South Korea

April 1, 2025 12:42 PM

South Korea Constitutional Court to rule on Yoon’s impeachment on April 4

South Korea's Constitutional Court, which is reviewing President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, will announce its decision on whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him on April 4, the court said in a statement on Tuesday. The court said the ruling will be delivered at 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) and live broadcast of the session will be permitted. Yoon was impeached by parliament on December 14 after being accused of violating his constitutional duty by declaring martial law in early...

March 25, 2025 9:14 PM

South Korea wildfires spread forcing evacuation of four local prisons, homes

Wildfires spread across South Korea's southeastern region on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of inmates from local prisons and causing residents to flee their homes. Acting President Han Duck-soo vowed to deploy firefighting helicopters and ground personnel to battle the fires. The city of Andong, with a population of 150,000 people, issued an alert to its residents to evacuate to safe areas, according to a city official and a public text alert. The city is home to the 14th- to 15...

March 24, 2025 10:41 AM

Who is Han Duck-soo, South Korea’s PM who returns as acting president?

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was reinstated on Monday as South Korea's acting president, is a technocrat whose experience and reputation as a safe pair of hands transcended party lines and helped him serve in senior posts under five presidents. Known as a seasoned economic, trade and foreign affairs specialist, Han, 75, was serving the second stint as the head of cabinet, when he became acting president on December 14 after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by parliament for leading a s...

March 21, 2025 12:15 PM

South Korea opposition brings motion to impeach acting president

South Korean opposition parties raised a motion to impeach acting President Choi Sang-mok on Friday, the majority Democratic Party said, in a move likely to escalate recent political strife in the country. Although the motion starts a process that would lead to a vote by parliament to pass it by a simple majority, the timetable was not immediately clear. Choi, who is the finance minister, has been leading the country after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached over a short-lived martial law he...

March 19, 2025 8:34 PM

South Korea unveils plan to train 30,000 aerospace professionals by 2045 in bid to become global space power

South Korea’s national space agency, the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), unveiled a comprehensive plan on Wednesday to establish a cross-sectoral education system aimed at nurturing 30,000 aerospace professionals by 2045. This initiative is part of South Korea’s long-term strategy to position itself as a global leader in space exploration amid the growing influence of private companies in the New Space era. The ambitious plan, revealed at a government policy meeting chaired by Acting...

March 10, 2025 9:46 AM

South Korean police prepare for ‘worst-case scenarios’ ahead of Yoon impeachment ruling

Police will be out in force, and subway stations and at least one school will be closed over safety concerns when South Korea's Constitutional Court rules whether to oust or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon's political fate hangs in the balance after his short-lived martial law decree on December 3 led to his impeachment and separate criminal charges of insurrection. "We are setting up plans considering the worst-case scenarios," Lee Ho-young, Acting Commissioner General of th...

March 6, 2025 12:12 PM

South Korea air force jets accidentally drop bombs on homes, injuring 15

Fifteen people were injured in South Korea on Thursday after bombs dropped by fighter jets landed in a civilian district, damaging houses and a church during military exercises in Pocheon, the Air Force and the fire department said. The Gyeonggi-do Bukbu Fire Services said in a statement that 15 people were wounded, out of which two were seriously hurt. Pocheon is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Seoul, near the heavily militarised border with North Korea. South Korea's Air Force s...

February 28, 2025 12:27 PM

North Korea’s Kim orders nuclear readiness after missile test, KCNA says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles and ordered full readiness to use nuclear attack capability, which would ensure the most effective defence for the country, state media said on Friday. The test was designed to warn "enemies, who are seriously violating the security environment of the (country) and fostering and escalating the confrontation environment" and to demonstrate "readiness of its various nuke operation means," KCNA news agency said. ...

February 25, 2025 3:48 PM

South Korea court hears closing statements in Yoon’s impeachment trial

South Korean parliamentary lawyers seeking President Yoon Suk Yeol's removal over his short-lived imposition of martial law compared him to a dictator in final arguments during his impeachment trial on Tuesday. Yoon was expected to make a closing statement later in the hearing before the Constitutional Court reviewing his impeachment, as public hearings wrap up and his political fate is placed in the hands of eight judges. Yoon faces being removed from office less than three years into his fiv...

February 20, 2025 12:06 PM

South Korea’s Yoon attends his first criminal trial hearing

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared at a Seoul court on Thursday for the first hearing of his criminal trial over insurrection charges, during which his lawyers demanded his release from jail. TV footage aired by local broadcasters showed justice ministry vehicles leaving the Seoul Detention Centre where Yoon is being held before arriving at the court where lines of police buses were parked outside to ensure security. The court heard a bid by Yoon's lawyers to cancel his d...