The suspected massive opinion rigging led by a political blogger was ultimately aimed at influencing public sentiment in favor of the now-ruling Democratic Party in the run-up to last year's presidential election, special prosecutors said Monday.Special counsel Huh Ik-bum announced the result of

President Moon Jae-in on Monday stressed the need to expand national pension payments, a move that would inevitably lead to a rise in premiums, but said any change must be based on a national consensus."The national pension, fundamentally, is an official welfare system operated by the government in

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Sunday the number of conglomerate subsidiaries subject to inter-affiliate trading regulations is expected to triple under a new tighter asset standard.The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it will revise the antitrust law to ban inter-affiliate trading within

Lee Hae-chan, a staunch liberal and former prime minister, was elected the new chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Saturday on pledges of unwavering efforts toward national reforms and inter-Korean peace.The 66-year-old seven-term lawmaker won 42.88 percent of the vote, beating two rivals,

Tears streamed down the wrinkled face of Cho Jeong-gi as the 67-year-old South Korean met the North Korean father he has never seen."I am your first son, first son," Cho said in a trembling voice. "I had no idea I would be able to meet you."Cho was among hundreds of people from the two Koreas wh

A Seoul appellate court on Friday increased the sentence for former President Park Geun-hye by one year in a massive corruption case that led to her removal from office.The Seoul High Court sentenced Park, 66, to 25 years in prison and ordered her to pay a 20 billion won (US$17.8 million) fine.She w

South Korea will propose to North Korea the withdrawal of guard posts in certain designated areas of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), rather than committing to reducing by an equal number of border facilities, its defense chief said Friday.Song Young-moo made the remarks amid concerns that, should the

A second meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could give a boost to negotiations to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program, a former U.S. intelligence official said Wednesday.Trump has dangled the possibility of a second summit following his land

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he wants to lift sanctions on North Korea, but only after the regime gets rid of its nuclear weapons.Trump was speaking to his supporters at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia, late Tuesday, hours after the Treasury announced new sanctions targeting North

South Korea and the United States will open another round of negotiations on Wednesday, seeking to narrow differences over covering the cost of American troops stationed on the peninsula, officials said.Senior diplomats of the allies plan to hold the two-day session at the Korea Institute for Defens

South Korea is considering deleting its reference to North Korea's military as "our enemy" in its defense white paper to be published later this year, multiple government sources in Seoul said Wednesday.The move is in line with the April inter-Korean summit agreement to halt "all hostile acts

Thousands of people gathered in central Seoul on Saturday to protest a lower court ruling that found former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung not guilty of sexually abusing his former secretary.On Tuesday, the Seoul Western District Court cleared the 54-year-old politician on charges of fo

South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo is set to be arraigned by a court Friday over his arrest warrant in a probe into a suspected massive opinion rigging by a political blogger.The Seoul Central District Court will review the special prosecution's request for his writ in a hearing slate

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Thursday that the government will sharply raise next year's budget spending to strengthen its fiscal role in supporting growth and tackling a spate of chronic problems, such as widening income inequality.At a public finance forum, Finance Ministe

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned Chinese and Russian firms for their alleged role in helping illicit trade with North Korea in violation of international sanctions.The Department of the Treasury announced the designations of a Chinese business, its Singapore-based affiliate, a Russian firm

This year's third summit between the rival Koreas will present new challenges to South Korean President Moon Jae-in as he seeks to break an apparent stalemate in nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States, analysts here said Monday. Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jo

South and North Korea are set to hold high-level talks Monday to discuss holding a summit meeting between their leaders aimed at deepening inter-Korean relations.The meeting will be held at the northern side of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas at about 10 a.m., according to the unification mi

South Korean shares are expected to be locked in a narrow range next week as investors take to the sidelines amid global trade tension worries, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,282.79. points on Friday, slightly down from 2,287.68 points a we

South and North Korea have confirmed a list of delegates for high-level talks next week which have been scheduled to discuss preparations for a new meeting between their leaders and review implementation of their previous summit agreements, the unification ministry said Saturday. Unification

South Korea's Defense Minister Song Young-moo has held talks with his Indian counterpart, Nirmala Sitharaman, to discuss ways to expand bilateral ties and collaboration for North Korea's denuclearization, his office said Saturday.During the talks, which took place in India on Friday, they ag