NK's illicit cyber activities fund 40% of WMD program: UN report

North Korea is suspected of pocketing $750 million in cryptocurrency just last year, with profits from illicit cyber activities purportedly accounting for 40 percent of financing for the country's prohibited weapons of mass destruction programs, according to a report by the UN Panel of Experts. The final annual report released Wednesday stated that during the reporting period from July 2023 to January of this year, North Korea's cyber threat actors continued to target the virtual asset

Foreign AffairsMarch 21, 2024

[Exclusive] ILO encourages restraint, dialogue to resolve medical crisis

The International Labour Organization urged South Korea to resolve the ongoing dispute between the government and doctors through dialogue and refrain from violence or taking coercive measures, amid the continued standoff in the nation's health care sector. In a written response to The Korea Herald Wednesday night, the United Nations agency, whose goal is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labor standards, stressed that legislation allowing workers to be called

Social AffairsMarch 21, 2024

Biggest immigration concern among youths, low-income earners: Competing with foreign workers

Most Koreans support the establishment of an independent government agency for immigration services, despite worries among some Korean youths and low-earners that it will lead to competition with foreign workers for job opportunities, recent data showed. According to a public perception survey of 1,000 adults conducted by a private research firm on behalf of the Migration Research and Training Center, 68.6 percent of the respondents approved of the agency, while 15.2 percent said the agency was

Social AffairsMarch 21, 2024

Scandal-ridden envoy returns amid calls for tougher probe

South Korea’s Ambassador to Australia and ex-Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup returned home Thursday as the rival parties here called for a tougher investigation into his alleged manipulation of a military probe into the death of a young marine last year. Lee landed in Korea via Incheon International Airport in the morning, 11 days after he flew to Australia to assume his role as top envoy to Australia. The departure on March 10 came two days after the Justice Ministry lifted Lee’s trav

PoliticsMarch 21, 2024

Yoon vows to expand senior welfare

President Yoon Suk Yeol announced plans to expand senior welfare in South Korea, where a fifth of the population is aged 65 or older, at yet another policy debate he presided over Thursday morning. Yoon laid out support packages for senior citizens in the country, which is experiencing fast-paced population aging, as 1 in 4 South Korean citizens will be aged 65 or older by 2030. "Comprehensive measures ranging from living, food, medical services and nursing are needed for senior citizens,

PoliticsMarch 21, 2024

S. Korea, US stage urban warfare drills in border city

South Korea and the United States were staging combined urban combat training this week to bolster their readiness against threats in urban areas and underground facilities, Seoul's Army said Thursday. The five-day Army exercise kicked off at an urban operations training ground in the border city of Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on Monday. The exercise mobilized some 400 troops, including soldiers from the South's 9th Infantry Division, a US infantry platoon and other units,

DefenseMarch 21, 2024

1 S. Korean dead, 1 missing after chemical tanker capsizes off western Japan

A South Korean chemical tanker has capsized off Japan's west coast, leaving one South Korean dead and another missing, officials said. Eight of the 11 crew members on board the Keoyoung Sun vessel died after it capsized in waters near an island off the city of Shimonoseki in the Yamaguchi Prefecture on Wednesday, Seoul's foreign ministry and Japanese news outlets said, citing Japan's coast guard officials. The crew members included two South Koreans, including the captain, as well

Social AffairsMarch 21, 2024

US must continue to invest in 28,500 American troops in S. Korea: USFK commander

The commander of US Forces Korea emphasized the need Wednesday to continue to invest in 28,500 American service members in South Korea through various training programs to defend South Korea against evolving North Korean threats. Gen. Paul LaCamera made the remarks amid lingering concerns that should former President Donald Trump return to the White House, he could consider reducing the USFK troop level, though the current level is stated in the US National Defense Authorization Act. Those conce

Foreign AffairsMarch 21, 2024

[Election Battlefield] Busan, long a conservative stronghold, braces for a close race

BUSAN -- Known locally as “South Korea’s second capital,” Busan is home to some 3 million and a key battlefield in the upcoming National Assembly election just three weeks away. Busan is also politically significant for South Korea, having been the birthplace of two presidents, Kim Young-sam and Roh Moo-hyun, who are symbolic figures with the conservative party and the progressive party, respectively. Here, the fiercest battle is expected in Nam-gu, the only district in the cou

PoliticsMarch 20, 2024

Students, parents slam med school quota allocation as 'reverse discrimination,' file lawsuit

A group of students and parents from Seoul on Wednesday filed lawsuits in a bid to stop the government's move to increase the annual medical school enrollment quota. The group consisting of 17 people, including high school seniors, their parents and med school students in Seoul, filed an administrative lawsuit against Education Minister Lee Ju-ho and Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, in which they said the government measures are illegal, according to local media reports. The grou

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

Why Korea-India partnership matters in era of uncertainties?

South Korea and India should amplify their cooperation across economic, technology, defense and security domains, particularly amidst mounting global uncertainties fueled by ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the intensifying US-China strategic competition, experts from the two countries said Wednesday. The significance of enhancing bilateral collaboration serves as a crucial avenue to maintain peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and ensure economic security including stab

Foreign AffairsMarch 20, 2024

Mobile ID cards to become available on Samsung Wallet

Mobile identification cards, such as the driver’s license and the mobile national veteran's registration card, were to start being issued on Samsung Wallet from Wednesday, said the Ministry of Interior and Safety. On Wednesday, the Interior Ministry hosted an open event with Samsung Electronics to publicly announce the introduction of digital ID cards. At the event, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and Chair Go Jin from the Presidential Committee on the Digital Platform Government demon

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

Actor Daniel Dae Kim made honorary citizen of Seoul

US actor Daniel Dae Kim received a certificate of honorary Seoul citizenship on Wednesday, in recognition of his efforts in promoting Seoul through "Butterfly," an upcoming Amazon Prime Video series. "Butterfly" is a spy thriller series that centers around the character David Jung, a former US intelligence operative living in South Korea. Kim is both the lead actor and the executive producer of the six-episode series. Since February, Kim has been filming around several Seoul

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

Seoul piles pressure on doctors by finalizing medical school plans

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Wednesday announced the regional allocation for 2,000 new slots for students at medical schools across the country, finalizing administrative procedures for the plan it has pushed for months, despite doctors staging a large-scale walkout. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reaffirmed that the government’s plan, which was announced in February, fell in line with the Ministry of Education’s decision to allot 82 percent of the quota to medical schools outsid

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

Yoon aide resigns, embattled Australian envoy to return

Hwang Sang-moo, the senior presidential secretary for civil society, resigned from his post amid growing criticism concerning his conversation with a group of reporters in which he implied that any journalist refusing to be tamed by the Yoon administration could potentially face physical retaliation. Hwang's resignation was accepted by President Yoon Suk Yeol, his office said, but it did not confirm when it was accepted. Also, the government said that Lee Jong-sup, the embattled ambassador

PoliticsMarch 20, 2024

Police traces distress call in 6 minutes, saves girl from choking

In a swift, life-saving operation that was made public Wednesday, police in Seoul’s Seongbu District last week traced an emergency phone call in just 6 minutes and saved a girl from choking. The call lasted just 25 seconds, with only the sound of sobbing heard. On March 14, officers dispatched to a house in Anam-dong identified as the origin of the call found a 4-year-old girl lying unconscious after her neck became caught in the cord of a window blind. They performed CPR and after about

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

2 missing after S. Korean chemical tanker capsizes off western Japan

A South Korean chemical tanker capsized off Japan's west coast Wednesday, leaving two crew members missing, Japan's coast guard officials said. The Keoyoung Sun vessel, carrying 11 crew members, made the distress call to the Japanese Coast Guard at around 7 a.m., reporting that it was tilting in waters near an island of the Shimonoseki city in the Yamaguchi Prefecture. Of the 11 crew members on board -- two South Koreans, eight Indonesians and one Chinese -- nine have been rescued and

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

[New Neighbors] Is S. Korea a racist country?

Raj, an Indian resident of South Korea for nine years, was shocked during a visit to Busan when a club bouncer bluntly informed him and his friends, "You cannot enter because you are Indian." Despite their objections, they were directed to a neighboring club, only to encounter a notice explicitly barring entry to Indian and Pakistani men. The incident gained widespread attention after Raj's video of the discriminatory notice went viral, courtesy of Indian YouTuber Nikita Thakur, w

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

Delivery worker commended for helping police catch kidnapper

A 50-year-old South Korean man received a certificate of commendation from police on Tuesday for helping to catch a suspected kidnapper. Park Gwan-yong, who works as a delivery driver, was awarded the certificate at a ceremony at the Gangbuk Police Station in Seoul, for his contributions to the arrest on March 10. "This is the first certificate I received since the perfect attendance award I got in school. ... I feel so proud and honored, thinking someone like me can be commended," Par

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024

Seoulites marry later than any other region in S. Korea

Recent statistics from a state-run agency showed that people living in Seoul marry later than residents of any other region in South Korea, a possible indication of challenges presented by the high cost of living and housing in the nation's capital. Men living in Seoul, on average, had their first marriage at 34.4 years of age in 2023, while the first marriage for women in the region happened when they were 32.4-years-old, according to Statistics Korea. The average first marriage age for me

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2024