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  • Politics

    Lee proposes golf meeting with opposition lawmakers: PPP officials

    President Lee Jae Myung has proposed a golf meeting with senior lawmakers from the People Power Party (PPP) as part of an effort to improve communication with the opposition, PPP officials said Thursday. They said a senior presidential official called three-term PPP lawmaker Shin Sung-bum in mid-June and invited him to join the president for a round of golf. The official said the meeting was intended to give Lee an opportunity to hear candid views and criticism from opposition lawmakers. The presidential office did not confirm the report. Shin, nevertheless, said, "I received a call from a senior Cheong Wa Dae official inviting me to play golf with the president." "The official said the purpose was for the president to meet opposition lawmakers and listen to their criticism," the lawmaker added. Shin said he declined the invitation because he does not play golf, but welcomed the idea. He added that he told the presidential official it would be worthwhile for the president to meet opposition lawmakers and hear their views on pending issues, including concerns over the government's handling

    1 MIN READBy Yi Whan-woo
    Lee proposes golf meeting with opposition lawmakers: PPP officials
  • Defense

    Marine Corps conducts regular live-fire drills on western border islands

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Marine Corps conducts regular live-fire drills on western border islands
  • Society

    Record medical tourism spotlights Korea's push for sustainability

    2 MIN READBy Park Ung
    Record medical tourism spotlights Korea's push for sustainability
  • Society

    $445 taxi ride from Seoul to Incheon? Taiwanese tourist challenges excessive fare

    2 MIN READBy Hankookilbo
    $445 taxi ride from Seoul to Incheon? Taiwanese tourist challenges excessive fare
  • South Korea

    Yongsan revamps website to better serve int'l visitors, foreign residents

    2 MIN READBy Lee Kyung-min
    Yongsan revamps website to better serve int'l visitors, foreign residents
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Politics

Cheong Wa Dae welcomes nomination of US ambassador to S. Korea

Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's nomination of former Korean American congresswoman Michelle Park Steel as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, expressing hope that her formal appointment would further strengthen bilateral ties. Trump tapped Steel, a former two-term Republican lawmaker from California, for the post, which has remained vacant since former Ambassador Philip Goldberg departed Seoul in January last year. "We expect the formal appointment of nominee Steel would bolster Korea-U.S. relations and promote friendship between people of the two nations," a presidential official said. Steel will be formally appointed upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate, a process that typically takes several months. If confirmed, she would become the second Korean American to serve as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, following former Ambassador Sung Kim, who served in Seoul from 2011 to 2014. Her nomination comes as Seoul and Washington face a range of shared tasks, including modernizing the bilateral alliance, addressing trade and investment issues, and cooperating on re

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Cheong Wa Dae welcomes nomination of US ambassador to S. Korea
Politics

Minor party leader Cho Kuk announces bid for parliamentary seat in Pyeongtaek

Minor Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk on Tuesday announced his bid for a parliamentary seat in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in the upcoming June elections. The Pyeongtaek seat has been left vacant since the election of former Rep. Yi Byeong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea was nullified by the Supreme Court in January over election law violations. "I will become the 13th National Assembly member of the Rebuilding Korea Party and carry out the mission of the times to completely end the insurrection and complete real reform with a heart more passionate than lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea," Cho said during a press conference at the National Assembly, referring to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid in 2024. "As an Assembly member for Pyeongtaek-B (constituency), I will dedicate myself to Pyeongtaek's innovation and leap," he said, pledging to turn the city, located in Gyeonggi Province, into the No. 1 city for quality of life. The re-election for the Pyeongtaek seat will be held concurrently with the June 3 local elections. As of Tuesday mor

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Minor party leader Cho Kuk announces bid for parliamentary seat in Pyeongtaek
South Korea

1 cup a day: Korea launches nationwide push to cut plastic waste

Korea is spearheading a sweeping national campaign to curb plastic consumption, urging citizens to cut back on single-use items as concerns grow over global supply instability tied to the Middle East conflict, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said. The campaign, which began Monday, runs for six months and calls on the public to adopt simple daily habits, including reducing the use of disposable cups. Officials said if 50 million people each cut one single-use cup, the country could reduce annual household plastic waste by 10 percent. Households in Korea generated about 3.83 million tons of plastic waste in 2023, according to the ministry. The initiative includes a set of nine guidelines aimed at reshaping everyday consumption. These include using reusable tumblers instead of disposable cups, bringing shopping bags, opting for reusable delivery containers or pickup, avoiding plastic straws and utensils, minimizing unnecessary vinyl use, supporting zero-waste stores, purchasing products made from recycled materials and properly separating waste for recycling. Citizens, publi

Apr 14, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
1 cup a day: Korea launches nationwide push to cut plastic waste
Environment & Animals

Wolf disappears after being spotted for 2nd time since escape from zoo

A young wolf that broke out of a zoo in the central city of Daejeon was seen a second time following his escape last week but again disappeared from authorities' radar, officials said Tuesday. The wolf, named Neukgu, was reported to have been spotted on a small mountain near the Daejeon O-World theme park at 10:43 p.m. Monday, prompting a search and capture mission overnight, according to local firefighting officials. Neukgu's presumed location was confirmed with a thermal imaging drone and traps were placed in the area, along with additional police officers. At 6:35 a.m. Tuesday, however, the wolf appeared to have escaped the area. Five military drones have been deployed to conduct an additional search. Neukgu's escape from the zoo inside the Daejeon O-World theme park last Wednesday morning has led to an extensive search and widespread media coverage.

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Wolf disappears after being spotted for 2nd time since escape from zoo
South Korea

Human rights watchdog to ask foreign ministry to work for transfer of NK POWs in Ukraine

The state human rights watchdog said Tuesday it has decided to ask Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok to work for the swift transfer of two North Korean soldiers held in Ukraine to South Korea. The National Human Rights Commission made the decision at a plenary session Monday, with its members agreeing to "state their opinion" rather than "recommend" the measure. Two North Korean soldiers have been held as prisoners of war in Ukraine since early last year. Both expressed their desire to defect to South Korea in interviews aired by broadcaster MBC last January. Kim Young-mi, the TV producer who conducted the interviews in Ukraine, attended Monday's meeting and asserted their wish to defect, saying one soldier told her he would kill himself before being sent back to North Korea rather than face severe punishment there. The case had been discussed during the commission's previous plenary session last month but not been resolved due to opinions that more time should be given to the foreign ministry to come up with its own measures.

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Human rights watchdog to ask foreign ministry to work for transfer of NK POWs in Ukraine
South Korea

Chinese national booked on charges of causing warehouse fire

A Chinese national was booked Monday on charges of accidentally causing a fire at a cold storage warehouse in the southwestern county of Wando last week, which killed two fire fighters, police said. The suspect, who was booked without detention, is suspected of causing the fire while using a torch to remove epoxy flooring, a highly flammable substance, as part of floor-leveling and repaving work, according to the Wando police station. The suspect was said to have been working alone, which officials believe constitutes a violation of safety protocol requiring a two-person team when doing fire-related work. The suspect's manager, who was said to have not been present at the site, was the first person to notify of the blaze, according to the officials. Police are said to have determined the Chinese national is clearly at fault, as he used heating equipment, which is strictly restricted during work involving flammable materials like epoxy, while reviewing whether the suspect's manager can also be held accountable for violating safety protocols.

Apr 14, 2026By Yonhap
Chinese national booked on charges of causing warehouse fire
Defense

Army unit chief named new ground operations commander

Army Lt. Gen. Lee Sang-lyeol was tapped as the new chief of the Ground Operations Command on Monday, the defense ministry said, about two months after the former commander was relieved from duty over suspicions of martial law involvement. Lee, who currently leads the 3rd Corps, will be promoted to the rank of a four-star general for his new role. He is expected to be formally appointed by President Lee Jae Myung following deliberation at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. The defense ministry said Lee is an experienced commander with a variety of combat experience and commanding skills to bolster a firm military readiness posture in the current security situation of the Korean Peninsula as well as uncertainties in the global security situation. It said Lee is also the "most appropriate person" equipped with the leadership to strengthen the capabilities of the future ground forces and lead theater operations with his rich understanding and strategic knowledge of ground operations. In February, the ministry relieved both the Chief of Naval Operations and the Ground Operations Commander from duty o

Apr 13, 2026By Yonhap
Army unit chief named new ground operations commander
Law & Crime

Gov’t to overhaul state decorations system, target awardees linked to state violence

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Monday it will conduct a comprehensive review of government honors awarded to perpetrators of state violence and unconstitutional acts, as it moves to strengthen the recovery of revoked decorations and expand public disclosure of revocation grounds. The ministry said it will take a proactive role in identifying inappropriate awards and fully supporting revocation procedures — a shift from the previous system, in which cancellations were initiated solely upon requests from the recommending agencies. "Revoking government honors awarded to those involved in past state violence or unconstitutional acts is a duty of the state," Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung said in a statement. "We will find and revoke every inappropriate award so that the people can take pride in Korea's decoration system." The ministry added it will identify retrial acquittal cases linked to past state violence — including torture and fabricated espionage accusations — and proactively encourage recommending agencies to review the relevant honors for revocation. The measure

Apr 13, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Gov’t to overhaul state decorations system, target awardees linked to state violence
Law & Crime

Coinone fined, faces biz suspension over anti-money laundering lapses

The country's anti-money laundering agency said Monday it has decided to fine Coinone, one of Korea's crypto exchanges, 5.2 billion won ($3.49 million) and impose a three-month partial business suspension over lapses in customer verification obligations and transactions with unregistered partners. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under the Financial Services Commission, said Coinone did not comply with its obligations to verify the identities of users in about 70,000 cases. The crypto exchange is also found to have supported some 10,000 transactions with 16 unregistered exchanges overseas. During the business suspension, new customers cannot deposit or withdraw their money for crypto trading. The FIU said Coinone's chief executive officer will receive an official reprimand, and it will give Coinone 10 days to submit an opinion before finalizing the fine. Cryptocurrency exchanges here are obligated to verify customer identities through real-name accounts linked to domestic banking partners and should report transactions exceeding a specific amount.

Apr 13, 2026By Yonhap
Coinone fined, faces biz suspension over anti-money laundering lapses
Society

Korea bans hoarding medical syringes amid supply disruption woes

The government said Monday it will ban stockpiling medical syringes and needles starting Tuesday amid woes over supply disruption. Under the measure, manufacturers of medical syringes and needles are banned from stockpiling the products exceeding 150 percent of their monthly sales recorded last year for five days. Also, they are prohibited from selling the products exceeding 110 percent of their monthly sales posted last year. The steps came as concerns have risen over supply disruption as the U.S.-Iran war has caused prices of petrochemicals to soar.

Apr 13, 2026By Yonhap
Korea bans hoarding medical syringes amid supply disruption woes
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