[Africa Forum] Korea ready to be Africa’s partner in success: Seoul vice FM

South Korea is committed to making the June summit with Africa a success, and ready to share its experiences of growth and development with African countries, Seoul’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong Kyun said at a forum hosted by the African Group of Ambassadors and the Korea Herald on Thursday. Speaking at the Africa Day 2024 Korea Business Forum, he opened his congratulatory remarks by thanking the hosts for holding “this significant event” that took place less than

Foreign AffairsMay 26, 2024

[Africa Forum] The Korea Herald hopes to bridge Korea, Africa through news

Jung Won-joo, chairman of Herald Media Group, said the news company aspired to contribute to “building closer ties between Korea and Africa.” “We are dedicated to delivering Korean news to Africa, and vice versa,” he said Thursday at the Africa Day 2024 Korea Business Forum. He added that he hopes the forum and the Korea-Africa summit in June will “open up doors for more opportunities for exchanges.” He said his business had ventured into Africa more than four

PoliticsMay 26, 2024

Outgoing speaker calls for immediate start of pension reform

The outgoing National Assembly speaker stressed Sunday that the reform of the national pension scheme must kick off before the start of the new parliament later this month, saying now may be the “golden time” to do so. Rep. Kim Jin-pyo’s remarks come as the tension between the ruling and the main opposition has risen over the details of the pension reform plan, such as the size of the contributions made by National Pension Service subscribers and the benefits they receive. &ldq

PoliticsMay 26, 2024

Yoon shares kimchi stew, omelet with reporters

President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted an official dinner with reporters covering his office for the first time on Friday, serving kimchi stew by himself, at an event held in an apparent effort to mend ties with the media. "As soon as I took office, I promised to invite you to a dinner with gyeran mari and kimchi jjigae, as seen in a TV show 'All the Butlers' as a presidential candidate, and I haven't been able to in the past two years," Yoon told some 200 reporters who attended

PoliticsMay 26, 2024

S. Korea, Japan, China to hold 1st summit in 4 1/2 years to discuss cooperation

Leaders of South Korea, China and Japan are set to meet on Sunday and Monday in Seoul for summit meetings, resuming their trilateral dialogue for the first time since 2019. President Yoon Suk Yeol will have back-to-back bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential office later in the day and hold a trilateral session with the two leaders on Monday. It marks the first three-way summit among the Asian countries since December 2019, aft

PoliticsMay 26, 2024

6 S. Koreans evacuated from New Caledonia amid unrest: foreign ministry

Six South Korean nationals have been safely evacuated from New Caledonia amid recent riots in the country, the foreign ministry said Sunday. The ministry said six individuals left the French Pacific territory via airplane with assistance from the French government. "The South Korean government will continue to ensure the safety of its nationals in New Caledonia," the ministry said. New Caledonia is currently experiencing severe political unrest due to conflicts between pro-French suppo

Foreign AffairsMay 26, 2024

Govt. to set up support plans for medical schools to prepare for quota hike

The government plans to introduce measures to support medical schools as they prepare for an increased number of freshmen starting next year, medical sources said Sunday, amid concerns that the hike could compromise the quality of education. The government plans to announce comprehensive measures to assist universities based on their specific needs within the first half of the year, according to the sources. Last week, the Korean Council for University Education, an association of university pre

Social AffairsMay 26, 2024

[Weekender] 'Blood doesn't make family, love does'

When Jeon Sung-shin, 45, was looking to expand her family without going through childbirth again, she met her then 50-day-old daughter at an orphan care center 11 years ago. Jeon fell in love with her at first sight and knew adoption would be a beautiful way to build her family. Growing up with the family, Jeon's youngest daughter is now in the sixth grade and is a promising tennis player. But Jeon said rearing her hadn't always been easy, mainly because adoption still carries so much

Social AffairsMay 25, 2024

70% of part-timers positive toward robots at businesses

A recent survey suggested that majority of part-time workers in South Korea are positive about using AI, robot and other machines at work. Part-time job-search website Alba Cheonguk said Thursday that it had conducted a survey on 771 part-timers that showed that 71 percent of the respondents had a positive view of adopting recent technology such as food-serving robots, kiosks at their place of work. The percentage was particularly high among those working in shops that already used such technolo

Social AffairsMay 25, 2024

Test finds kids' accessories from AliExpress, Shein to be tainted with toxic chemicals

Chinese e-commerce giants AliExpress and Shein have been found to sell children's accessories tainted with high levels of toxic metals, exceeding permitted levels, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday. According to chemical safety tests conducted by the Korea Conformity Laboratories on seven children's products sold on AliExpress and Shein, two accessories -- a children's watch listed on Shein and a children's necklace from AliExpress -- contained hazardous

Social AffairsMay 25, 2024

S. Korea completes development of L-SAM defense system

South Korea has completed development of the homegrown Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM) system, the state arms procurement agency said Saturday, marking a major step in efforts to bolster the military's air defense capabilities. The L-SAM, which is designed to shoot down incoming targets at altitudes of 50-60 kilometers, was recently assessed as combat-suitable as it met the military's technical requirements, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

DefenseMay 25, 2024

US girding for possibility of N. Korea taking most provocative military actions in decade near election: NBC

WASHINGTON -- US officials are bracing for North Korea to potentially take its "most provocative" military action in a decade ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, possibly at the urging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, NBC News reported Friday. Citing six senior US officials, the broadcaster also said that the United States has contingency plans to respond in the event of Pyongyang taking aggressive action in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, or shelling South

North KoreaMay 25, 2024

Austin to attend trilateral talks with South Korean, Japanese counterparts in Singapore: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will attend a trilateral meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on the margins of an annual security forum in Singapore slated to begin next week, the Pentagon said Friday. Austin will attend the Shangri-La Dialogue set to take place from May 31-June 2, during which he will join the three-way meeting with the Asian allies, and bilateral meetings with China's Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun and other counterparts, ac

Foreign AffairsMay 25, 2024

Ex-US diplomat notes Trump's apparent distrust toward N. Korean leader in FP interview

WASHINGTON -- Former President Donald Trump viewed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as someone who would "knife" him in the stomach if there was a chance to do so, a former US diplomat said in a media interview released this week. In a recent interview with Foreign Policy, Gordon Sondland, who served as Trump's top envoy to the European Union from 2018-2020, made the revelation, drawing a stark contrast with the former president's repeated claim that he "got along very we

Foreign AffairsMay 25, 2024

N. Korea to convene key party meeting next month

North Korea has decided to convene a key ruling party meeting next month to review progress in its ongoing projects for the first half of the year, state media reported Saturday. The North's leader Kim Jong-un led a politburo meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on Friday, which decided to convene a plenary meeting of the party's central committee late next month, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Kim Jong-un referred to the necessity to convene the

North KoreaMay 25, 2024

Arrest warrant issued for embattled popera star Kim Ho-joong

A Seoul court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for embattled popera star Kim Ho-joong on charges of ramming into a taxi while driving under the influence and fleeing the scene. Kim's arrest comes two days after prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant on charges of crashing into a stationary taxi in the opposite lane in Seoul's southern district of Gangnam on the night of May 9 while driving drunk. He then allegedly left the scene without taking post-accident measures. The Seoul Cen

Social AffairsMay 24, 2024

S. Korea sanctions N. Koreans, Russian ships for illicit arms, oil trades

The South Korean government announced Friday sanctions against two North Korean individuals and two Russian ships involved in illicit arms and oil trades with Russia, contravening UN Security Council resolutions, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. Rim Yong-hyok was blacklisted for his involvement in weapons trading between Russia and North Korea while serving as the representative of the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation in Syria, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The

Foreign AffairsMay 24, 2024

Income, education level increased for arranged international marriage: report

Shifting trends have emerged in international marriages arranged by brokers, reflecting a rise in the educational background and income of individuals seeking foreign spouses through marriage agencies. According to the report released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on marriage agencies in 2023, over 50 percent of Korean users held a bachelor's degree, a 20.8 percentage point increase from a survey conducted in 2014. The education level for foreign partners also increased, wit

Social AffairsMay 24, 2024

Singer Kim Ho-joong awaits court decision on arrest warrant for DUI, hit-and-run

Singer Kim Ho-joong, who is accused of committing a hit-and-run accident while driving under the influence, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, for a court hearing to determine whether to issue his arrest warrant, Friday. Kim arrived at the Seoul Central District Court at around 11 a.m. after the court rejected his request to postpone the hearing on Thursday due to a scheduled concert at the KSPO Dome in Seoul Olympic Park. The show's organizer, Dumir, confirme

Social AffairsMay 24, 2024

Korea signs off on new med school quotas

South Korea took a step toward realizing its plan to increase the number medical school places for 2025 Friday, with the approval of university plans to boost admissions. The Korean Council for University Education held a university admissions committee meeting Friday to review the revised plans of each university on how much they will raise their medical school enrollment quotas for the 2025 academic year. Specific details are yet to be revealed, but plans submitted by each university have been

Social AffairsMay 24, 2024