SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- Three officials from Seoul-based Ewha Womans University appeared before the independent counsel's office on Friday for allegedly providing favors to the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, the woman who is at the center of a South Korean presidential scandal.Four officials from

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is currently purging the descendants of prominent guerrillas who fought against Japanese colonialists, a former North Korean embassy minister in London who defected to Seoul last year said Friday.During a meeting with officials from the Presidential Committee f

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense ministry said Friday the pledges made by presidential hopefuls to reduce the mandatory service period in the military and abolishing the conscription system lack viability.As South Korea is still technically at war with the North, all able-bodied

DAEJEON/TOKYO, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- A local court on Thursday ordered an ancient Buddhist statue, stolen from a Japanese temple in 2012, to be handed over to a temple in Seosan on South Korea's west coast that has claimed ownership.The Daejeon District Court ruled in favor of Buseok Temple, which

By Song Sang-hoSEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday called for enhanced crackdowns on crimes against women and children as part of efforts to ensure public safety amid a national leadership crisis.Since taking over early last month after President

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who has been cited as one of the potential candidates for the next presidential election, said Thursday he has decided to withdraw his bid."Although I am withdrawing my candidacy, I will give my all for the change of government to reflect the pe

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) – The legal representative of President Park Geun-hye's confidante, who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal, said Thursday that investigators violated her human rights in the course of their interrogations.Attorney Lee Kyung-jae said in a statement tha

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- Drones will be used to crack down on bad drivers for the first time during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or "Seol," when the nation's major highways will be packed with cars carrying millions of hometown-bound families, the National Police Agency said Thursday

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the conservative splinter Bareun Party announced his presidential bid Thursday, pledging to restore justice, and tide the nation over economic and security crises."I am running in the 19th presidential election, keeping the people's anger, frustr

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday called for enhanced crackdowns on crimes against women and children as part of efforts to ensure public safety amid a national leadership crisis.Since taking over early last month after President Park Geun-hye w

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who has been cited as one of the potential candidates for the next presidential election, decided to withdraw his candidacy, sources said Thursday. Park is expected to deliver an announcement on his decision later in the day.The Seoul may

SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's leader has ordered the completion of a new residential district building project in Pyongyang "at any cost" by the birthday of his late grandfather in April, the North's state media said Thursday.The North's leader conducted an inspection of the

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's land prices continued to increase from a year earlier in 2016, also growing at the fastest rate in nine years, the government said Wednesday.Land prices increased 2.7 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.4 percent on-year gain in 201

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a potential presidential candidate from the splinter Bareun Party, described himself as "the only economic expert" among contenders on Wednesday, expressing confidence in his expertise with regard to the economy compared to rivals."There are many pre

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn's aide on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the political interpretation of his activities as an interim leader, calling it "excessive." His remarks came amid speculation, mostly from opposition politicians, that H

By Kang Yoon-seungSEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- Gyeonggi Gov. Nam Kyung-pil of the Bareun Party announced his intention to run in the next presidential election on Wednesday, declaring his vision to "rebuild" the country by eradicating corruption, reforming chaebol and crafting a job-based welfare sy

Here are the latest results of the opinion surveys on the Presidential hopefuls conducted and published by R&Search and Dailian this morning:Minjoo Party leader Moon Jae-in: 34.8%Former UN Seceretart General Ban Ki-moon: 18%Seongnam City Mayor Lee Jae-myung: 9.3%Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn: 7%Peo

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- Investigators on Wednesday executed the arrest warrant issued against a close friend of President Park Geun-hye, who is at the center of an influence-peddling scandal, after she repeatedly refused to respond to their summons, the probe team said.The investigation team went

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Fiji agreed to promote bilateral military exchanges during their first defense ministers' talks in Seoul on Wednesday.Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Fijian counterpart Ratu Inoke Kubuabola signed an memorandum of understanding to pave the way for

SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- The outgoing chief of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday called for a verdict on President Park Geun-hye's impeachment by March 13 to ensure a fair trial.Chief Justice Park Han-chul made the call at the start of the ninth hearing of the ongoing impeachment trial as