Category Archives: South Korea

K-pop star Jin of BTS starts his military service in South Korea

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The 30-year-old begins five weeks of training amid questions over future of the global phenomenon band

Jin, the oldest member of the K-pop phenomenon BTS, was due to begin his mandatory military service on Tuesday at a base close to the border with North Korea, amid growing speculation about the band’s future.

The 30-year-old, now sporting a buzzcut, will be followed into the military by younger members of the band in the coming years, after their impending enlistment sparked a debate among South Koreans over whether the band, and other successful entertainers, should be granted exemptions.

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Kim Jong-un dogs end up at South Korean zoo after care costs row

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Moon Jae-in gave up hunting dogs claiming government refused to cover food and veterinary bills

A pair of dogs gifted four years ago by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have ended up at a zoo in South Korea after a dispute over who should pay for the animals’ care.

Kim had given the two white Pungsan hunting dogs – a breed indigenous to North Korea – to the then South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, as a gift after their summit talks in Pyongyang in 2018.

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All South Koreans to become younger as traditional age system scrapped

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June will mark end of system that deemed newborns to be a year old, with a year added every 1 January

South Korea is to scrap its traditional method of counting ages and adopt the international standard – a change that that will knock one or two years off people’s ages on official documents but could take time to seep into daily life.

South Koreans are deemed to be a year old when they are born, and a year is added every 1 January. The unusual – and increasingly unpopular – custom means a baby born on New Year’s Eve becomes two years old as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

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South Korea’s truth commission to investigate dozens of foreign adoptions

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Adoptees sent to Europe and the US say they were wrongly removed from their families as government in Seoul actively promoted adoption

South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission will investigate the cases of dozens of South Korean adoptees in Europe and the US who suspect their origins were falsified or obscured during a child export frenzy in the mid-to late 20th century.

Thursday’s decision opens what could be South Korea’s most far-reaching inquiry into foreign adoptions, as frustration over broken family connections grows, and now grown up children demand government attention.

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South Korea scrambles jets after Chinese and Russian warplanes enter air defence zone

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Chinese bombers repeatedly entered and left zone but did not violate South Korean airspace

South Korea’s military said it scrambled fighter jets as two Chinese and six Russian warplanes entered its air defence zone.

The Chinese H-6 bombers repeatedly entered and left the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (Kadiz) off South Korea’s southern and north-eastern coasts from about 5.50am local time on Wednesday, Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said.

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New Zealand ‘suitcase’ murders: South Korea hands over 42-year-old suspect

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Seoul says unidentified woman was transferred to New Zealand authorities on Monday evening

South Korea has extradited a 42-year-old murder suspect to New Zealand, two months after she was arrested over her possible connection to the discovery of the bodies of two long-dead children in abandoned suitcases in August.

South Korea’s justice ministry said on Tuesday the unidentified woman was handed over to New Zealand authorities on Monday evening at Incheon international airport near Seoul. The ministry said it also has provided New Zealand with unspecified “important evidence” on the case.

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North Korean ICBM had potential range to reach US mainland, Japanese officials say

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The intercontinental ballistic missile landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone

A North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone on Friday had the potential range to strike the US mainland, Japanese officials say.

The US, Japan and South Korea condemned North Korea for launching the missile, which landed about 200 km (124 miles) west of Oshima-Oshima island in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. There were no reports of damage to ships or aircraft.

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North Korea launches ballistic missile, threatens ‘fiercer’ military response

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The latest missile test comes on the back of expanded military exercises between the US and South Korea

North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile Thursday toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said, hours after the North threatened to launch “fiercer” military responses to the US bolstering its security commitment to its allies South Korea and Japan.

South Korea’s military detected the launch from the North’s eastern coastal Wonsan area at 10:48am local time, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It said South Korea has boosted its surveillance of North Korea while maintaining a military readiness and a close coordination with the United States.

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South Korea cuts funding to broadcaster as concern over press freedom grows

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TBS set to have most of its funding cut starting in 2024 after a decision by Seoul city government, led by president Yoon’s party

A popular South Korean broadcaster accused of political bias is set to lose its city funding amid concern press freedoms are being restricted under the Yoon Suk-yeol government.

TBS, which operates two radio stations and a television channel, receives 70% of its funding from the Seoul city government.

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New Zealand ‘suitcase’ murders: suspect to be extradited from South Korea within 30 days

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Justice minister approves extradition of woman arrested on suspicion of the murder of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in Auckland

A woman arrested in connection with the death of two children who were found dead in suitcases in Auckland will be extradited from South Korea within 30 days.

South Korean justice minister Han Dong-hoon issued the order on Monday for the extradition of the woman to New Zealand, the ministry said in a statement.

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Hong Kong criticises rugby tournament after protest song is played instead of Chinese anthem

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Glory to Hong Kong, linked to 2019 protest movement, played in South Korean stadium at start of rugby sevens game

Hong Kong’s government has strongly criticised a rugby sevens tournament after a song from the city’s protest movement was played in place of the Chinese national anthem during a match in South Korea.

Hong Kong said it “strongly deplores and opposes” the playing of a song associated with “violent protests” and the pro-independence movement in 2019, when the Chinese national anthem, March of the Volunteers, should have been played.

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Dogs given to South Korea by Kim Jong-un at centre of political row

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Former president Moon Jae-in says he will give up gift of Pungsan dogs if no support from Yoon Suk-yeol

South Korea’s former president Moon Jae-in has said he plans to give up a pair of dogs sent by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, as a gift after their 2018 summit, citing a lack of support from his successor.

Moon has raised the white Pungsan dogs, named Gomi and Songgang, since their arrival and took them to his personal residence after his term ended in May.

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Two South Korean miners rescued after surviving for days on coffee powder

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Pair were trapped underground for nine days and pitched a tent to keep themselves warm

Two South Korean miners who were trapped underground for nine days survived on coffee powder, authorities have said, after the pair were brought to safety.

The men walked free from a collapsed zinc mine in the north-eastern county of Bonghwa late on Friday. They had been trapped in a vertical shaft about 190 metres (620ft) underground after the mine collapsed on 26 October.

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Itaewon crowd crush: thousands join vigil as anger grows in South Korea

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Law enforcement concedes insufficient planning as president belatedly expresses regret for disaster

Thousands of people gathered near Seoul’s city hall on Saturday to commemorate the 156 people killed in a Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon last weekend.

Christian and Buddhist leaders spoke on stage, demanding President Yoon Suk-yeol step down and asking how the country could mourn without knowing the truth behind the deaths.

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US accuses Russia and China of protecting North Korea from UN

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China and Russia, meanwhile, accuse US of inflaming tensions with large-scale joint military exercises with South Korea

The United States has accused Russia and China of providing “blanket protection” to North Korea from further UN Security Council action and said the pair had “bent over backwards” to justify Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launches.

The US, Britain, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway requested that the Security Council meet on Friday after North Korea, formally known as the DPRK, fired multiple missiles, including a possible failed intercontinental ballistic missile.

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North Korea ICBM launch may have been a failure, South’s military says

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Intercontinental ballistic missile is believed to have suffered in-flight malfunction, says Seoul, as Japan PM criticises ‘outrageous’ launch

North Korea’s launch of a suspected new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) may have been a failure, military chiefs in South Korea have said. The missile was one of three fired on Thursday morning.

The ICBM was fired from the suburbs of Pyongyang but then appeared to have failed during normal flight after the separation of the propellant and warhead sections, defence sources told multiple South Korean media outlets.

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North Korea missile crosses maritime border with South for first time

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One missile landed close to South Korean territorial waters, south of the Northern Limit Line, military chiefs in Seoul say

North Korea fired at least 10 missiles off its eastern and western coasts on Wednesday morning, with one landing in waters further south than ever before, according to the South Korean military, which shortly after responded by firing missiles over a maritime border.

The unprecedented number of launches was confirmed after earlier reports of three short-range ballistic missiles fired off North Korea’s eastern coast, leading to a rare air raid warning being issued on a remote South Korean island.

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Seoul crowd crush: PM and police admit failures as anger grows

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Death toll rises to 156, as authorities admit crowd control measures were inadequate before Halloween disaster in Itaewon

South Korea’s prime minister has called Saturday’s deadly Halloween crush in Seoul a “disastrous accident that should not have happened”, as authorities responded to growing public anger with a series of apologies.

Expressing sorrow to bereaved families as the first memorial services were held, Han Duck-soo admitted that institutional failures in managing crowds played a role in the disaster, and said the government would work with all ministries, agencies and medical institutions to ensure such problems during spontaneous events never happened again.

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South Korea opens investigation into deadly Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul

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Shops closed and concerts cancelled after Halloween party surge kills more than 150 people, as questions raised over crowd control

South Korean authorities have opened an investigation into the deaths of more than 150 people, in a crush in a nightlife district in Seoul on Saturday as experts said crowd controls could have reduced the surge that led to the disaster.

It remained unclear what led the huge Halloween party crowd to head into a narrow alley in the Itaewon area. Witnesses said people fell on each other “like dominoes”, and some victims were bleeding from their noses and mouths while being given CPR.

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A visual guide to how the Seoul Halloween crowd crush unfolded

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More than 150 people were killed as mostly young people flooded the narrow, sloping streets of Itaewon to celebrate Halloween

On Saturday night, tens of thousands of mostly young people flocked to Itaewon in Seoul to celebrate Halloween.

Images of Itaewon subway station before the tragedy show large crowds gathering in the area, known for its nightlife, bars and restaurants.

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