The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that the city aims to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2033 from the 2005 levels, and reach complete carbon neutrality by 2050. With the ambition of building a city safe from climate crises, the city has announced its new 10-year plan, named the Basic Plan for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth in Seoul, which includes carbon-neutral and eco-friendly energy transition policies to cut carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2033 compared to 20

The corruption investigation office for high-level officials has called in key suspects for questioning over allegations that presidential and defense officials interfered in a sensitive military inquiry concerning the on-duty death of a Marine last year, multiple sources said Friday. Yoo Jae-eun, a legal affairs official at the defense ministry, and Park Kyung-hoon, a former acting chief of the Criminal Investigation Command under the defense ministry, underwent the Corruption Investigation Off

The Korean government is seeking to employ a professional calligrapher as a civil servant to be responsible for crafting letters of appointment for high-ranking civil servants in the name of the South Korean president, according to the Ministry of Personnel Management. The ministry on Thursday announced its plan to hire a professional calligrapher by May 13. The position of calligrapher is the rarest among Korean public officials, with only four calligraphers hired by the government in the 62 ye

Over 60 percent of South Koreans supported an initiative of providing a 100 million won ($72,500) cash incentive for each newborn, aiming to tackle the country's low and declining birth rates, a government survey showed Thursday. The survey, conducted from April 17 to 26 by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission involving 13,640 individuals, aimed to assess the effectiveness of providing direct support to beneficiaries of birth boost policies. The survey queried whether significant

South Korea‘s labor groups, including the nation’s two major umbrella unions, are set to hold large-scale rallies nationwide on Wednesday to commemorate Labor Day. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country‘s two major umbrella trade unions, known for being independent and run democratically, plans to organize the “World Labor Day Convention” rally from Gwanghwamun in the central district of Jongno-gu to Daehan Gate in Jung-gu, Seoul at 2 p.m. Warm

South Korean authorities announced Monday that they would investigate a Korean American pastor named Choi Jae-young, who gifted first lady Kim Keon-hee a 3 million won ($2,295) Dior bag, on allegations of stalking. National Office of Investigation chief Woo Jong-soo said at a press conference held at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul that “Last year, Choi was accused of stalking (Kim), and (the police) completed a brief legal review of the case. The police determined that furth

South Korea attracted a record number of 606,000 foreign national patients in 2023, mainly for dermatological treatments and plastic surgery, the Health Ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the number of foreign national patients visiting Korea has hit a record high at 606,000, up 2.4 times from a year earlier, 248,000. This is the highest ever since 2009 when the ministry started to compile the number of foreign patients. Also, this figure is 1.2 times higher

Oh Dong-woon, the nominee for the chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, pledged on Sunday to strengthen the agency's role as an independent investigative body and ensure its effectiveness. “I have a heavy heart because I have been nominated as the chief of the CIO during a difficult time,” Oh told media while en route to his office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul, on Sunday, to prepare for his confirmation hearing at the National

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that the city is now setting its sights on the global luxury tourism market and is preparing strategies to become one of the world's best luxury holiday destinations. Luxury, or high-end, tourism refers to a style of travel associated with top-quality service throughout the trip. It is about more than just luxury hotels and first-class air travel. It now means visiting extraordinary destinations and enjoying authentic and unique experienc

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that the Hangang Drone Light Show 2024 along the Han River would begin on Saturday. Five such shows have been planned for the first half of this year, following those held last year. In the second half of this year, five drone shows will be held from September to October, according to the city government. The drone light show will take place at the waterfront stage in Jamsil Hangang Park for 15 minutes at 8 p.m., starting April 27 and during Seoul

As South Korea grapples with a shrinking population, it is increasingly turning to foreign workers to fill crucial roles. Today, labor from overeseas is concentrated in low-paying unskilled jobs, but in the future, many will be hired to perform highly skilled work, according to Kim Young-Jung, president of the Korea Employment Information Service. Highly skilled jobs may include engineers, scientists, teachers, managers and IT professionals, he said. “Korea is getting more and more in need

A Korean woman was persuaded to invest 70 million won ($50,770) after seeing a deepfake video of what appeared to be Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, according to local reports on Tuesday. Jeong Ji-sun, whom KBS has agreed to refer to by a pseudonym, shared how she became a victim of a romance scam on KBS's "In-Depth 60 Minutes." On the April 19 episode, Jeong opened up about how she first started talking with the con artist, who claimed to be Musk. “I experienced something like

South Korean Muslim YouTuber Daud Kim, who announced his plan to build a mosque on land he purchased in Incheon, faces myriad challenges, including a request to terminate the land contract, difficulties in obtaining permission due to road conditions, and resistance from the local neighborhood. Kim, a content creator in his 30s with more than 5.52 million YouTube subscribers, uploaded a post on his Instagram on April 11 announcing his plans to build a mosque, a Muslim place of worship, on land th

The South Korean government on Friday announced its plans to bring in 100 Filipino household helpers in July and deploy them as early as August. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that discussions with the Philippine side on the plan for a pilot program for Filipino domestic workers have been completed. The Philippine government plans to post a job opening for 100 Filipino domestic workers willing to work in Seoul within this month. As Filipino workers are mandated to undergo initial and

A coalition of eight South Korean civic groups and unions on Thursday called on the Yoon Suk Yeol government to end its intensified crackdown on foreign nationals residing illegally in the country. The coalition protested the government's recent joint crackdowns, condemning them as an "anti-human rights measure that will create an atmosphere of fear against unregistered immigrants, justify their oppression by treating them as criminals, and lead to numerous human rights violations.&quo

South Korean Muslim YouTuber Daud Kim has again become the subject of media attention, after he announced on his channel that he would build a mosque on land he had purchased in Incheon. Kim, a content creator in his 30s with more than 5.52 million YouTube subscribers, posts videos in English about living as a Muslim in Korea. He gained a lot of followers overseas after publicly announcing on YouTube his conversion to Islam from Christianity in September 2019. In August 2020, he generated contro

A series of memorial events were held across the country Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry tragedy, in remembrance of the 304 lives lost in Korea's worst maritime disaster. At a ceremony held at the Hwarang Public Garden in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon vowed to remember the 304 victims forever. Kim also lamented that no senior officials were held accountable for the failed disaster response. "Another tragedy followed this tragedy. It is

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province -- On April 16, 2014, 325 students and 14 teachers from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province were aboard the Sewol ferry heading to Jeju Island for a field trip. Cho Mun-jeong was one of the students on the trip and was hoping to enjoy a brief reprieve from preparing for college entrance exams. After a loud "bang" echoed through the ferry, an announcement was made over the intercom, urging passengers not to move and to wait patiently for rescue. But C

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province/JINDO, South Jeolla Province -- Time appears to stand still in a classroom in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The classroom is one of several replica classrooms built in memory of the students and teachers of Danwon High School who lost their lives on a school trip to Jeju Island on April 16, 2014, aboard the Sewol ferry. It is filled with the desks, chairs, blackboards, windows and doors used by the teachers and students before the ferry sank off Jindo in South Jeolla Provinc

North Korea has been intensifying high-level diplomatic exchanges with China and Russia, as evidenced by the visit of China's third-highest-ranking official to Pyongyang and the dispatch of ministers to Russia this week. China's No. 3 official, Zhao Leji, who arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday for a three-day visit to the neighboring country, met for a luncheon with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday. Th