Daegu, North Gyeongsang to form unified provincial govt. in July 2026

Leaders of the southeastern metropolitan city of Daegu, 240 kilometers from Seoul, and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province on Tuesday agreed on plans to launch an integrated provincial government in 2026 with support from the central government. The agreement was made at a meeting attended by Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and Woo Dong-gi, chairman of the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Bala

PoliticsJune 4, 2024

China expresses 'firm opposition' against S. Korea for remarks on Taiwan issue

China's embassy in South Korea on Tuesday expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" to South Korea for making "consecutive erroneous remarks" regarding the Taiwan issue in coordination with the United States and Japan. On Friday, senior South Korean, US and Japanese diplomats met in the US, and announced that they oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific and recognize the importance of opposing unlawful mari

Foreign AffairsJune 4, 2024

Leaders of Korea, Africa agree to open critical minerals dialogue

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- The leaders of South Korea and African countries agreed to launch a multilateral dialogue for critical minerals to ensure their stable supply and promote technology cooperation at a summit held in Seoul to redefine diplomatic and economic ties between Asia's fourth-largest economy and the continent on Tuesday. At the first-ever summit hosted by the Korean government with African countries to strengthen mutual trust and solidarity, Seoul vowed to provide up to $10 bil

PoliticsJune 4, 2024

Female local government workers outnumber males for first time

The number of female local government employees surpassed that of their male counterparts for the first time ever in 2023, data showed Tuesday, but higher-ranked civil servants were still mostly men. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety released data on those working in the government bodies of metropolitan and provincial regions or districts, which showed that 157,935 civil servants were women as of late 2023. This figure accounts for 50.4 percent of the total 313,296 workers in local govern

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

[From the Scene] Yoon tests Global Pivotal State vision at first Korea-Africa summit

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province — South Korea held the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit on Tuesday to forge new strategic cooperation with African countries which serve as a cornerstone of the Global South, putting the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's key agenda to become a "global pivotal state" to test. The Korea-Africa summit is seen as a crucial assessment for the Yoon government in realizing the core national security and foreign policy vision of becoming a "global pivotal st

Foreign AffairsJune 4, 2024

South Korea forms satellite cyber security body

South Korean spy agency said Tuesday it was forming a consultative body of concerned ministries and other government agencies to enhance satellite cyber security. The consultative body led by the National Intelligence Service is aimed at protecting satellites throughout their lifespan from their design to operation. The NIS explained that the body was created against amid emerging domestic and international space cyber threats, citing the recent cyber attack against the Korea Satellite Operation

DefenseJune 4, 2024

Hospitals allowed to process junior doctors' resignations

The Korean government said Tuesday that it would allow training hospitals to accept the resignations of trainee doctors who left their posts in protest of the medical school expansion plan over three months ago. Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said during a briefing that the government would withdraw its return-to-work orders and allow hospitals to accept resignations submitted by junior doctors, while also making efforts to help them return if they choose to do so. Cho added that each hospital ch

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

Marking complete return, Kim Keon Hee hosts luncheon for African first ladies

South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee hosted a luncheon for a group of first ladies from 16 African nations visiting to participate in the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit on Tuesday, marking a full return to public engagement after nearly six months of her absence from the public eye. The luncheon was held at Sangchunjae, a traditional Korean-style house located within the perimeters of the former presidential residence of Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul. Kim, who was in charge of hosting the lunch

PoliticsJune 4, 2024

South Korea suspends pact, resumes border military activities

South Korea voted in a Cabinet meeting to suspend the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement on Tuesday after a week of North Korea’s unceasing provocations ranging from attempting to launch another spy satellite to sending trash balloons. The Cabinet decision was approved by President Yoon Suk Yeol the same day, making the pact -- reached on September 19, 2018, to minimize front-line tensions -- lose effect entirely for the time being. South Korea earlier halted parts of the pact to

DefenseJune 4, 2024

More Korean husbands seek divorce than foreign wives

Korean husbands visited marriage counseling centers to consult on divorce more often than foreign wives last year, a report on multicultural couples showed. Of more than 1,000 cases of divorce counseling for international couples, 20 percent more Korean men visited the center than foreign women, according to statistics released by the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations. Korean husband-foreign wife couples took 80 percent of the total counseling for multicultural couples last year. "

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

[Bridge to Africa] Morocco urges Korea to enhance cooperation in Atlantic coast vision

Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, called on South Korea to enhance cooperation with the country’s Atlantic coast vision, which aims to connect its coastline to the Americas. "Today, the focus of the African continent has shifted towards developing and enhancing the Atlantic coast,” said Bourita in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Monday. “We must strive to reach landlocked African nations that also need these benefits," he said, noting th

Foreign AffairsJune 4, 2024

90% of Koreans believe climate crisis is happening: KMA

Nine out of 10 Korean nationals believe that South Korea is now facing a climate crisis, according to survey results released by the Korea Meteorological Administration on Tuesday. According to the survey, 89.9 percent of respondents answered that Korea is in the midst of a climate crisis and 90.1 percent of respondents answered that they feel the impacts of climate change directly, due to extreme weather events such as prolonged heat waves. In January, the KMA stated that 2023 was Korea’s

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

Filipino nanny program lacks clarity: NGO

An international non-government organization committed to protecting the rights and welfare of migrant workers has issued a statement expressing concerns about a pilot program for introducing Filipino caregivers to South Korea. Migration Forum in Asia recently issued a statement, saying the plan for a pilot program for Filipino domestic workers has a “discrepancy in terminology” and a “lack of clarity in the scope of work” they can be asked to do. “The program has

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

Couple illegally adopts baby and lets her die

South Korean police on Tuesday said that a young unmarried couple have been arrested on suspicion of illegal adoption of a child, neglect leading to the death of the child and burial without proper procedures. Dongbu Police Station in Daegu requested the indictment of a male suspect in his 20s and a female suspect in her 30s on charges of child abuse resulting in death and abandonment of a dead body. Abusing a child to death, even with no intent to kill, is punishable between five years and a li

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

Cows escape farm and wander around road

Around 20 cows escaped from a farm in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province in the middle of the night, wandering around on a nearby road for over an hour, before rescue authorities captured and returned them to the farm's owner early Tuesday. According to the Gyeongsang Fire Service Headquarters, the cows broke out of their barn at around 1:20 a.m. Tuesday. Several eyewitnesses filmed the animals walking around the road in a herd. Authorities said no accidents were reported as a result of th

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

[Bridge to Africa] Nigeria seeks Korean EV investment

Nigeria's plans to create a favorable environment for electric vehicle investment will be an opportunity for South Korean carmakers, Nigeria's foreign minister told The Korea Herald. "You can mine the lithium, refine it in Nigeria, produce the EV cars there, and sell them to consumers locally,” Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar said Monday. “It’s a complete value chain ready to be exploited,” he said. Nigeria has significant lithium deposits in Nasaraw

Foreign AffairsJune 4, 2024

Military ready to turn on loudspeakers near border with N. Korea after suspension of 2018 inter-Korean pact

South Korea's military said Tuesday it remains ready to immediately operate mobile loudspeakers near the border with North Korea as Seoul took steps to fully suspend a 2018 inter-Korean military pact. Earlier in the day, the Cabinet endorsed the suspension of the Comprehensive Military Agreement in response to the North's trash-carrying balloon campaign and jamming of GPS signals in recent days. The motion will be sent to President Yoon Suk Yeol for signing, and the suspension will all

North KoreaJune 4, 2024

PPP to push for law revision to compensate for damage caused by NK trash balloons

The ruling People Power Party said Tuesday it will push for a law revision allowing compensation for any citizen who suffers damage from North Korea's trash-carrying balloons. During a party meeting, PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho noted the lack of legal grounds to compensate South Korean citizens who had their cars partially destroyed and experienced other property damage from the balloons. "We will push for an amendment to the Framework Act on Civil Defense to establish the legal bas

Social AffairsJune 4, 2024

Yoon says summit marks new era of ties with Africa

President Yoon Suk Yeol said in an opening speech of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit Tuesday that the event marks a new era of ties between Asia's fourth-largest economy and the African continent. "Today's Summit will herald an important milestone of the new era of ties between South Korea and Africa," Yoon told delegations of 48 African countries in the largest multilateral summit hosted by the Yoon administration. "We hope we can briskly start our grand journey to achieve the futur

PoliticsJune 4, 2024

S. Korea will be 'true friend' to Africa: Yoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that South Korea will be Africa's "true friend" for the continent's common goal of achieving economic growth, given that South Korea, which was once one of the world's poorest countries, achieved its own economic breakthrough and prosperity in a dramatic fashion. At a welcoming dinner held Monday in Seoul on the eve of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit, Yoon brought up "ubuntu," a term referring to the essence of humanity used amo

PoliticsJune 3, 2024