Trump announces Alaska LNG project as part of Korea's investment plans

The Korea Times - Oct 1, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled South Korea's U.S. investment projects under last year's bilateral trade agreement: the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Texas, eight large-scale nuclear power plants and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska. The announcement followed protracted negotiations over major energy infrastructure projects under the agreement that committed South Korea to investing US$350 billion in the United States -- $150 billion for the shipbuilding sector and the remainder for strategic investments -- in return for lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods. Trump's explanation of the first investment package under the agreement suggested apparent differences with Seoul's position that the two countries have largely agreed on the Texas and nuclear projects, while Korea's participation in the Alaska project has yet to be finalized. Trump highlighted the investment projects as he has underscored his economic achievements ahead of the November midterm elections amid public concerns over the monthslong war with Iran that has resulted in high energ

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Poll finds prosecutors trusted more than police

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Seoul city urges gov't to slash red tape stifling culture and tourism

Seoul city urges gov't to slash red tape stifling culture and tourism

Seoul city officials have formally petitioned the central government to dismantle three bureaucratic hurdles that they argue are stalling the capital’s push to become a top-tier global cultural and tourism hub. The proposal, submitted Thursday by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to the Office for Government Coordination, targets outdated administrative requirements spanning international concert permits, online hotel verification and virtual reality content classification. Municipal leaders argue these rules impose unnecessary delays on local creative industries and undermine tourist trust. At the center of the push is a long-standing mandate requiring pre-approval from the Korea Media Rating Board for any live show featuring non-Korean performers. Under current law, even a single foreign guest artist on stage subjects the entire event to review, punishable by up to three years in prison or fines reaching 30 million won ($22,077). While intended to police foreign performers, the rule routinely entangles classical, traditional Korean music and K-pop concerts. Officials pointed out tha

President keeps NK dialogue push amid DMZ mine dispute

President keeps NK dialogue push amid DMZ mine dispute

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Seoul prepares for driverless future with 500 autonomous buses by 2030

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President appoints economic growth secretary as new policy chief

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University of Seoul's Extracurricular Festa offers hands-on extracurricular experiences

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Court dismisses request to remove statue of ex-President Park Chung-hee in Daegu

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A regional court on Thursday dismissed a request to remove a statue of late former President Park Chung-hee installed outside a train station in the southeastern city of Daegu. The Daegu District Court dismissed the case filed by the Korea National Railway, a state-owned rail infrastructure management company, against the Daegu metropolitan government, some 21 months after the statue was erected on the plaza outside Dongdaegu Station. The railway corporation had argued that the municipal government installed the statue on state-owned property without proper prior consultation. The city government countered that it holds lawful administrative authority over the plaza and that targeting Park's statue while permitting other structures on the site was unfair. The statue was erected under former conservative Mayor Hong Joon-pyo as a tribute to the former conservative leader, who ruled the country for 18 years following a 1961 military coup until his assassination in 1979. Its presence has divided activists and the local community as conservatives praise Park for driving the nation's rapid indu

WINNER's Song Min-ho gets suspended prison term for negligence in mandatory service

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Lee's approval rating remains unchanged at 43%: poll

Lee's approval rating remains unchanged at 43%: poll

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating remained unchanged at a record low of 43 percent this week, a poll showed Thursday. In a National Barometer Survey (NBS) conducted from Monday to Wednesday, Lee's disapproval rating rose 2 percentage points to 50 percent from the previous poll conducted three weeks earlier. It marked Lee's highest disapproval rating in an NBS poll. When asked about the direction of state affairs, 43 percent said the Lee administration was heading in the right direction, while 50 percent said it was moving in the wrong direction. Support for the ruling Democratic Party fell 4 percentage points to 35 percent, while backing for the main opposition People Power Party stood unchanged from the previous survey at 25 percent. The poll, conducted on 1,000 people aged 18 and older, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

Gender ministry to focus on tangible improvements for everyday life

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S. Korea ordered to pay nearly $50 mil. to Elliott over Samsung merger case

S. Korea ordered to pay nearly $50 mil. to Elliott over Samsung merger case

South Korea has been ordered to pay nearly $50 million in compensation to U.S. hedge fund Elliott Investment Management over the 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, the justice ministry said Thursday. An international tribunal ordered the South Korean government Wednesday to pay $48.49 million in damages to Elliott over a dispute stemming from the controversial merger, according to the ministry. The ministry did not give figures for other costs also ordered by the tribunal, including delayed interest. The tribunal recognized a causal relationship between Seoul's intervention for the approval of the merger of Samsung C&T Corp. and Cheil Industries Co. and losses to Elliott, it said. A tribunal administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration had ordered Seoul to pay the same amount in damages in an earlier decision in 2023, the ministry said. Following Wednesday's ruling, Elliott welcomed the decision in a release, noting the tribunal granted about $113 million, including damages, interest and other costs. Elliott filed the case in 2018 seeking compensation of $770 million over losses

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