Seoul

Seoul, South Korea – the capital of the nation with the world’s lowest fertility rate – launched a survey on Wednesday asking residents if they approved of an idea to pay 100 million won in cash (about $72,500) to parents for every baby their family welcomes.

South Korea seeks early renewal of a defense agreement, anticipating Donald Trump will return to office and demand much higher contributions.

South Korea’s demographic crisis is driven by the world’s lowest fertility rates, but there are problems on the other end of the life cycle as well.

South Korea on Tuesday held its first major military parade in a decade to celebrate its 75th Armed Forces Day and flex its defensive muscle against North Korea.

Seoul, South Korea, simultaneously hosted a “Queer Culture Festival” and a Christian “Awakening” concert, attracting tens of thousands of people this weekend, initially creating concerns of conflict but ultimately resulting in no reports of violence, no injuries, and no major contentious incidents.

Police in the South Korean city of Daegu on Saturday refused to carry out Mayor Hong Joon-pyo’s order to shut down an “unlawful” gay pride parade, prompting Hong to demand the police chief’s resignation.

Residents of Seoul were startled Wednesday morning by air raid sirens and mobile phone alerts telling them to prepare for evacuation.

Five North Korean drones crossed the border with South Korea on Monday, marking the first North Korean penetration of South Korea’s airspace since 2017.

Two American college students and 24 other foreigners were among the 153 confirmed deaths in a crowd surge at a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday night.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful and influential sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, threatened to use nuclear weapons against South Korea on Tuesday after South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook discussed his military’s ability to “accurately and swiftly” strike targets in the North.

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, narrow winner of the March 9 election, dispatched his transition team on Friday to scout two possible locations for his office and residence outside of Cheong Wa Dae, the “Blue House” where the president of the Republic of Korea traditionally resides.

Several small business owners in the South Korean national capital of Seoul left their shop lights on all night on Thursday to protest a state-mandated coronavirus curfew ordering small businesses nationwide, such as cafes and restaurants, to close by 9:00 p.m. each night, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported Friday.

The city of Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday filed a police complaint against members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) for holding an illegal demonstration that violated coronavirus social distancing policies.

In an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus, gyms in South Korea’s capital have banned the playing of fast music to prevent residents from sweating as much during their workout.

Cafe and gym owners in South Korea are filing separate lawsuits against the government this week seeking compensation for losses suffered under federally-mandated business shutdowns during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea’s ban last month on the launch of anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea was a “great mistake,” a former North Korean diplomat told Reuters on Monday.

South Korea will implement a new set of measures on Tuesday aimed at boosting the country’s fledgling birth rate, the country’s government announced on Tuesday.

The government of South Korea confirmed on Friday that it had received a letter from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un saying he was “immensely sorry” for the killing of a South Korean official reportedly found in the North’s water this week.

South Korea’s prime minister on Wednesday warned dissidents they face a “stern” response from authorities should they move forward with plans to stage massive anti-government rallies next month in the nation’s capital, Seoul. The rallies would defy a city-wide ban on large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea’s National Assembly decided Thursday to temporarily close after a journalist covering the ruling Democratic Party tested positive for coronavirus.

The Seoul city government said on Sunday it will take action against a conservative pastor accused of violating self-quarantine rules and obstructing authorities’ efforts to conduct contact tracing at a church where at least 319 new Chinese coronavirus cases have caused South Korea’s worst outbreak in over five months.

The U.S. ambassador to South Korea shaved off his mustache recently to stay “cool” during the country’s hot summer months after his controversial facial hair drew heat from anti-U.S. activists who claimed the mustache was a nod to former Japanese colonial rulers, Reuters reported on Monday.

A Monday press conference organized by women’s rights activists in Seoul revealed the details of allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Park Won-soon, the former mayor of Seoul. Park committed suicide last week amid rumors of the allegations.

The mayor of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, left a suicide note apologizing “to everyone” before disappearing Thursday, police revealed.

Police in South Korea confirmed on Thursday that the mayor of the nation’s capital, Seoul, had gone missing. Reports indicated that Park Won-soon had made cryptic goodbye statements to his family before vanishing on Thursday morning.

South Korea battles a new cluster of coronavirus cases spreading from the nightclubs of Itaewon, a district popular with the gay community.

Some South Korean officials on Monday asked for murder charges to be brought against Lee Man-hee, founder and leader of a religious sect called the Shincheonji Church, and 11 of his top followers because they spread the Wuhan coronavirus across the country and interfered with efforts to track infected persons. The government believes up to 60% of South Korea’s 4,335 coronavirus cases can be traced to the Shincheonji Church.

Thousands filled the streets of Seoul on Saturday night, carrying candles and signs of protest against Japan’s tighter trade restrictions on South Korea. More marches and rallies are planned every weekend as Liberation Day, the holiday commemorating the end of Japanese occupation in 1945, approaches on August 15.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myung-gyon expressed hope on Tuesday that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un will follow through on his promise to visit Seoul and make the trip a “stepping stone” to his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s third summit meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, held in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, produced an offer on Wednesday for Kim to visit South Korea “in the near future.”

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un met with a special delegation representing South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, continuing ongoing talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

The U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) said on Tuesday it had yet to receive any orders to cease military drills with South Korea following American President Donald Trump’s post-Singapore summit pledge to halt “war games” in the Korean peninsula.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon warned in remarks Wednesday that, despite continued planning for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, “quite significant” disagreements remain between the two sides.

Contents: Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean dictator’s sister, charms the Olympics; Kim Yo-jong returns to Pyongyang with fond memories and an invitation for Moon; Moon Jae-in faces some difficult decisions

South Korea’s Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon announced Wednesday that Seoul had agreed to allow a “massive delegation totaling between 400-500 people” from North Korea to attend this year’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Contents: Donald Trump in Seoul issues stern warning to North Korea — and to China; Trump’s speech targeted at China