‘Kim desperately wanted to denuclearize,’ Moon writes in memoirs

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is keeping nuclear weapons strictly for self-defense and has no intention of actually ever using them, former President Moon Jae-in wrote in his memoir published Saturday. In his first memoir since his presidential term ended in 2022, Moon recalled Kim in his encounters with him as “expressing, time and time again, that nuclear weapons were only for the purpose of guaranteeing safety and that he has no thoughts of ever using them.” The former D

PoliticsMay 19, 2024

NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict

Members of popular K-pop girl group NewJeans have each submitted a petition over a court injunction filed to prevent the dismissal of their agency Ador's CEO Min Hee-jin, music industry sources said Saturday. The five members -- Danielle, Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein -- handed in the petitions Friday when the first hearing was held on the injunction sought by Min against a move from Hybe, Ador's parent company, to dismiss her from her position. Details of the petitions were not made

CultureMay 18, 2024

Yoon orders scrapping of preliminary feasibility studies for R&D projects

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government Friday to scrap all preliminary feasibility studies for research and development projects to speed up their implementation and support economic growth. Yoon made the remark during a national financial strategy meeting held to discuss fiscal policy issues ahead of the government's formulation of next year's budget. "I ask you to abolish preliminary feasibility studies and sharply increase the scale of investment in order to nurture

PoliticsMay 17, 2024

Samsung expected to introduce new Exynos processor in next Galaxy series

Samsung Electronics is expected to introduce its new flagship Exynos 2500 mobile processor made with its cutting-edge 3-nanometer process, in the upcoming Galaxy S25 smartphone lineup, according to industry sources on Friday. The envisioned chipset, which will be produced on Samsung Foundry’s second-generation 3nm process node using the advanced Gate-all-around technology, will be designed with the main focus on improving power efficiency. Samsung, the world's top memory chipmaker, ha

IndustryMay 17, 2024

Democratic Party split over Assembly speaker candidate

A rift opened up Friday between supporters of the new National Assembly speaker candidate and Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Woo Won-shik and those close to main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung. The “pro-Lee” faction of the opposition party took issue with a party vote held the previous day, in which Woo was elected the sole candidate for the next Assembly speaker. In the process, Woo, who is known to have relatively moderate political views, defeated Rep. Choo Mi-ae, a six-term lawm

PoliticsMay 17, 2024

Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators

When opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck in a failed assassination attempt in January, the South Korean public remained in the dark about the assailant’s identity, including his name and occupation, until the New York Times disclosed the information. In April, when a Korean NASA engineer was charged in the US with a series of rapes, his name, age and photos were disseminated in US media. But in local media, the Korean suspect was cloaked in anonymity, with his photos

Social AffairsMay 16, 2024

Yoon vows to run country 'rightly' on Buddha's birthday

President Yoon Suk Yeol promised Wednesday to run state affairs "rightly" in a way that will help improve the people's livelihoods and make the country overcome challenges. Yoon made the remarks in a congratulatory speech in observance of Buddha's birthday, a public holiday in South Korea, saying he will do all he can do to make a "warm and happy" society. "I will do my best to carry out the state affairs rightly as I always keep the Buddha's teachings in

PoliticsMay 15, 2024

Singapore inaugurates new PM as Lee makes way after 20 years in charge

SINGAPORE -- Singapore was to inaugurate Lawrence Wong on Wednesday as its new prime minister and fourth leader since independence six decades ago, completing a carefully calibrated power transfer designed to guarantee continuity in the wealthy city-state. Wong, 51, comes from among a crop of so-called "4G" leaders, a new generation of politicians hand-picked by the long-ruling People's Action Party to take over the reins of the key Asian trade and financial center. Wong will retain hi

World NewsMay 15, 2024

OpenAI gives ChatGPT new powers to see, hear

SAN FRANCISCO -- OpenAI on Monday released a higher performing and even more human-like version of the artificial intelligence technology that underpins its popular generative tool ChatGPT, making it free to all users. The update to OpenAI's flagship product landed a day before Google is expected to make its own announcements about Gemini, the search engine giant's own AI tool that competes with ChatGPT head-on. "We're very, very excited to bring GPT-4o to all of our free use

World NewsMay 14, 2024

[KH Explains] Hyundai Motor’s plan for new landmark keeps hitting bumps

Hyundai Motor Group’s plan to build a new headquarters called Global Business Center, or GBC, as a landmark in southern Seoul still faces bumps after having already undergone decade-long obstacles as it continues struggling with the Soul Metropolitan Government to find common ground on height. The dispute was recently reignited when it was reported that the Seoul Metropolitan Government intended to reject Hyundai Motor’s new plan to build two 55-floor main buildings instead of the ea

MobilityMay 13, 2024

More than quarter of young couples have no kids: study

More than a quarter of Korean couples aged between 25 and 39 were childless in 2022, a study showed Monday, with a substantial increase in the ratio of DINK -- double income, no kids -- couples among young South Koreans. The Korea Labor Institute report analyzed the trend of young married couples, particularly related to households with the head of the family aged between 25 and 39. The study showed that the percentage of couples without kids in the 25-39 age group came to 27.1 percent, up almos

Social AffairsMay 13, 2024

[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children

As South Korea’s dark past of international adoptions continues to unravel, an unexpected second storm has emerged. Intergenerational trauma -- a concept from the field of counseling psychology that has come into wider use in recent years -- is connecting a generation of adoptees' children feeling the effects of their parents’ adoption experiences. With their newfound collective voice, adoptees' children are raising awareness for their community and the need for clarity on

Hashtag KoreaMay 12, 2024

Ador CEO's dismissal to be decided on last day of May

Amid the ongoing dispute between Hybe and its subsidiary Ador, the latter held a board meeting on Friday and decided to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on May 31. Ador also claimed that Hybe conducted an illegal audit Thursday night. Ador's Friday board meeting lasted about 10 minutes and was attended by company executives, including CEO Min Hee-jin, and the auditor appointed by Hybe. At the extraordinary general meeting scheduled for the last day of May, discussion

CultureMay 10, 2024

Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday rejected the main opposition's proposal to pass a bill that mandates a special independent counsel investigation into stock manipulation allegations and anti-graft law violation suspicions surrounding his wife. While apologizing for first lady Kim Keon Hee’s “unwise conduct” in accepting a luxury bag from a Korean American pastor in 2022, Yoon stressed that such in-depth probes should only be launched when the outcome of an official prosecuto

PoliticsMay 9, 2024

US halts bomb shipment to Israel over Rafah concerns

WASHINGTON -- The US paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the US, a senior administration official said Tuesday. The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 900-kilogram bombs and 1,700 225-kilogram bombs, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, with the focus of US concern being the

World NewsMay 8, 2024

Israeli forces take control of Rafah crossing with Egypt

An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, moving forward with an offensive in the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge. The move comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group on Monday saying it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands. The high

World NewsMay 7, 2024

Value-up program: Market disappointment does not mean a failure, just yet

The Korean government's corporate value enhancement guidelines revealed last week may have disappointed investors, yet experts believe there is room for improvement. After a three-month wait following the initial announcement of the corporate value-up program in February, the Financial Services Commission on Thursday issued several pages of guidelines detailing how companies should create their value enhancement plans and associated regulations. Under the guidelines, companies first select

EconomyMay 6, 2024

Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal

As much as "samgyeopsal," the quintessential Korean pork belly cut, translates to three-layered meat, its deliciousness hinges on the perfect balance of fat and meat. This balance delivers a satisfyingly chewy texture bursting with juicy, meaty flavor. In online forums in South Korea now, a heated debate is underway over just how much fat is too much in fat-rich samgyeopsal, as people share their experiences of being served cuts they deem “overly fatty” at restaurants. Th

Social AffairsMay 4, 2024

Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry

More than 590 resident doctors who left their hospitals in protest of the government’s medical school quota expansion have returned, the Health Ministry said Friday, without providing the names of the hospitals, citing the possibility of future disadvantages from the medical circle. Currently, a little more than 590 out of 9,900 resident doctors, or six percent of the total, have returned to their training hospitals as of Thursday, the ministry explained. Second Vice Health Minister Park M

Social AffairsMay 3, 2024

US Fed says rates will stay at 2-decade high

The Federal Reserve emphasized Wednesday that inflation has remained stubbornly high in recent months and said it does not plan to cut interest rates until it has “greater confidence” that price increases are slowing sustainably to its 2 percent target. The Fed issued its decision in a statement after its latest meeting, at which it kept its key rate at a two-decade high of roughly 5.3 percent. Several hotter-than-expected reports on prices and economic growth have recently undercut

World NewsMay 2, 2024