SEONGNAM, South Korea, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean singer-actress Sulli was found dead at a residence in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Monday, police said. The 25-year-old, whose legal name is Choi Jin-ri, was found dead by her agent at around 3:21 p.m. at a two-story house in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, according to the police. Her agent reported the case to the police. Sulli, who debuted as a member of the girl group f(x), suspended her career in 2014 after suffering from malicious online comments and rumors. She resumed her career the following year to focus on acting but left the group.

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(ATTN: UPDATES with details throughout) SEONGNAM, South Korea, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean singer-actress Sulli was found dead at a residence in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Monday, police said. The 25-year-old, whose legal name is Choi Jin-ri, was found dead by her agent at around 3:21 p.m. at a two-story house in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, according to police. Police are investigating to determine the cause of her death on the assumption that she may have taken her own life. No suicide note has been found so far. "Choi seemed to have lived alone in the house. It seems that she took her own life but we are also looking into other possibilities," a police official said. Sulli debuted as an actress in 2005. In 2009, she began her K-pop career as a member of the girl group f(x), produced by SM Entertainment. She suspended her career in 2014 after suffering from malicious comments and rumors online but resumed activities the following year focused on acting. Sh

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(ATTN: ADDS photo, more info in paras 4, 10-16) SEONGNAM, South Korea, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean singer-actress Sulli, who suffered from online abuse, was found dead at a residence south of Seoul on Monday, police said. The body of the 25-year-old, whose legal name is Choi Jin-ri, was found by her agent at around 3:21 p.m. at a two-story house in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, according to police. Police are investigating to determine the cause of her death on the assumption that she may have taken her own life. A handwritten memo by her was found but police said it is not a suicide note. "Choi seemed to have lived alone in the house. It seems that she took her own life but we are also looking into other possibilities," a police official said. Sulli debuted as an actress in 2005. In 2009, she began her K-pop career as a member of the girl group f(x), produced by SM Entertainment. She suspended her career in 2014 after suffering from malicious comments and r

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SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will come under the indirect influence of Typhoon Hagibis, the season's 19th typhoon, over the weekend, which will bring strong winds to the southern regions of the country, the weather agency said Friday. Typhoon Hagibis is expected to affect areas including the southern resort island of Jeju and South Jeolla Province on Saturday, the Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. Many regions in the south will experience winds of up to 12 to 18 meters per second. Some areas of Gangwon and South Gyeongsang provinces could see wind speeds of up to 35 meters per second, it added. "Over the weekend, hikers and travelers to eastern and southern seasides must take extra precautions and be prepared for strong gusts and dangerous tides," KMA said. colin@yna.co.kr

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SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who was widely seen as the key man to push ahead with the president's prosecution reform drive, announced his resignation on Monday. "I was mere 'kindling' for reforming the prosecution. My role as 'kindling' has come to an end," Cho said in a statement. The surprise announcement comes roughly a month after Cho, who previously served as a senior presidential aide for civil affairs, was appointed justice minister. Just a few hours earlier, Cho held his second-ever press briefing as a justice minister on measures to reform the prosecution. Cho mentioned the ongoing probes over corruption allegations involving his family. "I felt apologetic to the people regarding ongoing probes over my family, but put in my best each day as justice minister to reform the prosecution. But now my role has come to an end," he said. "Now I hope to put everything down and take care of my family, who are going through the

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HWASEONG, South Korea, Oct. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea men's national football team head coach Paulo Bento said Wednesday his players should not let their guards down against Sri Lanka even if the opponents are considered underdogs. South Korea, 37th in the latest FIFA rankings, will take on 202nd-ranked Sri Lanka at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday. It will be South Korea's second match in Group H in the second round of the Asian qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. South Korea defeated Turkmenistan 2-0 on Sept. 10. Although many predict South Korea will win big against Sri Lanka, Bento said he is not buying into the hype. "Whenever we meet weaker opponents, people predict that we'll collect a win with many goals, but in modern football, this is not always the case," Bento said at a press conference. "Whomever we face, we have to respect our opponents. Our goal is to maintain our playing style and get

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SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- The United States flew E-8C surveillance aircraft over areas near the Korean Peninsula, an aviation tracker said Thursday, on an apparent mission to collect intelligence regarding North Korea. Two E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan's Okinawa on Sunday "to resume missions over the Korean Peninsula," Aircraft Spots said in a Twitter post. The aircraft flew over Japan on Wednesday and took off from the base again later in the day for a "Korean Peninsula mission," the tracker said. It was unclear whether both of the two E-8C planes were involved in the mission. It is the first time that the U.S. has dispatched the surveillance aircraft to the base in Japan since early 2018, though the U.S. has often flown its reconnaissance plane, an RC-135W Rivet Joint, over Seoul and surrounding areas recently more often than before to step up its surveillance of North Korea. The deployment c

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SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- Railway services across South Korea are expected to be affected Friday and throughout the weekend as workers began a 72-hour strike demanding better working conditions. Around 20 to 60 percent of passenger and cargo train services are forecast to be affected by the labor action, according to the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Intercity subway operations will be reduced to 88.1 percent of normal operations, while high-speed train services and the KTX bullet train will operate at 81.1 percent and 72.4 percent of the normal level, respectively. Around 60 percent of the Saemaeul and Mugunghwa trains will be in operation, while cargo train operations will be most affected, with only 36.8 percent in service. The Suseo High Speed Rail (SRT), embarking from Suseo Station in southern Seoul and arriving at the southeastern port city of Busan or the southwestern port city of Mokpo, will be unaffected.

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SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to enact legislation aimed at prohibiting men with a criminal record of domestic violence from marrying foreign brides, the justice ministry said Thursday. The enactment of the legislation, of which the ministry will make a prior announcement on Monday, comes as part of the government follow-up measures to improve the country's immigration marriage system and prevent violence against marriage immigrants. In July, public outcry erupted after the release on social media of a video clip that showed a Korean husband assaulting his Vietnamese wife in the presence of their child at their home in the southwestern county of Yeongam. Under the amended enforcement regulation of the Immigration Control Law, South Korean spouses who have a criminal record of penalty punishment for domestic violence are not allowed to invite immigrants to the country for the purposes of marriage, no matter how long ago their sentences ended. Anyone who has

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SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- Railway workers are set to begin a three-day strike Friday to press their demands for higher pay and better working conditions. The government plans to deploy substitute workers and alternative forms of transportation to minimize disruption, as the walkout is expected to cut passenger and cargo train operations by 20 percent and 60 percent, respectively. The 19,000-member Korean Railway Workers' Union decided to strike early last month, after its negotiations with the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) broke down in late August. The union announced earlier this week it will begin a 72-hour warning strike at 9 a.m. Friday, as KORAIL did not come up with any improved solutions. The unionized workers launched a work-to-rule campaign Monday, delaying train services by 10-90 minutes. The union demands the company raise allowances, hire more workers and improve the job status of safety staff and affiliate companies' employees. The two sides had 12

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