South Korea

Yonhap | English | News | Nov. 20, 2025 | North Korea

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun emphasized that achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is an "imperative" that must never be abandoned. In a keynote speech delivered at the Seoul Diplomacy Forum 2025, Cho reaffirmed South Korea's commitment to preventing the peninsula from becoming a flashpoint of armed conflict and outlined the government's goal of phased denuclearization—beginning with halting North Korea's nuclear build-up, followed by reduction and eventual dismantlement.

Cho highlighted the need to strengthen South Korea’s defense capabilities against North Korean threats while simultaneously pursuing efforts to prevent unintended conflicts, reduce tensions, and restore dialogue with Pyongyang. He acknowledged the increasingly complex strategic environment caused by heightened geopolitical and geoeconomic competition, as well as growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

Additionally, Cho stressed the importance of promoting peaceful coexistence beyond the Korean Peninsula and urged efforts to avoid the solidification of confrontational blocs in the region. He pledged to advance trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, as well as among South Korea, China, and Japan, in pursuit of regional stability.

Korea Herald | English | News | Nov. 20, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

The decision by South Korea's prosecution to drop its appeal in the high-profile Daejang-dong corruption case has escalated into a significant political and judicial crisis. The opposition conservative People Power Party accuses the Justice Ministry of interfering with judicial independence and protecting President Lee Jae Myung, who has been politically shadowed by the case for years. Party leaders held rallies demanding the resignation of Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho and Vice Minister Lee Jin-su, accusing them of pressuring prosecutors and trivializing wrongdoing that caused substantial taxpayer losses.

Internal dissent within the prosecution followed the appeal withdrawal. The head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, Jung Jin-woo, and several other senior prosecutors resigned, protesting the acting Prosecutor General Noh Man-seok’s handling of the decision. Noh admitted consulting Justice Minister Jung before finalizing the appeal drop and resigned days later. Additional resignations among prosecutors are anticipated, while the Justice Ministry reportedly plans to reassign protesting prosecutors to lower-ranking positions, a move seen as punitive and unprecedented within the prosecution service.

The scandal dates back to a 2015 redevelopment project in Daejang-dong, Seongnam, where a disproportionate share of profits was awarded to politically connected private firms, despite minimal financial contribution. Prosecutors claimed the municipal developer was entitled to significantly higher profits. Several individuals received prison sentences for breach of trust. However, the court ruled against recognizing the charges as aggravated economic crimes, and by dropping the appeal, prosecutors lost the chance to challenge this, limiting the potential legal consequences. This ruling narrows liability for defendants, including President Lee, particularly affecting related cases after his term.

'해킹 은폐 의혹' 휘말린 KT, 경찰 압수수색 돌입

ET News | Local Language | News | Nov. 20, 2025 | Cyber Attacks and Data Loss

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit conducted search-and-seizure operations on November 19, 2025, at KT’s Pangyo and Bangbae buildings. These offices house KT’s IT division and its IT services subsidiary, KT DS. About 20 investigators are examining offices to determine if KT intentionally disposed of servers to conceal evidence related to a hacking incident.

Suspicions arose after the U.S. security outlet Prack reported in August that KT server certificates may have been leaked. KT initially claimed that discarded servers were outdated equipment related to a remote consultation system and had been removed during a cloud transition. However, backup logs indicating otherwise surfaced. A joint investigation team from the Ministry of Science and ICT accused KT of obstructing the government investigation by discarding servers showing certificate leakage and hiding backup logs, prompting a request for a formal investigation.

Police reportedly filed charges against KT’s Chief Information Security Officer, Hwang Tae-seon, for obstruction of official duties by deception. Hwang is under scrutiny and may be a target in the ongoing searches, which could also expand to KT’s Gwanghwamun West building due to recent IT team relocations. KT has stated it is currently assessing the situation.