The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is planning to pass a bill that raises the threshold for a planned tax on virtual asset-related gains, up to 50 million won ($35,800) per from the previously planned threshold of 2.5 million won, sources said Thursday. The original scheme for crypto tax gains would have taxed crypto-related income of over 2.5 million won per year starting January 2023, but it has been pushed back two years. The bill will raise the threshold for tax exemption, but the

Yoo Joon-sang officially took office as the seventh president of the Korea UN Volunteer Corps on Tuesday, highlighting his vision to foster a culture of sharing and volunteering, aligned with the UN’s peace, development and human rights principles. During his inaugural speech at a ceremony held at the Crest 72 Glass Hall in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Yoo outlined three key priorities: strengthening international cooperation, increasing participation and communication among youth and promoting

A 56-year-old YouTuber who killed another YouTuber was sentenced to a lifetime in prison on Wednesday, after which he shouted "thank you" for unexplained reasons. Busan District Court found the defendant surnamed Hong guilty of retaliatory murder, rejecting his claims that he had never intended to kill the victim. The court pointed out that it was a planned crime, and that the defendant stabbed the victim 12 times to inflict critical wounds. South Korea's Criminal Act stipulates

South Korean police said Thursday a recently born girl was found inside the bathroom of an underground shopping district, and that the mother is under investigation for abandoning the baby. The child was found inside a bag placed in the bathroom of the shopping district in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, at around 5 p.m. Wednesday. The child was in good health, and still had the umbilical cord attached. The child was taken to a nearby hospital for medical care. Police used surveillance footage to

A local court on Thursday decided against broadcasting live opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's upcoming sentencing hearing for allegedly suborning perjury. The Seoul Central District Court said it decided against broadcasting the sentencing scheduled for next Monday after considering the "legal benefits." Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party is set to be sentenced on charges of suborning a secretary of a former Seongnam mayor to make false court testimony in his favor in a 2

The US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday to reauthorize and update the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act aimed at promoting rights and freedom in the reclusive state. The House endorsed the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act in a 335-37 vote, raising hopes of filling the legal void left by the expiry of the reauthorization act in 2022. First adopted in 2004, the North Korean Human Rights Act is periodically updated and reauthorized. The House bill has been s

North Korea and Russia have signed a protocol on expanding cooperation following their committee meeting on economy, science, and technology in Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Thursday. The two sides signed the agreement Wednesday after holding the 11th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science, and Technology the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Yun Jong-ho, the external economic relations minister of

President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Seoul on Thursday from an eight-day trip to Peru and Brazil where he sought to expand global solidarity against the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Yoon attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima and then traveled to Rio de Janeiro to join the Group of 20 summit. In Lima, Yoon met with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to reaffirm their commitments to trilateral security cooperati

A UN General Assembly committee on Wednesday passed a resolution on North Korean human rights for the 20th consecutive year, calling for the UN system to address the North's "grave" situation "in a coordinated and unified manner." The Third Committee handling human rights and social affairs adopted by consensus the resolution, which expressed concerns over the North's declaration not to pursue reunification with South Korea and called for repealing practices and law

South Korea's largest umbrella labor union and the farmers' association held a massive rally in central Seoul on Wednesday against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, causing traffic congestion, officials said. An estimated 6,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the general association of national farmers, simply known as Junnong, staged a joint rally in downtown Seoul, lashing out at the Yoon government for causing economic hardships for farmers and the p

Nearly half of the Korean pines, a tree species emblematic of the nation, are at risk of dying at Seoraksan, a recent study revealed Wednesday. The research, conducted by the Korea National Park Service, examined the state of pine forests across five national parks -- Seoraksan, Odaesan, Chiaksan, Taebaeksan and Sobaeksan -- utilizing satellite imagery, aerial photographs and on-site patrol data. The findings revealed significant pine tree dieback, with 480 trees affected in Taebaeksan, 41 in

A man in his 50s who caused a fatal crash while speeding under the influence of alcohol has appealed a six-year prison sentence, according to a court on Tuesday. The Jeonju District Court handed down a jail term of six years with a fine of 1 million won ($718) on charges of drunk driving and violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents to the defendant in September. The defendant filed an appeal, arguing that the six-year prison term is too heavy. In respo

South Korea‘s labor groups, including one of the nation’s two major umbrella unions, held a rally Wednesday calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the largest umbrella labor union in the country, and the Korean Peasants League called for Yoon's resignation, claiming he has failed to address the plummeting rice prices and has excessively used low-tariff and duty-free imports, which they argue undermines local agricultural stabi

With less than a week left for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution at its fifth and final session, the Ministry of Environment told the press Wednesday that reaching a deal “could be difficult.” "Out of the five scheduled rounds of negotiations, four have been completed,” said an Environment Ministry official. “However, the process remains deadlocked due to sharp conflict between cou

The first official memorial ceremony honoring Korean victims of forced labor at the gold mines on Sado Island during Japan's colonial rule from 1910 to 1945 will be held in Sado on Sunday, attended by South Korean and Japanese government officials and bereaved families of the victims. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and Japan’s executive committee for the Sado Mine memorial jointly announced Wednesday that the event, officially titled the "Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony,"

Immigration of a permanent type to South Korea jumped by 50.9 percent last year, the second biggest surge among the 38 member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In an OECD report titled “International Migration Outlook 2024,” released last week, a record 6.5 million people moved to the 38 high-income countries committed to democracy which make up the OECD last year, up 10 percent from 2022. The United States was the top destination country, adding

South Korean police said Wednesday they are pursuing criminal charges against 715 individuals related to a nationwide illegal gambling operation, which is thought to have brought in around 100 billion won ($72 million) in revenue. Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested seven individuals suspected of running a poker-themed bar franchise with 15 local branches across the country that conducted an illegal gambling operation from March 2021 to April this year. The others are being investigated wi

A 50-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for orchestrating a massive real estate scam that defrauded 229 tenants out of 18 billion won ($13 million) in deposits entrusted to her under the "jeonse" lump-sum lease system. The Supreme Court’s First Division upheld a lower court’s ruling on Wednesday, confirming the 15-year prison sentence for Choi, who was convicted of fraud and other charges. This marks the Supreme Court's first definitive ruling in a larg

North Korean troops are mobilized on the Russian front lines fighting Ukraine, according to a South Korean intelligence agency briefing presented to lawmakers Wednesday. Around 11,000 North Korean troops, many of them part of special forces, had already been trained and deployed to Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine by late October, Rep. Park Sun-won told reporters. Park, who sits as the deputy chair of the National Assembly intelligence committee, was speaking after he was

A senior secretary to President Yoon Suk Yeol criticized a journalist's question, which had asked the president to elaborate on the specifics reasons for his public apology during a televised press conference, calling it "rude." At a parliamentary session Tuesday, Hong Chul-ho, Yoon’s senior political secretary, made the criticism while trying to defend the president and the latter's 140-minute-long Q&A session with the media on Nov. 7. “The president apologiz