HWASEONG, Gyeonggi Province — Amira Kamal Mohamed says she used to be a shy person who rarely spoke. That began to change a decade ago, when she took up Korean while living in her home country of Egypt. She found the language gave her far more ways to put her feelings into words than her native Arabic. "In Arabic, 'sad' is just 'sad' and 'happy' is just 'happy,' but Korean has so many different expressions," said Mohamed, who studies at the King Sejong Institutes in Cairo and hopes to become a Korean language interpreter. "It let me express my emotions much more richly." Mohamed was among 181 outstanding learners from 71 countries invited to Korea by the King Sejong Institute Foundation. On Wednesday, they gathered at Hotel Prumir in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, to cheer on the 20 finalists of the foundation's Korean speaking and writing contests. The event came two days before the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Hangeul Day this Friday. It offered a glimpse of how far interest in the Korean language has spread, as many participants traced their first engagement with the lang

Lee Hwa-young, a former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province who is serving a prison sentence of seven years and eight months in connection with Ssangbangwool Group's illegal remittances to North Korea, is seeking parole from President Lee Jae Myung, with his lawyer expressing frustration over what he says is a lack of progress despite appeals made through multiple channels. Attorney Kim Kwang-min, who represents Lee Hwa-young, shared a media report on social media Wednesday and outlined his client's position. "Lee Hwa-young is now in his fifth year of imprisonment and is very angry with President Lee," Kim said in the interview. "We have conveyed through various channels his wish to be granted parole, but all we hear is that they are 'working on it,' while there has been no action." Kim also wrote on social media, "After concluding that the North Korea remittance case was fabricated, isn't the reality of completely abandoning someone who has been imprisoned for five years because of that very case far worse and more cruel?" Lee Hwa-young's side reportedly sent a letter to the president an

The heritage authority said Thursday it has yet to decide whether to raise admission fees for its major palaces and royal tombs, with the planned increase still under review. The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) had planned to announce the fee hikes in November so they could take effect in January 2027, citing the relatively low fees compared with those at major heritage sites abroad. But the service said the timing of the fee increases remains "undecided," in a document submitted to Rep. Choi Min-hee for an annual parliamentary audit. In the document, the service's Royal Palaces and Tombs Center said it will instead improve visitor services in January after reviewing the free admission programs for visitors wearing hanbok and the potential financial burden of the fee hike on the public. "At present, there are not enough rest areas, information desks and facilities for people with disabilities, and the reservation systems are not sufficiently equipped," Huh Min, chief of the KHS, said. "We are currently addressing these shortcomings." The admission fees have remained unchanged since 2005, des

While more than 5,000 sexual offenders are set to be released over three years starting next year, concerns are rising over a shortage of dedicated staff for post-release monitoring. The electronic monitoring system meant to prevent repeat crimes is under strain as each staffer’s workload has grown and violations and reoffenses have continued, raising questions about its ability to cope. According to indictments and court rulings submitted by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to Rep. Kim Dong-ah of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Wednesday, Cho Doo-soon, who raped an 8-year-old girl in 2008, damaged the external antenna of a home monitoring device at his residence in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, in June last year. Cho was sentenced to 12 years in prison and released in 2020. He has since been under intensive 24-hour location monitoring. According to the ruling, Cho smashed the antenna under the delusion that it was beaming radio waves into his brain. The device’s cellular signal weakened sharply, but a probation officer found the damage only six days later during

DAEJEON — A court on Thursday ordered a religious cult, its leader and No. 2 official to pay about 370 million won ($277,000) in damages to three female followers who were sexually assaulted by the leader. Jeong Myung-seok, the leader of Jesus Morning Star (JMS) church, has been serving a 17-year prison term for sexually assaulting the three women between 2018 and 2021. The victims — a Hong Kong national named Maple, an Australian named Amy and an unnamed Korean follower — sued Jeong, the church and its No. 2 official for damages. In its ruling, the Daejeon District Court ordered Jeong and the church to pay 250 million won plus interest to Maple, 80 million won plus interest to Amy and 40 million won plus interest to the Korean victim. Of the total owed to Maple, the No. 2 official, Kim Ji-seon, was ordered to pay 30 million won plus all of the interest.

President Lee Jae Myung ordered the government Thursday not to apply for membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) this year to allow time for sufficient discussions with farmers and fishermen, his spokesperson said. The government has been reviewing whether to join the major Indo-Pacific trade agreement comprising 12 countries, including Japan, Mexico, Australia, Canada and Vietnam. Together, the member countries accounted for about 15.2 percent of global trade in 2019. The move has faced opposition from farming and fishing industries, however, over concerns larger imports of cheaper agricultural and fishery products could erode their income and production bases. "President Lee Jae Myung ordered that we not apply for CPTPP membership within the year," Kang Yu-jung said in a written press briefing. "He also urged relevant ministries to listen sincerely to the voices of farmers and fishermen and continue to have discussions, rather than setting a deadline." Lee's instruction came after the topic of CPTPP membership was discussed during

The United Nations Command (UNC) is not disclosing what follow-up measures it would take in response to the North Korean land mine explosion south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), although it recognized the North violated the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement. According to sources familiar with the UNC, Thursday, details of possible next steps cannot be disclosed at this stage, while the absence of an immediate measure does not mean further action has been ruled out. Late last month, the UNC and South Korean military conducted a joint investigation on the site of the Sept. 21 mine blast within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which seriously injured several South Korean soldiers, and announced the North violated the armistice agreement by laying mines in South Korean territory. Sources said that besides the official announcement of the armistice violation, UNC so far has nothing to additionally announce, such as whether it would raise the issue to the U.N. The command’s relationship with the U.N. involves separate questions of operational authority and reporting responsibilities. UNC

Korean defense companies are advancing manned-and-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) in response to the changing nature of modern warfare. Recent wars have shown a shift toward using unmanned systems for high-risk operations, while manned systems take on command and control as well as precision strikes from the rear. Hyundai Rotem, which led the modernization of Korea’s ground forces by completing the development of the K2 tank in 2008, is developing a next-generation MUM-T tank in line with this trend. “We will expand battlefield situational awareness using various sensors and add artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to enable AI-based command and fire control. We aim to operate the tank through cooperation with manned and unmanned systems, as well as with units at the formation level,” Kim Myeong-geun, vice president at Hyundai Rotem, said during the 2026 KorAsia Forum, Wednesday. "The system development is expected to take place in the early to mid-2030s." Hyundai Rotem is not the only company accelerating the development of MUM-T capabilities. Meanwhile, Korea Aerospace Industries (K

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) was left out of a June trilateral meeting with Washington and Tokyo on North Korean cyber threats, the agency effectively acknowledged Thursday. The exclusion belatedly came to light after a local newspaper reported that the spy agency had been barred from the fifth meeting of the Trilateral Diplomatic Working Group at the request of the U.S. side. "There had been some misunderstanding several months ago, but it is now a thing of the past," the NIS said, all but acknowledging the report. "Among states, misunderstandings can happen over different national interests. What matters is how to solve them in a timely manner," it said, adding, "There is no misunderstanding between intelligence authorities of South Korea and the U.S." "The NIS is working closely with the U.S. side on security matters such as cyber and North Korea," it said. The trilateral working group held its inaugural meeting in December 2023, following the summit between the leaders at Camp David, Maryland, in August that year, when they agreed to strengthen security cooperation. The June

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul on Thursday met with a U.S. senator for discussions on shipbuilding cooperation between South Korea and the United States, the ministry said. Kang met with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) in Seoul, where he underscored the South Korea-U.S. alliance as the "linchpin" for maintaining peace and security in the region, and urged the U.S. Congress to continue its role as a "steadfast supporter" of the alliance, according to the ministry. Kang thanked the U.S. senator for his continued interest and support in shipbuilding cooperation between the countries, and expressed hope that Seoul and Washington would further develop their cooperation in a practical manner. According to the ministry, Kang and McCormick also shared the view that the bilateral alliance should go beyond security cooperation and evolve into a strategic partnership for technological innovation and the defense industry. The meeting came a day after McCormick visited Hanwha Ocean Co.'s shipyard in the southeastern city of Geoje, where he inspected the defense contractor's shipbuilding infrastructure an