Nearly 190,000 foreign nationals have become naturalized South Korean citizens over the past seven decades, government data showed Wednesday.The Ministry of Justice said the number of people naturalized here since the enactment of the Nationality Act on Dec. 20, 1948, reached 189,193 as of the end o
South Korean stocks advanced Wednesday on the back of institutional buying, with investors setting eyes on the upcoming results from the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting, analysts said. The South Korean won firmed against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index
President Moon Jae-in called for all-out efforts Tuesday to innovate the very foundation of the country's manufacturing industry, saying the country may lose its global competitiveness unless it acts now."We have a history of industrial development that the world envies. Also this year, we demo
The Supreme Court has decided to temporarily remove six senior district court judges from the bench and reprimand two others over their alleged roles in the power abuse case involving former top court officials, it said Tuesday.The top court's disciplinary committee suspended Judges Lee Kyoo-jin
A government civil rights watchdog said Thursday it has asked the Ministry of Justice to allow foreigners staying in South Korea to use their credit cards to pay immigration fees.According to the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission, foreigners are currently required to pay fees related to immi
South Korea's new finance minister, Hong Nam-ki, met with leaders of the nation's ruling and opposition parties on Thursday in a bid to drum up parliamentary support for efforts to boost economic growth.Hong took office on Tuesday with the urgent task of propping up the economy amid sluggish
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- Woo Byung-woo, former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs to ousted President Park Geun-hye, was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Friday for illegally surveilling public officials and private citizens through the state spy agency.The verdict by the Seoul Centra
SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Friday announced a set of measures to remove the fundamental causes cited for drop in country's birthrate, including the high cost of child-rearing and increasing number of people opting not to have children.The roadmap was finalized as Kim Sang-hee, vice
The government and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) agreed Wednesday to lift the designation of some restricted zones that host military facilities to help ease residents' inconvenience.After a consultative meeting, they decided to lift the classification of zones in 21 places with a total area
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited Pope Francis to visit Pyongyang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will deliver the invitation when he meets the pope next week, a presidential official said Tuesday.Kim said he will "ardently welcome the pope if he visits Pyongyang." Kim made the co
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the U.S. midterm elections slated for early next month."It'll be after the midterms (on Nov. 6). I just can't leave now," Trump said as he flew to Iowa for a political rall
The minor opposition Bareun Party criticized the government Wednesday for reaching what it calls a "humiliating" deal with China to end the row over South Korea's hosting of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system.South Korea and China announced the deal Tuesday, ending more than a year of tensi
South Korea's top nuclear envoy expressed hope Tuesday of having extensive discussions with his Chinese counterpart on ways to peacefully resolve the North Korea nuclear stalemate.Lee Do-hoon, the special representative for peace and security affairs on the Korean Peninsula, left for Beijing to
South Korea and China have agreed to put their bilateral relations back on the right track, apparently normalizing ties that have been soured over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.They reiterated their long-held stance on issues relate
U.S. President Donald Trump may travel to the inter-Korean border in early November when he visits South Korea, a defense source said Tuesday.The White House dispatched an advance team of working-level officials in late September to check candidate sites for Trump's "special activity" here, ac
South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived here Wednesday on a two-day visit for a regional economic forum that will also include a series of summit meetings with Russian and Japanese leaders.Moon's itinerary will begin with a bilateral summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, accordi
South Korean President Moon Jae-in left Wednesday for Vladivostok, Russia, where he will attend a regional forum and hold a series of bilateral summits with other leaders that will largely focus on how to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test.Following his arrival in the Russian city, the S
President Moon Jae-in disclosed that South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) was 45 times that of North Korea and that therefore the South should be able to overwhelm North Korea in defense. Then he asked: “I am wondering our armed forces are confident to do so."President Moon on Monday orde
Former Co-chairman Ahn Cheol-soo of the splinter opposition People's Party declared in Seoul this afternoon that he will run for its upcoming leadership election. The party is scheduled to elect its new leader on Aug. 27. He said, “If I had in mind my candidacy for the next Presid
President Yang Seung-tae of the Supreme Court disclosed that the supreme judges had a meeting today and decided to revise the regulations governing the attendance and media coverage of the proceedings at the Supreme Court in favor of allowing such a coverage.This allows the citizens to view live the