Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead Friday, according to police, in what appears to be one of the country’s highest-profile suicides in recent history. The body of Park, 64, was found near the gate Sukjeongmun at the mountain Bugaksan in Seoul, at 12:01 a.m., about seven hours after he was reported missing. Park is the first Seoul mayor to die while still in office.　 The exact cause of his death remains under investigation. Whether an autopsy will be performed is under discuss

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead on Friday, according to police, in what appears to be one of the country’s highest-profile suicides in recent history. The body of Park, 64, was found at Mount Bukak, hours after he was reported missing. The exact cause of his death remained under investigation.  Park’s daughter filed a police report at 5:17 p.m. that he “had left home four to five hours ago after leaving words like a will, with his phone currently off.&rdquo

Search efforts continued to locate Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon late Thursday night, several hours after he was reported missing. Police and fire authorities launched the search after Park’s daughter filed a police report at 5:17 p.m. that his whereabouts were unaccounted for.  “He had left home four to five hours ago after leaving words like a will, with his phone currently off," the daughter told police. As it got dark, police expanded the search operations with 700 off

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol accepted Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae’s directive Thursday to back down from an investigation in a case involving a senior prosecutor believed to be close to him. With the decision, tensions between Choo and Yoon appear to have eased over who should oversee the ongoing inquiry into allegations that prosecutor Han Dong-hoon colluded with a former Channel A journalist in an attempt to frame a leading liberal figure for corruption. “The Seoul Centra

Seoul City plans to invest 2.6 trillion won ($2.17 billion) for its version of the “Green New Deal” that intends to cut carbon dioxide emissions while creating jobs. “The Seoul version of the Green New Deal is a core strategy for the post-coronavirus era that will help us to overcome climate crisis and economic crisis simultaneously,” Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said during a press conference held at City Hall on Wednesday. President Moon Jae-in announced in May his pu

Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae issued an ultimatum to Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol to respond by Thursday morning to her directive to forgo his authority to supervise an investigation in the case involving a senior prosecutor known to be loyal to him. “A week has passed. I will wait one more day until tomorrow 10 a.m.,” Choo said in a statement released by the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday. Choo has been exerting pressure on Yoon after having a disagreement over who shou

Former Prime Minister Rep. Lee Nak-yon announced Tuesday his bid to become chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. With Lee in, the contest for leadership of the liberal camp is shaping up to be a two-horse race -- between him and Kim Bu-gyeom, both with ambitions of being South Korea’s president. “I have come to the conclusion that I have to mobilize all-available capabilities to take responsibilities given to the Democratic Party and help overcome the national crisis

A wave of abuse allegations swept a semi-pro triathlete club owned by Gyeongju City after the suicide of a player who claimed to have suffered years of verbal and physical abuse from her coach, team physician and senior teammates. More triathletes have come forward as victims and in support of the deceased teammate, but the alleged abusers denied any wrongdoing. Some 15 former and current triathletes have told police that they were victimized by the alleged abusers, according to Gyeongbuk P

Jung Soon-kyeong’s day starts with changing the diaper of her 18-year-old daughter Cho Hye-won. She then spoon-feeds, washes and runs every errand for her as her sole, round-the-clock caregiver. Brain lesions mean Cho has severe paralysis. And now, Jung feels both she and her daughter are trapped in their home, cut off from the world, since the coronavirus outbreak. “Hye-won became more anxious after her small outdoor activities were restricted because of the virus,” Jung s

Prospects are growing for a conservative coalition, as two opposition parties seek ways to challenge the mammoth ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which holds the biggest majority ever claimed by a single party in the history of the National Assembly. Cooperative moves gained traction since the right-wing United Future Party, the largest opposition party with 103 lawmakers, and center-right People’s Party with three lawmakers launched a joint study program called the People’s Futu

Concerns are mounting in Gwangju that it could emerge as a new hotbed for the spread of the new coronavirus, as sporadic infections continue to grow in the southern city with a population of 1.5 million. Of 54 new daily cases reported in South Korea on Thursday, Gwangju registered 22 new cases with a recent surge in COVID-19 infections related to small gatherings in churches and a Buddhist temple following its first double-digit rise of 12 on Wednesday. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Wednesday he would announce his bid for the chairmanship of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea next week, which could help the key potential presidential candidate consolidate his position and stamp his authority on the liberal faction. Lee said he would make an announcement on his future course of action on Tuesday, about eight weeks before the Democratic Party’s Aug. 29 convention where a new chairman and other leaders will be elected. &ldqu

The country’s third and largest-ever extra budget plan cleared a minor hurdle Tuesday as the ruling Democratic Party forges ahead with the review process despite the absence of the main opposition party following fierce strife between the rival political groups. Sixteen parliamentary standing committees completed the budget review sessions by adding 3.13 trillion won ($2.61 billion) to the government’s initial budget of 35.3 trillion won, the third extra budget to support indust

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has strengthened its grip on the National Assembly, already heavily tilted to the left, by taking the chair posts of nearly all standing committees, after talks with the main opposition party on sharing them fell apart. In a plenary session held on Monday, 181 lawmakers, including 176 from the Democratic Party, completed casting votes for the mainstream liberal party to secure 17 committee chairmanships out of 18. The chief of the Intelligence Committee w

Prosecutors’ yearslong intensive probe into Samsung Group took a fresh twist after a panel of outside experts advised them not to indict the group’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong and drop the investigation on alleged corporate fraud surrounding the 2015 merger between two key affiliates. In a deliberation session held Friday, the 14-member committee, which was set up to check the prosecution’s possible abuse of power to indict as a part of reform measures, voted in favor of

South Korea’s health authorities said Thursday they will provide epidemiological information collected from thousands of local COVID-19 patients to medical professionals, in a bid to come up with effective measures to counter a possible resurgence of the virus. The Central Disaster Management Headquarters and National Medical Center will disclose clinical data on 5,500 people who have been released after fully recovering from the virus, through Friday. The large volume of data ranges

South Korea reported 28 more cases of the novel coronavirus, chiefly in the Seoul metropolitan area, bringing the national’s total infections to 12,563, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The latest figure is nearly a half of Wednesday’s 51 new cases, which sparked concern over a growing number of infections from overseas and provincial areas. Of the 28 new patients, five were imported cases and the rest were domestic infections. The death toll f

Health authorities on Wednesday decided to lower the bar for releasing coronavirus patients from quarantine, as virus infections continued a sustained rise, threatening the capacity of the local health system. Starting Thursday, asymptomatic patients will be released from quarantine if they show no symptoms for 10 days after having tested positive, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. At present, isolation ends only when the patients turn two negative te

North Korea’s literary news outlet praised J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, the best selling book series in history, for the pioneering spirit that it models for children. In a review dated June 20, Literature Newspaper, a mouthpiece of the Joseon Writers’ Alliance, the Central Committee of North Korea’s official literary organization, belatedly introduced the British writer’s work. The first book in the seven-book series was published in 1997,

South Korea reported 51 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, with new infections detected in more cities compared with the previous trend of concentration in the Greater Seoul area. Of the new cases, 31 were domestic cases, including 11 which were registered in Seoul and eight in Daejeon, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Door-to-door sales companies are said to be responsible for the increased caseloads in the two cities recently. Twenty cases