The court said Friday that it had rejected an injunction request from NGOs to ban the sales and distribution of a memoir of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung. Kim Seung-kyun, who runs a company that used to trade with North Korea, republished the eight-volume memoirs, titled “With the Century,” last month for the first time in South Korea, and sales of the books once called by the Supreme Court “an item of expression that benefits the enemy” began. The set of book

The US State Department detailed the South Korean government’s limitations on in-person worship to contain COVID-19, and conflicts that arose in the process in its annual International Religious Freedom report released Wednesday. The report mentioned that the South Korean government placed restrictions on the number of persons who could gather together for any purpose, including for religious worship, to minimize exposure to the virus since February last year, following a COVID-19 outbrea

Lee Sung-yoon, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, was expected to be indicted for abuse of authority on Tuesday on the recommendation of a panel of experts. He is alleged to have stopped an inquiry into an illegal travel ban on an ex-vice justice minister. If indicted, Lee would be the first incumbent Seoul prosecution chief to stand accused in court. Out of the 13 panel members present -- including law professors, lawyers and those in religious service -- eight vot

President Moon Jae-in’s approval ratings inched up to 36 percent in a weekly poll, while 60.3 percent disapproved of his presidential performance. In a survey of 2,015 adults nationwide conducted by Realmeter on May 3, 4, 6 and 7, approval ratings went up by 3 percentage points from the week before. Those who gave the president a thumbs-down slid 2.3 percentage points. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent. Compared to

The ruling party’s presidential hopefuls have begun talking about giving money to young people who completed their military duties, young people who do not own homes and even newborns. The opposition has decried them as populist pledges. Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon proposed on Thursday, “let’s spend the comprehensive real estate holding tax revenue collected from owners of multiple homes for residential stability of young people without homes and one-person hou

The father of a 21-year-old medical student who was found dead in the Han River bid farewell to his son at his funeral Wednesday, as he awaits the final autopsy results. Sohn Jung-min was last seen asleep early April 25 by a friend who drank with him at the riverside park in Banpo, Seoul. Sohn’s body was found on April 30 in the Han River. The father had written on his blog asking for help to find his son. He hung banners around the area and spoke to the press about what he knew of the

New Prosecutor General nominee Kim Oh-soo stressed the organizational stability of the prosecution as his top priority on Tuesday as he prepares for a parliamentary confirmation hearing to succeed Yoon Seok-youl, who rose to political stardom by defying his bosses. “If I am appointed as prosecutor general, I think stabilizing the organization is the most important thing,” Kim told reporters as he arrived for work Tuesday morning. “I will communicate and make efforts to harmon

A 22-year-old medical student was found dead in the Han River on Friday after going missing for six days, and his family is awaiting the results of an autopsy to learn how he died. Sohn Jung-min was last seen asleep at the riverside park in Banpo, Seoul, early on April 25 by his friend, who had also fallen asleep. The two had been drinking together. An autopsy was conducted at the request of Sohn’s family, as two wounds were found behind his left ear. Sohn’s father told Yonhap New

Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, 73, is loved not just for her acting, but also for her candid and humorous remarks. The veteran actor of over 50 years said on a US television show on Tuesday that she doesn’t “admire” Hollywood. “When some project comes from America, people in Korea think I admire Hollywood,” Youn told NBC Asian America. “No, I don’t admire Hollywood. The reason I keep coming is because if I come to the States and work, maybe I’m ab

The Foreign Ministry called in a Japanese diplomat Tuesday to protest Tokyo’s renewed territorial claims over South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo in its annual foreign policy paper. The 2021 diplomatic blue book, an analysis of last year’s international affairs and record of Japan’s diplomatic activities, was the first issued under Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, who took office in September. The ministry expressed regret to Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and opposition lawmaker Rep. Yoon Hee-sook argued on Monday over Lee’s proposal of a system where the amount of fines is based on how rich the offender is. Lee, who has long been among the ruling party’s strongest presidential hopefuls in public polls, wrote via Facebook on Sunday that the amount of fines should be proportionate to the offender’s property. “Finland adopted the system 100 years ago in 1921, and Germany in 1975,”

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

Naver is considering listing its web cartoon in the US as part of efforts to go global, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday. Naver’s chief financial officer Park Sang-jin said the company is eyeing more dollar bond sales and a possible future US initial public offering for Naver Webtoon, according to the wire service. “To grow, it’s inevitable that we go global,” Park was quoted as saying. “We should find business opportunities and meet capable partners to suppleme

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

United Nations experts said Japan’s plans to discharge contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean were “very concerning” as this action could impact millions of lives and livelihoods in the Pacific region. “The release of one million tonnes of contaminated water into the marine environment imposes considerable risks to the full enjoyment of human rights of concerned populations in and beyond the borders of Japan,” independent exper