Category: Kyonggi-do, South Korea

Ousted South Korean president prepares to return home

In this Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, file photo, a South Korean national flag with a picture of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye is seen during a rally opposing her impeachment in Seoul, South Korea. Hundreds of police officers, reporters and supporters of the ousted president have gathered near her Seoul home in anticipation of her return from the presidential palace.

S.Koreans celebrate Park’s removal, but ousted leader silent

A day after a court removed her from power over a corruption scandal, ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye maintained her silence on Saturday as her opponents and supporters divided the capital’s streets with massive rallies that showed a nation deeply split over its future. Park has been unseen and unheard from since the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Friday, which ended a power struggle that had consumed the nation for months.

The Latest: Police say 2 dead in S. Korean protests

The Latest on South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s removal from office Friday by the Constitutional Court : South Korea’s defense minister has ordered the military to be on alert for possible North Korean provocations attempting to exploit “unstable situations at home and abroad.” In a video conference on Friday with military commanders, Defense Minister Han Min Koo said North Korea can make “strategic or operational” provocations at any time.

South Korea’s Scandal-Mired President Is Formally Ousted. What’s Next?

Here's a look at possible scenarios in the frantic weeks ahead and some of the potential presidential contenders vying for the presidential Blue House: With Park now formally unseated, the country, by law, must hold a presidential by-election within 60 days. This means the vote will likely take place on May 9. The winner of the election will be immediately sworn in as the country's leader, according to South Korea's National Election Commission.

South Korea’s president formally ousted by court

Court formally removed impeached President Park Geun-hye from office over a corruption scandal that has plunged the country into political turmoil and worsened an already-serious national divide. It capped a stunning fall for Park, the country’s first female leader who rode a wave of lingering conservative nostalgia for her late dictator father to victory in 2012, only to see her presidency crumble as millions of furious protesters filled the nation’s streets.

U.S. rejects China’s proposal

South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. ORG XMIT: UNRD109 less South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, … more The United States on Wednesday rejected China’s proposal for a halt to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises if North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile activities.

U.S. rejects China’s proposal

South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. ORG XMIT: UNRD109 less South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, … more The United States on Wednesday rejected China’s proposal for a halt to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises if North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile activities.

Why North Korea doesn’t trust China an inch

People walk past portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo / AP The assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the older brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who had been under Chinese protection and living in Macau, was followed by another round of missile launches by Pyongyang, stirring vocal anger from Seoul and Tokyo and quiet fury from Beijing.

US, China lock horns on missile defense against NKorea

In this March 7, 2017, photo, protesters shout slogans during a rally to oppose the plan to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea. If China was hoping for a concession from the U.S. after recently suspending coal imports from cash-poor North Korea it got the opposite.

9 Koreans Nabbed on Philippines Sex Tour

Nine Korean men have been arrested in the Philippines in connection with a sex tour to the island of Cebu. They were arrested in a villa in the Central Visayas region on Saturday, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday.

US moves parts of controversial missile defence to SKorea

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of – U.S. missile launchers and other equipment needed to set up a controversial missile defence system have arrived in South Korea, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said Tuesday, a day after North Korea test-launched four ballistic missiles into the ocean near Japan. The plans to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, by the end of this year have angered not only North Korea, but also China and Russia, which see the system’s powerful radars as a security threat.

Missile tests add pressure on Trump over North Korea

South Korea army soldiers install a tent in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers , with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

Missile tests add pressure on Trump over North Korea

South Korea army soldiers install a tent in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers , with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

Prosecutor accuses Samsung chief of conspiring to hide…

He denies any knowledge of alleged bribery payments from Samsung to entities controlled by a friend of the impeached South Korean president The billionaire was put in a 71-square-foot detention cell with a toilet in the corner when he was arrested SEOUL – A special prosecutor accused Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee of plotting to make fake documents to disguise millions of dollars in bribes. South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye colluded with her friend Choi Soon-sil to receive the bribes from Samsung Group, the prosecutor said in a statement on Monday.

North Korea fires 4 banned ballistic missiles into sea

A visitor walks by the TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea’s missile firing, at Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers , with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

Key retailer stocks suffer extended loss…

Stocks of major retailers and their affiliates with business ties to China continued to plunge early Monday morning, as Beijing has intensified its measures against South Korea in what appears to be retaliation for the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile battery. Shares of retail giant Lotte Group affiliates were hammered, with Lotte Shopping Co.

SK Innovation set to expand EV battery c…

SK Innovation Co., the country’s top oil refiner, said Monday that its board of directors has approved a proposal to double the company’s electric vehicle battery production capacity, in order to meet growing demand. The proposal calls for the construction of two EV battery production lines, which will churn out EV cells with a combined 2 GWh, larger than its current 1.9 GWh capacity.

N. Korea fires more banned missiles

In this Feb. 2, 2017 file photo, a mock North Korea’s Scud-B missile, center left, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea on Monday, March 6, 2017, fired a projectile into the waters off its east coast, South Korea’s military said, in an apparent missile test that comes days after Washington and Seoul began huge military drills that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

South Korea to retaliate against China – discrimination’, says minister

Trade minister says China is taking unfair measures against Chinese firms in protest over Seoul’s decision to deploy an anti-missile shield South Korea’s trade minister said on Sunday the government’s responses against discriminating action by China towards South Korean companies will be strengthened and he feels “deep concern” over recent measures taken by Beijing.

Other mysterious deaths of North Korea’s perceived enemies

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech in Pyongyang in this undated image from video distributed on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — An outcast from North Korea’s ruling family was killed with a weapon believed to belong to North Korea’s chemical arsenal and several North Koreans are wanted for questioning.

China’s ‘unofficial’ sanctions rattle South Korea

South Korean businesses were rattled Friday by signs that the deployment of a controversial U.S. missile system in the country could spark a travel boycott by China. The government in Seoul said it believed Chinese authorities had told travel agencies in Beijing to stop selling trips to South Korea, intensifying fears of a trade war between the neighbors.

North Korea ties at worst point in decades, South Korea says

North Korea relations have fallen to their worst point in decades and talks are off the table until Kim Jong Un’s regime is ready to give up its nuclear weapons, South Korea Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said in an interview. “It’s been over 20 years since North Korea’s nuclear threats started, and tensions are at their worst,” Hong, who oversees policy on North Korea, said on Thursday in Seoul.

Samsung Group to abolish all groupwide tasks

Seoul, Feb 27 – South Korean electronics giant Samsung is planning to abolish its groupwide tasks and let affiliates independently make business decisions, an official said on Monday. The plan is in line with Samsung’s move to abolish the group’s key future strategy office, which has been responsible for coordinating key affairs among affiliates, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim Jong Nam died within 20 minutes of exposure to nerve agent at airport

A man watches a television showing news reports of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in Seoul on February 14, 2017. Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been assassinated in Malaysia, South Korean media reported on February 14. / AFP / JUNG Yeon-Je A man watches a television showing news reports of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in Seoul on February 14, 2017.

Why N. Korea may have used VX to kill leader’s half brother

SEOUL, South Korea>> Was it a poorly executed assassination or did North Korea want to showcase its stockpile of banned chemical weapons? The use of the highly toxic VX warfare agent to kill the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader has raised questions about Pyongyang’s real motives in one of the strangest killings the world has seen. Some say North Korea, in allegedly bringing a U.N.-classified weapon of mass destruction to kill a man at a busy international airport, intended to show the world what it can do with chemical weapons, which are easily forgotten amid concerns about the country’s advancing nuclear missile technologies.

Korea to conclude land acquisition for THAAD battery this week

South Korea is expected to conclude the land acquisition for the US advanced missile defense system this week with actual deployment to be completed by late June at the earliest, the military said Sunday. The defense ministry said administrative measures to take over the Seongju golf club owned by retail giant Lotte Group will be completed soon.

FM Yun to raise voice against N. Korea’s human rights, chemical weapons issues

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will attend international conferences this week to speak out against North Korea’s human rights abuses and shed light on Pyongyang’s use of chemical weapons, government officials said Sunday. Yun plans to visit Geneva on Monday and Tuesday to attend a session of the UN Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

Failure to launch foundation on NK human rights to enter sixth month

South Korea has yet to launch a foundation to support civic groups’ activities that aim to improve North Korea’s human rights situation even though a relevant law took effect six months ago, government officials said Sunday. The law aimed at improving North Korea’s dismal human rights situation came into force in September 2016, but the foundation has failed to start work as the main opposition party is delaying recommending candidates for board members, sources said.