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Defense Counterintelligence Command to be dissolved in reform drive, doubts remain over efficacy

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday announced a plan to disband the Defense Counterintelligence Command, a military intelligence agency accused of playing a central role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3, 2024 martial law bid, ending its 49 years of operation. The move is part of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s broader effort to prevent a recurrence of military involvement in domestic politics. The counterintelligence command dispatched troops to the National Assembly and the

Defaming victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery to face tougher punishment

Spreading false information that defames victims of Japan’s wartime military sexual slavery will be subject to stronger punishment under a revised law that takes effect Thursday, the South Korean government said Wednesday. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said the revised law on support and commemorative projects for victims of Japanese military sexual slavery will impose penalties of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won ($32,700) for defaming victims by spreadi

Gov't to Dissolve Defense Counterintelligence Command, Delegate Functions to Other Agencies

[Politics] : The government has decided to dissolve the Army’s Defense Counterintelligence Command and delegate its major functions to other agencies after it played a key role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law action in late 2024. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back announced on Wednesday that the ... [more...]

Lee congratulates Modi on becoming India’s longest-serving prime minister in Korean, Hindi X post

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on becoming the longest-serving prime minister of India, the world’s largest democracy, in a message posted on X in Korean and Hindi. “Prime Minister Modi, I sincerely congratulate you on becoming the longest-serving prime minister of India, the world’s largest democracy,” Lee wrote. Lee said Modi had played an important role over many years in leading India’s growth and development and in raising the country’

Defense Ministry seeks to fill 60% of ranks with career soldiers by 2040

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense plans to raise the proportion of officers and noncommissioned officers in the military to 63 percent by 2040, as the country seeks to cope with a shrinking pool of conscripts caused by a steep demographic decline. The plan, unveiled during a defense reform seminar held at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, Tuesday, calls for shifting the military’s manpower structure to have career soldiers outnumber conscripts. Under the proposal, the share o

High school students with migrant backgrounds nearly triple in 5 years

The number of high school students with migrant backgrounds in South Korea has grown 2.7-fold over the past five years, surpassing 30,000 for the first time last year. The figure reached 33,622 as of April 2025, up 21.5 percent from 27,673 a year earlier. In 2020, the number stood at 12,478, according to Education Ministry statistics released Wednesday. The increase suggests that the country’s multicultural student population is entering a more mature stage, with more students with migrant backg

Defense Ministry considers ways to enable troops to challenge unlawful orders

South Korea's Defense Ministry is reviewing ways to allow military personnel to raise objections to orders whose legality is in question and, in certain cases, refuse them, according to a document submitted to the National Assembly on Wednesday. The move comes as part of broader efforts to prevent a recurrence of the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law episode. According to Rep. Baik Sun-hee of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party, the ministry said in a recently submitted document on revisions to

Workers aged 70 and older surpass 2 million for first time

The number of workers aged 70 and older reached 2.16 million in 2025, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Wednesday. Seniors accounted for 7.1 percent of the country's total employed population of 28.209 million. It is the first time working seniors have exceeded the 2-million mark since the agency began publishing employment statistics for people aged 70 and older in 2018, when the number stood at 1.21 million. After surpassing 1.5 m

Ukraine, Latvia sign drone deal

Ukraine has signed a drone deal with Latvia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday as he met with Latvian Prime Minister ‌Andris Kulbergs on the sidelines of a summit between Ukraine and Nordic and Baltic states in the Estonian capital Tallinn. Zelenskyy was meeting with prime ministers from the Nordic-Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway, shortly after returning from a meeting in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany who said ⁠th

NASA taps US astronauts, Italian for Artemis III mission

NASA named three US astronauts and an Italian astronaut on Tuesday to serve as the crew ‌for its next Artemis mission, a spacecraft docking demonstration in Earth's orbit next year that will test moon landers from Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin for the first time in space. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman at a ceremony in Houston named US astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio and Randy Bresnik and Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency as the crew for Arte

Special Unit Conducts Additional Search at Transport Ministry in Jeju Air Crash Probe

[Politics] : A special team under the police have started an additional search and seizure at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as part of an investigation into the 2024 Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport. Investigators began the search at 9 a.m. Wednesday to obtain additional data that ... [more...]

Authorities Launch Inspection of Unfair Trading Activities in Foreign Exchange Market

[Economy] : Financial authorities have launched an inspection into possible unfair trading activities in the foreign exchange market after the won-dollar rate continued to remain above one-thousand-500 won per greenback. The Ministry of Finance and Economy said on Wednesday that the Bank of Korea and the Financial ... [more...]

Lee arrives in Brussels for summits with Belgian, EU leaders

President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Brussels on Tuesday as part of his 10-day trip that will later take him to Italy before attending the Group of Seven summit in France. As Lee, arm in arm with first lady Kim Hea Kyung, descended from the presidential airplane at Melsbroek Air Base just northeast of Brussels, a senior protocol official from the Belgian foreign ministry welcomed the couple to Belgium in the name of King Philippe. Shortly after his arrival, Lee met with members of the South Korean

Lee arrives in Brussels for summits with Belgian, EU leaders

President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Brussels on Tuesday as part of his 10-day trip that will later take him to Italy before attending the Group of Seven summit in France. As Lee, arm in arm with first lady Kim Hea Kyung, descended from the presidential airplane at Melsbroek Air Base just northeast of Brussels, a senior protocol official from the Belgian foreign ministry welcomed the couple to Belgium in the name of King Philippe. Shortly after his arrival, Lee met with members of the South Korean

Korea tries to sweeten marriage deal

South Korea will ease income-based restrictions on benefits for married couples to encourage marriage among young people. The government unveiled a package of marriage-friendly policy reforms at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Tuesday. Officials said the measures were prompted by a growing number of unmarried people and an increase in couples delaying marriage registration for more than a year. The government believes the loss of various benefits after marriage has become a k

Defense chief calls for military reform to respond to changing security environment

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Tuesday underscored the need to overhaul the military, including by expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI), to better respond to the future warfare landscape and personnel shortages. Ahn made the remarks during a seminar outlining plans to reform the military by 2040, as Seoul seeks to better address advancing threats from North Korea and cope with declining military manpower. "We are at a time when dramatic change is necessary to preemptively respond

Cloudy Skies Forecast Wednesday for Seoul Metro Area, Gangwon Province

[Domestic] : The Seoul metro area and Gangwon Province are set to see cloudy skies on Wednesday after some passing rain Tuesday night. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon Province will witness cloudy skies while Incheon and the northern parts of Gyeonggi ... [more...]

Lee calls outcome of local elections a ‘warning from nation’ to his administration

Proposed Legal Changes to Allow Single Fathers to Register Births

[Domestic] : The government is moving to revise laws so a father can register the birth of a child born outside marriage. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family addressed the matter in a basic plan for healthy families, finalized Tuesday following Cabinet deliberations. Accordingly, the ministry will seek ... [more...]

US Yet to Object to S. Korea’s Plans to Build Nuclear-Powered Subs with Domestic Technology

[Politics] : The United States has yet to object to South Korea’s plans to build nuclear-powered submarines using domestic technology. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, an official at Seoul’s foreign ministry said the two countries share the view that the South Korea-built submarines would be an important capability ... [more...]