South Korea

From K-pop star to custom Ghana chocolate bar: How Lee welcomes world leaders

President Lee Jae Myung is rewriting the diplomatic playbook with "personalized guest experiences." By matching gifts and guest lists to visiting leaders, Lee has helped build rapport and draw attention. Lee's strategy often involves the pets of visiting dignitaries. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a vocal advocate for animal welfare and a dog owner, received hanbok capes, a traditional Korean garment, for his pet during his visit. Tusk said he was touched by the gesture. During Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit in February, Lee presented hanbok capes and a gat — a traditional Korean hat — for the leader's three dogs. When Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto departed Seoul early this month, Lee gave him a cat outfit styled as a "gonryongpo," a traditional Korean royal robe. The two leaders bonded over the fact that both own pets named Bobby — the name for Lee's dog and Subianto's cat. Lee also uses custom gifts to acknowledge personal preferences and shared histories. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama received a custom-made Ghana chocolate bar during his

Apr 15, 2026By Hankookilbo

From K-pop star to custom Ghana chocolate bar: How Lee welcomes world leaders

Society

'Rejected 15 times': Pet owners struggle to find housing in Korea

Kang, 42, who cares for Duk-bae, a 1-year-old cat, said she and her spouse were rejected 15 times over three weeks while trying to find a new rental home. Some landlords flatly refused tenants with pets. Others demanded higher rent if animals were involved. When one real estate agent heard that Kang also had two other 5-year-old cats, the response was immediate: “That’s too many. Do you really need to keep that many animals?” It was not as though the couple were searching for a tiny one-room apartment, nor did they have children. They were prepared to pay more than 1 million won (about $670) in monthly rent. Kang, worried that any compromise in the home’s conditions could make one of the cats ill, poured enormous effort into finding a suitable place. By the time she finally did, she was so exhausted that she spent days sick in bed. In Korea, owning a pet is no longer something that draws surprise. More than 15 percent of all households, or about 3.13 million, now have a pet. But pet owners say the reality of raising one remains far from easy. Housing emerged as an immediate diffic

Apr 15, 2026By Hankookilbo

'Rejected 15 times': Pet owners struggle to find housing in Korea

Law & Crime

Low IQ raises doubts over murder intent in Seoul drugging case

A Korean woman accused of giving men drug-laced drinks that left two dead told police she never meant to kill anyone, but investigators say her phone records contradict that claim. Police found ChatGPT queries in which Kim So-young asked what happens if someone takes too many sleeping pills and whether a person could die after taking them. Officers say those searches, along with evidence that she later gave a victim more than twice the dose she used in an earlier nonfatal case, support a murder charge because she could foresee the risk of death and proceeded regardless. Prosecutors charged Kim, 20, with murder and aggravated injury, then added a charge under the Narcotics Control Act, while her lawyer says she gave the men the drugs but had no intent to kill and could not foresee the deaths. The case now hinges on a central question in Korean criminal law. Did Kim intend to kill, or did she give the drugs to incapacitate the men while disregarding an obvious risk that they could die? Suspect identification Police first began to build the case after a man was found dead Jan. 29 at a motel

Apr 15, 2026By Hankookilbo

Low IQ raises doubts over murder intent in Seoul drugging case

Defense

Defense chief says yet to receive US request for support related to Hormuz

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers Tuesday he has yet to receive an official request from the United States for support regarding operations around the Strait of Hormuz. Ahn's remarks came amid a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports after peace talks between Washington and Tehran broke down over the weekend. "There has yet to be an official letter or request," Ahn said during a parliamentary defense committee session. "If a request is made, (we) intend to take part in various cooperation and consultations." "(We) believe that as a member of the international community, we must participate where necessary." He added that Korea intends to join a multilateral meeting led by Britain and France on joint efforts to restore navigation in the strait. "(We) will carefully coordinate various methods, procedures and external messages, in comprehensive consideration of relations with the United States and with Iran," he said. Ahn, however, said the Cheonghae Unit dispatched for operations in the Gulf of Aden is unfit to carry out operations in the Strait of Hormuz as it is vulnerable to missile at

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap

Defense chief says yet to receive US request for support related to Hormuz

Law & Crime

Ex-President Yoon, wife reunite in court after 9 months

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, met in a courtroom on Tuesday in their first reunion since July when Yoon was placed under custody over his failed martial law bid. Kim, who has also been jailed since August over various corruption charges, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court to testify in her husband's trial on charges that he violated the Political Funds Act by accepting free opinion poll results ahead of his election in March 2022. As she entered the room, propped up by correctional officers, Yoon fixed his gaze on her. When she took an oath and sat down, he smiled faintly with his mouth closed. The former first lady was dressed in her typical attire for court appearances, consisting of a black suit and a white shirt, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. In response to more than 40 questions from special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, she said she would not testify and mostly sat in her seat, slightly hunched and looking downward. During the 30-odd minutes that Kim was questioned, Yoon watched her most of the time, and when she stood up to leave, sm

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap

Ex-President Yoon, wife reunite in court after 9 months

Law & Crime

Arrest warrant sought for student over knife attack on teacher

Police on Tuesday applied for an arrest warrant against a high school senior detained on charges of attacking a teacher with a knife at a school in the central city of Gyeryong the previous day. The student, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of stabbing the 30-something male teacher with a knife multiple times at their school in Gyeryong, about 165 kilometers south of Seoul, at 8:44 a.m. Monday. The student immediately fled the scene but turned himself in to the police later. The teacher sustained non-life-threatening injuries to the jaw and shoulders and underwent surgery. The police suspect that the student planned the attack in advance due to resentment, as he had middle school conflicts with the teacher, who was recently reassigned to his high school. The student is said to have complained that the teacher was particularly harsh on him during middle school and refused to attend school.

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap

Arrest warrant sought for student over knife attack on teacher

Environment & Animals

Spring or summer? Korea’s April heat set to last another week

Unseasonably hot, summer-like weather has swept across South Korea in mid-April, with daytime temperatures nearing 30 degrees Celsius and breaking records in several regions. Weather officials say the heat, driven by warm and humid southeasterly winds, is expected to persist for about a week, raising concerns that spring heat is becoming a “new normal” due to climate change. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on April 14, temperatures in Cheongpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, reached 29.7 degrees Celsius at around 3 p.m. the previous day. Around the same time, Seoul recorded 27.4 degrees, the highest so far this year. The figure was the highest temperature ever recorded on that date in Seoul since weather observations began in 1907. It was about 10 degrees higher than the seasonal average high of 17.3 degrees Celsius for the period between 1991 and 2020. On April 14, Seoul again saw unusually high temperatures of 27.8 degrees at 3 p.m., the second-highest on record for the date, following 2024. Similar record-breaking highs were reported nationwide, including in Wonju, G

Apr 14, 2026By Hankookilbo

Spring or summer? Korea’s April heat set to last another week

Campus

Urban designer sees green space as antidote to social isolation

Kookmin University held its 662nd Thursday Special Lecture at its academic conference hall Thursday afternoon, featuring Sung Jong-sang, dean of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Seoul National University, as the guest speaker. Sung delivered a lecture titled "'Outside + Everyday Life' Is the Answer: Creating Healthy, Happy Cities Through Green Spaces," exploring the relationship between the urban environment and human wellbeing. Drawing on a range of case studies, he examined how everyday outdoor spaces shape individual happiness and social connection. Sung said that gardens should be seen not merely as landscaping features but as “conduits and catalysts” for human connection. Citing the White House garden as an example of a space used to give children new experiences and foster relationships, he said such places can serve as settings for human encounters and personal growth rather than as ends in themselves. Apartment landscaping must go beyond aesthetics to become a catalyst for community life, Sung said, arguing that urban greenery should be treated as a tool for f

Apr 14, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Urban designer sees green space as antidote to social isolation

Politics

PHOTO 50 days until local elections

Officials review voting procedures and promotional materials at the office of the Daegu Metropolitan Election Commission in Seo District, Daegu, Tuesday, with 50 days to go until the June 3 local elections. Early voting will be held May 29 and 30. Yonhap

Apr 14, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji

South Korea

Asian scholars condemn US foreign policy as threat to sovereignty

A coalition of Asian intellectuals and civil society activists issued a sharp rebuke of U.S. foreign policy, warning that recent actions signal a dangerous erosion of international law and national sovereignty. The group Asia Without Borders, in a statement Tuesday, said recent developments under the Trump administration — including the military intervention in Venezuela, remarks about Greenland as a purchasable territory and military actions involving Iran — reflect a broader shift toward power-driven geopolitics. The statement was signed by 325 participants, including 260 from Korea and 65 from other Asian countries. The signatures were collected between Feb. 16 and April 6. The group said these actions are not isolated but are part of a wider regression that places national interest above international norms and multilateral cooperation. The coalition warned that such trends risk normalizing what it described as the “commodification of sovereignty” and the “militarization of humanitarianism,” raising concerns that these concepts could reshape global political behavior. At t

Apr 14, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

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South Korea

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Read more

From K-pop star to custom Ghana chocolate bar: How Lee welcomes world leaders

'Rejected 15 times': Pet owners struggle to find housing in Korea

Low IQ raises doubts over murder intent in Seoul drugging case

Defense chief says yet to receive US request for support related to Hormuz

Ex-President Yoon, wife reunite in court after 9 months

Arrest warrant sought for student over knife attack on teacher

Spring or summer? Korea’s April heat set to last another week

Urban designer sees green space as antidote to social isolation

PHOTO 50 days until local elections

Asian scholars condemn US foreign policy as threat to sovereignty

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