Yoon says will reshuffle aides if 'misdeeds' emerge

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to implement a staff shakeup at his office if issues involving his aides emerge, while promising that his wife Kim Keon Hee will limit her public role, according to Yoon's office on Tuesday. Yoon’s remarks followed a highly sensitive meeting with Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party and his estranged political protege. Han, the former justice minister, urged Yoon to address the growing controversies surrounding First Lady Kim, as politic

PoliticsOct. 22, 2024

UNDP chief calls for stronger ties with Korea in fight against global challenges

The world we once knew, shaped by decades of work toward multilateralism, international governance and legal systems, is drifting apart. Conflicts, crises and rising hostilities are making international cooperation and development efforts increasingly difficult. Yet in this time of challenges, South Korea has been a valued partner and contributor to the United Nations Development Programme, stepping up to play a bigger role in several areas, chief Achim Steiner said in a recent interview with

Foreign AffairsOct. 22, 2024

Seoul shares end lower on Samsung woes; won slips for 7th day

Seoul shares closed lower Tuesday as Samsung and other market heavyweights came under heavy selling following overnight losses on Wall Street. The Korean won continued to slip against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 34.22 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 2,570.70. Institutions and foreigners sold a combined 602 billion won ($436 million) worth of stocks, exceeding individuals' stock purchases valued at 582 billion won. Trade volume was moderate at 337.

MarketOct. 22, 2024

Hyundai Card chief's AI bet pays off for global expansion

Ten years and over a trillion won in investment — an extraordinary commitment to technology that few local finance companies can match. Hyundai Card Vice Chairman and CEO Chung Tae-young has shown that this massive bet was not a gamble but a visionary investment positioning the company for the next era as the world accelerates into the age of artificial intelligence. Last week, Hyundai Card signed a landmark deal with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co. to export its proprietary AI soft

IndustryOct. 22, 2024

Hana Financial to lure seniors with Hana The Next

Hana Financial Group said Tuesday that it is ramping up efforts to offer more tailor-made services for senior customers under the new brand name Hana The Next. The new launch, a collaboration of its key affiliates including Hana Bank, Hana Securities and Hana Insurance, will cover both financial and non-financial areas from retirement planning to consultations on inheritance and gift taxes to health care. The first customer is TV celebrity Kang Ho-dong, who has also been named as the brand ambas

IndustryOct. 22, 2024

Leeum Museum of Art opens its art archive gems to public

Visitors to the Leeum Museum of Art, Korea's largest private museum run by the Samsung Foundation of Culture, can now view previously private archives on Korean art and the history of the museum, either at the museum by reservation or digitally via its website. The archives are divided into two sections -- Museum Archive and Art Archive -- and encompass some 86,000 items. The museum’s archive collection began in 1998 with some 40,000 items donated by Korea’s first-generation art

Arts & DesignOct. 22, 2024

KEF chief meets with EU ambassadors to beef up economic ties

Member companies of the Korea Enterprises Federation met with ambassadors of the European Union on Tuesday to elevate economic cooperation and discuss strategies for embracing the shift in the labor market induced by industrial restructuring. Top officials from 23 EU member nations’ embassies in Korea, including Maria Castillo Fernandez, the ambassador of the EU, attended the business roundtable event hosted by the KEF held at a hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the

EconomyOct. 22, 2024

Seoul to mull more Ukraine support based on Pyongyang’s level of involvement: official

South Korea may mull expanding its support to Ukraine, including supplies of “offensive” weapons, depending on the extent of how deeply North Korea engages with Russia in the war efforts, a Seoul official said Tuesday. Kim Tae-hyo, the South Korean deputy national security director, told reporters following a National Security Council meeting convened on this day that Seoul would be tuning its response to match the role Pyongyang plays in the war. “All weapons, whether defensiv

PoliticsOct. 22, 2024

Exhibition reflects on mortality, journey to afterlife

At first glance, wooden figurines on display in glass cases appear inviting -- some look like a souvenir at a gift shop -- until you take a closer look. “I wasn’t actually aware that the exhibition is about death,” said Erwin Nieto, 35, a tourist from the Philippines who happened to drop by the exhibition “Kokdu” at the National Folk Museum of Korea on Tuesday. “But you know, reading the documents, the copies, it actually tells you there’s comfort in dea

Arts & DesignOct. 22, 2024

APR expands K-beauty influence in Hong Kong

South Korean beauty company APR announced Tuesday that it has strengthened its presence in Hong Kong’s competitive market through strong sales from both a pop-up store and a major e-commerce platform. Earlier this month, APR’s flagship skincare brand, Medicube, launched on HKTVmall, Hong Kong’s largest online shopping platform, generating 180 million won in sales within just three days. The brand’s success continued with live broadcasts featuring popular products like the

CompaniesOct. 22, 2024

S. Korea, UK to initiate 2+2 talks, boost defense ties

Top diplomats of South Korea and the United Kingdom have agreed to launch foreign and defense ministerial "2+2" talks early next year in a bid to strengthen their joint response to regional and global security threats, while pledging further cooperation on co-developing defense capabilities, according to a joint statement released Tuesday. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met for the 9th Korea-UK Foreign Ministers' Strategi

Foreign AffairsOct. 22, 2024

Korea has more workers 60 or older than any other age group: data

Government data showed Tuesday that of all the South Korean workers in the month of September, the largest portion of them were age 60 and over. According to Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the country had 6.75 million workers in the 60-and-over age group as of September. The figured marked an all-time high for workers in this age group, with an increase of 272,000 compared to the previous month. September also marked the first time ever that the number of workers aged 60

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2024

[Behind the K-pop Scene] 'K-pop is all about money'

Behind the glitz and glamour of K-pop lies a business reality driven by fierce competition and substantial financial investment. While K-pop idols shine on stage, producers navigate challenges behind the scenes, especially when securing the funds to sustain their artists' careers. "K-pop is all about money," said Shin Jong-oh, 48, a director at the World K-pop Center and executive producer of the girl group project BlingOne, during an interview with The Korea Herald, on Oct. 10. &

K-popOct. 22, 2024

Govt. to strengthen crowd management ahead of Halloween festivities

With Halloween and other festivities fast approaching, the government announced on Tuesday that it will strengthen its crowd safety measures for areas expecting large gatherings. During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min stated that the ministry will implement a series of intensive crowd management measures in 27 areas expecting large gatherings for eight days from Oct. 25. The ministry’s crowd control measures come two years after South Korea’s deadliest cr

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2024

Hyundai Motor chief vows full-support for India’s mobility innovation

Expanding its footing in India, the world’s third-largest automotive market, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to explore ways to enhance cooperation and advance the country’s mobility industry. After expressing gratitude for the Indian government’s continuous support to Hyundai Motor, Chung said during the meeting held at the PM’s office in Delhi, India, “Hyundai Motor Group has operated a successful bu

MobilityOct. 22, 2024

Hyundai E&C to expand presence in South Australia

Hyundai Engineering & Construction said Tuesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of South Australia at the company's headquarters in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. Hyundai E&C and the South Australian government will jointly carry out projects related to renewable energy, infrastructure and housing development. The agreement comes as South Australian government officials and company leaders visited Korea to promote cooperation on infrastructure for net

IndustryOct. 22, 2024

Kumho Tire launches digital twin system in R&D push

South Korean tiremaker Kumho Tire announced Tuesday that it has officially launched its tire digital twin system, marking a major step in the company’s efforts to digitalize its tire development process. Shifting from traditional physical testing to virtual tire development, Kumho Tire said the new system enables the automatic design of multiple tire versions using digital data and big data-based performance predictions. With the help of artificial intelligence, the system then selects the

TechnologyOct. 22, 2024

7 out of 10 junior civil servants consider quitting

Seven out of 10 civil servants who have worked for less than five years at their posts have considered leaving their jobs, according to government data Tuesday, indicating a shift in the perception of what had once been considered among the most coveted positions by young workers for lifetime job security to prioritize a horizontal and efficient work culture. A survey of public sector organizational culture among civil servants with low seniority conducted by the Interior Ministry submitted to R

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2024

Refugee status granted to Ugandan woman who fled domestic violence

A South Korean court has recently granted refugee status to a Ugandan woman who fled her country to escape severe domestic violence, court officials said Tuesday, showing greater acceptance of gender-based violence as grounds for granting refugee status here. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the woman, who had filed a lawsuit against the Seoul Immigration Office to overturn a previous decision denying her refugee status, on Sept. 25. The court determined that she demonstrated a w

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2024

675 workplace bullying cases ruled 'industrial accidents' since 2019, including 16 deaths

In the past five years, nearly 700 cases of bullying in the workplace have been classified by the government as industrial accidents entitling the victims to compensation, including 16 cases that resulted in the victim committing suicide, government data showed Tuesday. A total of 675 cases of workplace bullying were recognized by the authorities as industrial accidents, defined as death, injury or disease caused by factors related to a job, according to Article 2 of the Occupational Safety and

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2024