Rep. Lee Jun-seok, a leading figure in the minor Reform Party and the former chair of the ruling party, said Tuesday that he has proposed a bill to abolish the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, questioning the agency's capacity and political neutrality over handling high-profile cases such as Yoon's insurrection charges. "Today, I submitted a bill to the National Assembly calling for the abolishment of the CIO," Lee said at a press conference at the National Assembly in

North Korea denounced South Korea and the United States on Tuesday, claiming the two allies are using the annual Freedom Shield exercise ― a large-scale joint military drill that began the previous day ― as a rehearsal for a preemptive strike on its nuclear facilities. The Korean Central News Agency, a North Korean state-run media outlet, accused the two allies of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula by increasing the scale of their joint drills, referring to the Freedom Shield exercise.

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward the West Sea on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported, in an apparent protest against South Korea and the United States' large-scale annual military drill. The JCS said in a message sent to press in Seoul that it detected North Korea launching multiple ballistic missiles from inland areas of the Hwanghae provinces toward the West Sea at around 1:50 p.m. "Our military has reinforced surveillance and vigilance while maintaining

Ruling party's potential presidential contenders also voice support for court decision The responses from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and the ruling People Power Party showed sharp contrast after the Seoul Central District Court approved a request by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team to cancel his detention on Friday. The Democratic Party argued that the ruling should be kept separate from the impeachment trial and would remain unaffected, while urging the prosecution to app

The South Korean military has suspended all live-fire drills in its annual joint exercises with the United States after two KF-16 fighter jets accidentally bombed a civilian area during a training exercise the previous day. US Forces Korea also confirmed in a statement released Friday that no US Air Force aircraft were involved in the drill. However, USFK said it will pause live-fire drills that were supposed to be conducted as part of Freedom Shield 25, while the planned command post exercises

Pilot erred by entering coordinates of wrong strike target, Air Force official says Two South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a village near the inter-Korean border during a live-fire drill Thursday morning, injuring at least 15 people and damaging several buildings. Two people were seriously injured, while 13 sustained minor injuries, according to fire authorities at around 2 p.m. Of the 13, 10 people were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. One person, 60, w

South Korea and the United States will conduct their annual Freedom Shield combined military exercise, a large-scale drill aimed at strengthening the allies' readiness and deterrence capabilities, from Monday to March 21, military authorities announced Thursday. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, this year’s Freedom Shield exercise will incorporate realistic threat scenarios reflecting North Korea’s recent military tactics and strategic shifts, including its growing partnership wi

A fighter jet accidentally dropped multiple bombs on a civilian village in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday, injuring seven people and damaging several buildings. The South Korean Air Force confirmed that during a live-fire drill conducted as part of the Freedom Shield Exercise 2025, the annual military exercise between the South Korean and US militaries, a KF-16 fighter jet mistakenly released eight MK-82 bombs outside the designated firing range near the Seungjin Training Ground in Poch

Korea provided no humanitarian assistance to North Korea in 2024 at both government and private levels, marking the first-ever complete halt since Seoul began its aid efforts in 1995, data from the Unification Ministry showed Wednesday. The cessation follows a steady decline over the past five years. According to the ministry, aid amounted to 10 billion won ($6.9 million) in 2023, down from 26 billion won in 2022 and 31 billion won in 2021. The steepest drop occurred in 2020, when support was ne

Acting South Korean Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles on Wednesday discussed ways to enhance military cooperation, including collaboration in the defense industry, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. During the conversation, Kim highlighted the significant progress in military and defense industry cooperation between the two nations and reaffirmed Seoul’s commitment to further strengthening ties through joint exercises

South Korea's Defense Ministry on Tuesday urged North Korea to abandon its fixation on nuclear weapons development in response to Pyongyang’s criticism of the recent deployment of the USS Carl Vinson, a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea’s nuclear ambitions will never be tolerated. The only path to survival for the regime is to abandon its delusions and obsession with nuclear weapons,” the ministry said in a press statement. Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong

The leadership of the ruling People Power Party, including interim chair Rep. Kwon Young-se (fourth from left), floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong (third from right), party policy chief Rep. Kim Sang-hoon (third from left), and spokesperson Rep. Shin Dong-wook (second from right), pose for photos with former President Park Geun-hye (fourth from right) at the former president's residence in Daegu on Monday. Park, whose parliamentary impeachment was upheld in a unanimous Constitutional Court rulin

Expectations for a change of administration to one led by the opposition have widened beyond the margin of error, outpacing projections for the ruling party’s continued rule, a poll showed Monday, as the likelihood of an early presidential election grows. When asked "What outcome would you expect in the election if an early presidential election were to be held," 55.1 percent of respondents answered "a change in administration led by the opposition," while 39 percent supported "the ruling party

South Korea’s political crisis, triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration, is casting doubt on several of his administration's cornerstone industrial projects and the country’s ability to navigate trade challenges. The initiatives facing increased uncertainty include a multibillion-dollar nuclear power deal in the Czech Republic and the Donghae deepwater gas field development. The instability comes at a critical moment for South Korea, as sh

The 20,000-member Korean Railway Workers' Union launched an indefinite strike Thursday, calling for wage and bonus hikes. This marks the first railway strike in 15 months, following one in September last year. The strike impacts Subway Line Nos. 1, 3 and 4, express KTX trains, and regular Saemaeul and Mugunghwa trains, all operated by Korea Railroad Corp. It is reported that negotiations between the union and the railway operator on Wednesday ended without agreement. However, the union stat