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Lee Jong-sup is being investigated over allegations he tried to improperly influence an inquiry into death of marine while he was defence ministerSouth Korea’s ambassador to Australia resigned on Friday as questions about his appointment while he is under a corruption investigation battered President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ruling party less than two weeks from a closely fought parliamentary election.Lee Jong-sup, who was appointed ambassador...

Some professors will submit their resignations while others will cut their hours over a government plan to boost medical school admissionsMedical professors in South Korea have said they will reduce the hours they spend in practice, while some say they plan to resign, in a widening of a doctors strike in the country.The move will begin on Monday in support of trainee doctors who...

The 79-year-old actor who won a Golden Globe for his role as Oh II-nam on the hit Netflix show has been handed a suspended prison sentenceThe South Korean actor O Yeong-su, who starred in the first season of the hit Netflix series Squid Game, was convicted on Friday on charges of sexual harassment and handed a suspended prison sentence, a court official said.The Seongnam...

Average number of births per woman falls to 0.72 in country that already has the world’s lowest rate, and has spent billions since 2006 to reverse the trendSouth Korea’s demographic crisis has deepened with the release of data showing its birthrate – already the world’s lowest – fell to a new record low in 2023, despite billions of dollars in government schemes designed to...

South Korean military says it is analysing the launch along with US intelligence authoritiesNorth Korea has fired multiple cruise missiles off an eastern military port, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff have said.The missiles were launched about 8am (2300 GMT Saturday) and were being analysed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities, South Korea said, without specifying how many missiles were fired. Continue reading...

Opposition leader speaks of ‘political terrorism’ amid calls for full investigation into attack on Bae Hyun-jin, who is close confidante of the presidentA South Korean governing party lawmaker was treated for lacerations at a Seoul hospital after being attacked by an unidentified man who repeatedly struck her in the head with what appeared to be a rock.A police official in Seoul’s Apgujeong district said...

Kim Kwang-ho accused of negligence in failing to ‘take necessary measures’ to prevent 2022 disaster in capital’s Itaewon nightlife districtSeoul’s chief of police has been charged with professional negligence over the deadly Halloween crush in 2022 that killed nearly 160 people, prosecutors in the South Korean capital have said.Kim Kwang-ho, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), was charged with professional negligence resulting...

Footage shows two 16-year-olds being sentenced in front of hundreds of their peers in an amphitheatreVideo footage released by an organisation that works with North Korean defectors shows North Korean authorities publicly sentencing two teenagers to 12 years’ hard labour for watching South Korean videos.The footage, which shows the two 16-year-olds in Pyongyang convicted of watching South Korean films and music videos, was released...

South Korea says backgrounds of recent defectors including some ‘elite class’ indicate growing discontent with regime of Kim Jong-unThe number of North Koreans who defected to South Korea tripled last year, as the easing of border closures imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic encouraged students, women and diplomats to make the perilous journey.At 196, the number was still well below the pre-pandemic average, but South...

In a speech, the North Korean leader has called for constitutional change to identify the south as ‘number one hostile state’North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has called for a change to the constitution to identify South Korea as the “number one hostile state”, ending the regime’s commitment to unifying the Korean peninsula.In a speech to the supreme people’s assembly – North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament...

Oscar-winning director leads calls for inquiry into police investigative process following death of Lee Sun-kyunA group of South Korean artists, including film director Bong Joon-ho, has called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death last month of prolific actor Lee Sun-kyun.Lee, who played a lead role in Bong’s Oscar-winning film Parasite, died last month in an apparent suicide, at the age of...

Animal welfare campaigners hail decision as ‘historic victory’ after years of pressure at home and abroadSouth Korea’s parliament has voted to ban the production and sale of dog meat, in a decision campaigners hailed as a “historic victory” for animal welfare.The country’s national assembly voted overwhelmingly to ban the breeding, butchery, distribution and sale of dogs for their meat on Tuesday, after years of...

Intense speculation over future role for Kim Jong-un’s daughter, who is reportedly 10, comes as North Korea fires shells near South Korean islandsThe young daughter of Kim Jong-un is seen as her father’s heir apparent, South Korea’s spy agency has said for the first time, after speculation that the North Korean ruler is grooming her to become the fourth member of the dynasty to...

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Lee’s assailant had been arrested at the scene in the port city of BusanSouth Korea’s opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung has been hospitalised after being attacked during a visit to the southern port city of Busan, sustaining injuries that health officials said were not life-threatening.A 67-year-old man stabbed Lee, 59, on the left side of his neck...