commit to give more than half of our wealth back to society during our lifetime," Kim Beom-su said in a message posted on the website of the Giving Pledge. Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, is a global campaign by the world's we

A police investigation looking into who had left a 2-year-old girl alone in an empty house for months continues, after her death reported last week ignited a public uproar. The toddler named Boram was found dead on Feb. 10 in the southeastern city of Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province. Police arrested a 22-year-old woman surnamed Kim on charges of homicide and child neglect as they suspected she had left the child alone as she remarried. Recent DNA test results showed, however, that Kim’s

Police on Monday raided the homes and offices of local public servants and a council member in a widening investigation into land speculation nationwide. Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency sent investigators to the home and office of a ruling Democratic Party council member of Siheung and the home and office of a Gwangmyeong municipal government employee. Siheung and Gwangmyeong, both south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, are at the center of a massive scandal sparked by allegations of land speculati

The race to bid for unlisted companies‘ next initial public offering bonanza among South Korean investors is intensifying, data showed Sunday, as the recent high-profile deals including Coupang’s $4.6 billion US IPO whet investor appetite. Krafton, which develops and publishes battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, saw its trading price spike on over-the-counter platforms here. The game developer is the country’s largest unicorn -- a term used to describe a