Hungarian authorities to tie last rope around sunken boat to lift it from riverbed

Hungarian authorities were set to tie the fourth and last wire rope around the hull of a sunken tour boat Monday, in their final preparations to lift it to search for the missing in last month's disaster that left 26 South Koreans dead or unaccounted for.Hungary's Counter-Terrorism Center will finish binding the wire ropes around the boat, the Hableany, as a floating crane has been on standby for the salvage operation near Margaret Bridge in the Danube River in Budapest, the scene of the May 29

Social AffairsJune 10, 2019

‘Spider-Man’ Tom Holland to visit Korea

English actor Tom Holland, star of “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” is slated to visit South Korea from June 30 to July 1 to promote the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ahead of its opening.According to local promoters of the Sony Pictures action-adventure flick, Holland will participate in a press conference and fan events. The movie opens July 2, both here and in the US.This marks the 23-year-old’s third visit to Korea for an official promotional event. He first trav

FilmJune 10, 2019

Ruling party, gov't urge swift normalization of parliament for extra budget bill

Ruling party, government and presidential officials called for the swift normalization of the National Assembly on Monday, stressing that a bill mandating extra fiscal spending should be passed no later than July.The National Assembly has been idle for about two months as rival parties have bickered over a set of political issues, suspending the opening of an extra parliamentary session in June. A delay in the normalization of the assembly's operation has jeopardized a 6.7 trillion-won ($5.7 bil

PoliticsJune 10, 2019

[Feature] Pharmacists turn to YouTube

Lee Jee-ae, a 30-year-old office worker in Seoul who proclaims herself to be a health fanatic, has her own way of choosing medication: YouTube.Type the Korean word for pharmacist -- “yaksa” -- on YouTube, and an endless list of videos showing broadcasters in white gowns providing medicinal information rolls out, she said. YouTube is where Lee learned the maximum magnesium supplement intake a day is 350 milligrams, and that there are different expiration dates for different types of p

IndustryJune 10, 2019

Vice unification minister expected to visit inter-Korean liaison office this week

Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho is expected to visit a joint inter-Korean liaison office later this week for the first time since he was appointed the new South Korean head of the office last week, the ministry said Monday.Suh was appointed Friday as the South Korean chief of the liaison office located in North Korea's border town of Kaesong. The appointment came after he replaced Chun Hae-sung last month as vice unification minister, who also serves as Seoul's liaison office chief. "He ne

North KoreaJune 10, 2019

'Spider-Man' actor Tom Holland to visit S. Korea

The lead actor in Marvel's upcoming superhero film, "Spider-Man: Far From Home," will visit South Korea later this month to promote the movie ahead of its release in the country, the film's distributor said Monday.Tom Holland, who plays Spider Man in the flick, will be in Seoul on June 30-July 1, according to Sony Pictures. It is Holland's third trip to South Korea, following visits in 2017 and 2018 as part of Marvel's global promotional tours for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and

FilmJune 10, 2019

Prime minister visits ex-first lady Lee at hospital

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon visited former first lady Lee Hee-ho, who remains unconscious under treatment for cancer, on Monday.Lee Hee-ho, 96, the wife of former late President Kim Dae-jung, who devised the "sunshine policy" of engaging North Korea, has been under treatment at Severance Hospital as she is battling liver cancer. On his social media, the prime minister wished for her good health, calling her a "great female leader and President Kim Dae-jung's life partner and compan

Social AffairsJune 10, 2019

Canadian veteran of Korean War to be laid to rest in S. Korea

The remains of a Canadian veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War will arrive in South Korea this week for burial, the veterans affairs ministry said Monday.The remains of the late Albert Hugh McBride are scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Tuesday before being buried at the UN Memorial Cemetery in the southern port city of Busan the following day, according to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.McBride fought in the Korean War from November 1951 until Ja

DefenseJune 10, 2019

Violence mars end of huge Hong Kong protest against China extradition

A huge peaceful protest in Hong Kong against controversial plans to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland descended into violence early Monday as police fought running battles with small pockets of demonstrators.Organisers said more than a million people took part in the Sunday march -- the largest protest since Hong Kong's 1997 handover to China -- confronting the city's pro-Beijing leadership with a major political crisis.The city government is pushing a bill through the legislature that

World NewsJune 10, 2019

Moon in Finland for talks on peace, innovative growth

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, on Sunday, the first leg of his eight-day tour of Northern Europe aimed at deepening partnerships on peace, innovative and inclusive growth.Moon's aides said that Finland, Norway and Sweden are South Korea's important partners in efforts to bring lasting peace to the peninsula and foster new economic growth engines.The president's regional tour is "expected to become an opportunity to reaffirm cooperation with t

Foreign AffairsJune 10, 2019

S. Korea seeking 2nd straight win over Ecuador with final berth at stake

One more win over a familiar foe in a familiar city, and South Korea will reach unfamiliar territory at the FIFA U-20 World Cup: the championship final.South Korea will take on Ecuador in the semifinals at Lublin Stadium in Lublin, Poland, at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday (local time), or 3:30 a.m. Wednesday (Seoul time).  South Korea have never finished higher than fourth at the biennial youth tournament. In 1983, they advanced to the semifinals but lost to Brazil, and then fell to Poland in the third

SoccerJune 10, 2019

Confirmed S. Korean death toll rises to 19 from Hungary boat sinking

A joint South Korean-Hungarian team identified a body found in the Danube River a day earlier to be a South Korean female Sunday, bringing the confirmed death toll from the tragic boat sinking in Hungary last month to 19.The Hableany tour boat was carrying 33 Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew members when it capsized and sank in the Danube River on May 29 after being hit by a larger Swiss cruise ship from behind. Seven South Koreans were rescued right after the accident and seven other

Social AffairsJune 9, 2019

G-20 finance officials pledge to protect global growth

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 major economies wrapped up a meeting in Japan on Sunday with a pledge to use all the policies they can to protect global growth from disruptions due to trade and other tensions. The G-20 finance leaders said in a joint communique that risks from trade and geopolitical tensions were "intensifying." They did not refer directly to the tariffs war between the United States and China, though leaders participating in the meetings

World BusinessJune 9, 2019

UN soldier's body found during war remains excavation in DMZ

A body, believed to be of a United Nations soldier who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War, has been found during excavation work inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea, Seoul's defense ministry said Sunday.Bone fragments were found on Wednesday during an excavation and demining project on Arrowhead Ridge, a former battle site inside the DMZ that separates the two Koreas, the ministry said.The ministry said it marks the first time that the remains of a U.N. soldier have

North KoreaJune 9, 2019

Former first lady Lee Hee-ho in critical condition

The widow of former President Kim Dae-jung is in critical condition as she fights liver cancer, sources said Sunday.Lee Hee-ho, 97, who was the first lady during Kim's five-year tenure until 2003, is currently unconscious at Severance Hospital in Shinchon, western Seoul, they said.The former first lady has been suffering various diseases, including liver cancer, they added.Lee's late husband, who died in 2009, was the architect of the "sunshine" policy that actively pushed for inter-Ko

Social AffairsJune 9, 2019

[Graphic News] Swine fever to affect pork market for years

　Millions of pigs have been culled as African swine fever cuts through China and beyond, devastating global food chains, with pork prices expected to soar from the food markets of Hong Kong to American dinner tables.　Since its first case in February, Vietnam has culled an estimated 1.7 million pigs - over 6 percent of the total population - and has set up screening stations along some borders.

World NewsJune 9, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Long Live the King’ settles for cookie-cutter fun

With his directorial debut, “The Outlaws,” Kang Yoon-sung showed he was capable of creating quality action and characters, although the storytelling was a bit formulaic and cliched. “Long Live the King,” an upcoming comedy/drama about a reformed gangster, shows the director’s strengths and weaknesses with an interesting protagonist, a slightly overdone but promising premise and humor -- but also a weak narrative and clumsy storytelling. The film stars Kim Rae-won as

FilmJune 9, 2019

[News Focus] Korea seeks to raise GDP, employment figures by spending more of taxpayers’ money

SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in government recently unveiled a policy to pay 3 million won ($2,550) over a six-month period, or 500,000 won a month, to a certain portion of jobless people aged 18-64 after assessing their household income levels.It has also decided to provide financial support for self-employed people who have had to close their businesses, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.Officials say the purpose of this support is to assist the recipients’ job-seeking activiti

EconomyJune 9, 2019

Hard to make predictions about fourth inter-Korean summit: unification minister

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Sunday that the government is making a concerted effort to restart talks between the United States and North Korea at the earliest possible date.“Following the meeting in Hanoi, restarting the US-North Korea summit has become very crucial. From that perspective, President Moon Jae-in proposed holding an inter-Korean summit (in order to support the US-North Korea talks),” Kim said on a KBS television show. As US President Donald Trump will

North KoreaJune 9, 2019

[Herald Interview] US-China trade war limits Seoul's ability to advance nuke talks

While the trade war between the United States and China is reshaping the global economy, it is also leaving little room for South and North Korea to move the denuclearization process forward, according to John Park, director of the Korea Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. “If the US and China have a truce or suspend the application of tariffs, that could provide political space for South Korea’s diplomatic role to increase. But, in this environment, South Korea’s impact is

North KoreaJune 9, 2019