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

The spy agency on Friday reported to a parliamentary committee that recent unverified rumors circulating social media claiming North Korean leader Kim Jong-un might have died are false, sources said. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) delivered the assessment during a closed-door meeting with ruling and opposition lawmakers on the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, according to sources who attended the meeting. The rumors, which claimed Kim had suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, fallen into a coma and died, have spread widely on overseas social media and been picked up by several foreign media outlets earlier this week. No evidence has been provided to substantiate the claims. North Korean state media have not directly addressed the speculation but reported Tuesday that Kim visited a garment and footwear exhibition in Pyongyang a day earlier. Photos released by the state media showed him touring the exhibition with his daughter Ju-ae. During the briefing to the committee late last month, the NIS said Kim, who weighs more than 140 kilograms, was at high risk of cardiovascul

The European Union (EU) has sharpened its Indo-Pacific strategy around three core priorities — security, economic security and climate action — as geopolitical tensions reshape the bloc’s approach to the region, according to the EU special envoy. Maria Castillo Fernandez, European External Action Service's Special Envoy of the European Union for the Indo-Pacific, said the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy, launched in 2021, initially covered a broad range of areas but has since grown more focused in response to a changing security landscape. "Security in Europe is interconnected to what is happening on security in the Indo-Pacific," she said, pointing to military cooperation between Russia, China and North Korea. The first pillar also includes maritime security, freedom of navigation and protection of critical maritime infrastructure from hybrid threats — concerns that have grown more urgent following recent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint through which a significant share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. The second pillar is economic securi

North Korea has planted an estimated 960,000 land mines along the inter-Korean border since 2024, according to multiple lawmakers Friday, a move seen as part of its border fortification work after Pyongyang declared a "two hostile states" policy toward Seoul. The South Korean military has reported the estimate to the National Assembly, lawmakers affiliated with the parliamentary intelligence and defense committees told Yonhap News Agency. North Korea has stepped up border reinforcements since April 2024, after its leader Kim Jong-un declared relations with Seoul as "two states hostile to each other" in late 2023. The South's military has since detected increasing movements of North Korean troops installing barbed-wire fences, laying mines and erecting anti-tank barriers along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the inter-Korean border line that sits inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). North Korean troops have moved close to or even crossed the MDL on numerous occasions, prompting the South's military to blare warning broadcasts or fire warning shots in line with operational standards. T

WASHINGTON — South Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) over last month's land mine explosion incident near the inter-Korean border that injured three South Korean soldiers, calling for North Korea to apologize and take responsibility for the incident, according to officials Thursday. South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Cha Ji-hoon sent the roughly two-page letter to his Greek counterpart, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency, outlining the findings of an investigation into the Sept. 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), according to the South Korean mission to the U.N. The letter is said to emphasize that the explosion was caused by a land mine planted by North Korean troops and constituted a violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. It also called on Pyongyang to take responsible measures and engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust. A South Korean government official said the letter was expected to be circulated among Security Council members following approval by the council pre

Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) and three other local builders are at risk of losing more than 1 trillion won ($755 million) tied up in a major Iraqi refinery project, according to documents obtained by a ruling party lawmaker Friday. Hyundai E&C, GS Engineering & Construction, SK ecoplant and Hyundai Engineering have yet to collect 625.4 billion won in outstanding payments and are facing the possible forfeiture of another 420.2 billion won in performance guarantees. The builders have been seeking payment for work on the $6.8 billion Karbala Refinery Project, commissioned by Iraq's state-owned State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP). Company materials provided to Rep. Lee Jae-gang of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea showed the construction of a refinery capable of processing 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day was delayed by factors including Iraq’s internal conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic. The companies handed over the refinery's facilities to the Iraqi side in December 2023. However, SCOP has withheld payments, citing outstanding defects and missing tax-related docume

Woojin Industrial Systems, a Korean manufacturer of railway vehicles and electric buses, said Friday it has been selected for this year’s Ministry of Employment and Labor recognition program honoring companies for creating jobs and improving working conditions. The annual program recognizes 100 private companies and provides administrative and financial incentives to encourage hiring and improve workplace practices. Woojin said investment outside the Seoul metropolitan area helped drive its employment growth. It completed a 47 billion won ($35 million) electric bus factory in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, supporting efforts to recruit about 100 local workers. The proportion of the company’s workforce covered by employment insurance rose to 673 at the end of 2025 from 578 in 2024. Woojin attributed the growth to investment and recruitment partnerships with local universities and vocational high schools. Of its 140 new hires in 2025, 64 were aged 15 to 34. The company said expanded recruitment of women and support for maternity protection measures helped reduce its female employ