A Seoul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for a man in his 70s suspected of setting fires at two buildings in southern Seoul earlier this week, leaving 19 people injured. The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant on charges of arson resulting in injuries, saying the man is a flight risk. The suspect was taken into custody hours after setting fires at two patent firms in separate buildings in Seoul's Gangnam district Tuesday. The fires left 19 people injured, including one who was rushed to a hospital in cardiac arrest. Police suspect the man held a grudge against the firms as he claimed they had defrauded him by issuing fake patent registration certificates. The suspect told investigators that he had bought two jerrycans, a lighter and flammable materials near his home in western Seoul on Friday, according to the police. Police are examining the suspect's psychiatric records and considering additional charges of attempted murder based on testimony that he had been looking for a specific person before setting the fires. The suspect was previously sentenced to two and a ha

South Korea and the United States on Thursday held joint river-crossing drills aimed at enhancing interoperability as part of the annual Hoguk military exercise, the South Korean Army said. Some 540 troops from the allies took part in the drills along the Namhan River in Yeoju, about 65 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The drills mobilized some 130 pieces of equipment, including 10 KM3 amphibious bridging vehicles, ribbon bridge systems and about 50 combat vehicles, such as K2 tanks and K21 armored vehicles. During the drills, the allied forces jointly installed and crossed a bridge spanning a 280-meter section of the river. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Gyu-ha and U.S. Brig. Gen. Robert Brown, commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division/South Korea-U.S. Combined Division, observed the drills.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday encouraged young Catholics to join a "pilgrimage of faith, friendship and hope," saying he looks forward to meeting them in Seoul for World Youth Day 2027. The pope's remarks came as the organizing committee opened registration for World Youth Day, an international gathering of Catholic youth, set to take place in Seoul in August next year. "This is not merely an invitation to see a new city — it is a call to set out on a pilgrimage of faith, friendship and hope," he said in a video message shared by the Vatican to mark the registration opening. "A pilgrimage gives you the chance not only to discover Christian sites in another location, but also to find the time and space to encounter God more deeply, both personally and within the dynamic life of the Church." In addition to deepening faith, the pontiff said participants will be able to meet young people who speak different languages and come from different cultures to forge lifetime friendships. The pope specifically mentioned the theme of World Youth Day, "Take courage! I have overcome the world," calling on p

Korea will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar in two men's football friendly matches next month in Doha, the sport's national federation announced Thursday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the Taegeuk Warriors will first take on 55th-ranked Saudi Arabia on Nov. 13 and then play 60th-ranked Qatar on Nov. 17. The first match will kick off at 5:30 p.m. (local time) and the latter match will begin at 5 p.m. (local time). These matches will fall inside the last FIFA international match window of 2026. The KFA said the two matches will help prepare Korea, world No. 32, for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, scheduled to start in January in Saudi Arabia. In 19 meetings against Saudi Arabia, Korea have five wins, nine draws and five losses. Against Qatar, Korea have recorded six wins, two draws and three losses. The KFA said it had earlier sought to schedule the Saudi Arabia match in Saudi Arabia but decided to relocate it to Qatar, with Saudi Arabia having been under attack from Yemen's Houthi rebels. These will also be the final two matches for Korea's interim head coach, Robert Mor

A court on Thursday found 34 student activists guilty of trespassing on the then presidential compound and a U.S. military base between 2022 and 2024. The Seoul Western District Court sentenced a senior leader of the Korean Progressive University Student Union (KPUSU) to a suspended four-month prison term and ordered 32 other members to pay fines ranging from 1 million won ($756) to 6 million won. One other member received a deferred sentence of a 1 million-won fine. Two others were indicted but acquitted. The students faced multiple charges, including trespassing on a U.S. military installation in Korea in August 2022 and March 2023 to stage rallies against joint military exercises between Korea and the United States. In January and October 2024, they attempted to illegally enter what was then the presidential compound in Seoul's Yongsan Ward to demand the resignation of then President Yoon Suk Yeol and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee. The court ruled that the defendants did not act on impulse but conspired in advance, such as by sharing picket signs wit

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the recent rebound in the country's potential growth rates signals a recovery in the national economy's fundamentals and that the trend should help promote balanced growth of both large and small firms. The president made the remarks at a meeting with his senior aides, citing a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report projecting the country's potential growth rate at 2.14 percent this year and 2.2 percent in 2027. The figures mark the first consecutive annual increases in about 40 years. "The rebound in potential growth rates, which can be viewed as basic physical strength for an economy, is welcome news that indicates the foundation for the growth of our economy is getting stronger," Lee said. The president stressed that this trend should serve as a steppingstone to promote sustainable, balanced growth by further solidifying the competitiveness of artificial intelligence and other advanced industries while focusing financial and policy resources on sectors that are slower to recover. "In order for the rare rebound in potential growth rat

World No. 3 Ryu Hae-ran put herself in early contention at the LPGA Tour event in her native South Korea on Thursday. Ryu shot a bogey-free round of five-under 67 to begin the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. She is tied for third place with three other players and sits one stroke behind the two co-leaders, Karis Davidson of Australia and Yuri Yoshida of Japan. Ryu collected three birdies on the front nine and two more on the back nine at the par-72 course that played 6,549 yards in the first round. Ryu, who won two majors earlier this season, is the highest-ranked player in the field this week. "I missed a few birdie putts midway through the round, but I don't think my putting was a problem," she said. "And when I birdied the 15th and 16th, I was so excited. I felt those two would be key holes in this tournament, and the two birdies felt like big presents." Ryu is also in contention for the Vare Trophy, awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average each season. She came into this week ranked second in scoring with 69.5

Korean shares plunged more than 3 percent Thursday as investors took profits on major chip shares following a rebound in the previous session, amid concerns over investments in the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain. The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 201.8 points, or 3.52 percent, to 5,533.77. The index opened down 1.14 percent before briefly turning positive to reach an intraday high of 5,740.28. It soon resumed its decline, with losses deepening sharply. The KOSPI had rebounded more than 3 percent in the previous session, recovering from steep losses as semiconductor shares rallied. Overnight, U.S. stocks closed mixed as AI-related shares rebounded following SpaceX's quarterly results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.69 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.58 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.05 percent. After delivering sound earnings, Meta Platforms boosted its bet on the AI sector. "Although Meta and Tesla reported earnings that exceeded market expectations, their results f

A parliamentary committee adopted a confirmation hearing report for a special inspector nominee Thursday, clearing the way for the appointment of the first presidential watchdog in over a decade. The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee approved the report for Choi Kil-su with bipartisan support following his confirmation hearing last month. The special inspector is tasked with investigating corruption allegations involving the family and relatives of the president and senior aides to the president. In the report, the committee said Choi was fit for the job, given his commitment to maintaining political neutrality and independence and his expertise in investigating corruption cases. The report also outlined concerns over whether Choi could carry out investigations impartially, noting that he was recommended by the ruling Democratic Party. Choi, a former senior prosecutor, was nominated by President Lee Jae Myung from among three candidates recommended by the ruling and opposition parties and the bar association in August. If appointed, Choi would become the first special inspe

The deputy commander of the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) has stressed the need for a "careful and transparent" planning and communications in addressing incidents along the inter-Korean border, following last month's land mine blast that injured South Korean soldiers. Lt. Gen. Scott Winter made the remarks on a podcast Wednesday (London time), as tensions have heightened since the Sept. 21 mine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas injured three South Korean troops, with two of them severely. Seoul and Pyongyang have since been locked in a fiery tit-for-tat exchange of barbs, with the South blaming the North for the incident in violation of the Armistice Agreement governing the fortified border, while the North has accused Seoul of fabricating its investigation to pin the blame on the regime. "My response from a United Nations Command perspective is to double down on the importance of us being careful and transparent and robust in our planning and transparent in our communications to avoid any incident occurring in the first place," Winter said on

The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled constitutional a provision of the Criminal Act that imposes harsher penalties for those who murder their own family members than those convicted of ordinary murder. The court voted 8-1 on a petition filed by an individual who argued that Article 250, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Act, which defines the crime of murdering a lineal ascendant, violates the constitutional rights to equality and the pursuit of happiness. The provision stipulates that those who kill their own or their spouse's immediate family members shall be punished by a minimum prison sentence of seven years, compared with the minimum prison sentence of five years for those convicted of murdering others. The plaintiff had been indicted on charges of killing their own father by neglecting him while serving as his caregiver, and received a final sentence of four years in prison in March 2022. The Constitutional Court said murdering a lineal ascendant fundamentally undermines the special bond and trust between parent and child and destroys the very foundation of the family unit, adding

The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar Thursday, after the Bank of Korea (BOK) left its key rate unchanged, but hinted at further tightening. The won was quoted at 1,324.2 won per dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 1 won from the close of the previous stock trading session. For a fifth consecutive session, the won marked the highest level since Oct. 2, 2024. In a widely expected decision, the BOK held the key rate steady at 3 percent in its rate-setting meeting earlier in the day. BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song told reporters that the won "is still undervalued in terms of effective exchange rate." The won has appreciated to around 1,320 won per U.S. dollar from around 1,560 won in June.

A special counsel team said Thursday that six additional local election commissions have been found to have falsely entered voter turnout data during the June 3 local elections, bringing the total to 36 commissions. Special counsel Lee Tae-han's team has been investigating various suspicions surrounding the National Election Commission (NEC), the state election watchdog, after unprecedented ballot shortages were reported during the local elections, forcing some voters to turn back without casting their votes. In a press release, Lee's team said that following last week's disclosure of 30 local commissions that falsely entered voter turnout figures, it identified six more through searches, analysis of seized items and questioning of officials. The six were the local commissions in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province; Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province; two districts in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province; Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province; and Gangneung, Gangwon Province.

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday renewed calls for the government to resume loudspeaker broadcasts along the inter-Korean border to protest against recent mine blasts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and to replace top security officials here over the incident that left three South Korean soldiers injured. The PPP accused President Lee Jae Myung of failing to take action over the Sept. 21 blasts, which the South Korean military determined to have been caused by mines planted "deliberately" by North Korea. "The president has described North Korea's nuclear weapons as a 'last resort of defense,' even when the North has explicitly stipulated preemptive nuclear strikes under its law on nuclear forces policy," PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig wrote on Facebook. "How can we even consider retaking wartime operational control (OPCON) when the commander-in-chief cannot even tell the difference between an attack and defense, or between a land mine provocation and an 'unfortunate accident?'" he added. Rep. Jeong called for the immediate resignation of Unification Minister Chu

Combined vehicle sales by Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia fell 1.7 percent in Europe last month from a year earlier, amid a lack of new models, industry data showed Thursday. Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 96,258 vehicles in the common market in September, down from 97,907 in the same one-month period in 2025, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). "The lack of new models, particularly electric vehicles, in Hyundai Motor's lineup affected its sales performance for the month," a company spokesperson said by phone. Hyundai Motor's sales fell 17.5 percent to 39,821 units from 48,253 a year earlier, while Kia's sales rose 13.7 percent to 56,437 units from 49,654. As emissions regulations in Europe become increasingly stringent, the two automakers are focusing on expanding sales of environmentally friendly vehicles, including the gasoline hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of Hyundai's Tucson, its all-electric Kona, and Kia's pure electric EV3 and Niro plug-in hybrid. Last month, Hyundai and Kia together accounted for 7.

Korea's semiconductor export boom, driven by global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, is expected to give private consumption a more meaningful boost starting next year, a central bank report showed Thursday. "Recently, the Korean economy has seen a significant acceleration in growth, driven by the strong semiconductor market, but the pace of growth in private consumption remains relatively modest," a report published by the Bank of Korea (BOK) said. Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 3.8 percent in the first half from a year earlier, while private consumption expanded 2.6 percent over the same period. The economic growth was supported by robust exports, led by strong semiconductor shipments. In September alone, exports soared 83.5 percent on-year to a record $120.9 billion, while semiconductor exports surged 263 percent to an all-time high of $60.3 billion. The BOK report said private consumption has continued to recover since hitting a low in the first quarter of 2025, with the strength and sustainability of the recovery depending on how broadly the benefits of the

South Korea plans to send a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) calling on North Korea to apologize for last month's land mine blast and take responsibility for its violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The South Korean military concluded the Sept. 21 blasts in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) were caused by North Korean mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The incidents injured three South Korean soldiers, two of them seriously. "The letter will explain that the blast was caused by land mines planted by North Korean troops in violation of the Armistice Agreement, demand an apology and responsible action from Pyongyang, and call for dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said during a regular press briefing. The letter will also seek to "draw attention to Pyongyang's recent attempts to characterize South Korean troops' legitimate military activities along the MDL as provocations and shift responsibility for rising tensions onto South Korea," P

Korean cosmetics and other beauty product companies will seek export deals at an annual industry exhibition that opened Thursday in North Chungcheong Province, the provincial government said. The Cosmetics & Beauty Expo Osong Korea 2026 that runs through Saturday is underway in Osong, a district of Cheongju, 83 kilometers south of Seoul. The event aims to connect local companies with international buyers, according to the provincial government. "We will help K-beauty products reach global markets and attract international buyers to North Chungcheong Province, a hub for the industry, to facilitate export deals," Gov. Shin Yong-han said. More than 250 companies are participating in the business-to-business (B2B)-focused event, held under the theme "K-Beauty Osong Seeks Growth Along With Global Partners," the provincial government said. This year's expo, the largest to date, will give local companies opportunities to expand into overseas markets while allowing visitors to experience K-beauty products, Jang Woo-sung, director general of the provincial government's bureau of biologics, food a

Three former officials convicted of forcibly repatriating North Korean fishermen in 2019 defended the move Thursday, describing it as a deportation of criminals. Chung Eui-yong, former national security adviser, Suh Hoon, former National Intelligence Service director, and Kim Yeon-chul, former unification minister, made the assertion in a statement issued a day after the Seoul High Court sentenced them to suspended prison terms for their involvement in the case. "The reality of this case is not a simple forced repatriation of North Korean defectors," the statement said. "It was a deportation measure against criminals who fled to the South after committing serious inhumane crimes." The three served in former President Moon Jae-in's administration in November 2019, when Seoul deported two North Korean fishermen back to North Korea after they were captured near the eastern maritime border. The fishermen had been accused of killing 16 crew members. The move sparked outcry from critics as the fishermen had expressed their intent to defect to South Korea, which maintains a policy of accepting

The presidential office on Thursday refuted media criticism that the chief of the new investigative body attending Cabinet meetings could compromise impartiality and independence in investigations. The response came amid growing media criticism after Kim Ji-yong, chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA), attended Tuesday's Cabinet meeting for the first time since taking office, despite the long-held practice of investigation chiefs not attending such meetings. In a social media post the previous day, President Lee Jae Myung said chiefs of all government institutions under his command could attend Cabinet meetings, but many media outlets pointed out that such a move could compromise the investigation chief's independence and impartiality in conducting investigations. "The government is strenuously working toward maintaining fairness and political neutrality in investigations and independence in indictments. This principle will remain unwavering going forward," Lee's senior secretary for the press, Seong Ghi-hong, told reporters. The official also made clear that no individua