South Korea

Pam Bondi ousted

Seventeen said all 13 members have agreed to renew their contracts, in a surprise announcement that electrified fans on the closing night of the group’s world tour. The K-pop group made the announcement during a concert Sunday, capping a seven-month global tour that drew more than 900,000 fans to 31 shows in 14 cities, both in person and online. The group said it would continue forward “on the same boat, rowing together,” confirming plans for a second contract renewal with Pledis Entertainment.

Director general-level officials from the customs agencies of Korea and China held a meeting last week to discuss concrete steps to protect intellectual property (IP) rights, Seoul's customs office said Monday. The meeting, held Saturday at the Korea Customs Service's (KCS) branch on Jeju Island, came after the countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in January to enhance cooperation for IP protection, according to the KCS. The agreement was reached on the occasion of a summit betwe

The government will operate a low-interest loan program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) suffering or expected to suffer damage from Korea's trade agreements with foreign countries, the industry ministry said Monday. Under the program, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources will select 30 companies that saw or will likely see their sales or production capacity fall by more than 5 percent from a year earlier due to the implementation of trade agreements with foreign partners,

LS Electric secured a major contract worth $70 million (105.6 billion won) to supply its extra-high-voltage transformers to an energy infrastructure firm in the United States, the company said Monday. Under the deal, LS Power Solution, acquired by LS Electric in 2024, will supply its 345-kilovolt-class transformers for a large-scale data center operated by a big tech firm in the United States. Deliveries are scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2027 to the first half of 2028, according to LS Ele

NASA's historic Artemis II lunar launch and SpaceX's anticipated record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) are driving massive capital inflows into Korean aerospace equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). NASA successfully launched Artemis II on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. (local time), marking the first crewed lunar mission in 54 years. The milestone accelerated market momentum sparked by a Bloomberg report that SpaceX filed confidentially for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Comm

Despite the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, Korean food exports to the Middle East climbed more than 30 percent in the first quarter compared to a year earlier. Global exports also rose 4 percent, led by ramen and snacks. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Friday, the total export for Korean food in the first quarter, between January to March, recorded $2.56 billion (around 3.5 trillion won), up 4 percent from a year earlier. By region, the biggest export gains were rec

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday expressed regret over unauthorized drone flights into North Korea, saying the actions of private individuals had triggered avoidable military tensions with Pyongyang. “Although this was not the intention of our government, we express our regret to the North that unnecessary military tensions were caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of a few individuals,” Lee said during a cabinet meeting. The remarks came after the indictment of a graduate student s

I watched, with admiration, the recent comeback performance of BTS on Netflix, which drew global attention. I also enjoyed, with a dose of Korean national pride, K-pop acts and the Korean-themed performances taking center stage at the recent Oscars and other international award shows. By most measures, Korea’s cultural influence is blazing across the global stage. Yet, if you spend time consuming Korean media — whether legacy outlets or YouTube and social platforms — it seems as if every single

Farewell to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was fired Thursday, joining the pantheon of President Donald Trump’s awful cabinet secretaries who learned the hard way that there’s no pleasing a fundamentally unreasonable person. As terrible as Bondi was, her ultimate failing was that she didn’t go far enough for Trump in trashing the rule of law in America. So while it may be tempting to celebrate her departure, her firing bodes ill for the state of our democracy. Whoever comes next could like

The Korean military on Monday kicked off its monthslong annual defense drills in coordination with government, police and firefighting agencies in a bid to enhance an integrated defense posture across regions. The first segment of the Hwarang defense drills began Monday for a five-day run in the southeastern city of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, and such exercises will continue through November in other regions, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This year, the drills will focus on t

Police on Monday raided the office of North Jeolla Governor Kim Kwan-young over allegations that he handed out cash to multiple people last year, officials said. Kim is accused of doling out money to 20 people, including local council members and public servants, at a restaurant in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on Nov. 30. The Jeonbuk Provincial Police sent anti-corruption investigators to Kim's office in Jeonju to secure documents in connection with the allegations. Kim has said he handed out

Three spectators were injured after a safety fence collapsed during a Super Junior concert in Seoul on Sunday, prompting an apology from SM Entertainment, the group's agency. The accident occurred during the last of three Seoul concerts held by the K-pop group at the KSPO Dome when member Ryeowook approached the audience while performing an encore song, according to the agency. Fans surged forward, causing the fence in the seating area to give way. The concert was part of the group's "Super Show

South Asia has had three youth-led revolts and three changes of government — and still has three countries with problems that haven’t changed a bit. In February, Bangladesh’s electorate gave Tarique Rahman, exiled in London for 17 years, a sweeping mandate; and in early March Nepalis voted overwhelmingly for Balen Shah, previously a rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the former Marxist-Leninist Anura Dissanayake is just 18 months into his tenure and is already facing multipl

30-Scholars estimate for the crucifixion of Jesus by Roman troops in Jerusalem (or April 3) 529-First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis or the Justinian Code (a fundamental work in jurisprudence) is issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I 1948-World Health Organization is formed by the United Nations 1954-U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in a news conference, is the first to voice fear of a "domino effect" of communism in the Indochina region 1968-Riots continue in over 100 U.S. cities follo

An appeals court is set to hold the final hearing Monday of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's trial on obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from his brief imposition of martial law. The hearing is scheduled to begin at the Seoul High Court at 2 p.m., wrapping up proceedings that began after both Yoon and special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team appealed a lower court's sentence of five years in prison. Yoon was convicted in January of obstructing investigators from detaining him last year

Recent developments in U.S.-Korea economic relations have spotlighted longstanding concerns among American investors and business leaders regarding Korean regulatory practices. In a closed-door deposition by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee involving executives from Coupang, a U.S.-based e-commerce giant operating in South Korea, allegations erupted over possible discriminatory treatment of American tech companies. The session yielded no immediate sanctions, yet the episode has kept tensions s

Kim Hye-seong has made his season debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers just hours after being recalled from the minors. Kim entered the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington on Sunday (local time) in the bottom of the eighth inning as a defensive replacement at second base. Alex Freeland got the start at second base and batted ninth but was lifted for pinch hitter Kyle Tucker during the Dodgers' four-run rally in the top of the eighth. With Tucker being an outfielde

BTS became the first K-pop act to top the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart for two consecutive weeks, Billboard said Sunday (local time). The group's fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," stayed at No. 1 for a second week, ahead of "Bully" from Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Melanie Martinez's "Hades." No other K-pop act had previously led the chart for two weeks in a row. The original soundtrack of the animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" earlier reached the top spot on a non-consecutive basis. The Billboa

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to extend by 24 hours his deadline for Iran to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating infrastructure attacks. "Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!" he simply said on his Truth Social platform. The new deadline, 0000 GMT Wednesday, would mean another day for Tehran to attempt to placate the mercurial US leader or risk him following through on a threat to destroy the country's power plants and bridges. Iran has effect