President Yoon refuses to attend Assembly opening ceremony

SEOUL, Sept. 2 (AJP) - The 22nd National Assembly officially kicked off with a ceremony on Monday, but President Yoon Suk Yeol chose not to attend. This marked the first time since 1987 that a president has skipped such a ceremony. His absence comes amid ongoing disputes with rival and other opposition parties. Although the new Assembly was convened on May 30, the official event to inaugurate the Assembly was indefinitely delayed for about 95 days — the longest since 1987 &mda

September 2, 2024

Ruling, opposition party leaders' talks end without substantial outcomes

SEOUL, September 1 (AJP) - In a rare show of bipartisan dialogue, the leaders of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) met for talks on Sunday. But despite high expectations, the meeting at the National Assembly, between Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the PPP, and Lee Jae-myung, who was reelected as the DP's chief last month, ended without any tangible results. It was their first one-on-one meeting since they assumed their respective

September 1, 2024

Monthly transit pass proves a hit

SEOUL, August 30 (AJP) - Over 2 million commuters have used a discounted monthly transit pass known as the "K-Pass," the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport said on Friday. According to the ministry, the cumulative number of users has reached to 2.15 million in about four months since the transit pass was first launched in May, as part of the government's scheme to encourage public transportation and address climate change. The pass is valid for

August 30, 2024

Seoul's iconic media facade festival returns with dazzling displays

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - Seoul’s prominent media art festival, "Seoul Light DDP 2024 Autumn", kicked off on Thursday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), a multi-cultural complex in central Seoul. This year's theme is "logging the future with light," illuminating moments that connect the past, present, and future. Hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the Seoul Design Foundation, the festival runs daily from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. until

August 29, 2024

Yoon clarifies his vision for reunification at nationwide televised press conference

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - During a press conference on Thursday, President Yoon Suk Yeol reiterated that South Korea's path to reunification with North Korea should be peaceful. His comments referred to the vision for reunification he proposed in his Liberation Day speech on Aug. 15. The vision outlines three key principles: "freedom-based values," "changes in the North Korean populace," and "international solidarity." These principles aim to guide S

August 29, 2024

Court declares Korea's climate goals partially unconstitutional, calls for longer-term target

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) – The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday Korea's climate change policy is partially unconstitutional, ordering the government to supplement it with a longer-term emission reduction goal. In a ruling on four constitutional petitions filed by young environmentalists, the court said that the government's omission of greenhouse gas reduction targets beyond 2030 fails to adequately protect citizens' basic rights. In the first such cas

August 29, 2024

Supreme court upholds life sentence for brutal murder convict

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - The Supreme Court of Korea upheld a life sentence for a man convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering a woman in Seoul last year. Choi Yun-jong, 30, brutally attacked a total stranger, attempting to rape and severely beating her on a hiking trail in southern Seoul in August of last year. The victim, an elementary school teacher was taken to a hospital but died two days later. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in both the first and second tr

August 29, 2024

Baseball attendance set to reach 10 million this season

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - The number of spectators for this year's professional baseball league is on the brink of reaching a new milestone of 10 million. According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the cumulative number of baseball fans who have visited stadiums across the country has surpassed 9 million as of early this week. Many baseball fans were undeterred by this summer's record heatwave, as attendance reached 8.48 million last Sunday, surpassing the previou

August 29, 2024

Large sinkhole injures elderly couple in Seoul

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - A large sinkhole suddenly opened up on a busy four-lane road in Yonhui-dong, western Seoul on Thursday. The sinkhole suddenly appeared around 11:20 a.m., swallowing a Tivoli vehicle. The unexpected collapse caused a car to plunge into the hole, which measured 6 meters wide and 4 meters long, leading to serious injuries for the driver and a passenger. The female passenger in her late 70s was found in cardiac arrest but was revived through immediate CPR eff

August 29, 2024

Nurses' nationwide strike averted at eleventh hour

SEOUL, August 29 (AJP) - Just hours before their planned nationwide strike, nurses and other medical workers called it off after reaching an agreement through last-minute negotiations on Thursday. Their major walkout was averted as some 59 out of 62 medical institutions under Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) accepted a proposal over wages and working conditions. The decision just came after a bill, which legalizes the medical practice of Physician Assis

August 29, 2024