An appeals court on Friday acquitted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of political funding charges linked to opinion polls conducted ahead of his 2021 election, overturning a local court conviction that threatened his tenure and political future. The Seoul High Court panel, led by Judge Ku Hoi-geun, reversed a July ruling that fined Oh 10 million won ($7,500) and ordered him to forfeit 21 million won — a sentence that would have cost him his mayoral post had it become final. The case centered on allegations that Oh commissioned opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and had his supporter, a businessman named Kim Han-jung, pay for them. The charges involved 10 polls and payments totaling 33 million won. The central dispute was whether Oh had requested the polls and knew that Kim was paying for them. “Myung’s testimony is the only direct evidence on the central issue in this case, but it is inconsistent overall and conflicts with objective circumstances on numerous points, making it difficult to believe,” the judge said. “It is diffic

Police said Friday they have sought an arrest warrant for a woman on suspicion of killing her mother at their home in western Seoul the previous day. The suspect in her 40s allegedly killed her mother in her 60s at 8:15 a.m. Thursday at their home in Seoul's Gangseo Ward and voluntarily called the police. Police arrived at the scene and put her under emergency arrest at around 8:40 a.m., according to the Gangseo Police Station. Police filed for a warrant to formally arrest her Thursday night, officials said. Reasons for the suspect's alleged killing of her own mother were not immediately available. When calling the police, the suspect described the victim as her "stepmother" but the victim was confirmed to be her biological mother. The suspect's daughter told police that she heard the suspect saying the victim had attempted to feed her poisoned food, although police have found no relevant evidence. Investigators have also obtained statements that the suspect had previously expressed negative feelings toward her mother, including using abusive language against her. The suspect is denying the

In Korea, a pop career is supposed to start in a trainee dormitory when one is a teenager. Rydia’s started in Rotterdam at 39. The Seoul-born singer-songwriter, now 41 and six years into life in the Netherlands, put a music career off for most of her adult life before deciding it was never too late to reinvent herself. She officially launched as an independent artist on June 19. Four months and seven releases later, and she’s about to drop her most openly cross-cultural track yet. “Saranghaeyo” (I Love You), out Oct. 23, pairs her with Dutch rapper Jermaine Kool in a back-and-forth where nobody meets anyone halfway on language. He raps in Dutch. She raps in Korean. The two converge on the chorus, an English-Korean hook that professes love for all the pretty girls, and then, to be fair, all the pretty boys. The collaboration came together almost by accident. Rydia signed up for a K-pop and European crossover songwriting camp run by a Dutch studio, where the producer on her team learned she was Korean and mentioned a friend who loved Korea. “It’s actually funny. I only met him

A detailed road map for the planned integration of military academies will likely be announced later than originally planned to ensure the ongoing deliberations reflect the positions of all stakeholders, a Seoul official said Friday. The Lee Jae Myung administration is pushing to establish a single military academy by merging those of the Army, Air Force and Navy to enhance joint capabilities amid a declining birth rate and changing warfare environment driven by drones and artificial intelligence technologies. However, the plan has faced strong pushback from active-duty service members and alumni groups, who regard the move as a politically motivated effort to weaken the Army and argue it will erode the capabilities of the individual service branches. "We think that it will be physically difficult to announce (the detailed plans) before the end of this month," a defense ministry official told reporters on background. "We are still in the process of gathering opinions." The delay appears to reflect Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul's earlier indication the ministry may rethink the plan cons

The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said on Friday there are no changes to policies regarding entry restrictions on Chinese vehicles, following U.S. Forces Japan’s (USFJ) reported decision to ban vehicles made by Chinese electric car giant BYD from entering one of its bases amid security concerns. According to Yonhap News Agency, Friday, USFJ decided to ban electric vehicles made by BYD from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa starting Oct. 26. The air base is the U.S.' largest overseas installation and serves as a key strategic hub for regional defense against security threats from China, Russia and North Korea. The ban is widely seen as an effort to prevent intelligence leaks of sensitive military operations, according to the report. The Japanese air base is home to the 18th Wing of the U.S. Fifth Air Force, hosting tactical fighter aircrafts, radar systems and ammunition stockpiles. Speculations were mounting that the BYD ban may expand to other major bases in the country and potentially extend to USFK, the report added. However, there is no sign so far that the USFK has adopted such measures. “U.

A National Election Commission (NEC) official, who was found dead a day after undergoing questioning by a special counsel, did not mention any coercive interrogation by special counsel investigators in a note he left behind, the investigation team claimed Friday. The NEC official, in his 40s, was found dead outside his apartment in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, on Wednesday morning. He left a suicide note, in which he reportedly expressed grievances over the questioning he faced the previous day. The NEC official's lawyer, who was present during the questioning, earlier claimed that investigators had pressured and coerced the deceased and that there had been procedural shortcomings in drawing up his interrogation records. The investigation team, led by special counsel Lee Tae-han, said it has checked the content of the deceased's suicide note through proper procedures, and confirmed that it did not mention any coercion. The deceased rather mentioned that he did not hold a grudge against the special counsel, while only pointing out organizational problems at the NEC, the team added. The specia

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday called for proactive efforts to prevent violent crimes to ensure a "supersafe" society following a series of violent crimes targeting random victims or family members. The president made the remarks at a pan-government meeting aimed at building a supersafe country amid heightened public safety fears following a stabbing spree targeting random people at a building in Incheon, just west of Seoul, last week and a suspected arson earlier this week, in which a man set fires at two buildings in southern Seoul. Several people were injured in the stabbing attack, with one of them having been left in cardiac arrest, while 19 people were injured, one of them seriously, in the suspected arson. Also last week, a man was apprehended after allegedly stabbing his mother-in-law to death and kidnapping his estranged wife, prompting public outcry over the police's failure to prevent the crime despite previous warning signs. "This situation in which people are forced to worry about their safety in their everyday lives should not be allowed to continue," the president said,

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose to 40 percent for the first time since early September, a poll showed Friday. The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,001 people aged 18 and older, showed that positive assessments of Lee's performance increased 1 percentage point from the previous week. Those who disapproved of Lee's handling of state affairs fell by 2 percentage points on-week to 50 percent. Lee's approval rating last stood at 40 percent in the first week of September, before falling to a record low of 37 percent in two consecutive polls conducted in late September and early October. Among those who positively assessed Lee's performance, 21 percent cited diplomacy, followed by economic and livelihood issues at 14 percent, and communication at 7 percent. Real estate policies, along with economic and security concerns, were among the main reasons cited by those who disapproved of Lee's performance. Support for the ruling Democratic Party rose 1 percentage point to 37 percent, marking its second consecutive weekly gain after hitting a record low

An appeals court was set to rule Friday on Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's trial in a high-stakes political funds case stemming from opinion polls he allegedly received ahead of the 2021 mayoral by-election. If the Seoul High Court upholds his conviction by a lower court and the ruling is finalized through appeal, Oh will lose his mayorship after being elected into office for a fifth term in June. Under the Political Funds Act, elected officials are stripped of their seats if they receive a finalized fine of 1 million won ($754) or heavier punishment for improper acceptance of political funds. Oh's sentencing hearing was scheduled to be broadcast live at 2 p.m. Oh is accused of having a political supporter make payments totaling 33 million won for opinion polls he received on 10 occasions from self-proclaimed power broker Myung Tae-kyun ahead of the 2021 election. The lower court sentenced Oh to a fine of 10 million won in July after partially recognizing the charges. It ruled that Oh had asked Myung for opinion polls on five occasions and his supporter paid the power broker 21 million won. The d

South Korea has donated eight decommissioned military helicopters to Kenya after an overhaul, delivering on its pledge to support the U.N. peacekeeping missions in the region, officials said Friday. A ceremony marking the donation of the eight MD 500 Defenders was held at the Kenya Army Corps of Aviation in Nairobi on Friday (local time), according to the defense ministry. The move comes as South Korea pledged to provide choppers to the U.N. peacekeeping operations across Africa during the U.N. peacekeeping ministerial meeting held in Seoul in 2021. The United States vowed to conduct maintenance work on the helicopters and help transport them to the East African country. Since late 2023, eight MD 500 Defenders have been transported to the U.S., where they underwent maintenance and repair work for about two years. The upgraded choppers arrived in Kenya last month, pending deployment after successfully completing all flight tests, according to officials. The defense ministry plans to continue to expand its contributions to U.N. peacekeeping missions. Friday's event was attended by some 200 p