Category Archives: South Korea

South Korea raises cyber threat level after huge data centre fire sparks hacking fears

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National cyber security centre raises alert level to ‘caution’ as technicians race to restore government systems after battery fire sparked nationwide chaos

South Korea’s intelligence agency has raised the national cyber threat level, amid concerns that hackers could take advantage of the chaos caused by a fire at a government datacentre that paralysed critical digital infrastructure across the country.

The national cybersecurity centre, operating under the intelligence service, elevated the alert from “attention” to “caution” on Monday, citing fears hackers could exploit vulnerabilities as recovery work continues.

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Unification Church leader arrested in South Korea over bribery allegations linked to former first lady

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Han Hak-ja, aged 82, is detained after Seoul court hearing over claims she told church officials to bribe wife of then president Yoon Suk Yeol

The 82-year-old leader of the Unification Church was arrested in South Korea early Tuesday as investigators probe allegations that the church bribed the wife of jailed former president Yoon Suk Yeol and a conservative lawmaker.

Han Hak-ja, the widow of the church’s South Korean founder, Sun Myung Moon, has denied allegations that she directed church officials to bribe Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, and the lawmaker.

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Trump insists foreign workers are ‘welcome’ days after arrest of hundreds of South Koreans

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US president says he doesn’t want to ‘disincentivize investment’ after images of workers chained and handcuffed caused widespread alarm in South Korea

President Donald Trump has said foreign workers sent to the United States are “welcome” and he doesn’t want to “frighten off” investors, 10 days after hundreds of South Koreans were arrested at a work site in Georgia.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “I don’t want to frighten off or disincentivize investment.

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Global press freedom suffers sharpest fall in 50 years, report finds

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The International IDEA’s survey of democratic markers finds US is offering ‘encouragement’ to populist leaders

Press freedom around the world has suffered its sharpest fall in 50 years as global democracy weakens dramatically, a landmark report has found.

According to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), democracy has declined in 94 countries over the last five years and only a third have made progress.

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300 South Koreans detained at Hyundai plant in US to be released, says Seoul

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Footage of raid by US immigration officials showed detained workers in handcuffs and with chains around their ankles

South Korea announced on Sunday that the roughly 300 of its nationals detained during an immigration raid in Georgia would be released and flown home, as the sudden detention of workers appeared to strain the longstanding diplomatic and economic relationship between the two nations.

Nearly 500 workers, among them at least 300 South Koreans and at least 23 Mexicans, were arrested at the Hyundai-LG battery plant in the city of Ellabell on Thursday.

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At least 475 workers detained in major Ice raid at US Hyundai factory

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South Korea concerned after hundreds were arrested at Georgia work site making batteries for Hyundai and Kia cars

Hundreds of workers at a factory being built in Georgia to make car batteries for Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles were detained in a huge raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) on Thursday that stopped construction.

The facility is part of what would be the biggest industrial investment in the state’s history and had been hailed as a huge boost for the economy by Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp.

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Trump says he hopes to meet Kim Jong-un and raises prospect of US taking over some South Korean land

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South Korean president Lee Jae Myung uses Oval Office meeting to encourage Trump to engage with North Korean leader

Donald Trump has said he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, possibly this year, in an attempt to revive the failed nuclear diplomacy of his first term as US president.

“I’d like to have a meeting. I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong-un in the appropriate future,” Trump said during an occasionally awkward meeting at the Oval Office with South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, in which he raised the prospect of taking ownership of South Korean land that hosts a US military base.

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North Korea accuses South Korea of ‘deliberate provocation’ after warning shots fired at soldiers on border

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Seoul says military fired warning shots on Tuesday after troops from the North briefly crossed border

South Korea fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers who briefly crossed the heavily fortified border earlier this week, Seoul said on Saturday, after Pyongyang accused it of a “deliberate provocation” that risks “uncontrollable” tensions.

South Korea’s new leader Lee Jae Myung has sought warmer ties with the nuclear-armed North and vowed to build “military trust”, but Pyongyang has said it has no interest in improving relations with Seoul.

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Baby Shark: South Korean court rejects US composer’s claim song was plagiarised

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Ruling upheld that there was insufficient evidence of copyright infringement on song that is YouTube’s most viewed video

South Korea’s supreme court has rejected a US composer’s allegation that the producers of the catchy children’s song Baby Shark plagiarised his work, ending a six-year-long legal battle.

The court upheld two lower court verdicts in favour of Pinkfong, the South Korean company behind the tune with the famous “doo doo doo doo doo doo” refrain.

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South Korea’s former first lady arrested after court issues warrant on corruption charges

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Kim Keon Hee in custody on three charges while husband Yoon Suk Yeol detained over attempt to impose martial law

South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of the impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, has been arrested on corruption charges, a special prosecutor leading a wide-reaching probe said.

The arrest, which came after a Seoul central district court ruling, creates an unprecedented situation in which both members of a former presidential couple are simultaneously in custody.

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South Korea’s military shrinks by 20% as low birthrate hits recruitment

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World’s lowest birthrate leaves Seoul 50,000 troops short of maintaining defence readiness, report warns

South Korea’s military has shrunk by 20% in the past six years, largely due to a sharp decrease in the population of men of enlistment age for mandatory service in the country with the world’s lowest birthrate, according to a report.

The sharp decline in the pool of men available for military service is also causing a shortfall in the number of officers and could result in operational difficulties, the defence ministry said in the report.

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North Korea removing propaganda loudspeakers in border areas amid efforts to ease tensions

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Seoul dismantled its loudspeakers a week ago, and Pyongyang appears to be following suit as President Lee Jae Myung seeks to improve ties with North

South Korea’s military has said North Korea has started dismantling some propaganda loudspeakers aimed at the South in parts of the border area, following similar moves by Seoul made in a bid to ease tensions.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t disclose the sites where the North Koreans were removing speakers and said further confirmation was needed as to whether the dismantling was taking place across all areas, adding it would continue monitoring related activities.

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South Korea begins removing loudspeakers on border with North to reduce tensions

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Overture from new president Lee Jae Myung is latest effort to revive dialogue with Pyongyang that stalled under his predecessor

South Korean authorities have begun removing loudspeakers that blare propaganda broadcasts along its border with the North, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Monday, as the new government of President Lee Jae Myung seeks to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

South Korea’s dismantling of the loudspeakers was a “practical measure that can help ease inter-Korean tensions without affecting the military’s readiness posture,” the ministry said in a statement.

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US to impose 15% tariffs on South Korea as part of trade deal, Donald Trump says

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President Lee Jae Myung says deal puts South Korea on an equal or better footing than other countries

President Donald Trump has said the US will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of an agreement with the key Asian trading partner and ally that avoids even higher levies.

The arrangement, announced shortly after Trump met with Korean officials at the White House, came during a blizzard of trade policy announcements ahead of a self-imposed 1 August deadline.

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Death toll from South Korean rains rises to 17

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Eleven people still unaccounted for after record downpours sweep north across country, triggering landslides

Heavy rain in South Korea has killed at least 17 people with 11 others unaccounted for in the intense downpours.

Close to 170mm (6.7in) of rain hit the resort town of Gapyeong county in Gyeonggi province, 40 miles east of Seoul, early on Sunday. A landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles.

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Death toll grows from torrential rains in South Korea with thousands unable to return home

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Four people have died and two are missing after four days of heavy rain as authorities warn of landslides and flooding

Torrential rains that lashed South Korea for a fourth day on Saturday kept nearly 3,000 people from returning to their homes, as the death toll reached four people.

Rain is forecast to last until Monday in some areas, as officials urged extreme caution against the risk of landslides and flooding, with warnings issued across most of the country.

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North Korean defector to sue Kim Jong-un alleging torture and sexual violence in regime’s detention facilities

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Choi Min-kyung is seeking damages from the state represented by its leader and has also submitted a criminal complaint alleging crimes against humanity

A North Korean defector has filed a lawsuit against Kim Jong-un in a South Korean court, alleging torture and sexual violence in the regime’s detention facilities.

Choi Min-kyung, 53, is seeking 50m won (US$37,000) in damages from the North Korean state represented by its leader, Kim Jong-un, and six other officials. She also submitted a criminal complaint asking prosecutors to investigate crimes against humanity charges against Kim and five other officials.

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Ex-South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol returned to prison over martial law bid

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Politician spent 52 days in jail after being charged with insurrection but was released four months ago

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol returned to jail on Thursday after a court approved a warrant sought by prosecutors investigating his attempt to impose martial law last year.

The Seoul central district court’s decision bolstered the special counsel investigation into allegations that Yoon’s move in December represented obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

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A new style, tariff trouble, and no mention of Yoon: key takeaways from two hours with South Korea’s new president

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Lee Jae-myung shows no sign of grandeur, cutting very different figure to impeached predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol

South Korea’s president, Lee Jae-myung, has given his first big press conference, a month after winning an election in a country shaken by a brief declaration of martial law imposed by his now-impeached predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.

Everything about the event seemed designed to signal a break from the defensive, isolated style of previous Yoon administration.

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Seoul wrestles with how to handle invasion of ‘lovebugs’

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Swarms in South Korean capital trigger heated debate over pest control as experts say rising temperatures partly to blame

Seoul residents are grappling with an invasion of so-called “lovebugs” that have swarmed hiking trails and urban areas across the South Korean capital, with experts debating how to handle the infestations that are surging as the climate crisis draws them further north.

Viral footage shared on social media shows Gyeyangsan mountain in Incheon, west of Seoul, with hiking trails and observation decks carpeted black with the insects.

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