North Korea setting up loudspeakers along border: JCS

North Korea appears to be installing loudspeakers on the front lines on Thursday, a day after South Korea resumed the anti-Pyongyang broadcasts from near the border for the first time in six years, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The JCS said in a message to reporters Monday that North Korea was believed to be preparing for their own broadcasts targeting the South across the border. “We have identified signs of North Korea setting up loudspeakers in the border areas

DefenseJune 10, 2024

Anti-corruption agency closes case on first lady's Dior bag allegations

The state anti-corruption agency said Monday that it had closed an inquiry into allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee broke anti-graft legislation when she received a high-end designer bag from a pastor in 2022 because it has found no violation of the law. “Under the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, there is no provision for presidential spouses. Therefore, the case has been closed,” Deputy Chairman Jeong Seung-yoon of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said durin

Social AffairsJune 10, 2024

Gang rape victim's sister speaks against doxxing suspects

The younger sister of the victim in the 2004 Miryang gang rape case has recently spoken out against YouTubers disclosing the identities of the perpetrators, alleging the victim had never consented to making them public. The sister wrote a post in online used car community Bobae Dream on Sunday, with a screenshot of text messages exchanged between her and local YouTuber Pan-seug, who has been uploading videos revealing the personal information of the alleged perpetrators of the Miryang incident.

Social AffairsJune 10, 2024

[Bridge to Africa] S. Korea can be catalyst in unlocking Africa's mining: Eritrean President

South Korea has the potential to serve as a "catalyst" in unlocking Africa's mining potential by strengthening the continent's capacity to add value to critical resources that have remained underdeveloped, despite the intricate challenges at play, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki said in his interview with The Korea Herald on Friday. Afwerki sees Korea's expertise, industrial prowess and technology as beacons of hope in translating Africa's longstanding ambitions t

Foreign AffairsJune 10, 2024

Godeok or Guri? Dispute over name of new Han River bridge

The Seoul district office of Gangdong-gu and the Guri city government have failed to settle their differences over the naming of a new Han River bridge, resulting in the matter being handed to a state-run committee. According to the Gangdong-gu Office, the Korea Expressway Corporation recently requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation's naming committee to decide on the name of the bridge, which is currently under construction and set to be completed later this yea

Social AffairsJune 10, 2024

Summer weather arrives in S. Korea

Summer is right around the corner, with average daytime temperatures nationwide estimated to record over 30 degrees Celsius throughout the week, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. Monday’s average daytime temperatures nationwide were to range between 26 C and 33 C, as South Korea falls under the influence of high pressure coming toward the peninsula from Mongolia while warm air comes in from the west, according to the KMA. On Tuesday and Wednesday, morning te

Social AffairsJune 10, 2024

Law firm DR & AJU hosts Korea-Africa Energy Investment Forum

Local law firm DR & AJU LLC hosted the Korea-Africa Energy Investment Forum on the sidelines of the Korea-Africa Summit last week. The event was attended by 150 delegates, including businesspeople from 36 African nations and South Korea. Notable attendees included Rep. Na Kyung-won, Minister of Trade and Industry Cheong In-kyo and Lee Kyu-chul, managing partner of DR & AJU. Timothy Dickens, chair of the South Asian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Korea, opened the forum with an overv

Foreign AffairsJune 10, 2024

Ministry to order private doctors to maintain operation on day of strike

Amid an escalating dispute between the government and doctors over having more medical students, the government on Monday ordered private practitioners to keep providing treatment and report to authorities when they close practice to join a one-day strike led by the country's largest doctors' group next week. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong remarked during a government response meeting that the order is based on the Medical Service Act and a "minimum necessary measure" to prote

Social AffairsJune 10, 2024

Store owner fined for shooting unruly customer in face with gas gun

A 36-year-old convenience store owner was fined 2 million won ($1,450) by court for shooting a customer in the face with a gas-operated gun, after the customer hit him with a carton of milk several times, court said Monday. Incheon District Court found the defendant guilty of special violence and special destruction and damage, both of which are applied when the perpetrator uses a dangerous weapon. The defendant got into an argument with a 65-year-old customer at a convenience store he runs in

Social AffairsJune 10, 2024

[Herald Interview] 'Peru firmly supports NK denuclearization'

Amid intensifying nuclear threats from North Korea, Peru firmly supports the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the South American country's foreign minister told The Korea Herald. In a written interview, Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea condemned North Korea's continuous tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles, calling the reclusive regime a serious threat to international peace and security. The minister is in Seoul to participate in the Korea-LAC Future Cooperat

Foreign AffairsJune 10, 2024

4 out of 10 S. Koreans want shorter work week: survey

A recent showed that many South Korean workers think the optimal cap for weekly work hours should be 48 hours, four hours less than the legally allowed 52 and far lower than the 69 previously pursued by the government. Local civic group Workplace Gapjil 119 on Sunday revealed the results of the survey it conducted in February on 1,000 workers across the country, asking opinions on the legal limit for working hours per week. The leading answer was 48 hours, picked by 42.5 percent of the responden

Social AffairsJune 10, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Textile waste, rights for electronic person

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Promotion of Transition to Circular Economy and Society Proposed by Rep. Jang Hye-yeong (Green Justice Party) ● According to data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2017, the global clothing production volume has surged by 400 percent over the last two decades, and 20 percent of the global water pollution is attributable to the dyeing process of textiles. Moreover, textile production accounts for 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. How

PoliticsJune 10, 2024

DP leader urges two Koreas to stop 'childish chicken game' of trash balloons, loudspeakers

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called on the two Koreas to halt a chain of retaliatory actions, such as South Korea's border loudspeaker broadcasts and North Korea's trash balloon campaign, calling it a "childish chicken game" that can lead to war. On Sunday, South Korea resumed propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the inter-Korean border for the first time in six years in retaliation against the North's recent launch of balloons carrying trash into the South. The bro

PoliticsJune 10, 2024

Yoon embarks on three-nation Central Asia trip

President Yoon Suk Yeol embarked Monday on a weeklong Central Asia trip that will take him to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on a mission to expand cooperation in critical minerals and other key sectors. Yoon is set to make state visits to the resource-rich Central Asian nations through June 15, accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee and a business delegation comprising over 60 Korean companies. It marks Yoon's first overseas trip since a state visit to the Netherlands in December.

Foreign AffairsJune 10, 2024

NK leader's sister warns of 'new counteraction' against S. Korea

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has warned that South Korea will face unspecified "new counteraction" by the North if it keeps sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and playing its loudspeaker broadcasts across the border. The statement by Kim Yo-jong came after the South resumed propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North for the first time in six years, in retaliation against the North's repeated sending of trash-carrying balloons. "If the

North KoreaJune 10, 2024

FM Cho discusses bilateral ties, economic cooperation with Peruvian, Honduran counterparts

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul held talks with his counterparts from Peru and Honduras on Sunday and discussed bilateral relations and economic cooperation, among other issues, his office said. The talks took place as the two diplomats were visiting Seoul to attend a multilateral forum on cooperation between South Korea and Latin America, set for Monday. In the talks with Peru's top diplomat, Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea Franco, Cho took note of the fact that the two countries have been expanding

Foreign AffairsJune 10, 2024

NK leader's sister warns of 'new responses' against S. Korea's loudspeaker broadcast, leafleting

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned Sunday of taking "new responses" if South Korea keeps sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border and blasting loudspeaker broadcasts, calling it a "prelude to a very dangerous situation." The statement by Kim Yo-jong came after the South resumed propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North in retaliation against the North's repeated sending of trash-filled balloons amid rising tensions in the inte

North KoreaJune 10, 2024

N. Korea launches more balloons after S. Korea turns on broadcast loudspeakers

North Korea launched more balloons, presumed to be filled with trash by the South Korean military, toward South Korea on Sunday night, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul announced. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued a public safety alert around 10:15 p.m. local time, stating that North Korea's trash-carrying balloons had entered the air above Seoul. The balloon launch, marking the fourth such batch since May 28, took place after the South Korean military resumed broadcasting loudspeakers o

North KoreaJune 9, 2024

'Nightclub for the teens' closed down by authorities

Gimpo city government said Saturday it is taking measures to slap a two-month suspension of operation on a Gimpo-based club that operated overnight for teenage customers. The club in Gurae-dong, Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, promoted itself as a nightclub for teens, exclusively for students ranging from the second year of middle school to the third year of high school. According to its Instagram page, it opened at 5 p.m. and closed at 3 a.m. the next day. Operators of the club claimed that the busin

Social AffairsJune 9, 2024

Doctors set to launch full-scale strike in protest against med school reform

South Korea's largest lobbying group for doctors on Sunday announced its plan to launch a full-scale strike in protest over the country's medical reform policies, which center on increasing the number of slots at medical schools starting next year, once again bringing widespread disruptions to medical services. The announced walkout, to be held on June 18, comes after the government finalized its expansion plan by allocating 1,509 additional seats at medical schools late last month, ma

Social AffairsJune 9, 2024