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  • Law & Crime

    Court set to rule on ex-President Yoon's election law violation case

    A Seoul district court was set to rule Monday on former President Yoon Suk Yeol's election law violation charges in a case that could have major implications for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). The Seoul Central District Court was scheduled to hand down its verdict in a live-televised trial at 2 p.m. over allegations that Yoon made false claims as the PPP's presidential candidate ahead of the 2022 presidential election. Should Yoon be convicted and given a final sentence of more than 1 million won ($685) in fines or imprisonment, the PPP must return the 39.7 billion won it was reimbursed in election expenses under the election law. Special counsel Min Joong-ki has requested a two-year prison term for Yoon. Min's team earlier indicted Yoon on suspicion of falsely claiming during a December 2021 press event that he had never introduced a lawyer to a former tax official. Yoon is also accused of lying in a January 2022 interview when he said a party official had introduced him to shaman Jeon Seong-bae and denied meeting Jeon together with his wife, Kim Keon Hee. The special couns

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Court set to rule on ex-President Yoon's election law violation case
  • Law & Crime

    Former Cheongju city councilor questioned over alleged sexual abuse of minor

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Former Cheongju city councilor questioned over alleged sexual abuse of minor
  • Defense

    Korea to participate in US-led int'l cybersecurity exercise

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea to participate in US-led int'l cybersecurity exercise
  • Politics

    Lee orders retention of oil price caps until price uncertainty completely recedes

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee orders retention of oil price caps until price uncertainty completely recedes
  • South Korea

    Lee's approval rating falls for 2nd consecutive week: poll

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee's approval rating falls for 2nd consecutive week: poll
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South Korea

‘Airport fashion’ may not fly so freely

For years, Incheon International Airport has doubled as a fashion runway, with K-pop idols and TV stars turning routine departures into photo ops that quickly found their way into entertainment media and social feeds. Now that ritual is under review. The Incheon International Airport Corp. recently met with airport police and private security firms to discuss how to manage the crowds that gather when celebrities travel abroad. One idea raised was requiring celebrities to submit a “travel usage plan” before departure to reduce congestion and prevent chaotic scenes. The talks followed several recent incidents in which impromptu fan gatherings and photo events disrupted the terminal, raising concerns that ordinary passengers were being inconvenienced or even put at risk. Incheon International Airport Corp. president Lee Hak-jae said passenger safety remains the top priority. “We’ll keep working with partner agencies to minimize inconvenience for passengers and create a smoother, more orderly travel environment,” he said. Airport fashion has been part of Korean pop culture since the

Sep 30, 2025By Jane Han
‘Airport fashion’ may not fly so freely
Law & Crime

Ex-chief prosecutor appears for special counsel questioning over former defense chief's alleged flight

Former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung appeared before a special counsel team Tuesday to be questioned as a suspect for the first time in connection to former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup's alleged flight to Australia last year. Shim entered special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's office in southern Seoul without responding to reporters' questions about his suspected involvement in Lee's alleged flight in March 2024, after being appointed as Seoul's top envoy to Canberra. Lee had been under investigation at the time over allegations of government interference in a military probe into the 2023 death of a young Marine. He had been placed under an exit ban, which was quickly lifted after his appointment as ambassador that month. The special counsel team suspects that government officials, including Shim who served as vice justice minister at the time, assisted Lee to avoid investigation through his appointment and the lifting of the exit ban. Lee ultimately returned home soon after his departure amid mounting controversy. The team is expected to question Shim about possible instructions from th

Sep 30, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-chief prosecutor appears for special counsel questioning over former defense chief's alleged flight
Law & Crime

Ex-PM Han attends 1st hearing of insurrection trial

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday attended the first hearing of his trial on charges of abetting former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed imposition of martial law. Han has been indicted on charges of abetting the ringleader of an insurrection in connection with the martial law imposition in December, perjury and falsifying official documents, among other offenses. Upon arriving at the Seoul Central District Court, he entered the building without answering reporters' questions. The hearing will be broadcast online after personal information is anonymized as special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested it and the bench approved. Both the special counsel team and Han's side will give opening remarks. An examination of evidence will follow using surveillance camera footage of the presidential office on Dec. 3, when Han allegedly left the Cabinet meeting room with papers printed with the martial law declaration and Yoon's address to the nation. Han was one of the attendees at a Cabinet meeting held shortly before Yoon declared martial law that day. The special counsel team has reques

Sep 30, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-PM Han attends 1st hearing of insurrection trial
South Korea

Korea to launch Nuri space rocket on Nov. 27: KASA

The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) said Tuesday it has finalized the date for the fourth launch of the country's homegrown Nuri space rocket. The Nuri, formally the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II), will be launched Nov. 27. The date was finalized following a launch management committee meeting held Friday and a separate meeting reviewing the transportation of the main payload, a next-generation midsized satellite, Monday. The backup launch window has been set between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4. The rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung between 12:54 a.m. and 1:14 a.m., with the exact time to be decided on the previous day. Alongside the main satellite, the rocket will carry 12 smaller satellites, which are set to be delivered to the space center by the end of October. "This launch will be the first since the establishment of the space agency," KASA Administrator Yoon Young-bin said. "We will ensure flawless preparation and work as one team to achieve success."

Sep 30, 2025By Yonhap
Korea to launch Nuri space rocket on Nov. 27: KASA
Law & Crime

Court audit panel defers decision on hostess bar allegations against judge until after CIO probe

The Supreme Court's audit committee has decided to defer a decision on bribery allegations surrounding the presiding judge of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's insurrection trial until after the anti-graft agency releases its probe results, officials said Tuesday. Judge Jee Kui-youn of the Seoul Central District Court has been accused of being treated to multiple visits to an expensive hostess bar, prompting an investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). The court audit committee, which convened last Friday, decided to put off the case until after the CIO investigation, citing the difficulty of verifying the facts, according to the office of Rep. Choo Mi-ae, who heads the parliamentary judiciary committee. The committee is tasked with deliberating on potential cases concerning court officials that need to be audited, such as acceptance of bribes, embezzlement of public funds and sexual crimes. The seven-person panel consists of six outside members. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has accused Jee of visiting the hostess bar in Seoul's a

Sep 30, 2025By Yonhap
Court audit panel defers decision on hostess bar allegations against judge until after CIO probe
Society

87 online gov't services restored after data center fire

A total of 87 online government services have been restored in the wake of an outage caused by last week's fire at the state data management agency, the government said Tuesday. As of 10 a.m., the restoration rate stood at 13.4 percent, after 87 out of 647 services affected by Friday's fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul, were brought back online, it said. The restored services included 21 out of 36 "Grade 1" services, or those considered essential based on their impact and number of users. At a press briefing in the central administrative city of Sejong, Vice Interior Minister Kim Min-jae said systems on the second, third and fourth floors of the NIRS building have been reactivated as they were impacted less by the blaze, which broke out on the fifth floor. The fire began in server room 7-1, destroying 96 systems, and spread to server rooms 7 and 8, damaging a total of 330 systems, or just over half. "We found through on-site inspections of local government offices that with the normalization of Gov.kr and unmanned civ

Sep 30, 2025By Yonhap
87 online gov't services restored after data center fire
Defense

House defense policy bill calls for maintaining 28,500 USFK troops

The U.S. House version of an annual defense policy bill, passed earlier this month, includes a call for maintaining around 28,500 American troops in South Korea and reaffirming the United States' deterrence commitment to the Asian ally, its text showed Monday. The House approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2026 in a 231-196 vote on Sept. 10, authorizing $893 billion in military spending. The text of the endorsed bill has recently been released on Congress' website. The bill noted the "sense of Congress" that the U.S. defense secretary should continue efforts to strengthen alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific by maintaining the presence of around 28,500 U.S. service members, affirming the U.S.' "extended deterrence" commitment and enhancing mutual defense base cooperation. Extended deterrence refers to the U.S.' pledge to use the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally. The policy bill has gained renewed attention in South Korea amid lingering speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump's ad

Sep 30, 2025By Yonhap
House defense policy bill calls for maintaining 28,500 USFK troops
Society

Teen who jumped into sea to save friend found dead

A 19-year-old who went missing after jumping into the sea to save a friend was found dead three days later in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. The Gunsan Coast Guard said the body of the teenager, identified only as A, was discovered around 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 29 near Dongbaek Bridge in Haemang-dong, Gunsan. According to authorities, A entered the water at around 6:50 a.m. on Sept. 26 after calling for help when his friend, a teenage girl identified as B, fell into the sea near the bridge. While B was safely rescued by coast guard officers who responded to the scene, A disappeared. The coast guard deployed patrol boats and other resources to search the area. His body was later found approximately 4 kilometers west of the spot where he was last seen. An official from the Gunsan Coast Guard said, “We confirmed A’s identity through fingerprint analysis and are investigating the exact circumstances of the accident.” This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

Sep 30, 2025By Hankookilbo
Teen who jumped into sea to save friend found dead
Law & Crime

Ex-prosecution chief summoned in Marine death probe, ex-defense minister's alleged flight to Australia

A special counsel team investigating the death of a Marine conscript in 2023 said Monday it has summoned former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung for questioning, particularly in his role in the alleged flight of a former defense minister involved in the case to Australia. Shim, who also served as vice justice minister, has been called in by the team for questioning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. He is under suspicion of involvement in the series of decisions in March last year that led to former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup's appointment as Seoul's ambassador to Australia. In particular, Shim is alleged to have lifted Lee's travel ban, ultimately allowing Lee's departure from the country. The charges include aiding flight of a suspect and abuse of authority. Lee had faced a travel ban after being named a key suspect in allegations of exerting undue influence over the probe into the death of the Marine corporal, surnamed Chae, who died during a search operation in July 2023. Despite the restriction, Lee was appointed ambassador to Australia and was allowed to leave the country after the ban was

Sep 29, 2025By Yonhap
Ex-prosecution chief summoned in Marine death probe, ex-defense minister's alleged flight to Australia
Defense

Captain of US command ship says S. Korea-US alliance has 'never been stronger'

The captain of the command ship of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said Monday the decadeslong alliance between South Korea and the United States has "never been stronger," as the warship has made its first port call in nearly six years in the South. Captain Louis Catalina, commanding officer of the USS Blue Ridge, made the remarks in a press tour aboard the command ship at a major naval base in the southeastern city of Busan. The 19,600-ton USS Blue Ridge made a port visit at the naval base on Thursday to replenish supplies and provide rest for crew members. It marked the first port call of the U.S. warship in Busan since February 2020. Catalina said the warship's visit was a demonstration of the U.S.' "ironclad" commitment to the Seoul-Washingon alliance. "Being the commanding officer of USS Blue Ridge, the strength between the Republic of Korean Navy and the Republic of Korea and the U.S. has never been stronger," Catalina said. "We continue to execute joint exercises, exchanges and collaborative responses between our nations and it was on display during Freedom Edge," he added, referring to

Sep 29, 2025By Yonhap
Captain of US command ship says S. Korea-US alliance has 'never been stronger'
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