A former health minister was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail Thursday on charges of abuse of power in connection with a massive corruption scandal that removed former President Park Geun-hye from office.The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to Moon Hyung-pyo, who served as healt
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has convened a meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday to discuss possible measures against North Korea's repeated rocket and missile launches, the presidential office said.The first NSC meeting to be chaired by the president will be held at 2 p.m.
South Korea urged North Korea on Wednesday to accept local aid groups' move to visit the North for inter-Korean exchanges as Pyongyang has rejected their offers, citing Seoul's support of fresh U.N. sanctions.North Korea on Monday spurned South Korean civic and religious groups' move to
Constitutional Court Chief nominee Kim Yi-su apologized Wednesday over the allegation that he was at the forefront of judicial punishments for protesters against the military-backed government in the 1980s.During his parliamentary confirmation hearing, Kim also vowed to contribute to addressing the
South Korea should play a more "active" and "leading" role as a stake holder in handling North Korea's nuclear problem, President Moon Jae-in's pick for foreign minister said Wednesday.Kang Kyung-wha told a confirmation hearing that she will "sternly" deal with any provocation by the N
The daughter of a late businessman blamed for the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster has been arrested, as France extradited her three years after she fled to avoid arrest on embezzlement charges, officials said Wednesday.The Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said they apprehended Yoo Sum-na, the daug
President Moon Jae-in named five new vice ministers Tuesday while telling an incumbent vice foreign minister to remain in the latest move to form what will truly be his first administration. Lim Sung-nam, the incumbent first vice minister at the foreign ministry, has been asked to continue serving i
Quarantine officials began slaughtering about 120,000 poultry Tuesday on the country's southern resort island of Jeju as South Korea raised the bird flu alert to the highest level."The culling could continue well into the night, though it remains unclear when it will end," Park Sung-soon, an o
A U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarine arrived in the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday in what appears to be another show of Washington's military might amid North Korea's continued saber-rattling.The 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne whose home port is Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, entered the ROK (Rep
South Korea's defense ministry began preparations for a full-blown environmental impact assessment on the ongoing deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system Tuesday, a ministry official said, a move that will inevitably delay its operation.The move came one day after President Moon Jae-
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday promised to re-evaluate the past to find forgotten and unknown heroes who helped make the nation great.In a speech marking Memorial Day, he also promised to enhance benefits for patriots, including independence fighters under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule.
The Moon Jae-in administration apparently hit a stumbling block last week over the proposed appointment of a new chief for the antitrust watchdog strongly rejected by opposition parties that is also keeping it from forming its first Cabinet, an official noted Monday.The ruling Democratic Party faile
The ruling Democratic Party and government agreed Monday to create a new ministry supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and venture startups as part of a government reorganization plan, party officials said.During the election campaign, President Moon Jae-in pledged to enhance support
The country's distribution of national wealth is at its worst levels and is continuing to deteriorate, a senior presidential official said Sunday, saying the issue is also causing long-term problems such as economic polarization that require immediate policy initiatives.Jang Ha-sung, the chief o
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said Saturday the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system is aimed at thwarting "real" threats from North Korea that have been gaining pace."I do not choose to send THAAD to South Korea and to protect the South Korean people from an imaginary problem. T
A court in Seoul rejected an arrest warrant for the daughter of former President Park Geun-hye's long-time friend in a setback to the investigation into a massive influence-peddling scandal that led to Park's ouster from office.The Seoul Central District Court turned down the prosecution'
South Korea's foreign minister-designate said Friday that the victims should be at the center of any efforts to resolve the long-running dispute over Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women.Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks following her earlier visit to a house sheltering some of those
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Friday he will clarify the new government's position on the issue of deploying THAAD in talks here with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis this week.They are scheduled to meet bilaterally on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit se
The United States intends to welcome South Korean President Moon Jae-in with maximum respect and a "full program" of events when he visits Washington later this month for his first summit talks with President Donald Trump, a South Korean official said Thursday.U.S. officials expressed the intent w
More than 80 percent of the public approve of President Moon Jae-in's job performance so far, a survey showed Friday, less than a month after the liberal took office.In the survey conducted on 1,004 adults from Tuesday to Thursday, 84 percent of respondents said they think Moon is "doing a good