Lee Jae-myung has hot mic moment on campaign trail

Democratic Party of Korea Chairperson Rep. Lee Jae-myung has come under fire after he was caught on a hot mic saying he “put on a show” after a campaign event Sunday. “I put on a show of working (hard). My back hurts,” the main opposition leader said as he was getting into his van while still live on air on his YouTube channel. The hot mic remarks came immediately after Lee held a campaign rally in a district in Incheon, where he is running for a second term in the Nation

PoliticsApril 8, 2024

S. Korea, Japan, China finalizing date for Seoul summit: FM

South Korea, Japan and China are in the process of finalizing a date for a trilateral summit that has not taken place since December 2019, South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Monday. Cho confirmed this during his meeting with Secretary-General Lee Hee-sup of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. The TCS is an international organization dedicated to fostering lasting peace, shared prosperity and cultural exchange among South Ko

Foreign AffairsApril 8, 2024

Teachers' rights to be specified in Seoul education policies

Education authorities in Seoul plan to add a clause specifying the protection of teachers in the student rights plan for the next three years, in light of a series of cases last year related to abuse against teachers. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is currently cooking up the first draft of the student rights comprehensive plan for 2024-2026, and is set to hold a public hearing at its Jongno headquarters on May 11 for feedback from experts, the public, students, parents and teachers

Social AffairsApril 8, 2024

Man injured trying to stop misogynist attack to be honored

A South Korean man who sustained serious injuries while trying to stop an assault of a woman will be designated as a "wounded noble person" by the law and receive state compensation, the city government of Jinju said Monday. The city government recently granted a model citizen certificate to the man in his 50s, and is preparing for the abovementioned official designation. The Act on Honorable Treatment and Support for Persons Who Died or Were Injured for Public Good stipulates benefits

Social AffairsApril 8, 2024

South Korea launches 2nd spy satellite amid space race with North Korea

South Korea on Monday succeeded in sending its second domestically made military reconnaissance satellite into space from the US to enhance its space-based surveillance of North Korea and deterrence against nuclear and missile threats. The Ministry of National Defense said the satellite was launched at 8:17 a.m., Korea time, on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. About 45 minutes after liftoff at 9:02 a.m., the satellite entered its target o

PoliticsApril 8, 2024

S. Korea's housing market stabilizing, Yoon says

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday touted his administration's policy efforts as the reason behind the recent signs of the housing market stabilizing. Yoon said his conservative administration will spare no efforts to further stabilize the housing market, as the interest rate and the cost of construction remain high, posing hurdles for the housing supply in Seoul, which is suffering a shortage of affordable housing for prospective homeowners. "Now is the (optimal) time to normalize the housi

PoliticsApril 8, 2024

[New Analysis] Why does Kishida still want to meet Kim Jong-un?

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's steadfast pursuit of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, despite Pyongyang's unequivocal public refusals to engage with Japan and address the abduction of Japanese citizens, is primarily intended to resonate with the domestic audience, experts in Seoul said Monday. Another objective for Japan could be preparing for the potential revival of a summit between the United States and North Korea if Donald Trump is elected president in the No

Foreign AffairsApril 8, 2024

Political satire strikes back ahead of election

Watching "Saturday Night Live Korea" on his laptop with a bowl of popcorn is how 33-year-old office worker Im Tae-ho unwinds after work. "I love that political satire sketches on 'SNL Korea' have returned stronger than ever this season," Im told The Korea Herald. "I feel like 'SNL Korea' is the only comedy show that dares to poke fun at politicians so brazenly in Korea. It's the only show that does political satire the right way," he added.

PoliticsApril 8, 2024

Presidential office denies deferring med student hike

The presidential office said Monday that it has no plan to defer the medical school admissions quota hike, fueling confusion both in the government and medical community, which briefly saw the possibility for dialogue over the matter. “The government has never reviewed postponing the plan for a year, nor will it do so in the future,” an official from the presidential office told reporters during a closed-door briefing, reiterating that the government remains unchanged on its medical

PoliticsApril 8, 2024

S. Koreans shoulder slightly less than W1m a year for medical services

South Koreans paid an average of 960,000 won ($709) in 2021 for medical services, excluding state health insurance coverage, government reports showed Monday. In a joint report, the National Health Insurance Service and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs analyzed the data of 12,874 adults across the country, out of whom 11,844 used medical services in 2021. South Korean law subsidizes the costs of medical services through the National Health Insurance program, to which all citizen

Social AffairsApril 8, 2024

Stray bullet injures American, state to pay compensation

A South Korean court recently ordered the state to pay 209 million won ($154,000) as compensation to a US national who police mistakenly injured with a gun while trying to take down a dog on a rampage. The civil case division of the Seoul District Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the 68-year-old American, who demanded compensation for injuries he sustained in the unintended attack. "The accident occurred as a result of a police officer's illegal actions, which is beyond the degree o

Social AffairsApril 8, 2024

Seoul's transit pass hits 1 million issuance milestone

Seoul’s all-inclusive monthly transit pass, the "Climate Card," surpassed 1 million issuances last week, just 70 days since its debut, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. According to the city's data, the number of climate cards issued as of Friday had reached 1,008,000, since its launch on Jan. 27. Of the total, mobile-only cards accounted for approximately 49 percent, while the remaining 515,000 issuances were for physical cards, a city official said. The number

Social AffairsApril 8, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Display of in-game items, future car development

Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Income Tax Act Proposed by Rep. Park Dae-chul (People Power Party) ●This amendment proposes canceling the planned implementation of the financial income tax system next year, which imposes a 20-25 percent tax on capital gains from investments in financial investment products, such as stocks, bonds and funds, that are worth 50 million won ($38,230) or more. The financial investment income tax, also known as the “geumtuse,” is a system that levi

PoliticsApril 8, 2024

S. Korea, US to hold regular defense talks on deterrence against N. Korea

South Korea and the United States will hold regular defense talks this week to discuss ways to bolster security cooperation and deter North Korean nuclear and missile threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. The Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue will take place in Washington on Thursday for discussions on a range of alliance issues ahead of the allies' Nuclear Consultative Group session in June. South Korean Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Cho Chang-rae, Ely Ratner, US assi

DefenseApril 8, 2024

N. Korea's Kim sends message to Putin over flooding in Russia

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a message consoling Russian President Vladimir Putin over heavy floods that hit Russia's southern region, state media said Monday. Kim's message came in response to media reports that Russia declared a federal emergency after heavy floods in the country's Orenburg region forced thousands of people to evacuate. "Kim Jong-un, on behalf of the DPRK government and people and on his own behalf, extended deep consolation to the Russian presi

North KoreaApril 8, 2024

S. Korea successfully launches 2nd spy satellite into orbit

South Korea successfully launched its second indigenous spy satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida on Monday, according to the defense ministry. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 7:17 p.m. from the John F. Kennedy Space Center and sent the reconnaissance satellite into orbit approximately 45 minutes after the launch, the ministry said. It succeeded in communicating with an overseas ground station at 10:57 a.m., it noted. It is the second military sate

DefenseApril 8, 2024

Senior doctors positively assess Yoon-junior doctors meeting, vow 'unified' response hike plan withdrawal

A major doctors' association on Sunday assessed positively the recent meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and the chief of a striking trainee doctors' group despite criticism by some junior doctors, vowing a unified response with trainee doctors and medical professors to the government's medical school quota hike plan. Last week, Yoon met with Park Dan, the head of an emergency committee at the Korea Intern Resident Association, to discuss the ongoing standoff over the plan to

Social AffairsApril 7, 2024

Teen's death in online suicide inducement case results in suspended sentence

A South Korean who gave instructions to a teen concerning suicide has been given a 10-month prison term, suspended for two years, after the teen died using the information, a local media outlet reported Sunday. The Uijeongbu District Court recently found the defendant guilty of violating the Act for the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of Culture of Respect for Life, according to a report by the Seoul Economic Daily. It bans distribution of information that shows specific methods of suicid

Social AffairsApril 7, 2024

[KH Explains] Political leeks: Scallions become election attack line

The green onion, a beloved vegetable among South Koreans, has unexpectedly become the latest political weapon for opposition parties to attack President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling party. It all started with Yoon's visit to a hypermarket in southern Seoul on March 18, just before he rolled out measures to tame food prices in the country. There, Yoon noticed that a bundle of green onions weighing 1 kilogram was selling for 875 won ($0.65), significantly lower than the usual price of between

PoliticsApril 7, 2024

86-year-old woman who donated life savings dies alone

A Busan district office on Saturday announced the death of an 86-year-old woman who had recently donated 50 million won ($37,000) that she saved up while working as a housekeeper. Gweon Ok-seon donated her life savings in January to three welfare organizations in the southern port city -- the regional branch of the Red Cross, the Community Chest of Korea and the welfare center of her local Mandeok 3-dong -- according to the Buk-gu Office in Busan. She passed away alone at a hospital in Mandeok-d

Social AffairsApril 7, 2024