Parties clash over secret repatriation of North Korean POWs from Ukraine

The Korea Times - Sep 25, 2026

Ruling and opposition parties clashed over the government’s decision to keep the repatriation of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) from Ukraine confidential. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy disclosed the arrangement, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) questioned whether Seoul had been too concerned about provoking Pyongyang. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) defended the decision, saying it was necessary to protect the two men and safeguard national security. President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over Kyiv’s disclosure, saying Zelenskyy had broken a bilateral agreement to keep the transfer confidential. Lee also criticized opposition politicians for questioning the government's decision, saying those who jeopardize lives and national security for the sake of taking credit are "murderers and traitors." DPK spokesperson Shin Hyun-young defended the government's approach, saying its priority was to protect the two former North Korean soldiers. "(President Zelenskyy's disclosure) was an act that betrayed trust between the two countries and was d

Read full article

More News

Why US deal on Greenland could narrow China’s Arctic engagement

Why US deal on Greenland could narrow China’s Arctic engagement

The new US-Denmark-Greenland security agreement could narrow China’s room to engage in the Arctic – particularly in resource-rich Greenland – and potentially push Beijing closer to Russia, Chinese experts on the matter said. According to observers, the deal – signed on Tuesday – could have the broader effect of accelerating the securitisation of the Arctic and making Western Arctic states more cautious about cooperation with China. But it would be unlikely to significantly disrupt China’s...

District councillor Peggy Wong resigns amid proxy-vote claims after Tai Po blaze

District councillor Peggy Wong resigns amid proxy-vote claims after Tai Po blaze

Hong Kong district councillor Peggy Wong Pik-kiu has resigned from office and several other community roles citing health reasons, following mounting controversy over her team’s alleged proxy-vote collection before last year’s fatal Wang Fuk Court inferno. Wong, a directly elected district councillor for the Tai Po South constituency, also stepped down from her duties as a member of the Tai Po South Area Committee and captain of the Tai Po Kwong Fuk and Plover Cove subdistrict care team. The...

Woman arrested over child abuse in Hong Kong after dashcam video shows boy shoved

Woman arrested over child abuse in Hong Kong after dashcam video shows boy shoved

A 44-year-old woman in Hong Kong has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse after dashcam footage appeared to show her shoving a boy into a roadside railing. A police force spokesman said on Saturday that the woman was arrested on Friday afternoon in Western district after a widely circulated dashcam video drew the force’s attention. In the video seen by the South China Morning Post, the woman gets out of a private car at a section of Wan Chai Road near Burrows Street, with a boy following...

Mid-Autumn light show in Yuen Long panned online over stench and execution

Mid-Autumn light show in Yuen Long panned online over stench and execution

A government-hosted Mid-Autumn Festival light show at a nullah in Hong Kong has sparked widespread online criticism, with revellers complaining of foul smells and poor execution. Attendees posted their reviews on social media on Saturday after the opening night of the two-day “Yuen Long Flood Barrier and Nullah Improvement Scheme – Mid-Autumn Light Show” organised by the Drainage Services Department. The event was billed as an inaugural initiative to transform the Yuen Long nullah into a...

UpperClass bets on peer trust to reshape international student recruitment

UpperClass bets on peer trust to reshape international student recruitment

When Dutch entrepreneur Mark Balneger first arrived in Korea as an exchange student in 2011, he didn't plan on building a career here — much less raising a family. But Korea kept drawing him back. After returning for summer school in 2013 and a working holiday in 2015, Balneger launched his own business in Seoul in 2016 through the Seoul Global Startup Center. He later worked in the Korean entertainment industry before leaving the country to complete his degree and care for his father, who had cancer. He returned in 2020. Today, he lives in Busan with his Korean wife and their two children. Now, his latest venture is bringing together two parts of his experience: his life as a foreign national in Korea and his work in technology and digital marketing. Balneger co-founded UpperClass with Rodel Sta. Ana, an entrepreneur who previously held an early leadership role at ApplyBoard, one of the world's leading international student recruitment platforms. Drawing on their combined experience, the pair believes universities already possess their most valuable recruitment asset: their own student

Number of foreigners in Korea reaches 2.8 million in August

Number of foreigners in Korea reaches 2.8 million in August

The number of foreign nationals in Korea reached 2.87 million last month, up 5.3 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Saturday. As of end-August, long-term foreign residents stood at 2.25 million, while those on short-term stays, including tourists, came to 629,406, according to immigration data from the justice ministry. By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for the largest share of 34.6 percent, or 995,562 people, followed by Vietnamese at 383,244 and Americans at 181,325. While the total number of foreign nationals rose from 2.73 million in August 2025, last month's figure marked a decline from 2.9 million in July. Among the 1.64 million registered foreign nationals in Korea, 51.5 percent of them lived in the greater Seoul area, followed by 21.3 percent in the southeastern provinces of North and South Gyeongsang. The number of foreigners has steadily risen since 2021 when the figure dropped below 2 million amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highways congested on Chuseok holiday as people return home

Highways congested on Chuseok holiday as people return home

Major roads and expressways were congested across Korea on Saturday, the third day of the Chuseok holiday, as people headed home after family reunions in their hometowns. As of 1 p.m., travel times to Seoul from the southeastern city of Busan were estimated at seven hours and 50 minutes, six hours and 50 minutes from Mokpo, six hours and 50 minutes from Daegju, and six hours and 30 minutes from the southwestern city of Gwangju, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. This year's holiday for Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, runs from Thursday to Sunday. The holiday is marked by visits to hometowns, family reunions, ancestral rites and traditional holiday foods. Expressways heading to Seoul began being clogged early Saturday, but traffic in the opposition direction somewhat eased. As of 1 p.m., trips from Seoul to Busan were estimated to take five hours and 30 minutes, and three hours and 20 minutes to Gwangju. The state-run company said congestion was expected to peak between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and ease between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Sunday. An estimated 5.9 million vehicles were e

JYP founder to face National Assembly scrutiny over 'Korean Coachella' trademark

JYP founder to face National Assembly scrutiny over 'Korean Coachella' trademark

Park Jin-young, founder and chief producer of JYP Entertainment, is expected to be called to testify at a National Assembly audit over his company's move to secure trademark rights to Fanomenon, a government-backed large-scale K-pop event. Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the main opposition People Power Party said she plans to summon Park, who also serves as co-chair of the presidential committee on popular culture exchange, to explain why his company applied for the trademark rights and how they would ultimately be transferred. "The committee said the rights would later be transferred to the entity responsible for organizing the event," Bae wrote in a social media post Tuesday. "But it remains unclear why it was handled that way in the first place, when the rights will be transferred and whether the arrangement was properly reviewed," Bae said. "It has become unavoidable for us to call Park to testify at the National Assembly audit." Fanomenon, billed as Korea's answer to Coachella, is a global K-pop event being jointly organized by the presidential committee and major entertainment agencies. Sched

Number of int'l flight passengers up 10% this year despite hikes in oil prices

Number of int'l flight passengers up 10% this year despite hikes in oil prices

The number of international flight passengers using Korean airports rose around 10 percent in the January-August period from a year earlier despite a sharp rise in oil prices, data showed Saturday. A total of 68.44 million people used international flights in the first eight months of the year, up 9.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the airport portal information system of the transportation ministry. Experts said the yen's weakness and China's visa-free program for Korean nationals helped boost demand for flights to and from Japan and China. The number of travelers using Incheon International Airport, Korea's main gateway, for transit also increased amid the Middle East war. By destination, the number of travelers using flights linking Korea and Japan rose 20.3 percent on-year to 21.3 million in the cited period, and the number using China flight routes increased 23 percent to 13.6 million. Meanwhile, the number of passengers using flights to and from Southeast Asian nations markedly declined, the data showed. The number of travelers using flights linking Korea

'I feel sorry toward my parents': Youth job market remains a needle's eye

'I feel sorry toward my parents': Youth job market remains a needle's eye

Koo, 28, who works on a contract basis at a large company, is growing anxious as the end of his contract approaches. Since his position does not offer the possibility of becoming a regular employee, he knows he must secure a job during the second half of this year. Until now, he has applied only to companies he really wanted to work for, but he is now prepared to consider any employer, including startups. “From what I can tell, the number of job postings this year seems to have fallen by half compared with last year,” Koo said. “I hate being compared with my cousins who have already found jobs, and I feel sorry toward my parents, so I don't want to go home for Chuseok.” For young people preparing for employment, Chuseok is not necessarily a welcome holiday. While Korea's economy is said to have recorded its highest-ever growth rate, driven by semiconductor exports, the gateway to employment for young people has narrowed to a gap smaller than the eye of a needle, leaving them reluctant to face their families. According to government data, the August employment rate among people ag

Domestic violence reports surge over 44% during Chuseok holiday

Domestic violence reports surge over 44% during Chuseok holiday

Daily reports of domestic violence spiked by nearly 45 percent during last year's Chuseok holiday compared to an ordinary day — a pattern that has grown more pronounced each year since 2021, with authorities on heightened alert for this year's holiday. According to data from the National Police Agency obtained by Rep. Kim Yea-ji of the People Power Party, police received 8,017 domestic violence reports via the 112 emergency hotline during the seven-day Chuseok holiday from Oct. 3-9 last year. That translates to a daily average of 1,145 reports during the holiday period, 44.5 percent higher than the typical daily average of 792. Police received a total of 289,368 domestic violence reports throughout the year. During the Chuseok holiday, the daily average rose from 914 reports in 2021 to 915 in 2022, 937 in 2023 and 1,049 in 2024, before reaching 1,145 last year. In total, police received 4,568 reports over the five-day holiday in 2021, 3,660 over four days in 2022, 5,623 over six days in 2023 and 5,246 over five days in 2024. Amid this continued increase, police plan to strengthen protec

8 in 10 Korean social media users want AI content labels, citing distrust

8 in 10 Korean social media users want AI content labels, citing distrust

More than eight in 10 social media users in Korea said artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content and advertisements should be clearly labeled, reflecting growing discomfort over material that can appear artificial, misleading or difficult to verify. In a survey released Saturday by research firm Opensurvey, 85.6 percent of 900 YouTube, Instagram and TikTok users said social media platforms should disclose whether content was made using AI. Among respondents, 54.1 percent said such labeling was “absolutely necessary.” Support for disclosure was high across all three platforms: 88 percent among YouTube users, 85.3 percent among Instagram users and 83.3 percent among TikTok users. Nearly half of respondents, 49.9 percent, said AI-generated content felt artificial or awkward. Another 39 percent said they questioned whether its information was factual, while 33.8 percent said undisclosed AI use made them feel deceived. Only 11.4 percent described AI content as creative, 10.4 percent called it interesting and 9.6 percent said it felt new. The skepticism also extended to advertising. Am

Recommended

Asia Viral News

Asia Viral News features the latest and most trending news from Asia. Get ready to immerse yourself in the daily engaging topics with share-worthy news only in Asia Viral News.

ABOUT US
Newsletter

Copyright © 2015 - 2026 Asia Viral News. All Rights Reserved.