NK sends over 1,000 trash balloons to S. Korea in last 5 days

North Korea sent more than 1,000 trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea over five consecutive days, resuming its launch of trash balloons following a monthlong hiatus, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday. The JCS said that North Korea resumed its balloon launches at around 9 a.m. Sunday morning, just hours after it had sent around 200 trash-filled balloons toward South Korea late Saturday. “Around 50 trash balloons were confirmed to have landed in Seoul and the northern

North KoreaSept. 8, 2024

Opposition slams Yoon for failing to secure formal apology from Japan

The main opposition party slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol of "flattering" his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, accusing him of making consecutive concessions to Tokyo without securing a formal apology or compensation for its historical grievances. A day after the Japanese prime minister left Seoul, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday pledged to revise rules to stop comfort women statues at home and abroad from being defaced or meddled with, withou

PoliticsSept. 8, 2024

Oxbridge Society in Korea holds annual reception

The Oxbridge Society, an integrated alumni association in South Korea for graduates from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, held an alumni reception on Aug. 31, where society members were urged to be at the forefront of leading country relations between Korea and the United Kingdom. According to the alumni association on Friday, around 100 alums from both universities were in attendance at the annual reception, including former Foreign Minister and former President of Oxfo

Social AffairsSept. 8, 2024

German frigate visits Incheon on Indo-Pacific mission

The German frigate Baden-Wurttemberg and replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main arrived in Incheon on Friday as part of the Indo-Pacific Deployment 2024, a key German maritime defense diplomacy initiative in the region. Before reaching Incheon, the ships played a role in monitoring the United Nations arms embargo against North Korea, said the German Embassy in a press release Friday. The ships leave Incheon on Tuesday, it added. According to the embassy, the deployment aligns with the mission of t

Foreign AffairsSept. 8, 2024

LGBTQ+ dating app ad taken down 4 days later due to complaints

A large digital advertisement showing same-sex couples kissing and embracing each other was taken down four days after it began airing on the streets of Seoul's southern district of Gangnam due to a series of complaints. The 20-second dating app ad first appeared on a 6-storey digital billboard set up along the streets of Gangnam's Nonhyeon-dong on Aug. 26 under a contract that calls for the ad's airing at least 100 times a day for one year. The images showed gay and lesbian coupl

Social AffairsSept. 8, 2024

Another victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery dies, leaving 8 survivors

A victim of Japan's sexual slavery of Korean women during World War II has died, a civic group said Saturday, bringing down the number of officially registered surviving victims to eight. The woman died recently, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said, without revealing her identity. At 18, the late victim traveled to China with a friend to find work at a sewing factory but was forced into sexual servitude for Japanese troops

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2024

3 out of 4 shops, restaurants plan to stay open during Chuseok: survey

With the Chuseok holiday period approaching, three out of four small business owners plan to keep their shops and restaurants open during the holiday break, a recent survey shows. Alba Heaven, one of the largest part-time job portals, conducted a survey of 96 small business owners, and 85.4 percent said they would operate their businesses during the Chuseok holidays. This figure marks an increase of 5.7 percentage from the previous year. This year, the Chuseok holiday period will stretch over fi

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2024

Gov't urges doctors to return to med school quota talks

The government said Saturday that the medical community should draw up its plan for proposed talks over an increase in the medical school admissions quota amid prolonged strikes by junior doctors. On Friday, the presidential office said it is open to readjusting the country's quota for 2026 and would welcome it if a negotiating panel is formed among the rival parties, the government and the medical community to discuss the issue. The ruling People Power Party proposed launching a four-way

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2024

Korea, US held simulation drills for nuclear deterrence in Washington this week: defense ministry

WASHINGTON-- South Korea and the US held simulation drills in Washington this week to enhance nuclear deterrence cooperation, both sides said Friday, as the allies are stepping up security coordination to counter evolving North Korean threats. Seoul and Washington held the first table top simulation of the Nuclear Consultative Group, the allies' key nuclear deterrence dialogue body, on Thursday and Friday, Seoul's defense ministry and the Pentagon said in a joint statement. The TTS

Foreign AffairsSept. 7, 2024

North Korea floats 190 trash balloons in resumed campaign

North Korea has launched around 190 balloons filled with scrap paper and other waste toward the South in its resumed balloon campaign, with many found in Seoul and surrounding areas, military officials said Saturday. North Korea floated the balloons from Friday night to early Saturday morning, and around 100 have landed in the capital and its surrounding Gyeonggi Province so far, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. No hazardous materials have been found in the balloons, which contained only scrap

North KoreaSept. 7, 2024

Farewell summit: Yoon, Kishida pledge to keep momentum in revitalizing ties

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed the vital importance of sustaining the momentum in bilateral cooperation and exchanges -- an effort driven by their leader-to-leader diplomacy -- during Kishida's farewell visit to Seoul on Friday. Seoul and Tokyo signed a formal agreement to strengthen cooperation in protecting their nationals abroad and pledged to boost people-to-people exchanges by streamlining immigration procedures ahead of

Foreign AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Prosecution panel advises against indicting first lady over Dior bag acceptance

The Supreme Prosecutors Office's investigation review committee advised Friday against indicting first lady Kim Keon Hee for accepting a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor. The panel, comprising 15 outside experts, reached the conclusion after a meeting at the top prosecutors office to review the first lady's case involving allegations that she illegally received a Dior handbag worth 3 million won ($2,248) and other expensive gifts from pastor Choi Jae-young in 2022. Followin

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

S. Korea to freeze health insurance premiums for 2nd year in 2025

South Korea will keep next year's state health insurance premiums unchanged for a second straight year in an effort to help ease people's financial burdens, the health ministry said Friday. Under the plan, the health insurance premium rate will remain unchanged at 7.09 percent in 2025, marking the first time the government has implemented a two-year freeze in the insurance scheme. The government also froze the rate last year. Previously, the government has raised health insurance premi

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Man to pay W727m for opening plane door before landing

A man who opened an airplane door while the aircraft was still in flight was ordered to pay 727 million won ($547,000) in damages to the airline operator on Thursday. The man in his 30s was convicted in November for the premature opening of the emergency door while the Asiana Airlines plane was preparing to land at about 700-800 feet (213-243 meters) in the air. Thursday’s ruling was to determine compensation, following the criminal trial, and was handed down by Judge Chae Seong-ho of Daeg

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Rival parties unite to form 4-way body to break med school standoff

South Korea's rival political parties on Friday united in a rare display of bipartisan cooperation to form a four-party consultative body with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the medical community, aiming to jump-start negotiations over the medical school enrollment hike, which have been at the root of health care disruptions since February. People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon proposed the formation of a four-way consultative body, bringing together the Yoon government, ruling and o

PoliticsSept. 6, 2024

Gender pay gap inches down to 26.3% but persists

The gender pay gap in South Korea among companies required to disclose such information -- those with total assets of more than 5 trillion won ($5 billion) in affiliated companies -- narrowed slightly to 26.3 percent last year, a report showed Friday. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's gender pay gap research, the average pay of all 2,647 companies subject to disclosure, including listed companies and companies subject to external audit, was 98.57 million won for men

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Prosecution committee recommends to drop charges against first lady over Dior bag acceptance

A panel under South Korea's top prosecutors office on Friday has advised not to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over allegations that she broke the country's antigraft law by accepting a luxury Christian Dior handbag worth 3 million won ($2,248) from a Korean American pastor in 2022. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Investigation Review Committee, consisting of 15 outside experts, held the meeting from 2 p.m. to 7:10 p.m. to deliberate whether she is guilty of six different

PoliticsSept. 6, 2024

Criminals who drugged teens' drinks with meth sentenced to up to 18 years

South Korea's top court upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced defendants in a high-profile drug scam -- in which drug-laced drinks were deceptively distributed to students, followed by the blackmail of their parents -- to prison terms of up to 18 years, the court announced on Friday. The Supreme Court confirmed the lower court’s verdict, sentencing individuals identified by the surnames Gil, Kim, Park and Lee to prison terms of 18, 10, 10 and seven years, respectively. They were found

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

34 students grab prizes at 53rd Korea Herald English Speech Contest

The award ceremony for the 53rd Korea Herald English Speech Contest was held on Thursday at the Australian Embassy in Seoul on Friday. This year's contest, themed "My dream, Earth and the 10th Anniversary of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement," focused on the environment and economy. A total of 34 winners were recognized for their outstanding speeches. In attendance were Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Jeff Robinson, Deputy Head of Mission Martin Walker, Heral

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024

Wartime sexual slavery victims file for Japanese govt. asset disclosure

Victims of Japan's wartime military sexual slavery and their bereaved families filed a legal request with the court on Friday to verify the details of assets owned by the Japanese government in South Korea, in a bid to secure compensation following their civil lawsuit victory last November. Justice for the Comfort Women, a Seoul-based civic group advocating for Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, announced that the victims and their families had submitted the request unde

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2024