• 
  Seoul mayor slams government housing curbs, demands regulatory relief SEOUL, December 14 (AJP) - Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Sunday lambasted the government's Oct. 15 real estate regulations, accusing policymakers of crushing ordinary citizens' homeownership aspirations and urging an immediate rollback of lending restrictions and redevelopment controls. "The most ordinary yet desperate dream of owning a home is being trampled under the Oct. 15 measures," Oh said in a Facebook post. "The government must no longer turn a blind eye t December 14, 2025
• 
  "Like deciphering ancient script", Korea's English exam stuns Western media SEOUL, December 14 (AJP) -South Korea’s notoriously punishing college entrance exam has once again drawn global attention—this time not only for its difficulty, but for the language used by Western media to describe it. Following widespread backlash over this year’s English section of the Suneung, the country’s high-stakes college entrance exam, the head of the testing authority resigned, acknowledging that the questions were excessively difficult. Th December 14, 2025
• 
  Gwangju library construction site death toll in Korea confirmed at 4 SEOUL, December 14 (AJP) -The final missing worker in a deadly construction accident at a public library site in Gwangju was found dead Saturday, bringing the total death toll to four, authorities said. The body of a 58-year-old worker, identified only by his surname Kim, was recovered at around 11:20 a.m., two days after part of the structure collapsed during construction. Earlier Saturday, another worker, surnamed Ko, was found dead at around 1:03 a.m. Two others were confirmed December 14, 2025
• 
  Year-end office drinking binges quietly disappear in Korea SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - December used to mean one thing at Korean companies: mandatory year-end dinners, overflowing soju bottles and long nights that spilled into second and third rounds. This winter, that ritual is quietly fading. Rising dining costs and MZ workers' allergy to after-work obligations have thinned corporate calendars, leaving December unusually light — and restaurants unusually empty. At a fried chicken pub near Gwanghwamun, the year-end peak barely December 12, 2025
• 
  Lee pushes for speedy construction of presidential office in Sejong SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung on Friday expressed hope for the speedy construction of a new presidential office in the administrative city of Sejong, scheduled for completion by 2030, saying he wants to "retire from there." Speaking at a briefing by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Lee expressed hope to expedite its timeline if possible, saying, "Otherwise, I would barely be able to use it." During his election campaig December 12, 2025
• 
  Korea beats European powers to rank 7th most powerful country SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) -South Korea ranked as the world’s seventh-most powerful country in 2025, surpassing European heavyweights such as France and Italy, according to the latest CEOWORLD Magazine assessment — a result that highlights the country’s expanding influence, increasingly driven by soft power alongside industrial and strategic strength. The 2025 ranking underscores a central reality of global order: a small group of states continues to set the pace f December 12, 2025
• 
  K-literature pipeline filled with next Han Kang candidates SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - Han Kang's 2024 Nobel Prize has helped revive an almost-dead reading, literature and publishing community. Bookstores have regained life, and this year’s pipeline is rich with hopes of sustaining the Han Kang momentum. AJP introduces three potential post-Han candidates whose translated works have drawn overseas attention after publication and gained critical acclaim through major awards. Chung Bora “My grandfather used to say, ‘ December 12, 2025
• 
  Two workers still missing after construction site collapse in Gwangju SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - Rescue workers have been searching for missing workers on Friday after a steel structure collapsed at a construction site in the southwestern city of Gwangju the previous day. The collapse occurred at the site for a library, leaving four workers trapped under the debris. Two of them were found dead and two others remain missing. Authorities believe the collapse started while concrete was being poured on the second-floor roof, burying the workers under December 12, 2025
• 
  USFK chief warns against rushing wartime control transfer SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), on Friday stressed the importance of meeting conditions for the transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul from Washington rather than rushing to it. Speaking at an online seminar hosted by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation and the Korea Defense Veterans Association, Brunson said, "We cannot say we're going to slide away from the conditions just so that we can get this done i December 12, 2025
• 
  Over 100 South Koreans brought home from Cambodia over online scams SEOUL, December 12 (AJP) - The government has brought back some 107 South Korean suspects allegedly involved in online scam crimes in Cambodia, the presidential office said on Friday. During a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said a sweeping crackdown has been conducted in cooperation with the Southeast Asian country since October, making it possible to bring them back. The efforts were made following revelations of a series of kidnappings, detentions and bru December 12, 2025