Page 12 - South Korea

Top aide of Yoon Suk pleads for investigators to halt detention efforts

The top aide of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol pleaded with law enforcement on Tuesday to abandon their efforts to detain him over last month's martial law imposition, as authorities prepared a second attempt to take him into custody. In his statement, presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said Yoon could instead be questioned at a third site or at his residence and claimed that the anti-corruption agency and police were trying to drag him out like he was a member of a South American drug cartel. Yoon has not left his official residence in Seoul for weeks, and the presidential security service prevented dozens of investigators from detaining Yoon after a nearly six-hour standoff on Jan. 3. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police pledged more forceful measures to detain Yoon while they jointly investigate whether Yoon's brief martial law declaration on Dec. 3 amounted to an attempted rebellion. The National Police Agency has convened multiple

N Korea launches projectile toward eastern waters in year's second launch

North Korea on Tuesday test-fired at least one unidentified projectile toward its eastern waters, South Korea's military said, as it continued its weapons demonstrations ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff didn't immediately confirm whether the test involved a ballistic missile or another type of weapon. It wasn't immediately clear how far the weapon flew. It was North Korea's second launch event of 2025, following a ballistic launch last week. North Korea said the January 6 test was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to strike remote targets in the Pacific as leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further expand his collection of nuclear-capable weapons to counter rival nations. North Korea is coming off a torrid year in weapons testing. The systems it demonstrated in 2024 included solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to strike the US mainland and various shorter-range missiles designed to overwhelm missi

Attempts to arrest impeached South Korean Prez Yoon: All you need to know

For weeks, impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has holed up inside his guarded residential compound as investigators try to figure out how to detain him. Scuffles occurred Jan 3 when dozens of investigators were stopped from entering the compound by presidential security forces, military personnel and vehicle barricades. Since then, thousands of opponents and supporters have gathered daily in competing rallies near his official residence in Seoul, as the country's anti-corruption agency and police prepare another attempt to take the president into custody. One side demands Yoon's ouster and arrest, while the other vows to defend him. Separated by police lines and fences, the two groups constantly exchange verbal insults across the divide. One person was arrested Sunday when he waved a box cutter in a heated argument, but no one was hurt. Still, tensions are escalating. Yoon's lawyers have claimed that images of him being dragged out in handcuffs could trigger a huge ...

Soldiers from North in Ukraine, show no desire to defect: South Korea's NIS

South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Monday that two North Korean soldiers who were captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia's Kursk border region haven't expressed a desire to seek asylum in South Korea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the social media platform X that he's willing to hand over the soldiers to North Korea if the country's authoritarian leader, Kim Jong Un, arranges for an exchange with Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. Zelenskyy added that there may be other options for North Korean soldiers who do not wish to return home, and a video released by his government indicated that at least one of the captured soldiers expressed a desire to remain in Ukraine. In a closed-door briefing at South Korea's National Assembly, the National Intelligence Service confirmed its participation in the questioning of the North Korean soldiers by Ukrainian authorities. The agency said the soldiers haven't expressed a request

S Korean lawmakers seek independent probe over President Yoon's impeachment

South Korean opposition parties introduced a bill Thursday calling for an independent investigation into impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief martial law declaration, as thousands of his supporters and critics held tense rallies near his residence ahead of his potential detention. The bill, jointly submitted by six parties, including the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, proposes that a special prosecutor investigate whether Yoon's martial law decree on December 3 constituted an attempted rebellion. The bill also calls for an investigation into opposition claims that Yoon sought to provoke a clash with North Korea by allegedly flying drones over Pyongyang or discussing the possibility of shooting down trash-laden balloons launched from North Korea across the border, to justify a power grab at home. Yoon's lawyers and the South Korean military have denied the suspicions. Yoon remained holed up at his official residence in the capital city of Seoul, where the presidential

As South Korea's Yoon awaits fate, his party sees signs of revival

Yoon, suspended from duties after his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec.3 and under criminal investigation for possible insurrection

South Korea's impeached president's wife found guilty of plagiarism

Sookmyung Women's University shared findings from a 2022 investigation into Kim Keon-hee's 1999 master's thesis, granting her until January's end to appeal

South Korea's Yoon to accept court decision even if it ends presidency

The suspended president has defied repeated summons in a separate criminal investigation into allegations he masterminded insurrection with his Dec. 3 martial law bid

Hyundai Motor to invest record $16.7 billion in South Korea this year

The planned investment by Hyundai Motor Group includes 11.5 trillion won in research and development for next-generation products

South Korea's Yoon Suk faces second arrest attempt in fortified compound

A court re-issued an arrest warrant for Yoon this week, sparking protests on both sides

Jeju Air's problems mount after plane crash that killed 179 people

Jeju Air's stock price, already trading near record lows, has fallen 10% since the crash

North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile as Blinken visits Seoul

South Korea's military said the missile was launched eastward at around noon (0300 GMT) shortly after Blinken met with South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok

South Korea police seek to extend impeached President's arrest warrant

South Korea's anti-corruption agency has requested that police take over efforts to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after its investigators failed to bring him to custody following an hours-long standoff with the presidential security service last week. The agency and police confirmed the discussion on Monday, hours before the one-week warrant for Yoon's detention was to expire. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials will likely seek a new court warrant to extend the window for Yoon's detention, according to police. The Seoul Western District Court had issued a warrant to detain Yoon on December 31, after he dodged several requests by investigators to appear for questioning. The anti-corruption agency, which leads a joint investigation with police and military investigators, is weighing charges of rebellion after the conservative president, apparently frustrated that his policies were blocked by a legislature dominated by the liberal opposition, ...

S Korea's anti-corruption agency fails to detain impeached president Yoon

The CIO has until Monday to execute the arrest warrant linked to Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3

With 242,334 babies in 2024, S Korea records rise in birthrate after 9 yrs

Earlier on December 24, South Korea officially entered the category of a super-aged society, with individuals aged 65 and older making up one-fifth of its population

Leaked files show Russia's military preparedness against Japan, South Korea

Leaked documents reveal Russia's military strategy to address its concerns over eastern borders in a potential NATO conflict. This is due to the potential involvement of US assets and regional allies

Crypto mogul Do Kwon pleads not guilty in first US court appearance

South Korean cryptocurrency mogul Do Hyeong Kwon pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a freshly unsealed indictment released in time for his first US court appearance. Kwon entered the plea in Manhattan federal court two days after his extradition from Montenegro. The indictment alleges that the man dubbed by some as the cryptocurrency king lied to investors from 2018 to 2022 to fool them into pouring money into Terraform Labs, the Singapore crypto firm he cofounded. Authorities say investors worldwide were harmed by the $40 billion crash of Terraform Labs' cryptocurrency. The May 2022 collapse came despite the company's claim that TerraUSD was a stablecoin that could be relied upon. Kwon did not speak during his court appearance, except to acknowledge that he understood English. His lawyer, Andrew Chesley, entered not guilty pleas to two separate versions of the indictment charging him with conspiracy, along with commodities, securities and wire fraud. A money laundering charge was

South Korea police search Jeju Air, airport operator over fatal plane crash

Police investigators are searching the offices of the airport operator and the transportation ministry aviation authority in the southwestern city of Muan

Yoon Suk Yeol issues defiant message as authorities mull his detention

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a defiant statement to his conservative supporters gathered outside his residence in the capital of Seoul, vowing to fight to the end against what he called anti-state forces, as law enforcement prepared to detain him over last month's martial law decree. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials has a week to execute its detainment warrant against Yoon, issued by a Seoul court on Tuesday. The warrant came after Yoon defied several requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office, hindering an investigation into whether his short-lived power grab on Dec 3 amounted to rebellion. Oh Dong-woon, the anti-corruption agency's chief prosecutor, has indicated that police forces might be deployed if Yoon's security service resists the detention attempt, which could occur as early as Thursday. But it remains unclear whether Yoon can be compelled to submit to questioning. In a message to hundreds of

South Korea sharply trims GDP growth forecast after martial law fiasco

The Finance Ministry sees the economy now growing 1.8 per cent in 2025 after expanding 2.1 per cent last year, it said in a statement on Thursday