More than half of South Koreans oppose granting a pardon to former President Lee Myung-bak, a poll showed Monday, amid rising speculation outgoing President Moon Jae-in may use his clemency powers to set Lee free before he leaves office. The Korea Society Opinion Institute survey of 1,012 adults, conducted between Friday and Saturday, showed 51.7 percent of respondents are against pardoning Lee,...

Police on Monday raided Seongnam City Hall over allegations that former ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung took hefty donations from companies via the city's football club while serving as mayor of the city. Investigators from the Bundang Police Station searched five divisions of the city government, including the city planning and policy planning divisions, to seize materials rel...

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to around 20,000 on Monday, marking the lowest level in nearly three months, as the country lifted the outdoor mask mandate in a major step toward regaining normalcy. The country reported 20,084 new COVID-19 infections, including 26 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,295,733, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday'...

South Korea’s total population has started to decline amid low childbirths, but the number of foreigners here is forecast to continue to increase to make up of 4.3 percent of the population in 2040, a report showed. After peaking at 51.84 million in 2020, the country’s total population started to decline in 2021 and will likely further fall to 50.19 million in 2040, according to the report fro...

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Monday, as investors here are concerned about a sharp dip on Wall Street last week that stemmed from weaker-than-expected earnings reports from market heavyweights and persistent woes over the Fed's aggressive tightening. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 21.35 points, or 0.79 percent, to trade at 2,673.7 in the first 15 minutes of tradin...

South Korea's top envoy to Ukraine and some other embassy staff have returned to Kyiv to restart operations there, according to Seoul's foreign ministry. South Korean embassy officials had evacuated from the capital and worked at a temporary office in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi since March following Russia's invasion of the country. Amb. Kim Hyung-tae and some embassy staff have returned ...

AMSTERDAM , May 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Public Access Lagoons™ projects that Crystal Lagoons is developing around the world could reduce 14 million tons in CO2 emissions, equivalent to 40% of the carbon footprint of the tourism and transportation industries. Through its contribution to furthering carbon neutrality in different economic and social activities this has led the so-called...

K-pop powerhouse Hybe will unveil its first girl group Le Sserafim on Monday amid high anticipation from global music fans. The six-piece group composed of Miyawaki Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha, Kim Garam and Hong Eunchae will drop its debut EP "Fearless" at 6 p.m., Source Music said. The first two are ex-members of the now-disbanded girl group IZ*ONE, while Huh was a contestant on t...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un praised students and young workers who participated in a massive military parade for demonstrating ardent patriotism like no other country, state media reported Monday. At the photo session held Sunday, Kim noted the "rosy future" of "our-style socialism" belongs to the youth and urged them to hasten their efforts toward this "sacred patriotic cause," according to...

Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man has landed on the 10-day injured list (IL) with right elbow problems, with his red-hot start to the 2022 campaign coming to a screeching halt. The Rays made the move prior to their series finale against the Minnesota Twins at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday (local time). It is retroactive to Thursday. Choi had sat out ...

And then there were two. Two out of four South Korean teams have reached the knockout stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, the top annual club tournament in the region. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Daegu FC are in, while Ulsan Hyundai FC and Jeonnam Dragons have been sent packing. Jeonbuk became the first to do so by beating Sydney FC 3-2 last Thursday in their penult...

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min has scored his way into South Korean football record books. Son grabbed a brace in Tottenham's 3-1 victory over Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). Son now has a career-high 19 goals for this Premier League season, and he also owns the record for most goals by a South Korean player in a season in a European league. Form...

With Elon Musk set to buy Twitter for $44 billion, commentators are scrambling to understand what the “free speech absolutism” espoused by the world’s richest person will mean for the platform. But the principle could also create headaches for Musk himself. With the European Union and the United Kingdom about to enact laws aimed at making social media safer and more accountable, Musk has seeming...

When I was young, my mother used to take me for a drive in the mountains during spring. We enjoyed looking at the flowers. The frozen land during winter has resurfaced with a scene of spring surrounded by trees and flowers. The change from winter to spring was truly beautiful. When she took a drive with me, we always listened to songs related to spring. Mother and I especially enjoyed “Spring” b...