Former President Park Geun-hye maintained her claim of innocence via attorneys at the first hearing of her trial Tuesday, signaling a tough battle against the corruption charges that brought an end to her presidency in March. The Seoul Central District Court held the preliminary hearing and set May 23 as the start date for a formal trial that Park, who has remained in custody since late March, must attend. She did not appear this time as her attendance was not mandatory. During the hearing, Park

More than half of Korean men have paid for sex at least once in their life, a government report showed Monday.According to the poll of 1,050 men by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 50.7 percent said they had purchased sex, 6 percentage points down from 2013. Nearly 26 percent of them had engaged prostitutes in the past year and did so 8.46 times per year on average.The majority of men who had paid for sex, or 53.8 percent, first did so when they were aged between 20 and 24, followed b

Whichever candidate wins the upcoming presidential election, South Korea is likely to ease up on its tough refugee policy. When it comes to migrant workers, however, leading candidates diverge on what to do. According to Amnesty International’s Korea office, the five mainstream party-backed candidates have all promised some “progress” in asylum seeker policy, vowing to prevent human rights violations and improve the refugee status determination system. The global rights watchdog has asked each o

The North Korean state media on Sunday made its first mention of a US aircraft carrier that has taken part in a joint exercise here with the South Korean Navy.The Korean Central News Agency reported that USS Carl Vinson was "hurled into the saber-rattling" exercise between the United States and South Korea in the East Sea on Saturday. USS Carl Vinson (center), a US aircraft carrier, leads the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels during a joint exercise. (US Navy)The nuclear-powered supercar

Most of the major presidential candidates have referred to themselves as “feminists” and have made big promises to tackle gender discrimination and violence. However, questions linger over whether they can deliver, as some of the contenders are mired in controversy for using language critics say shows their subconscious gender stereotypes. Often compared to US President Donald Trump for his outspoken rhetoric, Hong Joon-pyo, the firebrand flag-bearer of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, has

A group of South Korean gay rights activists were apprehended Wednesday while staging a protest at the National Assembly against presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in over his remarks against homosexuality. A total of 13 people were taken to police stations for investigation after they tried to approach Moon, demanded his apology and chanted slogans while the candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea was addressing his supporters on a podium. Protesters hold a surprise demonstration in

With only two weeks to go before the May 9 presidential election, candidates are busy wooing voters of various ages, backgrounds and religions. But there is one particular group that they are not competing to win over -- sexual minorities.While homosexuality is not a crime in South Korea, LGBT people -- lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender -- live largely on the fringes of society as the majority of Koreans remain either indifferent to or intolerant of homosexuality.Knowing this, most candidat

Foreign residents who have unpaid local taxes will be denied an extension of their visas starting in May, the government said Monday. Under an information sharing pact of the Justice Ministry, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service, immigration offices nationwide will check the tax payment history of every foreigner who applies for a visa extension and reject the request if the person has a tax default. The program will start with 16 immigration offices on May 1, gradually expand

Former President Park Geun-hye sold her home in downtown Seoul for 6.7 billion won ($5.9 million) and purchased a new one in a quieter neighborhood on the southern edge of the capital, local media reported Friday. “The old house was too shabby and caused inconveniences to neighbors. (The area) was too crowded, so she decided to move to a quieter neighborhood,” Park’s confidant told Yonhap News Agency.(Yonhap)After Park moved to her old home in Samseong-dong, two days after being ousted from powe