South Korea

South Korea's legislature on Tuesday passed a bill mandating specialised panels in Seoul's district and high courts for cases involving rebellion, treason and foreign subversion after complaints about the pace of the rebellion trial of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol. But the bill, which is likely to be signed into law by President Lee Jae Myung, would fall short of the effect the Democratic Party initially sought from the liberal-led legislature. Lawmakers altered the wording to ensure the measure would not apply to ongoing trials. Critics have said the original draft risked infringing on judicial independence. The law would require the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court to establish at least two specialised panels for cases involving rebellion, treason and foreign subversion. Each panel must consist of a three-judge bench selected by the judges' council at each court. The bill passed the legislature 1752 with two abstentions after many conservatives ...

Cumulative foreign direct investment from ​South Korea reached roughly $6.8 billion by mid-2025 in India

South Korea's ousted conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol plotted for over a year to impose martial law to eliminate his political rivals and monopolise power, investigators concluded on Monday. Yoon's martial law decree in December 2024 lasted only several hours and resulted in his rapid downfall. Independent counsel Cho Eun-suk, who announced the six-month probe's result, also accused the former president and his military allies of ordering operations against North Korea, in a deliberate bid to stoke tensions and justify his plans to declare martial law. Despite the lack of a serious response from North Korea, Cho said that Yoon declared martial law by branding the liberal-controlled legislature as anti-state forces that must be urgently removed. There was no immediate reaction from Yoon, who is in jail while standing trials for high-stakes rebellion charges. Yoon has steadfastly maintained that his martial law declaration was a desperate attempt to draw public support for his fi

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday he's weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his ousted conservative predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals in the buildup to his brief martial law declaration in December 2024. Speaking to reporters on the first anniversary of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's ill-fated power grab, Lee a liberal who won a snap presidential election following Yoon's removal from office in April stressed his desire to repair ties with North Korea. But asked about North Korea's yearslong detentions of several South Korean nationals, Lee said he wasn't aware of the issue, drawing criticism from relatives who call for their safe return. A special prosecutor last month indicted Yoon and two of his top defense officials over allegations that he ordered drone flights over North Korea to stoke tensions. South Korean media also reported Monday that South Korea's military under Yoon'

Coupang, dubbed the Amazon.com of South Korea, is the country's top online retailer with its services ubiquitous for many Koreans using its "Rocket" fast deliveries

South Korea's new president is under pressure to act. In the last 12 months there have been repeated border breaches by North Korean troops, which have at times drawn warning shots from the South

AI research startup Redrob on Friday said it has raised USD 10 million (Rs 88.7 crore) in a Series A financing round led by Korea Investment Partners. This brings Redrob's total funds raised to date to USD 14 million, following its earlier seed round of USD 4 million in 2023. The funding round also saw participation from KB Investment, Kiwoom Investment, Korea Development Bank Capital, Daekyo Investment, and DS & Partners, according to a company statement. With the fresh capital, Redrob plans to advance its technology by refining its machine learning architecture to achieve a targeted 50-fold reduction in costs. The company also aims to develop language models tailored for India, covering all 22 officially recognised constitutional languages, and deliver a comprehensive AI suite designed to support learning, career advancement, and workplace productivity. "The company is preparing to launch several major initiatives, including the rollout of free Redrob LLM access for all Indian .

South Korea's ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted on Friday on allegations he and others tried to manipulate the investigation into a marine's drowning, in another criminal case against the ex-leader. Yoon was removed from office earlier this year after being indicted on a rebellion charge related to his Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into political turmoil. After taking office in June, new President Lee Jae Myung appointed three independent counsels to investigate Yoon's martial law imposition and other allegations involving him, his wife and associates. On Friday, one of the independent councils charged Yoon, his former defence minister and 10 other figures with abuse of power, alleging they tried to alter an investigation report on the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who died during a search-and-rescue operation for flood victims in 2023. The Marine Corps' early investigation report held one of the corps' division commanders and seven other people ...

Seoul has sought to secure enrichment and spent fuel recycling rights as part of efforts to address concerns about energy security and growing stockpiles of nuclear waste

Hyundai Motor Group pledged 125.2 trillion won over the same period

Propelled by interest in all things South Korea, Amorepacific, the cosmetics giant, is expanding its reach into the United States. But so are many of its competitors

South Korea's ousted conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol faces more criminal charges on Monday as prosecutors allege that he flew drones over North Korea in a deliberate bid to stoke tensions and justify his plans to declare martial law. Yoon set off the most serious political crisis in South Korea's recent history when he imposed martial law on Dec. 3, 2024 and sent troops to surround the National Assembly. He was later impeached and removed from office, and is in jail, standing trial on charges including masterminding a rebellion. His successor and liberal rival, President Lee Jae Myung, approved legislation that launched independent investigations into Yoon's martial law stunt and other criminal allegations involving his wife and administration. On Monday, Yoon and two of his top defence officials were charged with benefitting the enemy and committing abuse of power over their alleged drone flights, which happened about two months before the declaration of martial law, according

South Korean rescue workers were searching Monday for nine missing crew members after a Chinese fishing boat capsized off the country's southwestern coast. South Korea's Coast Guard said two crew members were rescued by a nearby cargo vessel after their boat capsized about 150 kilometres southwest of Eocheong island, off the port city of Gunsan. Patrol vessels and aircraft were continuing to search for the missing. The accident came a day after South Korean officials responded to the capsizing of another Chinese fishing boat in international waters about 80 kilometres west of South Korea's southwestern Gageo island, which killed at least two crew members. South Korean officials rescued six others from that boat and were continuing their search for three missing crew members on Monday.

Ola Electric has rejected reports linking it to a South Korean probe into alleged battery technology leaks from LG Energy Solution, saying it is focused on its own 4680 Bharat Cell, now in commercial

A 60-metre tower collapsed during demolition work at a decommissioned thermal power plant in the South Korean city of Ulsan, killing three people and leaving at least two others presumed dead, officials said Friday. Five people remain trapped under the rubble, including two whom officials have yet to locate. Nine people were working at the site when the boiler tower collapsed Thursday afternoon. Rescue workers pulled two to safety shortly after responding, but another worker rescued later was pronounced dead at a hospital early Friday. Hours later, they pulled out another worker who was pronounced dead, and a doctor at the site confirmed the death of another worker who was among three people in the rubble. Fire officials believe the other two are also dead, according to Kim Jeong-shik, an official with Ulsan's fire department. The search was temporarily halted Friday morning due to concerns over unstable rubble, and officials postponed planned stabilisation work before resuming the

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to make greater efforts to persuade North Korea to return to talks, as the two leaders on Saturday agreed on a set of agreements to expand their economic and other ties. Their one-on-one meeting came hours after they and other Asia-Pacific leaders wrapped up their annual summit in South Korea with a joint statement pledging stronger economic cooperation. The two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in the city of Gyeongju took place a day after Xi and US President Donald Trump agreed to dial back earlier steps and de-escalate their trade war. During his meeting with Lee, Xi called for Seoul to work with Beijing to practice genuine multilateralism, according to Chinese state media, as he continued to position Beijing as the defender of the global trade order upended by Trump's sweeping tariffs. Xi, Lee discuss North Korea --------------------------------- Chinese state media reports on the Xi-Lee meeting didn'

Earlier, Rajnath arrived for the 12th Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), where he will be addressing the forum on 'Reflection on 15 years of ADMM-Plus and Charting the Way Forward'

Xi's remarks came as he was the only superpower left at the summit after US President Donald Trump departed from South Korea a day earlier

Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia plans to supply hundreds of thousands of its graphics processing units for projects with South Korean businesses and the government to advance the country's artificial intelligence infrastructure and technologies. The government, Nvidia and leading South Korean chip maker Samsung Electronics announced the plan after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met Friday with Nvidia's chief executive Jensen Huang. Huang has gotten rockstar treatment reminiscent of Apple's Steve Jobs since arriving in South Korea on Thursday to attend meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju. As the APEC host, South Korea is using the gathering of world leaders to showcase its ambitions in AI. Lee's office said Nvidia will supply around 260,000 GPUs to support South Korea's AI computing capabilities. The company will also work with Samsung and other South Korean technology firms, including SK Hynix and Hyundai, to improve manufacturing processes usi

Leaders of 21 Asian and Pacific Rim nations opened their annual summit Friday to discuss how to promote economic cooperation and tackle shared challenges, a day after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to take steps to ease their escalating trade war. This year's two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju has been heavily overshadowed by Thursday's Trump-Xi meeting. Trump described the meeting as a roaring success, saying he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans. Their deals were a relief to the world economy, as experts previously warned that a failure to dial down trade tensions between the world's two largest economies were certain to deepen global economic uncertainties. Established in 1989 during a period of increased globalisation, APEC represents more than half of global trade. The forum champions free and open t