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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
  • Society

    Special counsel indicts ex-JCS chief over martial law involvement

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Special counsel indicts ex-JCS chief over martial law involvement
  • Law & Crime

    Gov’t ramps up crackdown on ‘salt farm slavery’

    2 MIN READBy Jung Min-ho
    Gov’t ramps up crackdown on ‘salt farm slavery’
  • Education

    Hate speech seeps into Korean classrooms

    3 MIN READBy Bahk Eun-ji
    Hate speech seeps into Korean classrooms
  • Society

    Hanwha Aerospace explosion likely occurred while cleaning explosive waste: police

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Hanwha Aerospace explosion likely occurred while cleaning explosive waste: police
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Defense

Korea marks record presence at Latin American arms fair as export push intensifies

Korea unveiled its largest-ever defense exhibition pavilion at the Feria Internacional del Aire y del Espacio, Latin America’s premier aerospace and defense fair, as arms exports reached $15.4 billion last year and officials set a $20 billion target for 2026. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, along with the Korea Defense Industry Trade Support Center (KODITS), organized a Korean pavilion featuring 31 companies across ground, naval, air and security sectors at the six-day event, being held April 7 to 12 at Santiago International Airport in the Chilean capital. The show drew exhibitors from 33 countries and was expected to attract about 120,000 visitors from the defense industry and other sectors. Korea’s defense exports reached $15.4 billion last year, marking the second-highest annual total on record, trailing only the $17.3 billion peak seen in 2022. While the 2022 windfall was largely driven by concentrated deals with Poland and the United Arab Emirates — limited to just seven purchasing nations — the sector saw significant diversification in 2025. The export market

Apr 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea marks record presence at Latin American arms fair as export push intensifies
Society

Wolf escapes Daejeon zoo, opening halted as authorities launch search

O-World Zoo suspended operations after a wolf escaped its enclosure, prompting a large-scale emergency search involving firefighters, police and zoo staff. According to the Daejeon Fire Headquarters, Wednesday, a two-year-old male wolf broke out of its enclosure at around 9:15 a.m. “We conduct daily inspections of each enclosure before opening, and one wolf was missing. After checking CCTV, we confirmed it had dug through the soil at the bottom of the enclosure and escaped,” an O-World official said. The zoo, located in Daejeon's Jung District, notified local authorities immediately after confirming the escape and reported it to fire officials at around 10:24 a.m. A joint response team — including 35 firefighters, 116 police officers and about 100 zoo employees — was mobilized to search the premises and capture the animal. Officials said they believe the wolf is likely still inside the zoo rather than having escaped to surrounding areas. As a precaution, O-World halted its opening and completely restricted visitor access. “We identified the escape before opening and are currentl

Apr 8, 2026By Hankookilbo
Wolf escapes Daejeon zoo, opening halted as authorities launch search
Society

Seoul expands support for migrant-background youth

As Korea's school-age population shrinks and the number of youth with immigrant backgrounds grows, Seoul will expand career guidance and college admission support for children from multicultural families. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday its Career and College Admission Support Program for Children from Multicultural Families will introduce an Individual Career Pathway system this year. Launched in 2014, the program has reached 3,095 students and parents across 1,129 sessions over the past four years, with a satisfaction score of 4.84 out of 5. Each year, Seoul selects specialized institutions through a competitive process to provide one-on-one consultations, college entrance seminars and parent academies, offering a two-track support system covering both students and parents from career exploration through application strategies. Immigrant-background youth are legally defined as people between the ages of 9 and 24 who grew up in multicultural environments due to their own or their parents' immigration experiences. Their numbers have grown from roughly 68,000 in 2014 to

Apr 8, 2026By Park Ung
Seoul expands support for migrant-background youth
Society

Odd-even vehicle rotation goes into effect at government, public offices

The odd-even vehicle rotation system took effect at government offices and public institutions nationwide on Wednesday as part of the government's energy-saving campaign and officials generally cooperated. Under the new rotation system, vehicles operated by about 11,000 government and public institutions, as well as their employees, are allowed to run every other day. Vehicles with odd-numbered license plates are allowed to operate on odd-numbered days and even-numbered plates on even-numbered days. On Wednesday, only even-numbered vehicles are allowed to enter the government and public institutions. Public parking lots operated by public institutions also enforced a five-day vehicle rotation system on the same day, banning passenger cars with license plate numbers ending in 3 or 8. Visitors to government and public institutions are only required to observe the five-day rotation rule. At the Seoul Government Complex, few vehicles were found to be violating the alternative-day driving system on Wednesday morning. About 10 vehicles with odd-numbered license plates were stopped at the entra

Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
Odd-even vehicle rotation goes into effect at government, public offices
Defense

Defense minister pushes military overhaul to address troop shortage

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Tuesday the government will push ahead with a broad restructuring of the military to address a looming manpower shortage driven by the country's declining birthrate. Speaking at a press dinner in Seoul, Ahn said the Ministry of National Defense is redesigning the military’s force, unit and personnel structures as part of a comprehensive reform package. “The demographic cliff is no longer a distant concern. It is becoming a reality for our national security,” he said. The reform plan is expected to be finalized later this year, following a defense reform seminar and Cabinet review, with presidential approval targeted for the third or fourth quarter. Ahn cited rapid changes in modern warfare as another key factor behind the overhaul. “We are seeing a shift toward asymmetric warfare, where low-cost drones can neutralize expensive advanced weapons,” he said. He also used demographic data to illustrate the scale of the challenge. According to Ahn, the number of newborns in 2023 stood at about 118,000. Under the current conscription system, this woul

Apr 8, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Defense minister pushes military overhaul to address troop shortage
South Korea

Cheong Wa Dae convenes meeting over N. Korea's missile launch, urges Pyongyang to stop provocations

The Office of National Security at Cheong Wa Dae held an emergency meeting Wednesday after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, calling for Pyongyang to immediately stop provocations. The meeting was attended by officials from the defense ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to analyze and assess the North's latest missile launch, according to Cheong Wa Dae. During the meeting, officials said the North's ballistic missile launch was a "provocative act that violates the U.N. Security Council resolutions" and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop such provocations, Cheong Wa Dae said. The national security office also instructed relevant authorities to strengthen South Korea's military readiness considering the ongoing war in the Middle East. Earlier, the JCS said it detected the missiles launched from the Wonsan area in the North at around 8:50 a.m. It marked the North's fourth known ballistic missile launch this year.

Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
Cheong Wa Dae convenes meeting over N. Korea's missile launch, urges Pyongyang to stop provocations
South Korea

Gov't vows efforts to ensure safe passage of Korean vessels through Hormuz strait

The government on Wednesday vowed efforts to help Korean vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz to safely pass through the shipping route after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire with the full reopening of the crucial passage for oil. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources will cooperate with the foreign and oceans ministries to ensure the safe and swift passage of Korean oil tankers tied up at the Hormuz strait, officials said. There are currently seven oil tankers, including four flag carriers, in the region carrying shipments for Korean oil refineries, according to the government officials. The ships are carrying a combined 14 million barrels of crude, which are equivalent to Korea's five-day oil consumption. The pledge came after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier in the day that the U.S. has agreed to suspend strikes on Iran for two weeks, "subject to" the Middle Eastern nation agreeing to the "complete" and "immediate" reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route. The Seoul officials said the government is working to check the s

Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
Gov't vows efforts to ensure safe passage of Korean vessels through Hormuz strait
Law & Crime

Illegally smuggled silver worth $3.08 mil. confiscated in Q1

Customs authorities have caught 14 cases of illegal silver smuggling worth 4.56 billion won ($3.08 million) in the first quarter, according to officials Wednesday. The seized amount during the January–March period is about 2.7 times higher in terms of value than those confiscated last year, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The agency said it will launch an intensive crackdown to strictly combat silver smuggling, which has recently been exploited as a means of tax evasion and money laundering amid rising international silver prices. The crackdown aims to proactively block tax evasion and criminal money laundering through high-intensity enforcement. Silver prices in the international market have surged by over 200 percent this year compared with a year earlier, reaching record levels at around $114 per ounce.

Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
Illegally smuggled silver worth $3.08 mil. confiscated in Q1
Law & Crime

Special counsel seeks 15-yr jail term for ex-first lady in corruption appeals trial

A special counsel team on Wednesday demanded a 15-year prison term for former first lady Kim Keon Hee in her appeals trial on multiple charges, including accepting luxury goods from the Unification Church. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team made the request during the final hearing of her appellate trial at the Seoul High Court, matching its earlier sentencing recommendation at a lower court, which handed down a far shorter 20-month term. Kim is accused of receiving luxury items along with favors from the church, involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme and violating a political funds law for accepting free opinion polls with her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol. "Considering the big impact on society and the values undermined from the crime the defendant committed, the (earlier) sentence is much too light," Min's team said at the hearing. In January, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Kim of accepting a Chanel bag and a Graff diamond necklace, along with business favors from the Unification Church in 2022. The court, however, acquitted her of involvement in the st

Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
Special counsel seeks 15-yr jail term for ex-first lady in corruption appeals trial
Politics

PM vows no tolerance against unfair market practices

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Wednesday issued a fresh warning against unfair market practices, saying that the government would apply a "zero-tolerance" principle to crack down on any potential disruptions in markets. Speaking at a meeting with relevant ministries, Kim called for the government to work to thoroughly prevent "actions that fuel anxiety through fake news or harm the interests of the public through hoarding." "The situation in the Middle East remains shrouded in uncertainty and concerns are growing over a protracted war," the prime minister said. "The government must prepare for all possible scenarios and actively explore every available measure." "Above all, we need a zero-tolerance approach against any act that disrupts market order," he added. Kim urged members of the Cabinet to ensure that a supplementary budget aimed at stabilizing people's livelihoods is passed without delay. He further called on authorities to thoroughly conduct risk assessments on the use of alternative shipping routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

Apr 8, 2026By Yonhap
PM vows no tolerance against unfair market practices
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