Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, on his second day of being suspended from work, filed a lawsuit against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Thursday, claiming the minister’s disciplinary action is unjust and groundless. The lawsuit was filed with the Seoul Administrative Court. Yoon on Wednesday night also filed for a pretrial injunction to quash the suspension order. The move came as the Justice Ministry asked its disciplinary committee to convene Dec. 2 to deliberate on allegations level

A day after Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl was suspended from duty, turmoil continued at the nation’s prosecution, including a raid of Yoon’s office Wednesday by Justice Ministry-backed prosecutors over alleged illegal surveillance of judges. Armed with a search warrant, prosecutors from the Justice Ministry’s internal investigation team raided a unit of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in charge of data collection. The surveillance of judges, using the unit, is one

Jeong Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, has been named among the top 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020 by the BBC, the British broadcaster said Monday. “This year 100 Women is highlighting those who are leading change and making a difference during these turbulent times,” it said. Introducing the commissioner as the “virus-hunter,” it said Jeong, a preventive-medicine specialist, has led Sout

SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun took the lead in a survey about potential Seoul mayoral candidates, with a handful of politicians announcing their bids for next year’s by-elections. In the poll conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute and CBS on Friday and Saturday, Park was the favorite with 18.3 percent of the votes from 1,019 Seoul citizens, closely followed by former conservative lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who garnered 17.9 percent. Park and Na haven’t declared

Asian legal and public health professionals will share their experience at an international forum this week, and will discuss how to shape laws to counter infectious diseases and ways to work together in the post-COVID-19 era. The Ministry of Government Legislation will host the eighth Asian Legislative Experts Symposium under the theme “Legislations on Infectious Diseases and Cooperative Measures of Asia Countries in the post-COVID-19 Era” at the Millennium Hilton Seoul on Wedn

Safety concerns are mounting ahead of the implementation of relaxed rules that will enable teenagers to ride electric scooters without a license, among other changes, amid a growing number of accidents caused by the popular new mobility option. Under the current Road Traffic Act, electric scooter riders must be at least 16 years old and have a motorcycle license. When the revised law takes effect Dec. 10, those aged 13 and older will be allowed to ride e-scooters on cycling paths, with no pena

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea said Thursday it would push ahead with its plan to launch an envisioned anti-corruption agency within this year by revising a law to override vetoes from the opposition party. The revision procedures for the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, or CIO, will begin in earnest, Democratic Party Floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon said during the party’s policy meeting held at the National Assembly. “We can’t get dragged into

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Wednesday ordered an inspection into Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, escalating monthslong tensions between the two. Two junior prosecutors from the Justice Ministry’s internal inspection team reportedly visited the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday and requested a face-to-face meeting with the top prosecutor, only to be rejected. They were trying to schedule a questioning session over allegations against Yoon involving his family and a meeti

A Japanese television personality in South Korea, who became a single mother by choice with the help of donor sperm, shed light on the country’s severe access restrictions to assisted reproductive technologies. Sayuri Fujita gave birth to a son Nov. 4 after using donor sperm for in vitro fertilization treatment in Japan, after her doctor said spontaneous pregnancy was becoming less and less likely because of her age. Although she was near the end of her fertility, she wasn’t will

Former four-term conservative lawmaker Yoo Seong-min reaffirmed Wednesday his intention to run for president again in 2022, dismissing speculation that he might run for Seoul mayor. Yoo ran in the 2017 presidential election on the ticket of a now-disbanded center-right party. 　 Yoo said he had never considered entering the mayoral race, which will take place in April next year. The main opposition People Power Party, to which he belongs, didn’t ask him to run for mayor, he said during

Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju has decided to impose cohort isolation on one of its buildings with more than 150 patients after a dozen new coronavirus cases were detected there. “It is difficult for us to provide normal treatment service as the hospital has been exposed to the risk of virus transmission coupled with a surge in the number of medical staff who are under self-isolation regime,” Kim Sung-jin, acting director of the hospital, said during a press confer

Chairman Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party will volunteer for a clinical trial for a COVID-19 cure or vaccine as South Korean firms struggle to secure enough participants, the party said Tuesday. Lee will provide his data as part of a campaign initiated by the Korea National Enterprise for Clinical Trials, a body under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Lee has undergone four coronavirus tests, which all came out negative, after coming into contact with someone with COVID-19. Alo

Seoul has embarked on a 79.1 billion-won ($71.4 million) project to make Gwanghwamun Square at the heart of the capital city greener and more pedestrian-friendly, city officials said Monday. The 555-meter-long, 34-meter-wide square, which is currently located at the center of a 12-lane road, is expected to turn into a more vibrant public space where people can rest and socialize, with a new park and wider pedestrian-only street. “Gwanghwamun Square, which is the heart of the city, wil

  Located near Jeongbalsan, in the middle of Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, a thatch house built of chestnut wood has been preserved to give a glimpse into a traditional farm house of the late Joseon Period.  The house is thought to have been built in the 19th-century in the village in Ilsan area where members of the Danyang Yi clan settled. With an abundance of chestnut trees in the village, the house used chestnut wood as its main building material, and came to be known as Bamgasi Cho

The screening process to select two finalists who are qualified to head an envisioned anti-corruption agency that will investigate high-ranking government officials has begun Friday amid fierce partisan strife. A seven-member panel of government officials and outside experts will choose two candidates out of 10 legal professionals they recommended to be the first chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, or CIO. During a day-long meeting, the panel members revie

New daily cases of the novel coronavirus in South Korea have increased by 146, bringing the total caseload to 27,799, marking the fourth day in a row above 100, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Wednesday. The death toll rose by two to 487. The fatality rate stands at 1.75 percent. The triple-digit rises in COVID-19 cases are pushing health authorities to consider an elevation of social distancing measures. The country adopted Level 1 distancing rules Saturday, t

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl emerged as the favorite to win the next presidential election, outpacing two seasoned politicians from the ruling party who had dominated similar surveys, a poll showed Wednesday. The outspoken top prosecutor’s favorability rating stood at 24.7 percent in the survey conducted by pollster Hangil Research. It was the first time that Yoon, who was appointed by liberal President Moon Jae-in but is widely supported by conservatives after feuding with the in

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday the incumbent government has drastically cut its special expenses in the past four years, following the main opposition party’s demand for a comprehensive review on such kind of funds spent by government bodies. 　 “The size of special activity funds has been reduced by 40.5 percent in the past four years since the current administration was launched,” Hong said during a meeting of the special committee on

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong appeared in court for his bribery retrial Monday, in the next chapter of a corruption scandal that involves ousted President Park Geun-hye. The third-generation leader of Samsung Group arrived at the Seoul High Court at around 1:30 p.m. He entered the building without answering any questions from reporters. Four former Samsung executives, Choi Gee-sung and Kim Jong-joong, Hwang Sung-soo, Park Sang-jin and Chang Choong-ki, also attended the trial

Health authorities are grappling with the growing burden of contact tracing as sporadic group infections continue as cold weather increases COVID-19 risks both here and abroad. Lee Sang-won, who heads epidemiological investigation analysis at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said the country has seen a growing number of cases stemmed from small cluster infections and sporadic outbreaks led by those who had close contacts with infected people. “Small-scale group infections ar