Dwight School Seoul will be hosting its fifth annual VIP Reading Day to promote the diversity of languages. Scheduled to take place at the international school’s campus in western Seoul on Tuesday, the event aims to promote linguistic and cultural diversity as well as multilingualism.  Wendy Seay, an information system officer at the US Embassy in Seoul, poses with two fifth-grade students at Dwight School Seoul. Dwight School Seoul“Our mission is to support UNESCO’s International Mother Languag

Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong on Monday faced questioning from special investigators for the second time as part of a high-profile probe into President Park Geun-hye’s alleged corruption. “I will faithfully tell the whole truth,” said the Samsung Electronics vice chairman, as he entered the Special Counsel Park Young-soo’s office in southern Seoul on Monday morning. Lee, 48, is suspected of bribing Park’s longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil to win political support for a controversia

The special counsel team investigating the alleged corruption surrounding President Park Geun-hye is to question Samsung Group’s de facto chief Lee Jae-yong, alongside other executives Monday, while mulling over how to proceed with the most important part of its probe -- asking the president directly about the suspicions. “Since the court’s rejection for an arrest warrant three weeks ago, we have continued investigating the bribery allegation (involving Samsung’s Lee and President Park) and have

The special counsel team investigating the President Park Geun-hye scandal indicted four more of her former aides on Tuesday, including the chief of staff and a culture minister, on charges that they were involved in the creation of a blacklist of artists deemed critical of the Park administration. With the indictments of Kim Ki-choon, Cho Yoon-sun, Kim Sang-ryul and Kim So-young, the team is close to wrapping up its inquiry into the blacklist allegation, part of its multifaceted investigation i

President Park Geun-hye, who has been stripped of her powers since December due to a corruption scandal, is likely to undergo questioning this week, becoming South Korea’s first incumbent president to do so. “The face-to-face questioning (of President Park) is considered a necessary step for the investigation to proceed,” Independent Counsel Park Young-soo’s spokesperson said Sunday, confirming its plan to soon question the impeached president in person, without elaborating.  Lee Kyu-chul, the s

The special prosecutor’s team investigating President Park Geun-hye’s corruption scandal has executed an arrest writ issued against Park’s close friend Choi Soon-sil for interrogation, who had been in custody under charges of extorting money from business groups using ties with the president.The execution took place on Wednesday, following the Seoul Central District Court‘s issuance of the warrant earlier at the request of the probe team’s independent counsel Park Young-soo. Choi had declined to

Ahn Hee-jung, the liberal governor of South Chungcheong Province, said Tuesday that he would move the country’s capital to Sejong, a new administrative town, if he was elected to the presidency. “I wish to complete the work of the former President Roh Moo-hyun whose dream was to achieve a balanced regional development with the establishment of Sejong City,” Ahn said at a forum in Seoul.  South Chungcheong Province governor Ahn Hee-jung. Yonhap “In the upcoming presidential election, I will win t

The special prosecutor’s investigation into admissions fraud surrounding Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of President Park Geun-hye’s close friend, is reaching its final stage, with a court reviewing Tuesday the arrest of the school’s former president. Choi Kyung-hee, president of Ewha Womans University until October, attended a hearing for her arrest at the Seoul Central District Court over suspicions that she directed professors and school officials to accept Chung. In return for admissions favors

The special counsel investigating the scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye quizzed her former chief of staff and culture minister on Sunday as the high-profile probe dug into the president’s alleged blacklisting of cultural figures. Former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun, both detained since last weekend for their suspected role in the creation of the list, appeared for questioning at special prosecutor Park Yong-soo’s office in Southern Seoul. P

Rep. Kwon Seong-dong, who leads the parliamentary team for President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment trial, said Thursday that a court decision on the sanctioned president is likely to be made in February. During a parliamentary meeting at the National Assembly, Rep. Kwon, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the National Assembly, said that he is expecting the Constitutional Court to rule on the Dec. 9 parliamentary impeachment of Park earlier than initially expected, as the trial’s witness q

South Korea’s largest business lobby group claimed Thursday that it was instructed by the presidential office to solicit corporate donations for Choi Soon-sil, a close friend of President Park Geun-hye. A top standing executive of the Federation of Korean Industries -- Vice Chairman Lee Seung-cheol -- made the testimony, appearing as a witness at Choi’s trial at the Seoul District Court. Vice Chairman Lee Seung-cheol of the Federation of Korean Industries enters a courtroom in Seoul to testify a

South Korea’s Ministry of Education will conduct a study of gifted students following their academic and career path for 25 years after their graduation from state-run special education programs, it said Wednesday. The subjects of the survey -- the first of its kind here -- are 15-year-olds or 16-year-olds who enter eight science high schools here this year. The study will run through 2041 until they reach 40 or 41. “We have analyzed short-term data on the effect of special education for talente

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is holding a two-day conference in Daejeon, in the center of South Korea, to provide support and assistance programs for potential startups, the top science university in the country said. The conference, entitled “2017 JETS (Job, Exhibition, Tech-Forum, Startup),” set for Thursday and Friday, is expected to lay the foundation for young entrepreneurs who wish to establish their own businesses, amid the growing importance of startups for the

Yongin, once South Korea’s most indebted city, is now officially debt-free, Mayor Jung Chan-min declared Tuesday. The city of 1 million, located some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, will now embark on a mission to make the city a better place to live for its residents, investing in key sectors, including education and welfare, the mayor said. “Thanks to the support of residents and burden-sharing by some 3,000 city officials, we could achieve the debt-free goal much earlier,” Jung said at a press

Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s longtime friend accused of manipulating power behind the scenes, may have pulled strings in the country’s controversial deal with Japan last year that settled long-running disputes over former sex slave victims under Japanese colonial rule, a local media outlet reported Monday. According to Segye Ilbo, Special Counsel Park Young-soo is investigating the notion following a tip-off from an undisclosed person that Choi was behind the 2015 agreement. The inve

Choi Soon-sil, the jailed confidante of President Park Geun-hye, took the witness stand in Park’s impeachment trial Monday, but her apparent lack of humility only fueled anger among the public. At the fifth hearing of the Constitutional Court on Monday, Choi faced questioning by representatives of the National Assembly, which passed the impeachment bill last month. The questions focused on her alleged influence-peddling in state affairs and the troubled foundations which collected donations from

South Korean households’ private education spending is growing much faster than their disposable income, statistics showed Thursday, posing a key challenge to the country’s efforts to revive the economy through domestic consumption. According to a recent survey published by Statistics Korea, the average monthly spending on private education by city-dwelling families of two or more people stood at 226,575 won ($191) in the third quarter of last year, a 6 percent increase compared to 2015. The inc

An opposition lawmaker Thursday proposed a legislative bill to allow foreign residents to become members of Korean political parties. “Long-term foreign residents here have the right to vote in the local elections but are not permitted to acquire political party membership,” said Rep. Song Young-gil of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, who proposed the bill, in a press release, “Since foreigners are subject to local and national taxation as well as other responsibilities as citizens

Choi Soon-sil, who is at the center of the President Park Geun-hye scandal, withdrew the testimony she gave at a prosecutorial investigation, denying all charges brought against her, during her trial in Seoul on Wednesday. 　At the same court, An Chong-bum, Park’s former aide suspected of being an accomplice to Park and Choi in their alleged crimes, challenged the validity of key evidence: his handwritten memos.　“During the investigation, Choi was forced to make confessions. We contest the volunt

US special operation forces are expected to participate in a South Korean-led operation to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in the event of war, according to military sources Sunday.“The South Korean military will form a special brigade based on that of the US sometime later this year,” said a high-ranking government official on the condition of anonymity, adding that US special agents are expected to be under Korean command during the operation.“Although the brigade is modeled after that