64 h. ago Can Seoul count on China’s commitment to Korean reunification?

China’s role in any future reunification of the Korean peninsula should not be assumed, a South Korean analyst has warned at a peace forum in Hong Kong after being asked if Bejing is a reliable partner to help advance the goal. Sung Ki-young, chief research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, told the Korean Peninsula Peace Forum on Wednesday that both China and the United States were reluctant to rapidly or radically alter peace and stability on the peninsula, meaning major...

Politics

64 h. ago Can Seoul count on Beijing’s commitment to Korean reunification?

China’s role in any future reunification of the Korean peninsula should not be assumed, a South Korean analyst has warned at a peace forum in Hong Kong after being asked if Bejing is a reliable partner to help advance the goal. Sung Ki-young, chief research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, told the Korean Peninsula Peace Forum on Wednesday that both China and the United States were reluctant to rapidly or radically alter peace and stability on the peninsula, meaning major...

Politics

2 d. ago South Koreans deserve Nobel Peace Prize for stopping martial law, president says

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday praised the citizens who confronted martial law troops a year ago, saying their collective defence of democracy made them worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the attempt by impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol to impose military rule, Lee described the incident as an unprecedented test of South Korea’s democracy that the public overcame peacefully. “I am convinced that we, the people of the...

Politics

3 d. ago South Korean lawmakers push for special court as distrust of judiciary grows

A year after former president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing ahead with a bill to create a separate court dedicated to handling cases linked to the decree, in response to widespread public distrust of what critics describe as a “biased” judiciary. President Lee Jae-myung warned on social media ahead of the December 3 anniversary of the decree: “If we leave hidden acts of insurrection as they are, insurrection will certainly...

Events

3 d. ago South Korea proposes special court to address ‘mockery of judicial process’

A year after former president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing ahead with a bill to create a separate court dedicated to handling cases linked to the decree, in response to widespread public distrust of what critics describe as a “biased” judiciary. President Lee Jae-myung warned on social media ahead of the December 3 anniversary of the decree: “If we leave hidden acts of insurrection as they are, insurrection will certainly...

Events

3 d. ago Ukraine talks: Putin meets Trump envoys in Russia, sends Europe a warning

Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War II. Just before the meeting, Putin warned Europe that it would face swift defeat if it went to war with Russia, and he dismissed European counterproposals on Ukraine as being absolutely unacceptable to Russia. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war but his...

Events

4 d. ago A year on from South Korea’s martial law crisis, some lives are changed forever

When South Korea’s leader declared martial law a year ago, one young woman blocked a tank, a civil servant resigned in protest and a lawmaker switched sides to remove him from office. They are among the many South Koreans whose lives were transformed on December 3, 2024. That wintry night, then president Yoon Suk-yeol interrupted national television broadcasts to suspend civilian rule for the first time in more than four decades. Soldiers and tanks deployed in central Seoul. Troops landed by...

Society

4 d. ago Unification Church leader denies knowing about gifts for Kim Keon

The leader of one of South Korea’s largest cultlike churches stood trial on Monday accused of bribing the country’s former first lady with gifts including a designer handbag and a diamond necklace. The arrest of leader Han Hak-ja in September rocked the Unification Church, which claims to have 10 million followers worldwide and controls a sprawling business empire. The 82-year-old defendant, known to her followers as “holy mother”, also faces corruption charges over cash payments to a lawmaker...

Politics

7 d. ago This 'Beijing Battle' is a great achievement that will go down in history.The South Korean men's bas..

This 'Beijing Battle' is a great achievement that will go down in history.The South Korean men's bas..  매일경제

Events

7 d. ago ‘Kill North Koreans’: posters urging South Koreans to join Ukraine war slammed

An advertisement offering lucrative pay and citizenship to South Koreans willing to join Ukraine’s army has been rejected by Kyiv as a “Russian hoax”, even as Seoul confirmed for the first time the death of a citizen who fought against Moscow in the long-running war. The conflict-stricken nation’s response came after photographs of posters plastered on a lamp post in Seongnam, South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, circulated online, detailing supposed enlistment benefits including high wages and...

Events

9 d. ago FBI probes motive in ‘ambush’ shooting of soldiers near White House

Investigators led by the FBI’s joint terrorism task force sought clues on Thursday to what drove an Afghan immigrant to open fire on two National Guard soldiers mere blocks from the White House in what officials called an “ambush” attack on Thanksgiving eve. The two soldiers, part of a militarised law enforcement mission ordered by US President Donald Trump months ago and challenged in court by officials of the District of Columbia, were hospitalised in critical condition. The suspect, who was...

Events

9 d. ago South Korea kicks back after Canada’s TSN labels taekwondo clip ‘ninja training’

South Koreans have slammed a major Canadian sports broadcaster for “ignorance” after it labelled a clip featuring high-flying taekwondo martial artists as “ninja training”. Taekwondo is South Korea’s most famous martial art, while ninjas – the black-clad spies and assassins of Japan’s feudal era – are known for secrecy and stealth. The controversy erupted after TSN, which bills itself as Canada’s sports leader, shared a clip of taekwondo practitioners performing acrobatic jump kick routines on...

Politics

1 week ago TikTok names former Boeing executive as US public policy chief

TikTok said Tuesday it had named former Boeing government affairs chief Ziad Ojakli as the short video app’s head of public policy for the Americas as it works to complete a deal to separate its US assets from its parent company. The move comes as TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance is working to sell about an 80 per cent stake in its US assets to a consortium of US and global investors to meet the national security requirements set out in a 2024 law. President Donald Trump signed an executive...

Events

1 week ago Justice Department renews bid to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury materials

The Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his long-time confidante. US Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress last week and signed into law by US President Donald Trump – in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges...

Politics

1 week ago US Justice Department renews bid to unseal Epstein grand jury materials

The US Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his long-time confidante. US Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress last week and signed into law by US President Donald Trump – in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges...

Politics

1 week ago Former South Korean rock star implicated in US$136 million fraud scheme

A former member of the South Korean rock band Boohwal has been identified as one of 69 people implicated in a Ponzi scheme that collected more than 200 billion won (US$136 million) from illegal investments and stole 19 billion won. Police said singer Kim Jae-hee, 54, who once performed as Boohwal’s fourth vocalist, took part in promotional activities that helped recruit victims. According to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency on Sunday, Kim was among those sent to prosecutors on charges...

Economics

1 week ago How South Korea’s nuclear sub deal with US could torpedo inter

South Korea, under President Lee Jae-myung, has repeatedly proclaimed its desire to improve relations and re-engage in diplomacy with North Korea. Yet a landmark agreement with Washington formalised last week reveals a starkly different priority: advancing military capabilities that will almost certainly drive the two Koreas further apart. The United States has officially approved South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines while supporting Seoul’s efforts to secure uranium enrichment...

Events

1 week ago South Korea’s US nuclear sub deal risks roiling East Asia’s waters

South Korea is set to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines with US approval and assistance, according to a joint fact sheet last week. That approval came following a meeting at the end of October between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump in Gyeongju. The agreement allows South Korea to build its first nuclear-powered attack submarines, which will be conventionally armed and powered by highly enriched uranium the United States will help source. It also...

Events

2 w. ago Helmsman’s phone distraction blamed for South Korean ferry grounding

A South Korean ferry ran aground after the helmsman became distracted by his mobile phone, a member of the coastguard said on Thursday. All 267 passengers and crew were safely brought to a nearby port after the ferry crashed on an uninhabited island off South Korea’s southwestern coast. The passenger vessel was travelling from Jeju Island to the port city of Mokpo when it ran aground after 8pm (local time) on Wednesday, authorities said. A preliminary investigation found that “the officer...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Don’t trust the pension system’: why young South Koreans back later retirement

Kim Sung-ho, 38, an office worker, said he is increasingly open to the idea of raising the retirement age in South Korea. “A few years ago, I opposed extending the retirement age,” he said. “But now, living costs and housing prices are getting higher. I worry more about my own future. I think I will need a stable source of income until I get older. Extending retirement age isn’t about the older generation any more. It’s about preparing for the future for my generation too.” Similarly, An...

Politics