Rival political parties on Thursday expressed strong regrets over the North Korean military's fatal shooting of a South Korean official, denouncing it as "unpardonable brutality."  "The North Korean military's action of intentionally shooting an unarmed civilian who was drifting on the sea and then burning the body constitutes an act of brutality that is unpardonable under any circumstance," Rep. Lee Nak-yon, leader of the ruling Democratic Party, was quoted as saying

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday called on the Japanese government to work together with South Korea to seek a solution to the issue of wartime forced labor. In his first telephone conversation with the new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Moon said that the two countries are each other‘s closest neighbors and that the issue should be resolved, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok. “It is true that the two countries have differences on the forced labor i

South Korea demanded Thursday that North Korea explain the killing of a South Korean fisheries official in the North’s waters, strongly condemning the act as “inhumane.”  　 North Korean soldiers shot dead a 47-year-old official affiliated with Seoul’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, who appeared to have been trying to defect to the North via sea, the military confirmed in Seoul. North Korean soldiers then burned his dead body, it added. 　 Pyongyang had neither a

The low-ranking South Korean fisheries official who was shot and burned by North Korea earlier this week after going missing in the Yellow Sea had financial problems, his colleagues said Thursday. The 47-year-old official, who belongs to the West Sea Fisheries Management Service, an organ under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, once considered filing for bankruptcy because of debt, they said. The official, whose identity was withheld, divorced four months ago and had reportedly borrowed m

Shortly after South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed Tuesday in his UN address that the international community help to bring an official end to the 1950-53 Korean War with the end-of-war declaration, the US State Department highlighted a “unified response” to North Korea, while one former US official called the overture “out of sync” with the US position. “The United States and the Republic of Korea coordinate closely on our efforts related to the Democratic

Some conservative groups are backtracking on their plans to hold mass anti-government rallies in central Seoul on Oct. 3, in the face of coronavirus concerns. Former Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo and other conservative figures announced Thursday that they were calling off the protests scheduled to take place in Gwanghwamun on National Foundation Day and asked other right-wing groups to follow their lead. Instead of street protests, they will hold a car parade of about 200 vehicles, they s

Of 16 areas nationwide, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju rank within top 4

Fourth-year medical students are willing to take the state medical licensing exam after boycotting it in protest of the government's medical workforce reform plan, their representatives said Thursday. Senior students have been boycotting the state licensing exam, which took place earlier this month, urging the government to withdraw its plan to increase admission quotas at medical schools. Fourth-year students from a total of 40 medical schools across the country said they intend to take the e

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had phone talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday, during which he proposed that the two countries seek an "optimum" resolution to the wartime forced labor issue at the center of soured bilateral relations. Moon noted there are different positions between the two sides on the issue of South Korean victims of Japan's World War II forced labor but expressed hope that Seoul and Tokyo will explore an "optimum" solution th

COVID-19 is weighing heavily on charities this Chuseok season, with funds drying up and volunteers slow to offer their services due to fear of the virus. Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, falls next Thursday this year at a time of heightened vigilance over the possible further spread of the coronavirus. The government has urged the nation to refrain from the Chuseok tradition of traveling to hometowns and meeting in large groups with relatives to help contain the virus. Charity

The government will propose a bill that will make class actions available in all areas beyond the securities field, the justice ministry said Thursday, in an effort to solve collective disputes and compensate victims more efficiently. The Ministry of Justice said it will announce the legislation plan Monday to enable class actions to be applied to all cases with more than 50 victims. All the victims will be bounded by the final judgment or a settlement unless they choose to opt out of the proce

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's prison sentences for Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon, two South Korean singers convicted of rape and other crimes. In May, Jung, a disgraced singer and TV personality, and Choi, a former member of boy band FT Island, were sentenced to five years and 2 1/2 years, respectively, in prison by an appeals court on charges including sexually assaulting women in 2016. Jung and Choi received prison terms of six and five years, respectively, from