Rita Freling, Recognized by BestAgents.us as a 2023 Top Agent.

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said Wednesday it has sent part of the results of its inspection into the state election watchdog to the special prosecutor team investigating ballot shortages in June's local elections. The BAI conducted a financial audit of the National Election Commission (NEC) from July 6 to Aug. 28 to look into whether there were any irregularities that could have contributed to the unprecedented shortages of voting papers in the June 3 elections. The results have not yet been made public. The data handed over to the independent counsel team involved six cases related to budget execution for major elections, including interference with bidding, unfair private contracts, and wrongful inspections, as they were deemed to require a swift investigation, the BAI said. The BAI did not disclose further details. The agency explained that it decided to share the data ahead of the official audit announcement because the special prosecutor team has only 150 days to investigate the case and related materials should be provided in time.

Korea, Britain, France and five other nations from Europe and the Indo-Pacific have warned that disruption of sea lanes, including the Strait of Hormuz, is unacceptable and vowed to stand together in addressing shared challenges, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. The foreign ministers and high-level representatives of the European and Indo-Pacific Partners (EIPP) — Korea, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland and Britain — made the call in a joint statement following a meeting in New York on Tuesday, according to the ministry. The meeting, the second of its kind, was held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly amid the prolonged conflict in the Middle East and growing disruptions to maritime security. "Disruption of sea lanes, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandab Strait, whether by force, threat or the introduction of unlawful tolls or conditions for transit, threatens security and prosperity of all, especially the world's most vulnerable, and are unacceptable," the statement said. "We call on all countries to speak out wh

The annual exodus for Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, began Wednesday as Koreans headed to their hometowns for family reunions and took trips during the extended holiday. This year's four-day Chuseok holiday runs from Thursday to Sunday. Traditionally, Koreans return to their hometowns during Chuseok to reunite with family members and pay respects at their ancestors' graves. Traffic congestion already began building on major expressways across the country on Wednesday afternoon, as Chuseok traffic increased, according to Korea Expressway Corp. The company said traffic would be heavier than usual Wednesday, with 6.13 million vehicles expected to be on the roads throughout the day. The company estimated that 510,000 vehicles would travel from the Seoul metropolitan area to other regions, while 450,000 would travel in the opposite direction. It expects the 420-kilometer drive from Seoul to the southeastern city of Busan, for instance, to take about seven hours and 30 minutes. An expressway trip from Seoul to the southwestern city of Gwangju would take six hours and 50 minutes

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul met with the top U.S. envoy to Korea on Wednesday to discuss key alliance issues, such as the wartime operational control (OPCON) transition and the relocation of a regional air base shared with U.S. forces, the defense ministry said. The meeting with U.S. Ambassador Michelle Steel follows Kang's swearing-in on Tuesday, as Washington and Seoul face a host of shared security issues, with the OPCON transition from the United States high on the agenda. "The two sides discussed key pending issues, including the OPCON transition and the Gwangju military airport (relocation), and agreed to closely communicate to advance bilateral alliance in a future-oriented and mutually beneficial manner," the ministry said in a release. Seoul is seeking to retake OPCON from Washington before the Lee Jae Myung administration's five-year term ends in 2030, or even as early as next year. However, concerns are growing over a divide between the allies regarding the transfer timeline, as Washington remains cautious about a rushed transition. The Lee government is also pushing to re

In an effort to curb market manipulation and enforce fair rules across all home buyers, land and transport officials in Korea have launched an expanded review of real estate transactions involving overseas capital. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday that it is currently investigating 840 residential and commercial property transactions conducted by foreign nationals between June 2025 and July 2026. The national inquiry, set to conclude in December, builds on regulatory measures first introduced in 2022 to prevent systemic loopholes that allow unverified foreign funds to bypass domestic lending limits and tax oversight. By expanding review parameters under a revised decree of the Real Estate Transactions Act, authorities are scrutinizing a broader dataset. Inspectors are now verifying whether purchase capital originated from foreign stock sales, cryptocurrency liquidations or overseas loans, while also cross-referencing visa categories to identify unauthorized rental businesses operated by short-term visitors. The crackdowns respond directly to public conce

Seoul Seobuk Hospital, a public health care hub in western Seoul's Eunpyeong District, transformed its wards into training grounds for international health officials this month, offering visiting delegations from Denmark and Kenya a firsthand look at Korea’s approaches to dementia care, tuberculosis control and palliative care. The hospital hosted Danish elder care policy experts on Sept. 10, followed by 17 Kenyan Ministry of Health officials on Sept. 17, as part of a series of exchanges focused on public health care in Seoul. The Danish delegation examined Seobuk Hospital’s dementia ward, including its admission procedures, caregiver-support rooms, nonpharmacological treatment programs and links between discharged patients and community services. The delegation included Danish elder care policy expert Dr. Jacob Høj Jørgensen, whose name has also appeared in recent Korean reports on Danish elder care policy, along with other officials. Visitors toured the ward’s central garden, Snoezelen multisensory room, patient rooms and program spaces and observed a music-based care program,

A special counsel team has challenged the acquittal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol of charges that he committed perjury during the insurrection trial of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, legal sources said Wednesday. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team filed an appeal with the Seoul High Court the previous day, six days after its appellate bench ruled that Yoon did not provide false testimony during a November hearing when he stated he had intended to hold a Cabinet meeting prior to declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. The ruling was consistent with a lower court's decision. Cho's team had charged Yoon with perjury over his testimony, arguing he initially summoned only six Cabinet members before changing his mind to satisfy the legal quorum for a full Cabinet meeting at Han's suggestion. The team had sought a 10 million-won ($7,399) fine for Yoon. The appellate court, however, sided with the former president, concluding that evidence suggested Yoon had intended to invite additional Cabinet members independently of Han's proposal.

A petition calling for an end to visa-free entry for Chinese nationals and tighter screening for all noncitizens has garnered more than 90,000 signatures. The petition, posted on the National Assembly website on Aug. 31, has now been referred to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee after surpassing the 50,000-signature threshold required for parliamentary review. As of Wednesday, it had received 92,000 signatures. The petition urges the government to abolish visa-free entry for Chinese nationals. The issue has drawn attention to Jeju’s separate visa-waiver program, which has been in place since 2002. “Promoting tourism and generating economic benefits are important, but they cannot take precedence over the lives and safety of the public. If visa-free entry is permitted, safeguards must be put in place to prevent blind spots that could make it difficult to adequately verify visitors’ identities and assess potential criminal risks before they enter the country,” said the petitioner. The petition also asks authorities to tighten entry screening for all foreign citizens, calling f

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae on Wednesday rejected the presidential office's claim of a procedural flaw in the nomination of a top court justice, a day after refusing a request to make a new recommendation. Last month, Cheong Wa Dae asked Cho to recommend a new candidate after taking issue with his written recommendation of one of two Supreme Court justice nominees to President Lee Jae Myung. Cho said Tuesday that he could not comply with the request, citing a lack of specific reasons or constitutional grounds to do so. He clarified his stance in a statement Wednesday after his comments sparked varying interpretations. "Clear grounds and reasoning must be presented in the text of the official document so that there is no dispute in its validity and to proceed in accordance with the Constitution and the law," he said. "The reason for a procedural flaw in the nomination process, as reported by media, is difficult to accept when viewed in terms of the Constitution and legal regulations." Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung earlier said the presidential office requested a new re

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul visited a military hospital Wednesday to console two Army soldiers injured in a suspected land mine explosion inside the inter-Korean border, the defense ministry said. The minister met with the wounded officers and their families at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, following Monday's blast that severed the ankle of a battalion commander and fractured the ankle of a noncommissioned officer. Expressing his deep sympathies, Kang praised the soldiers as "true heroes" who put themselves in harm's way to protect their fellow service members, and promised the government's full support for their medical treatment and recovery, the ministry said. The victims — a lieutenant colonel and a sergeant first class of the 25th Infantry Division — were caught in the blast south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. They were clearing a path for a U.N. Command inspection on North Korea's border-hardening measures, such as mine-laying and fencing, which was set to begin ear

The appearance of a shark drew crowds to a waterfront park in Busan should be seen as a serious warning about rising sea temperatures, not just an inadvertent tourist attraction, Korea's Green Party said. The party criticized public fascination with the shark, which has remained in the waters around North Port Waterfront Park since Sept. 18, saying its unusual appearance was being treated merely as entertainment. In a commentary titled "The shark came to warn us" released Tuesday, the Green Party took aim at the attention surrounding the animal. "Major media outlets are making a fuss about North Port becoming a new 'hot spot,' with more than four times the usual number of visitors, while some people on social media are cheering that 'a shark aquarium has opened in Busan' and calling the shark 'Bukangi,'" the party said. The nickname "Bukangi" combines the Korean name for the area with a suffix commonly used in Korean nicknames. The Green Party said the shark's appearance was linked to rising sea temperatures off Busan. "The appearance of a subtropical shark in Busan's waters is believed to

Two consecutive explosions occurred in the suspected landmine blast that critically injured two South Korean soldiers inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) earlier this week, with forensic analysis under way into collected mine fragments, a military official said Wednesday. Authorities are investigating Monday's blast that occurred south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the DMZ separating the two Koreas, as speculation grows over potential North Korean involvement. Military officials have confirmed that one battalion commander suffered a severe injury to his ankle, with a noncommissioned officer sustaining a leg fracture. They were clearing a path for a U.N. Command (UNC) inspection on North Korea's suspected mine-laying activities, originally set for early next week. "Two explosions occurred in total. Around 10:50 a.m., a staff sergeant was injured in the first blast, while the battalion commander was injured in a second blast that occurred when he approached the staff sergeant to administer first aid at the scene," a military official told reporters, citing initial statement