Seoul to double budget by 2027 to join global space race

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled plans to set up a new space industry cluster in the next eight years that is not only capable of manufacturing satellites and rockets, but also astronaut training. To aid the goal of space exploration, some 1.5 trillion won ($1.14 billion) of the budget will be allocated in 2027, up from the 836.2 billion won budget this year. The funding will lay the cornerstone for South Korea's aerospace industry to bloom, Yoon said. He envisioned South Korea's boos

PoliticsMarch 13, 2024

Jeju introduces virtual news presenter

Jeju’s provincial government has recently hired a news anchor to conduct its weekly YouTube program for 600,000 won ($450) a month: virtual human J-na. The computer-created female presenter primarily delivers policy updates and local news from the island, reading scripts prepared via artificial intelligence. The program, developed and managed by a private contractor company, costs 600,000 won per month, according to the island province. "Employing human news presenters incurs signif

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

Labor groups slam BOK report on foreign care worker wages

Labor groups have reacted with anger to a report by South Korea’s central bank that proposed to bring in foreign care workers and pay them less than the minimum wage. “The bank’s suggestions of paying migrant workers cheaper than the minimum wage are discriminatory and anti-human rights ideas,” said Citizens‘ Solidarity for Securing the Publicness of Care and Realizing the Right to Care, a major coalition comprised of the country’s two umbrella trade unions, t

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

US intel downplays NK full-scale war risks, noting Putin as influencer

The US intelligence community currently assesses that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is unlikely to escalate tensions into a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, even as concerns persist over the potential for his closer alignment with the Russian president to embolden his aggressive actions. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines provided the assessment during Tuesday's House Intelligence Committee hearing while noting that Kim's recent rhetoric and actions have been incre

North KoreaMarch 13, 2024

Late firefighter's father donates life savings in memory of son

The father of a firefighter who perished on the job has donated 500 million won ($381,000) to the National Fire Agency, which the NFA on Tuesday vowed to use to provide scholarships for the bereaved family members of those who lost their lives in service. The agency on Tuesday held a ceremony for the launch of the Firefighter Hero Kim Gi-beom Scholarship at Gangbuk Fire Station in Daegu. The scholarship was based on funds donated by Kim Gyeong-su, whose son Kim Gi-beom died at the age of 26 in 1

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

Protesting medical students to press for schools' granting of their leave of absence requests

Medical students nationwide have resolved to request their schools grant leave of absence applications they filed in collective action protesting the government's plan to dramatically raise the medical school enrollment quota, their association said Wednesday. The Korean Medical Student Association said the decision was unanimously reached during a plenary session over the weekend. Under the resolution, members from all 40 medical schools across the country will ask their respective schools

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

S. Korean, US defense officials visit Samsung's chip plant

South Korean and US defense officials overseeing technology policies visited Samsung Electronic Co.'s semiconductor plant this week, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday, amid efforts to bolster information and communication technology cooperation. Cheon Seung-hyun, head of the defense ministry's Intelligent Information Policy Bureau, and Leslie A. Beavers, the Pentagon's principal deputy chief information officer, made the visit Monday at the plant in Suwon, 30 kilometers

DefenseMarch 13, 2024

On-year job additions rise over 300,000 for 2nd month in Feb.

South Korea added more than 300,000 jobs for the second consecutive month in February led by solid job growth in the manufacturing sector amid rising exports, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 28.04 million last month, up 329,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It is the second month in a row that the number of new jobs has exceeded 300,000. In January, 380,000 jobs were added after three months of job additions below 300,000. F

Social AffairsMarch 13, 2024

Iraqi general visits S. Korea to examine KAI's Surion helicopter

A senior Iraqi Army general visited South Korea last week to look over a homegrown utility helicopter, sources said Wednesday, raising speculation over the Middle Eastern country's potential purchase of the aircraft. Lt. Gen. Samir Zaki Hussein Al-Maliki, commander of Iraq's Army Aviation Command, arrived in South Korea on March 4 for a four-day visit to meet with South Korean military and defense company officials, according to the sources from the defense industry and relevant author

DefenseMarch 13, 2024

Germany shares results from recent inspection of its embassy in N. Korea

A senior German official briefed a South Korean official on the outcome of his delegation's recent inspection of its embassy in North Korea, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Earlier in the day, German State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office Thomas Bagger also discussed bilateral ties and regional security in his talks with First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun in Seoul. Last month, the German delegation visited Pyongyang to inspect the site of its embassy for the first time si

Foreign AffairsMarch 12, 2024

New envoy to Australia posts greetings on website amid appointment row

South Korea's new ambassador to Australia officially assumed his post with a greeting on the embassy's website Tuesday amid controversy over his alleged influence-peddling case related to the death of a young Marine last year. Lee Jong-sup, who served as defense minister from 2022 to 2023, left for Australia on Sunday, two days after the justice ministry lifted his travel ban. "Our embassy will play a role in promoting peace and stability in the region, including the denucleariz

PoliticsMarch 12, 2024

S. Korean detained in Russia for alleged espionage is missionary

A South Korean citizen who Russian authorities claim has been detained on charges of espionage since earlier this year is a Christian missionary focused on aiding North Korean people in Russia's Far East region, according to sources on Tuesday. The South Korean individual, first reported by Russia's state-run media outlet TASS as Baek Won-soon and later corrected as Baek Kwang-soon, had been actively involved in missionary efforts for North Koreans in Vladivostok, according to database

Foreign AffairsMarch 12, 2024

Cho Kuk’s new party most popular third party, so far

Among the several new third parties that have emerged out of the Democratic Party of Korea, the new party founded and headed by Cho Kuk, former justice minister under President Moon Jae-in, has so far seen the highest ratings, according to the latest polls. In a March 5-7 Gallup Korea poll of 1,000 voters aged 18 and above, 6 percent said they would vote for Cho's Rebuilding Korea Party. By contrast, 3 percent said they supported the New Reform Party headed by Lee Jun-seok, who was ousted a

PoliticsMarch 12, 2024

Doctor denies giving drugs to Lee Sun-kyun's blackmailer

A South Korean doctor accused of providing drugs to a bar hostess, believed to have blackmailed late actor Lee Sun-kyun, denied the accusations at a court hearing on Tuesday. The lawyer for the 43-year-old plastic surgeon told Incheon District Court that his client denies all the charges related to the 30-year-old hostess of a high-end bar, who has been charged with receiving the drug from the doctor. Contrary to what the defendant said, the hostess has already pleaded guilty to all the charges

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2024

City councilman proposes marriage in the middle of assembly

A 46-year-old member of the Gwangyang municipal council made headlines by proposing to his girlfriend in the middle of a general assembly meeting on Monday. According to the council in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, councilman Park Chul-soo of the main opposition Democratic Party took to the podium to pose questions about the city’s policies to officials. After the questions, he said, "Pardon me for speaking about my personal matters in the assembly." "I thought making it

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2024

Drought levels to maintain normal conditions for next 3 months

Meteorological drought levels are forecast to remain normal nationwide, due to high levels of precipitation over the past few months compared to previous years, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said Tuesday. According to the Interior Ministry, the total precipitation levels recorded over the past six months reached up to 504.7 millimeters nationwide -- 150.6 percent above the average precipitation levels recorded between 1991 and 2020. In February alone, up to 102.6 mm of rain was recorded, m

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2024

Man lies about wealth, education, tries to kill wife who forgave him

A 29-year-old South Korean man was sentenced on Tuesday to four years in jail by an appellate court for attempted murder of his wife, whom he had tricked into marriage by lying about his wealth and educational background. Gwangju High Court found the defendant surnamed Choi guilty of attempted murder, but overturned the earlier ruling by a lower court that had sentenced him to five years and six months in prison. "The defendant’s history of mental illness, including depression, appear

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2024

Health care standoff worsens as professors threaten to leave hospitals

Further uncertainty is hovering over South Korea’s critical care system, as medical professors, who have been filling the vacuum left by junior doctors walking out, warned they too could walk out in protest against the government’s expansion plan. The Medical Professors Association of Korea -- a coalition of professors from 33 medical schools -- issued a statement Tuesday that the group would take collective action “if any damage is inflicted” on trainee doctors or medica

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2024

[Herald Interview] Med school expansion won’t solve health care shortage: WMA president

The South Korean government’s decision to add 2,000 new spots in medical school admissions is not a solution to alleviate the immediate needs of medically underserved or specialty areas, according to Dr. Lujain Al-Qodmani, the president of the World Medical Association. In an exclusive written interview with The Korea Herald, the WMA head said the government’s decision overlooked the complexities of medical education and health care delivery and risks unintended consequences. Al-Qodm

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2024

Busan's move to name district 'Eco Delta-dong' irks Hangeul advocates

Busan city is facing opposition from Korean language preservation groups as it moves to name a district “Eco Delta-dong,” making the first time an English place name would be used for an official administrative unit. As per the city’s announcement on Tuesday, the district office of Gangseo, Busan, has submitted the naming proposal last month for the new entity to be comprised of three existing areas, Gangdong-dong, Myeongji 1-dong and Daejeo 2-dong. In pursuit of the national

Social AffairsMarch 12, 2024