The special investigation squad of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency recently summoned a key figure in sex-for-favors suspicions surrounding former YG Entertainment founder and chief producer Yang Hyun-suk, the police said Tuesday.The suspect, known as “Madam Jung,” reportedly has ties with high-profile figures. MBC’s investigative program “Straight” raised the allegation that Yang had called in over 10 prostitutes through Madam Jung to a meeting with eight inves

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party’s Secretary-General Han Sun-kyo on Monday stepped down from his post, citing health reasons, after stirring controversy for repeatedly using offensive language.Han is one of many Liberty Korea Party lawmakers who have come under fire in recent weeks for incendiary language aimed mostly at the Moon Jae-in administration.“Today I am stepping down from the secretary-general position due to health reasons,” Han said in a text message sent to

Lee Sang-heon, the director of the International Labor Organization’s employment policy department, on Friday stressed that core ILO conventions are minimal universal rights of laborers and took a negative stance on allowing substitute laborers in case of a strike.“Key ILO conventions are minimal universal rights that should be granted all workers regardless of where they are. … They should not be subject to negotiation or conditions,” Lee said. He is the first South Kor

Main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Thursday accused the presidential office of causing the standstill at the National Assembly amid pressure from ruling and minor opposition parties for the conservative party to cooperate to open the June extraordinary session. “How can we resume the parliament when Cheong Wa Dae is ruining (cooperation), ridiculing and pressuring the main opposition?” said Liberty Korea Party floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won in an urgent debate on the supplementar

Jeon Gwang-hoon, a pastor and the chief of the Christian Council of Korea, on Wednesday faced public backlash and opposition from Christian groups for frivolous claims concerning President Moon Jae-in.During a press conference earlier in the week, Jeon, who has been calling on the president to step down, said, “At this rate South Korea will fall. I thought I had to save the country before it perishes. … President Moon should leave Cheong Wa Dae by the end of this year.”Steppin

With less than a year left until the general election slated for April next year, South Korea’s two largest political parties have their sights set on voters in their 20s and 30s.Young liberal and conservative voters are increasingly losing interest in politics -- whether due to disappointment with the ailing economy under the Moon Jae-in administration or incendiary language and actions by the leadership of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. Polls from previous elections have shown

Korea’s two main tower crane workers’ unions ended their all-out strike at 5 p.m. after two days of collective action halted operations at construction sites nationwide, the Transport Ministry said Wednesday.The ministry said a committee of concerned parties -- the unions, companies, government and civic groups -- will be formed to improve the safety of small tower cranes. “The two unions have agreed to end the strike as of 5 p.m. after a discussion with rental businesses and c

The Minimum Wage Commission under the Ministry of Employment and Labor held its first public hearing on next year’s minimum hourly wage, and representatives of labor and management put forward contrasting positions on the heated issue, the ministry said Wednesday.Tensions between the two groups erupted last month after the new head of the commission, Park Joon-sik, said there was a “social consensus” that the minimum wage hike over the past two years had been “too steep.&

Tower crane workers affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions took over some 2,500 tower cranes at construction sites nationwide in an all-out strike, calling for a ban on small tower cranes and a wage hike, the unions said Tuesday.Labor unions say small tower cranes are more vulnerable to accidents, whereas the Construction Association of Korea argues otherwise on the grounds that the driverless equipment can be controlled by a technician

In light of a recent series of fatal car accidents involving elderly drivers, calls are growing to revamp policies and issue conditional licenses for seniors. Last month, two died and 11 were injured after a 75-year-old man drove into a crowd celebrating Buddha’s Birthday at the temple Tongdosa in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.According to police, the driver, surnamed Kim, testified he had accidently stepped on the accelerator pedal, sparking concerns about elderly drivers on the road

South Korea is to provide 50,000 tons of food aid to North Korea via an international organization in the coming week, a lawmaker said Friday.“The government is planning to offer 50,000 tons of food to North Korea through an international organization next week,” said Rep. Sul Hoon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.Sul’s remarks were made during the ruling party’s supreme council meeting at the border village of Panmunjom. Citing a UN survey that 10.1 million North

The Seoul Central District Court held an arrest warrant hearing for a 30-year-old man on charges of attempted rape, the court said Friday. The court is to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for the suspect, who allegedly followed the victim to her home at around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday in Sillim-dong, southwestern Seoul. Asked why he had followed the victim, the suspect said “I am sorry” and did not respond to further questions.The suspect attended the hearing at Seoul Central Distr

The sun glistens in the Paroho Lake in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, exuding a sense of peace and calmness. Not many, except villagers in the nearby area, know the tragic story of this man-made reservoir. In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, this lake, then called Daemyungje, witnessed an epic battle between the South Korean and American troops against a numerically superior force of the Chinese army. Despite the odds, the former won and over 24,000 Chinese were killed. Their bodies were dump

The Seoul Southern District Court is expected to decide Thursday whether to arrest senior officials of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions for allegedly damaging police pedestrian barriers and using physical violence against police.The suspects face charges of interfering with official duties, damaging public goods, hindering traffic, trespassing and injuring a journalist.The hard-line Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held three rallies in front of the National Assembly from March 27-Ap

A dinner meeting between National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon and Yang Jung-chul, the head of a think tank run by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has stirred up controversy over the spy agency’s involvement in politics. The four-hour meeting between the two prominent figures last week took the spotlight Tuesday, with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party visiting the spy agency in protest.“It was not a private consultation, but a dinner with longtime acquaintances.

Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn has mapped out a plan to launch a committee on economic development by the end of this month following the party’s controversial rallies held nationwide, the main opposition party said Monday.Claiming the country’s sluggish economy is due to the Moon Jae-in administration’s “economic tyranny,” Hwang said “factories that have stopped operations, empty shops and markets … were filled with despair and sighs.&rdquo

Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn returned to the National Assembly over the weekend after holding an 18 day-long rally nationwide in protest against the liberal government for fast-tracking critical reform bills.The conservative party plans to hold a workshop this week to share views of supporters garnered during the rally and roll out the party’s road map in the coming days. Though the party has concluded its first round of protest, it has not ruled out the possibility of stagin

South Korea has traditionally been known as “the courteous country in the East,” meaning Koreans prioritize politeness above other values.The country’s service industry, however, reveals a strikingly different image of the country, as it grapples with customers on power trips at the expense of employees’ health. The top-down power dynamic between customers and workers has created an environment that tolerates almost any behavior by customers and requires excruciating emot

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday said former US President George W. Bush’s attendance at a memorial service to commemorate the late South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun reflects strong alliance between the two countries.“Thank you for attending the official ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of former President Roh. I believe (former) President Bush’s attendance to commemorate Roh, who was a partner in the Korea-US alliance, is symbolic of the strong alliance,&r

Two massive leaks of chemical vapor at Hanwha Total Petrochemical’s factory in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, have affected around 650 people, local authorities said Tuesday.The company, a 50:50 joint venture of Hanwha General Chemicals and French energy giant Total, faces allegations of attempting to cover up the leakages that occurred at around 11:45 a.m. on May 17 and 5:40 a.m. the next day.“There were no reports on the accident until the city government called to confirm the first leak,