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
By Kang Yoon-seungSEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party condemned a lawmaker on Wednesday for displaying a painting portraying President Park Geun-hye in the nude at a parliamentary building.On Tuesday, the party referred Rep. Pyo Chang-won to its ethics
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, a prominent presidential aspirant, reiterated his support for a constitutional revision Wednesday, calling for a sweeping change in the current governing structure, where power is concentrated in a single national leader.During a meeting with
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- Presidential hopefuls from the liberal bloc plan to visit military facilities Wednesday, in an apparent bid to highlight their interest in national security and curb perceptions the opposition parties are less concerned about Pyongyang's provocations.Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- Special prosecutors said Tuesday they have completed a legal review of carrying out a search on the presidential office as they accelerate their investigation into the alleged corruption scandal centered on President Park Geun-hye.The prosecutors led by Special Counsel Par
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party on Tuesday decided to refer a lawmaker to its ethics panel for hosting an exhibition that included a painting portraying President Park Geun-hye in the nude.Rep. Pyo Chang-won organized the exhibition in the lobby of the N
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will bolster its detection and surveillance capabilities this year to better counter North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the defense ministry said Tuesday.In 2017, the military is planning to deploy 10 new weapons systems to more effectively de
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is seeking to set up a contingency team to improve its consular service for South Koreans traveling overseas, the ambassador for consular affairs said Tuesday."(We) plan to establish an emergency situation room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to re
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday voiced hope for enhanced policy coordination with the new U.S. government, amid concerns about possible shifts in the bilateral alliance.Alarmed by a series of campaign remarks by U.S. President
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court was set to decide Tuesday on the arrest of a former university chief suspected of giving admissions and grading favors to the daughter of President Park Geun-hye's close friend.Choi Kyung-hee, president of Ewha Womans University from 2014 to 2016, is accu
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- The Bareun Party, which spun off from the ruling Saenuri Party as a parliamentary negotiation body in December, will officially become an independent party on Tuesday.After about a month of preparation, it will become the No. 4 party in the 300-seat National Assembly with
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ex-culture minister said Monday a former presidential chief of staff was behind the creation and management of a blacklist of cultural figures deemed critical of the government.Yoo Jin-ryong, who served as the minister from March 2013 to July 2014, made t
SEJONG, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- The culture ministry made a public apology and vowed to make efforts to prevent a recurrence of the blacklisting of artists critical of the government that led to the arrest of top policymakers and their deputies."We feel terrible and shameful that the Ministry of Cultur
It has been disclosed that in January 2015 President Park Geun-hye personally called the then Minister of Culture & Sports Kim Jong to the Presidential Mansion of Cheong Wa Dae and gave him the following instructions: “Miss Chung Yu-ra (daughter of controversial Mrs. Choi Soon-sil) is very highly ta
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top financial regulator on Monday asked the nation's public financial firms to hire more young job seekers, saying the government's top priority this year is job creation.A dozen state-funded financial organizations here plan to increase the numbe
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday vowed to push for seamless policy coordination with the newly launched U.S. administration on a set of key issues, including the nuclear standoff with North Korea.During the New Year's meeting with local repor
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a funeral altar for the head of the country's aviation agency, expressing condolences over his death, Pyongyang's state media said Monday.On Sunday, the North's leader paid his respects to Kang Ki-sop, director-general of
(ATTN: ADDS details in last 3 paras)SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's independent counsel looking into the influence-peddling scandal summoned two arrested key aides to President Park Geun-hye on Sunday over their alleged roles in the blacklisting of cultural figures critical of the gover