South Korea and Central Asia set stage for first summit

South Korea and five Central Asian countries -- all former Soviet republics -- are gearing up for their first-ever summit, aiming to forge a synergistic partnership that leverages shared strengths and foster regional peace amid escalating tensions fueled by illicit military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul convened the 17th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum in Seoul on Monday, bringing together foreign ministers, vice foreign ministe

Foreign AffairsNov. 4, 2024

KMA hosts int'l symposium on numerical weather forecasting

Weather researchers from around the world came together Monday to discuss more measures that can be taken to improve weather forecasting in the era of climate change, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. The three-day event, hosted by the Korea Institute of Atmospheric Prediction Systems, a research institute affiliated with the KMA, has been held annually since 2012, after South Korea established its own numerical weather prediction tool in 2011. Known as the Korean I

Social AffairsNov. 4, 2024

Temperatures to drop by more than 10 C Tuesday morning

South Korea will begin to see hints of winter weather, as temperatures are expected to drop significantly from Tuesday, with some regions seeing cold wave alerts issued in the morning, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. According to the KMA, average temperatures nationwide are expected to range from 2 to 11 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, a 10 C difference from average temperatures on Monday. As a low-pressure trough passes over the northern parts of Korea, the K

Social AffairsNov. 4, 2024

Amid record-low approval rating, Yoon forgoes Assembly budget address

President Yoon Suk Yeol skipped his 2025 budget address at parliament on Monday as he faces record-low popularity with his domestic agenda now overshadowed by the main opposition party having ramped up the pressure on him based on the recent revelation of a phone conversation suggesting he interfered in an election. On Monday, Yoon's approval rating fell 2.2 percentage points to the lowest point of 22.4 percent since his inauguration in May 2022, according to a poll by Realmeter. The poll o

PoliticsNov. 4, 2024

Debate grows over charging foreign day laborers health insurance premiums

Debate on whether to charge health insurance to day laborers of foreign nationality was sparked on Monday as local media reported that the government is reviewing such a plan as a new funding source for the national health insurance system amid Korea's low birth rate. The government is developing strategies to bolster its health insurance funding as Korea rapidly becomes a super-aged society, according to local reports. According to reports, this plan concerns expanding the income categorie

Social AffairsNov. 4, 2024

270 busted in medical insurance fraud

About 270 individuals, including medical professionals, brokers and fake patients, have been busted by police for their alleged involvement in an insurance fraud scheme to falsely claim a combined 1 billion won ($729,000) in payouts by faking cosmetic procedures as medical treatments. The Financial Supervisory Service on Sunday said Busan Nambu Police Station had apprehended the scammers last month. The scheme was uncovered after the FSS received several reports on the insurance fraud to its rep

Social AffairsNov. 4, 2024

Ex-official, disgruntled over ruling to split pension with ex-wife, found dead

A retired government official was found dead inside his car in the parking lot of a Gwangju court on Saturday, after he had left a note expressing his frustration with the court's order to give half of his pension to his ex-wife. The two had recently divorced. The body was found at around 8 p.m. in the car parked outside the Gwangju Family Court in Seo-gu, Gwangju, which had handled the divorce lawsuit for the man. It had ruled that the man should give half of the payout from his Government

Social AffairsNov. 4, 2024

Gangnam Station ramming suspect to face detention

The court will review an arrest warrant for a woman who rammed into seven cars and drove the wrong way along a boulevard near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul. The review will be held in Seoul Central District Court at 3:30 p.m. Monday, after police requested the warrant the previous day. The woman in her 20s was caught driving without a license after causing an accident on the street near Exit No. 12 of Gangnam Station at 1:39 p.m. on Saturday, according to local media. She was reportedly pull

Social AffairsNov. 4, 2024

Czech Republic applauds South Korean support for Ukraine

The Czech Republic applauded South Korean support for Ukraine, as it celebrated its Independence Day on Oct. 28. Czechoslovak Independence Day commemorates the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and continues to serve as a significant symbol of national identity for Czechs, despite the 1993 division into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In his remarks at the event, Czech Ambassador to Korea Ivan Jancarek used the occasion to praise South Korea’s support for Ukraine and the strengthening Cz

Foreign AffairsNov. 4, 2024

Turkmenistan, S. Korea tout bilateral initiatives

Turkmenistan and Korea highlighted bilateral initiatives at an event marking Turkmenistan's 33rd Independence Day on Wednesday. The Central Asian country celebrates its independence from the Soviet Union, declared on Oct. 27, 1991, after the Cold War and the Soviet Union's breakup. Speaking at the event at a Seoul hotel, Turkmen Ambassador to Korea Begench Durdyyev highlighted Turkmenistan's development journey, and the milestones in bilateral relations with South Korea, and honor

Foreign AffairsNov. 4, 2024

Harris, Trump gird for Tuesday's election showdown; polls show them in dead heat

US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump are bracing for this week's high-stakes election showdown, with various polls showing them in a tight margin-of-error race. Voters will go to polling stations nationwide on Tuesday to pick a new president. More than 75 million Americans had already cast an early ballot, data from the University of Florida showed. The number of eligible voters is estimated at about 244 million, according to the Bipartisa

Foreign AffairsNov. 4, 2024

S. Korea, UN host joint disarmament conference for foreign diplomats

The foreign ministry will host a group of foreign diplomats this week for a joint conference and other programs with the UN to brief them on South Korea's disarmament efforts and its North Korea policy, the ministry said Monday. The two-day South Korea-UN disarmament conference, running through Tuesday, will bring together 25 diplomats from Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East who are currently engaged in disarmament diplomacy, the ministry said in a release.

Foreign AffairsNov. 4, 2024

PPP leader urges Yoon to issue public apology over allegations surrounding first lady

Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon on Monday called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to issue a public apology and reshuffle aides at the presidential office to address growing concerns over allegations surrounding the first lady. Han of the People Power Party made the remarks during a meeting of the party's supreme council, calling for a "complete" personnel overhaul of the presidential aides. "The president should publicly and thoroughly address the concerns of the people, issue a

PoliticsNov. 4, 2024

PM to deliver 2025 budget speech at National Assembly

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will deliver the government's 2025 budget speech at the National Assembly on behalf of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday, Han's office said. It marks the first time in 11 years that a sitting president has not addressed parliament on the annual budget. Yoon presented the budget speech the past two years after taking office in May 2022. Since 1988, it has been customary for presidents to outline their key priorities to lawmakers before submitting the governme

PoliticsNov. 4, 2024

US flies long-range bomber in drill with S. Korea, Japan in reaction to the North's missile test

The United States flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland, South Korea’s military said. North Korea on Thursday tested the newly developed Hwasong-19 ICBM, which flew higher and stayed in the air longer than any other missile it has fired. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called it “an appropriate military acti

Foreign AffairsNov. 3, 2024

TechCamp Korea 2024 promotes safe, ethical AI use

The US Embassy in Seoul said it hosted “TechCamp Korea 2024,” a three-day event focused on fostering the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence. Held from October 31 to November 3 at the Kyowon Vision Center in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, the camp was part of the US Department of State’s global tech leadership initiative and marked the first time the program has been held in Korea. Aimed at strengthening ties among Korea’s next generation of AI leaders, the camp

Social AffairsNov. 3, 2024

Presidential Bio Committee to launch in December

South Korea's Presidential Bio Committee will hold its inaugural meeting in December, with President Yoon Suk Yeol chairing the committee of roughly 20 experts in the field of biotechnology, to bolster the nation's push to achieve a biotechnology breakthrough. Park Sang-ook, senior presidential secretary for science and technology, said in a briefing Sunday that Lee Sang-yup, vice president for research at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, will serve as the vice c

PoliticsNov. 3, 2024

[Herald Interview] Beyond weather forecasting, KMA seeks to empower climate action

Weather forecasting has become essential to daily life, yet climate change is making it more unpredictable than ever. Amid growing uncertainty in weather prediction, Chang Dong-eon, administrator of the Korea Meteorological Administration, believes that the agency’s mission goes beyond delivering accurate forecasts. It also aims to empower individuals to take climate action and to enhance the nation’s overall resilience in facing the climate crisis, he said. “Just this summer,

Social AffairsNov. 3, 2024

Korea Herald to co-host forum on impact of Trump’s return through Seoul’s lens

The Korea Herald will co-host a forum on Nov. 13 to unpack the foreign policy, security, economic and trade implications of Donald Trump’s return to the White House for Seoul and the Korea-US alliance, while exploring strategic responses to tackle emerging challenges and seize new opportunities. The timely forum, titled "Alliance after US Election 2024: A Seoul Perspective," will be held at the National Assembly Museum in partnership with the Bipartisan Forum for Advanced Diplo

Foreign AffairsNov. 3, 2024

$200m a year, 700,000 tons of rice, space tech: The deal for North Korea in joining Russia’s war

North Korea is believed to have dispatched thousands of soldiers to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine, with thousands more anticipated to join by the year’s end, according to South Korean intelligence and military officials. While the National Intelligence Service said in its latest analysis the costs of North Korea stepping into the war seem to outweigh the benefits, other experts in Seoul say Pyongyang can now expect Moscow to have its back in a possible contingency on the Korean

North KoreaNov. 3, 2024