Yoon meets 10 African leaders ahead of Korea-Africa Summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a series of bilateral summit meetings with leaders of 10 African nations Monday to discuss ways to expand cooperation on the eve of the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit, the presidential office said. Yoon had back-to-back meetings with leaders from Lesotho, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Togo, Rwanda, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde at the presidential office in Seoul. The leaders were in South Korea to attend the inaugural Korea-Afri

PoliticsJune 3, 2024

Daewoo E&C chairman meets Tanzanian president

Daewoo Engineering & Construction’s Chairman Jung Won-ju, who doubles as chairman of Herald Media Group, met with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Sunday to discuss measures to expand South Korean construction companies into Africa and to strengthen strategic cooperation with each other. “Daewoo E&C has conducted around 280 projects in Africa worth $32 billion. ... We have recently finished the construction of the Botswana -Zambia bridge,” said Jung. “Da

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

Girls starting school early could boost fertility rate: state-backed agency report

A state-run research organization in South Korea has sparked debate after its analysis suggesting that sending girls to school a year earlier could help boost fertility rates last week. The Korea Institute of Public Finance, a government-funded center dedicated to evaluating the country's tax system and public spending, proposed sending girls to school early, assessing that it could make men and women more attracted to each other when they reach marriageable age because men develop more slo

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

Church members charged with child abuse in death of 17-year-old

The South Korean police on Monday said it has recommended two members of a church choir to be indicted for their alleged part in last month's death of a 17-year-old girl. The two suspects, the 52-year-old leader of the choir in an Incheon church and a 41-year-old member, are being accused of child abuse resulting in death, stipulated in the Article 4 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Child Abuse Crimes. The crime is punishable by at least five years in prison, u

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

Oil dream revived, yet pitfalls remain

Importing nearly all the oil and gas it consumes, South Korea has long desired its own fuel wells. Yet, a discovery of one with massive deposits within its territory seemed almost too good to be true. On Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol reignited the country’s fading dreams of becoming an oil-producing nation with a surprise announcement that there could be a significant fossil fuel field off the coast of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The promise is a reserve of 14 billion barrels of o

PoliticsJune 3, 2024

Ministry urges doctors to end walkout, mulls processing resignations

Amid the ongoing dispute between doctors and the South Korean government despite the increased medical school quota for 2025 being finalized, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong on Monday voiced concerns regarding a planned strike vote by community doctors and warned that such actions could exacerbate the ongoing standoff with trainee doctors over the government's medical reform. "If the medical community proceeds with a vote on a collective strike and files lawsuits against university presi

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

Government to support AI model developers to counter phishing scams

The South Korean government vowed on Monday to share phishing scam call data with private companies developing artificial intelligence-based software and services to counter voice phishing scams, which have consistently been on the rise over the last few years. Voice phishing scams, or fraudulent phone calls, are estimated to have caused up to 196.5 billion won ($143 million) in damages in 2023, according to Financial Supervisory Service data from March 2024 -- a 35.4 percent increase from numbe

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

S. Korea to fully suspend inter-Korean military pact after NK balloon barrage

The South Korean presidential office on Monday decided to propose completely suspending the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, following North Korea floating around 1,000 trash-filled balloons toward South Korea. The National Security Office made this decision after Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo convened a meeting at 11 a.m. Monday to discuss follow-up measures to decisions made at the emergency meeting of the National Securit

North KoreaJune 3, 2024

Man stabs 2 foreign residents 'for no reason'

A 37-year-old man has been indicted for attempted murder of two foreign residents in Incheon, local prosecutors said Monday. The suspect is believed to have stabbed the victims in their 40s in the town of Hambak Maeul in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, at around 4:40 a.m. on May 19, according to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office. He also had attempted to stab two other foreigners who he met earlier, but they managed to escape. The stabbing victims received medical treatment and reportedly did no

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

Police refute trot singer's human rights violation claim

Seoul's police chief said at a press conference Monday that there was no human rights violation during the police investigation of Kim Ho-joong, a trot singer who was arrested for an alleged DUI hit-and-run last month, saying that he had been treated the same as the other suspects and people involved in the case. The embattled trot singer has said that his human rights were violated during the police investigation because officers had forced him to exit the police station through its main e

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

[Contribution] Empowering Africa’s green future by bridging climate finance gap

Africa’s abundant natural resources, rich biodiversity, huge potential for renewable energy and active workforce make the continent a vital player in the global transition to green economy. Today, Africa stands ready to propel itself into a green revolution, capitalizing on its many opportunities and resources, and driven by unwavering determination to steer the continent towards a sustainable, resilient future. This commitment is exemplified through innovation, collaboration, and by forgi

Foreign AffairsJune 3, 2024

1 in 3 people born in '60s think they will die 'lonely death': survey

Some one in three South Koreans born in the 1960s think that they will die alone without receiving support from their children, a survey showed Monday, suggesting the senior population's growing concern over the change in family dynamics and support for aging parents. The foundation Care for All surveyed 980 South Koreans aged between 55 and 64 -- all born in the 1960s -- from May 8 to 15 on the perception and reality of care. According to the results, some 30.2 percent of the respondents,

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

Defectors to send leaflets, pop music to NK

A Seoul-based North Korean defectors' group on Monday said it would send more leaflets and digital copies of popular South Korean songs across the border in a growing cross-border tit-for-tat that most recently saw Pyongyang send balloons loaded with waste to the South. North Korea sent hundreds of balloons last week, threatening to send more if balloons carrying South Korean leaflets entered its territory again. The civic group Fighters for a Free North Korea revealed its plans to respon

North KoreaJune 3, 2024

Man paralyzed during police interrogation

Two South Korean police officers have been suspended after a civilian they had been interrogating suffered a major spinal injury, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, local police officials said Monday. The victim, in his 50s, had been undergoing questioning at Asan Police Station in South Chungcheong Province at 1:30 a.m. on May 11, when he suddenly stood up from his seat and leaned his upper body forward. One of the police officers grabbed him from behind and pulled him back, and the vic

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Improvements for working condition, cultural diversity

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on the Management of Public Institutions Proposed by Rep. Song Ki-hun (Democratic Party of Korea) ● The current Act requires the Minister of Economy and Finance to evaluate the management performance of public enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions with evaluation criteria that include how rational management goals are, how well they are being achieved, and the adequacy of organizational and personnel management. However, despite the heightene

PoliticsJune 3, 2024

Seoul mayor swims in Han River, praises 'unbelievably clean' water

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon swam across the Han River on Sunday as a participant in a triathlon festival planned by the city government, praising the water quality and encouraging people to enjoy the city's beloved river through water activities. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the mayor, clad in a full-body wetsuit and swim cap emblazoned with the slogan, “Seoul My Soul,” joined around 2,000 other swimmers in the 1-kilometer swim on the second day of the 1st Sium Siu

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024

Yoon OKs exploratory drilling for 'massive' oil, gas reserve in East Sea

South Korean government on Monday authorized drilling off the country's southeastern coast for oil and natural gas reserves a recent study by a foreign seismic research company indicated would be equivalent to about 14 billion barrels of oil. The resources are believed to be in the in the shores off the Yeongil Bay near Pohang, about 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul. If confirmed, he said the reserve would

PoliticsJune 3, 2024

S. Korea, African nations hold foreign ministers' meeting ahead of summit

South Korea and more than 40 African nations held a foreign ministerial meeting to discuss cooperation ahead of a leaders' summit later this week, Seoul's foreign ministry has said. The rare gathering on Sunday came as South Korea is set to host the first-ever Korea-Africa summit for Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing together the leaders of 25 of the 48 participating countries. The talks were led by Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, his counterpart from Maurita

Foreign AffairsJune 3, 2024

Yoon to meet 10 African leaders ahead of Korea-Africa Summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol was set to have a series of meetings with leaders of 10 African nations Monday to discuss ways to expand cooperation on the eve of the first-ever Korea-Africa Summit, the presidential office said. Yoon will hold back-to-back meetings with leaders from Lesotho, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Togo, Rwanda, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde at the presidential office in Seoul. The leaders were in South Korea to attend the inaugural Korea-Afri

Foreign AffairsJune 3, 2024

[Graphic news] S. Korea's children get taller

The average height of South Korea's elementary school students (ages 7-11) has increased by 4.3 centimeters for boys and 2.8 centimeters for girls compared to ten years ago. According to a survey by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, the peak growth period for children was identified as 14-15 years old for boys and 13-14 years old for girls, showing that the growth rate for both boys and girls has advanced by about two years compared to ten years ago. Using a 3D scanner, the

Social AffairsJune 3, 2024