First lady Kim Keon Hee is unlikely to be indicted for alleged antigraft rule violations, as the final legal procedure concerning her acceptance of luxury gifts totaling over 5 million won ($3,730), including a Christian Dior bag, has been cleared. Outgoing Prosecutor General Lee One-seok told reporters on Monday on his way to his office in Seocho-gu in southern Seoul that he "respects" the recommendation Friday by a 15-member independent review panel of the Supreme Prosecutors' O

President Yoon Suk Yeol tapped former Deputy Police Commissioner Park Jong-joon as the new head of the Presidential Security Service in charge of the security and protection of the South Korean leader, the presidential office announced Monday. Effective Monday, the 59-year-old Park replaced Kim Yong-hyun, who was appointed minister of national defense on Friday to succeed Yoon's new national security adviser Shin Won-sik. Park told reporters Monday that he recognized the safety of a country

The main opposition party slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol of "flattering" his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, accusing him of making consecutive concessions to Tokyo without securing a formal apology or compensation for its historical grievances. A day after the Japanese prime minister left Seoul, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday pledged to revise rules to stop comfort women statues at home and abroad from being defaced or meddled with, withou

The leaders of South Korea and New Zealand on Wednesday agreed to enhance security cooperation and pledged to elevate bilateral relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" by expanding collaboration in trade, investment, security and technology, according to the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Condemning the growing threat posed by military exchanges between North Korea and Russia as well as Pyongyang's nuclear development program, Yoon and New Zealand's Prime Min

The South Korean government on Wednesday laid out plans to raise the mandatory national pension contribution rate by 4 percentage points from the current 9 to 13 percent starting next year, with the intention of extending the life span of the state-sponsored public retirement pension scheme by at least 16 years. This reform plan comes as the national postretirement fund's financial viability remains doubtful, with the country suffering from the double whammy of low birth rates and an aging

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold talks during Kishida's two-day visit to South Korea from Friday, in what would be his final one-on-one with Yoon before his planned departure from his post, the presidential office announced Tuesday. Yoon's office said in a note to reporters that the talks will highlight the past achievements through bilateral cooperation and ways to boost ties between the two East Asian countries in bilateral, regional and int

President Yoon Suk Yeol's job approval rating has sunk to its lowest depths in about two years, amid a lingering standoff between medical circles and the government that has sapped public trust in his medical reform push. According to South Korean pollster Realmeter on Monday, Yoon's job approval rating dropped to 29.6 percent in the fifth week of August, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous week. It was the lowest since his rating marked 29.3 percent in the first week of August

President Yoon Suk Yeol received a group of United States Congress members to stress trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, the presidential office announced Friday. Yoon told the lawmakers that close cooperation based on common values shared by the three countries is key to overcoming complex global crises, while expressing appreciation for bipartisan US support for the Seoul-Washington alliance. The US delegation led by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Michigan) told Yoon that the b

President Yoon Suk Yeol outlined his blueprints for pension reform proposals in a rare national address Thursday, vowing to make the fund, one of the world's largest with assets worth 1,113.5 trillion won ($834.7 billion) as of May, more sustainable to ensure that younger generations will benefit from the system in the decades to come. Yoon's initiation of pension reform — a policy drive often described as notoriously unpopular — came at a time when he was already grappling

A senior official of the presidential office said Monday that the government was not considering bringing in foreign doctors to alleviate the medical staffing shortage exacerbated by an ongoing walkout of trainee doctors. The officials said on condition of anonymity that Seoul "is not immediately considering dealing with the medical staff shortage by deploying foreign physicians." The comment came as the official was talking about ongoing disruptions in emergency medical centers due to

South Korea's ruling bloc is divided over whether to exclude foreign caregivers from minimum wage standards, with ruling party politicians advocating for more affordable options for households, while the labor minister nominee warns it could breach the Constitution as well as international labor laws. Kim Moon-soo, the former Gyeonggi Province governor nominated by President Yoon Suk Yeol for labor minister, said in a written statement Sunday, a day ahead of his parliamentary confirmation hearin

South Korea is considering designating Oct. 1 this year as a temporary public holiday to mark the 76th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, as the ruling People Power Party requested that the government review the designation to recognize the dedication of those on active military duty. Workers here will be eligible to take the day off as a public holiday on Oct. 1 if the government approves the plan at a Cabinet meeting. It will be in addition to Oct. 3, which South Korea observes as a public holid

South Korea is looking for a solution to end a legal dispute between local nuclear power company Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and US firm Westinghouse Electric Company "through various channels," amid pressure mounting on Seoul over a nuclear export deal worth at least 24 trillion won ($18 billion) with the Czech Republic. "The government is discussing with the US government through various channels to support the amicable resolution of the corporate dispute," an official of

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday pledged to carry out an overhaul to ensure fair chances for young athletes and to create a better training environment, as he and his wife Kim Keon Hee hosted a dinner for South Korean Olympians who competed at the Paris Games. Some 270 participants -- including athletes and family members, as well as coaches, members of sports associations and other staff -- attended the event at Shilla Seoul. According to the presidential office, Yoon told participants he wo

An aide to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday proposed a "private contract" or direct hire between South Korean individuals and foreign caregivers as a way to ease the cost burden for local households having difficulties balancing between work and family life, which she believes is one cause of the country's low birth rate. You Hye-mi, senior secretary to the president for population policy, said in a KBS 1 Radio interview Wednesday that the government is looking for ways to que

Seoul's presidential office is facing mounting pressure as controversial remarks regarding Japan by President Yoon Suk Yeol's foreign policy aide have prompted criticism from the opposition for bringing humiliation to South Korea. Labeling the aide's remarks as carrying the intention of a "pro-Japanese traitor" -- or "chinil" in Korean, describing those overly favorable to Japan to the extent of betraying national interests -- the liberal main opposition Democratic Party of K

The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise of the military forces of South Korea and the United States jointly kicked off on Monday with South Korean civilians, with the primary focus on addressing North Korea's nonkinetic operations, such as public opinion warfare, cyberattacks and the spread of fake news. The annual summertime joint military exercise that runs through Aug. 29 is the third such exercise since President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May 2022, as Pyongyang increasingly blends unconven

  The Ministry of Justice on Thursday reportedly prepared a list of high-profile politicians convicted of crimes who would be eligible to be granted either special amnesty or rehabilitation by President Yoon Suk Yeol next week. Among them on the list is liberal bigwig Kim Kyoung-soo, formerly a lawmaker and South Gyeongsang Province governor. The 56-year-old Kim, convicted for his involvement in the high-profile "Druking" opinion-rigging scandal in July 2021, is likely to be rehab

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Wednesday called on the National Assembly to abandon a plan to implement the "financial investment income tax" scheme that is to come into effect in January 2025 in the face of the heightened domestic capital market volatility in recent days. The political standoff is expected to linger, as the liberal main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has insisted that the plan for taxation on investors' sales proceeds must proceed as planned. Desc

South Korea's law to ban the act of breeding or slaughter in dog farms, as well as the distribution of dog-sourced meats, came into effect Wednesday, as the country is working to compensate over 5,600 shops in the domestic dog farm industry on the verge of the shutdown. With the implementation of the law, the government will map out support packages to those involved in the dog meat industry, including dog farms and dog meat restaurants. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural A