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Children of chaebol families under probe for narcotics use South Korea is no longer a drug-free country. The number of drug offenders sharply increased to 12,613 last year from 9,174 in 2011, according to the prosecution. Police also said a nationwide crackdown on drug users and traffickers over the past month yielded 523 arrests. Police seized 517.2kg of narcotics last year, ..

Ruling party should heed negative public sentiment The by-elections Wednesday left nothing for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to cheer about as it failed to win a parliamentary seat. The by-elections, viewed as a test of public sentiment toward the Moon Jaein administration, were held to pick two lawmakers and three local councilors. The main opposition Liberty Kor..

South Korea is reviewing whether to designate eastern areas engulfed by a recent blaze as a special disaster zone to provide state support for damage recovery, the prime minister said Saturday. The government declared a state of national disaster Friday over the blaze in the border town of Goseong and its neighboring cities as the country is grappling to cope with the worst wi..

North Korean leader Kim Jongun is likely to visit Russia in the near future following an invitation from President Vladimir Putin. "Our invitation has been handed over," Russia's TASS news agency quoted Kremlin presidential aide Yuri Ushako as saying, Wednesday. "The dates will be agreed on. We are awaiting our North Korean counterparts' response." As usual, the North has yet ..

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the leftist Justice Party each won one parliamentary seat in Wednesday's by-elections, in what could be a barometer of public sentiment ahead of next year's general elections. The elections were held to pick two lawmakers and three local councilors in three provinces, including South Gyeongsang Province in the country's southea..

Cultural tradition allegedly exploiting animals is locking horns with campaigns to protect animals from cruelty here, after a local council decided not to fund the region's long-running bullfighting event. According to the Jeongeup City Council in North Jeolla Province, Tuesday, it has decided not to earmark 114 million won ($100,000) in supplementary budget, requested by the ..

The state-run human rights watchdog is set to add a non-binary gender option in official petition documents in a move to embrace lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) will be the first government organization to offer a gender-neutral option in official papers. "After recently receiving a petition urging u..

Public attention has been recently focused on the abuse of propofol, an anesthetic drug, after police said they were looking into allegations that Lee Boojin, Hotel Shilla CEO and daughter of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kunhee, was given the drug regularly at a plastic surgery clinic in southern Seoul. Gangnam Police Station and district health authorities inspected the clinic ..

KT should explain suspicions about unjustifiable lobbying A governing party lawmaker has recently accused KT Corp. of operating a de facto lobby team of politically influential figures after its chairman, Hwang Changgyu, took office in 2014. According to ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Rhee Cheolhee, Sunday, the mobile carrier paid around 2 billion won ($17.6 million) to..

Asiana Airlines chief takes responsibility for accounting malpractice Kumho-Asiana Group Chairman Park Samkoo resigned from key managerial posts Thursday, holding himself responsible for the recent controversy over an audit report for Asiana Airlines. Park had bet all on improving the flag carrier's financial structure through a self-rescue plan. Then came the audit report poi..