MADRID -- A high-ranking official from the presidential office said that South Korea would have faced “much more criticism and doubts” if it had not attended the NATO summit, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The remarks came amid escalating tensions between Western allies and Russia alongside China over the NATO summit in Madrid held on Wednesday and Thursday. There, NATO members wil...

Former President Lee Myung-bak, 81, was granted a stay of sentence due to his health concerns, Suwon prosecutors said Tuesday. The Suwon prosecution service’s deliberation committee said in a press release that Lee was deemed to be “physically unfit” to be in jail, and that he would be granted a three-month break from his time. The deliberation committee decided that the ex-president could face ...

The family of Lee Dae-jun, a South Korean fisheries official who was killed by North Korean troops at sea in 2020, and their lawyer said Tuesday they plan on reaching out to a United Nations expert on extrajudicial killings for help. The official’s older brother, Lee Rae-jin, and his lawyer Kim Ki-yun met with Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in North ...

Local gene therapy biotech firm Helixmith will announce the results of Engensis’ second phase 3 clinical trials for diabetic peripheral neuropathy next month, officials said Tuesday. “We were hoping to announce the results of Engensis’ second phase 3 clinical trials today, but the (independent Data Monitoring Committee) has requested additional data,” said Kim Sun-young, CEO of Helixmith, in a p...

When asked about his role in narrating the crew’s plan, the actor said it was an exciting experience. “I focused a lot on my diction and pronunciation, hoping to deliver the plan in a calm tone. I studied voice acting a lot,” the actor told The Korea Herald. While praising his co-stars’ performances, Yoo emphasized that there is still room to grow with the series. “I think many in the entertai...

LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo on Wednesday marks his fourth anniversary at the helm of the nation’s fourth-largest conglomerate, with his leadership taking shape, though not yet completed. Koo, then 40, took office as chairman and CEO of LG Corp., the holding unit, on June 29, 2018, following the death of his father, Chairman Koo Bon-moo. He was the youngest person to lead one of the nation’s t...

A Seoul bankruptcy court on Tuesday approved a local consortium led by chemical-to-steel firm KG Group to acquire a 58.85 percent stake in SsangYong Motor at a reported 900 billion won ($700 million), ending a two-way race to acquire the debt-ridden South Korean SUV maker. SsangYong has been under court receivership for 14 months after its Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra failed to attract fresh...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened a key party meeting to discuss how to reorganize party departments and strengthen party control over intelligence, surveillance and judicial apparatus, the state media reported on Tuesday. Kim on Monday presided over an enlarged meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea at the party headquarters in Pyongyang, the R...

Twice shared handwritten messages with fans to mark the fifth anniversary of its debut in Japan on Tuesday. Jihyo thanked fans for gifting the group with many good memories over the past five years and wished they could continue to be together. Tzuyu declared that Once, the band’s official fandom community is the most important thing to the group. “Let‘s ’celebrate‘ the fifth anniversa...

The AVPN Global Conference puts under-represented Asian voices on a world stage to form new partnerships; with Asia holding 63% of the world's population and 42% of its wealth. "This is the decade for action, the decade for decision ," says Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO AVPN Western models don't adequately address local issues - Asian leaders need to step up Investors must allow investees to de...

Posco Engineering & Construction, a construction unit under steel giant Posco, opened a second sample house of The Sharp Geochang Porsiel as it prepares to start its official sale, the company said Friday. The second Sharp Geochang Porsiel complex comprises six 20-story buildings, and a total of 443 households. Interior designs and sizes vary from medium-sized flats to penthouses, the company sa...

North Korea on Tuesday slammed Japan for raising the issue of abducted Japanese nationals that it maintains has been resolved and accused Tokyo and Washington of making false charges to apply political pressure on the regime. Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry issued a document accusing Japan of holding an “anti-North Korea” teleconference with the United States, Australia and the European Union as pa...

“He innovated his work, changing his coloring style in his later years,” Youn of MMCA said. In recent years, minhwa has grown in popularity with an increasing number of people practicing the traditional folk art genre as a hobby and younger artists taking inspiration from it. Minhwa painter Oh Soon-kyung, who is showing five paintings inspired by minhwa at the MMCA exhibition that is running thr...

Seoul shares ended higher Tuesday to extend their winning streak to a third day as auto and technology stocks advanced on bargain hunting, with investors keeping an eye on upcoming U.S. economic data and Federal Reserve policy. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 20.17 points, or 0.84 percent, to close at 2,422.09. Trading volume wa...