South Korea

South Korean truth panel finds more evidence of forced adoptions in 1980s

A South Korean commission found evidence that women were pressured into giving away their infants for foreign adoptions after giving birth at government-funded facilities where thousands of people were confined and enslaved from the 1960s to the 1980s. The report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Monday came years after The Associated Press revealed adoptions from the biggest facility for so-called vagrants, Brothers Home, which shipped children abroad as part of a huge, profit-seeking enterprise that exploited thousands of people trapped within the compound in the port city of Busan. Thousands of children and adults many of them grabbed off the streets were enslaved in such facilities and often raped, beaten or killed in the 1970s and 1980s. The commission was launched in December 2020 to review human rights violations linked to the country's past military governments. It had previously found the country's past military governments responsible for atrocities committed

South Korea summit to target 'blueprint' for use of AI in military

At the first summit was held in Amsterdam last year, where the United States, China and other nations endorsed a modest "call to action" without legal commitment

Japan PM Kishida seeks to solidify S Korea ties on farewell visit

The leaders will review progress on their efforts to step up cooperation between the countries and discuss ways to deepen their partnership, according to Yoon's office

S Korean chip executive detained over alleged technology leak to China

Choi, a former Samsung executive who ran a chipmaking venture in China, has already been the subject of a high-profile industrial espionage trial

Springsteen to Elton John, music greats in the spotlight at TIFF 2024

The star-studded affair will include a selection of Indian and South Korean films

North Korea again launched trash-carrying balloons across border: S Korea

North Korea is flying more trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, officials said Thursday, in the latest round of Cold War-style psychological warfare between the rivals. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected more balloons launched from North Korea on Thursday morning following launches the previous evening. The joint chiefs said North Korea launched around 420 balloons from Wednesday evening to early Thursday and about 20 of them had been discovered so far in Seoul, the South Korean capital, and nearby Gyeonggi province. It said the balloons that landed were filled with paper waste, plastic bottles and other trash but contained no hazardous materials. The joint chiefs said North Korea was launching another set of balloons as of 9 a.m. It advised people to report to the police or military if they see any fallen balloons and not to touch them. Seoul's city government issued text alerts Wednesday evening as the North Korean balloons began appearing over South Kore

Leaders of S Korea, NZ strongly condemn expanding North Korea-Russia ties

The leaders of South Korea and New Zealand strongly condemned the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia as they met Wednesday for a summit meant to strengthen bilateral ties. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon arrived in Seoul, the South Korean capital, on his first trip to the Asian country since he took office last November. Luxon and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned in the strongest possible terms the expanding military ties between North Korea and Russia, including North Korea's export of ballistic missiles to Russia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, according to a joint statement released by Luxon's office. The two leaders denounced in the most serious of terms North Korea's illegal nuclear and missile development programs. They also strongly condemned Russia's war against Ukraine and pledged to continue to support the sovereignty of Ukraine and its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace, according to the joint

N Korea shows new drone attacking target as Seoul, US hold military drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a demonstration of new exploding drones designed to crash into targets, state media said on Monday, as the US and South Korea engage in joint military drills. North Korean test photos showed a white drone with X-shaped tails and wings supposedly crashing into and destroying a target resembling South Korea's main K-2 battle tank. Most combat drones stand off from targets and fire missiles. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday's test involved various types of drones built to fly different ranges to attack enemy targets on land and sea and flew along various routes before accurately hitting test targets. After the test, Kim pledged to spur the development of drones that explode on impact, conduct reconnaissance or attack targets underwater to boost his country's war readiness, saying the North's military should be equipped with advanced drones as early as possible", KCNA said. The drone test came as the US and South .

Smiling with the enemy: North Korean Olympians in hot water over selfie

Human Rights Watch has condemned the situation, urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to protect athletes from harassment and abuse

Uber CEO says growth in South Korea promising despite 'underdog' status

Uber first entered the South Korean market in 2013, but pulled out due to regulations that only allow companies with taxi licenses to offer ride services

Court orders S Korea to specify plans to cut carbon emissions through 2049

South Korea's Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the government to back its climate goals with more concrete plans for action through 2049, handing a partial victory to climate campaigners who say the country's failure to cut emissions faster amounts to a violation of their rights. The court, which weighs the constitutionality of laws, issued the assessment while ruling on four climate cases raised by 254 plaintiffs, including many young people who were children or teenagers when they began filing the complaints against the government and lawmakers in 2020. They argued that South Korea's current goal of cutting carbon emissions by 35 per cent from 2018 levels by 2030 is inadequate to manage the impact of climate change and that such objectives weren't backed by sufficient implementation plans. They also pointed out that the country has yet to establish plans to reduce carbon emissions after 2031, despite its outstanding goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The ...

South Korea's Prez pledges urgent reform of $830 bn public pension fund

Yoon said there had been a loss of confidence in the pension system across generations

South Korean lithium battery maker CEO arrested over deadly fire incident

Park Soon-kwan, the CEO of Aricell, which is majority owned by S-Connect, apologised after the fire

Hyundai Motor eyes 30% rise in sales by 2030 as it doubles hybrid lineup

The world's No. 3 automaker by sales, along with affiliate Kia Corp, announced its mid- to long-term goals and strategy at its CEO Investor Day

S Korea to ask Telegram, social media cos to help tackle digital sex crimes

For companies that don't have offices in South Korea, it wants to set up a face-to-face channel for regular consultation

Seoul welcomes Super 30 famed, Ambassador of Korean Tourism Anand Kumar

The function, where Kumar was felicitated took place at the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) headquarters in Segye-ro, Wonju-si, Gangwon State on August 23

South Korea police blames quality failure for fatal fire at battery maker

The Labour Ministry and police had sought arrest warrants for several executives including the CEO for alleged safety violations and negligence, officials said at a news conference

S Korean hotel fire kills 7, matters made worse by lack of sprinklers

A fire that killed seven people in a South Korean hotel was possibly made worse by the lack of sprinklers, fire officials said Friday, as they investigated the cause of the blaze. At least 12 people were being treated for injuries related to the fire that broke out Thursday evening at the nine-story property in the city of Bucheon, just west of the capital, Seoul. Officials say the fire didn't spread broadly after starting in an unoccupied room on the 8th floor. But with the room was unprotected by sprinklers and toxic smoke quickly filled the upper floors. Most of the victims were found in the rooms and hallways of the eighth and ninth floors. Lee Sang-don, an official with the Bucheon Fire Station, said the hotel, which was built in 2003, wasn't mandated to have a sprinkler system. While South Korea began requiring sprinklers on all buildings with more than six floors starting in 2017, the requirement wasn't retroactively applied to most older buildings, except for some medical ..

Local manufacturing will offer 25K cr annual opportunity for vendors: ICRA

Currently, India imports nearly 50 per cent of its component requirement (by value) from suppliers based out of China, Japan, and South Korea, among others

US, S Korea begin military drills, N Korea says invasion rehearsal

US and South Korean troops kicked off a large-scale exercise Monday aimed at strengthening their combined defence capabilities against nuclear-armed North Korea, which again accused the allies of practicing an invasion. The annual summertime exercise comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the pace of both North Korea's weapons demonstrations and the US-South Korea combined military exercises have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat. The exercise began hours after North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement repeating the North's contention that such exercises are provocative war drills for aggression. It said the North's nuclear ambitions are thus justified, adding that it is crucial to "constantly maintain the balance of power for preventing a war by stockpiling the greatest deterrence. The United States and South Korea described their joint drills as defensive in nature and have been expanding and upgrading their training in recent years to cope with the