South Korea’s youth unemployment has grown by the largest margin among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed Sunday.As of April, the jobless rate among Koreans aged 15 to 24 stood at 11.2 percent, a 2.5 percentage point increase from 8.7 percent recorded in December last year, according to data from the OECD.(123RF)Out of 21 member countries of the OECD, Korea topped the list with the sharpest growth in youth unemployment, followed by Austria

Kori No. 1, South Korea’s oldest nuclear reactor located in Busan, ceased operation Sunday at midnight after four decades. Its operator Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. said that it cut the power supply Saturday and began the cooling-down process of the reactor.Kori No.1, South Korea’s first and the oldest nuclear reactor is seen in southern city of Busan. (Yonhap)It was officially decommissioned, with the temperature of the reactor gradually dropping to 90 degrees Celsius, from its normal oper

A farmer knocked down by a blast from a police water cannon during an anti-government rally in November 2015 died due to an external force, not illness, Seoul National University Hospital said Thursday, in a correction made nine months after his death. However, the hospital denied political consideration was the reason behind the rare decision. 　Kim Yon-su, vice president of SNUH, told a press conference that the death certificate of Baek Nam-gi will be revised following a monthslong discussion

The suspect detained over Tuesday’s parcel bomb attack at Yonsei University confessed that he acted out of a personal grudge against his supervising professor, police said Thursday. “Kim said he felt offended when he had arguments with the professor over his thesis and he planned the crime in late May after he was harshly rebuked by the teacher,” Seodaemun police said during a press briefing. The professor had been the suspect’s supervisor since the beginning of his postgrad course.The suspect i

The state-run audit agency said Wednesday that it will launch another probe into a development project involving four rivers, following President Moon Jae-in’s order last month. It will be the Board of Audit and Inspection’s fourth inspection of the 22 trillion won ($19.6 billion) project, which was conceived and pushed by former President Lee Myung-bak. The BAI said the decision was based on “the necessity of an inspection as raised by the public and media and the consideration of the yearly in

The suspect arrested over Tuesday’s parcel bomb attack at Yonsei University has admitted to plotting the blast, taking a cue from a subway terror attack in St. Petersburg, police said Wednesday. He said he made the explosive by himself. Seodaemun Police Station arrested the 25-year-old engineering graduate student near the university campus in Seoul late on Tuesday night, about 12 hours after the bomb went off, causing minor burns to the professor who opened it.(Yonhap)Investigators said the sus

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump will host South Korea's new leader Moon Jae-in for talks on containing North Korea's nuclear program, officials said Tuesday, amid fresh Pentagon warnings that the Pyongyang regime is a "clear and present danger to all."A White House statement said the two leaders will meet June 29-30 to discuss ways of building on what America frequently calls its "ironclad"  alliance with South Korea. Moon, a center-left politician who was sworn in last month after a

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- A Singapore shopping mall has been asked to change an advertisement promoting a gay pride rally next month because it may affect public sensitivities, the building's management said Tuesday.Mall operator Cathay Organisation said they could not change the advertisement because it is owned by rally organisers Pink Dot, but would pass on the message.Cathay Cineleisure, a mall in the popular Orchard Road shopping district, was asked last week by an advertising watchdog to remove t

United States Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon arrived in Seoul Tuesday to prepare for a summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump.During his three-day stay in Seoul, the undersecretary of state for political affairs will meet with South Korean officials, including Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, to set the agenda for the first talks between the leaders slated for June 29-30.United States Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon arrives in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)Securit

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday met with Princess Astrid of Belgium who is visiting Seoul as a special envoy of King Philippe.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with Princess Astrid of Belgium who is visiting Seoul as a special envoy of King Philippe. (Yonhap)During the meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, Moon said Belgium's past role in European integration would give a lesson to South Korea in its diplomatic efforts for international cooperation to solve Nor

Police said Tuesday that a graduate student had been arrested on suspicion of a parcel bomb attack that injured a college professor earlier in the morning.The suspect is a 25-year-old graduate school student who also studies engineering at the same university, according to the police.An unidentified parcel bomb exploded at Seoul’s Yonsei University on Tuesday, causing injury to the professor who opened the parcel. Police said it appeared to be a nail bomb similar to that used in a recent terror

The exact cause behind a massive blackout that affected some 190,000 households in southwestern districts in Seoul and Gwangmyeong on Sunday remains unclear, the state-run electricity provider said Monday.With the investigation to determine the cause underway, the Korea Electric Power Corp. said the latest power failure appears to be from problems in the switchgear of the Yeongseo Substation located in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province.Diners at a restaurant eat in the dark after a power failure at

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approach toward energy production is raising hopes for the end of coal and nuclear power plants in the country.The liberal leader -- an advocate of nuclear-zero Korea -- and his administration have unveiled a roadmap to reduce reliance on nuclear and coal energy, citing public concerns over air pollution and nuclear safety.At present, 25 reactors are in service and the Moon administration aims to begin by shutting down aged facilities and eventually phasing o

In pitch-black darkness before dawn, a group of foreigners walk up the stone steps of Daewoongjeon, the main hall of Geumsunsa Buddhist temple. (Photographed by Park Hyun-koo)With shoes left at the door, they kneel on pillows and clasp hands. At the sound of a gong, they bow their foreheads to the floor, stand upright and then bow again. Only the crickets outside provide a dawn soundtrack. With that, another day at a Korean temple stay has begun. (Photographed by Park Hyun-koo)Here at Geumsunsa,

South Korea will close down its oldest nuclear reactor in mid-June, after four decades of operations. The state-run Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved the permanent shutdown of Kori No. 1, the first nuclear reactor set up in the country in 1977. Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan (Yonhap)Kori No. 1, located in the southern port city of Busan, will cease operations at midnight on June 18. Officials will then relocate spent nuclear fuel stored inside the rector to a liquid sodium-coole

Seoul City plans to double the number of guards and revamp other safety measures on its recently opened elevated park, after a man jumped to his death last week, the mayor said Thursday. “We are currently pushing to hire more guards and revamp facilities to protect citizens’ safety. We will allow no more unfortunate accidents,” Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said via radio.  (Yonhap)On May 30, a 32-year-old man from Kazakhstan jumped from the 17-meter high Seoullo 7017 in an apparent suicide, crossin

Despite rain over many parts of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday, it was not enough to quench the ongoing drought, the weather agency said. From Tuesday afternoon, around 10 to 60 millimeters of rain poured down across the nation. Wednesday brought about 5 to 30 mm of rain in central regions like Gyeonggi Province. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said that at least 70-100 mm of rain is needed to bring an end to the drought in Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong ad South Jeolla provi

The South Korean government should rethink its current approach to radioactive waste treatment technologies before attempting to go nuclear free, a renowned American nuclear expert said. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Frank von Hippel, a professor at Princeton University, warned that the state-run Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute is working on technologies that have failed in all other advanced industrial countries.With liberal President Moon Jae-in -- an advocate of nuclear-zero K

ROME (AFP) -- A third man arrested for carrying out Saturday's deadly attack in central London is an Italian-Moroccan who was arrested last year on suspicion of trying to reach Syria, according to Italian media reports.Italy's main media outlets said Youssef Zaghba, 22, was the son of an Italian mother from Bologna and a Moroccan father.The couple were separated and their son, who had passports from both countries, lived mainly in Morocco with regular periods spent working in Britain.The Italian

South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun will leave for Japan this week to discuss pending issues and strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, his office said Tuesday. During a three-day visit from Wednesday, he will meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and parliament leaders. South Korea`s National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun makes a phone call at his office in Seoul on June 5, 2017. (Yonhap)Chung is expected to explain the Moon Jae-in administration's policy