Xi invites Yoon to visit China at convenient time

Chinese President Xi Jinping invited President Yoon Suk-yeol to visit China at a mutually convenient time, a Chinese official said Tuesday. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan extended the invitation during a meeting with Yoon after attending Yoon's inauguration ceremony earlier in the day. "President Xi Jinping welcomes and invites the president to visit China at a mutually convenient time," he said through an interpreter. "President Xi Jinping told me specially to attend the p

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Constitution bars presidents from seeking reelections in S. Korea: Why?

The history of Korean people spans across thousands of years, but the Republic of Korea, aka, South Korea, is relatively young, with its history punctuated by military dictatorships and struggles to establish a truly democratic system. The presidential system itself has undergone multiple changes along the way, and several of the nation’s leaders have had less-than-fortunate endings. Here are four facts about the South Korean presidency that you may not have known before. 1) “2

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Yoon makes diplomatic debut with delegates at inauguration

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday made his diplomatic debut following his inauguration ceremony, holding a summit meeting and greeting delegates from key neighbors. Foreign dignitaries at the ceremony included Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan -- the highest-level official Beijing has sent to a Korean president’s inauguration -- Douglas Emhoff, the husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. Other foreign dignitaries included Sing

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Yoon begins term in time of changing world order, rising tension from Pyongyang

South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, begins his term with more difficult challenges on the diplomacy and security fronts amid the fast-changing world order and increasing North Korean threats. As a conservative, Yoon has presented a foreign policy that would reorient the country toward closer ties with the United States, and take a hard-line approach in dealing with North Korea and its missile provocations -- shifting the course from the one that his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-

Foreign AffairsMay 10, 2022

[Photo News] Inauguration day

President Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn in as the 20th state leader of South Korea on Tuesday morning, vowing to rebuild the nation based on values of liberal democracy and a market economy. More than 40,000 people, including political leaders, foreign envoys and residents, were invited to the inauguration ceremony held at the National Assembly from 11:00 a.m.  A state prosecutor for 27 years and a political novice, Yoon came out victorious in the March presidential election that was the closes

Social AffairsMay 10, 2022

Weak, fragile support base threatens Yoon administration’s successful start

President Yoon Suk-yeol, a political novice who rose to the nation’s top post less than a year after entering politics, faces the tough task of bridging the divide in public sentiment. But his relatively weak and fragile support base makes an already difficult task more daunting. Seemingly reflecting the close-fought race between Yoon and his rival Lee Jae-myung, surveys reveal a lack of public optimism about the next five years under the Yoon administration. Yoon beat his election op

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Korean expertise essential to accelerate El Salvador logistics transformation: ambassador

Korean expertise is essential to achieve and accelerate logistics transformation in El Salvador, the country’s top envoy to Korea said during an interview with The Korea Herald. The Central American country’s infrastructure drive presents opportunities for Korean companies to participate in planning, construction and operations, said El Salvador‘s Ambassador to South Korea, Jaime Jose Lopez Badia. According to Lopez, the increase of Korean foreign direct investment in El Salv

Diplomatic CircuitMay 10, 2022

President Yoon begins term with fist bumps

President Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn into office Tuesday with the kind of large inauguration ceremony that his predecessor missed out on. The event was held at the National Assembly, with some 41,000 people in attendance, including former President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, former President Park Geun-hye, officials from the government and National Assembly, diplomatic delegations and more. After paying his respects at Seoul National Cemetery in the morning, Yoon arrived at the N

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Korea should look further afield in talks to denuclearize NK: former UN undersecretary-general

 South Korea needs to look beyond the major powers in its bid to denuclearize North Korea, former UN Undersecretary-General Kim Won-soo told the Korea CQ Forum in Seoul last week. Citing the EU’s role in Iran’s denuclearization talks, South Korea can bring India, Mexico, Indonesia, or other countries who share similar interests and have a significant international presence without being strongly aligned with the US and China, Kim said, stressing there are functional approaches

Diplomatic CircuitMay 10, 2022

[Newsmaker] Five things about S. Korea’s new president

Yoon Suk-yeol was officially sworn in as the 20th president of South Korea on Tuesday, kicking off his five-year term with the inauguration ceremony at 11 a.m. at the National Assembly in the nation’s capital. He has some distinct features that make him a unique leader in a number of ways. Here are five facts about the country’s new leader. 1) The first president since the 50s to work outside Cheong Wa Dae Yoon’s presidency has brought about a noticeable change to South K

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Full text of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration speech

My fellow Koreans, seven and a half million fellow compatriots living overseas, fellow citizens around the world, I stand before you today, humbled by the trust and responsibility that you have given me and mindful of my solemn duty to rebuild this great nation. It is our generation’s calling to build a nation that espouses liberal democracy and ensures a thriving market economy, a nation that fulfills its responsibility as a trusted member of the international community, and a nation tha

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Korean investors can benefit from EU-funded NRRP: Italian ambassador

   Italy is a leading innovator with valuable opportunities for cooperation with Korean entities, says Italian ambassador to South Korea Federico Failla. Speaking at The Korea Herald’s Global Business Forum on May 4 in Seoul, Failla highlighted Italy’s past and continuing innovations, and its focus on green energy. According to Failla, Italy is committed to achieving carbon neutrality in 2050, and currently produces 20 percent of total energy from renewable sources, as w

Diplomatic CircuitMay 10, 2022

Yoon stresses freedom, growth as he begins 5-year term

President Yoon Suk-yeol prioritized liberal democracy and market economy, believing freedom and rapid growth can resolve the multiple challenges the nation faces in his inaugural address on Tuesday. He also pledged to strengthen North Korea’s economy if it embarks on the denuclearization process. The inauguration ceremony was held at the National Assembly at 11 a.m. and had around 41,000 people in attendance, including former presidents and the family members of deceased former leaders,

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Uzbekistan’s development strategy

In 2022, after a nationwide discussion, Uzbekistan adopted the Development Strategy for 2022-2026. To fully understand the essence of Development Strategy - Development Program, I consider it necessary to draw special attention to the following fundamental issues. Firstly, Uzbekistan’s presidential elections, held in 2021, created completely new conditions for domestic political development and the implementation of foreign policy tasks. The main result of the elections is high political

Foreign AffairsMay 10, 2022

S. Korea's central bank chief elected to BIS board

The chief of the Bank of Korea (BOK) has been elected to the highest decision-making body of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Seoul's central bank said Tuesday. BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong was elected to the 18-member board of the Switzerland-based BIS on Monday (local time) and began his three-year term, the BOK said in a press release. Rhee is the second South Korean central banker to take a seat on the board. His predecessor, Lee Ju-yeol, assumed the position from early 2019 until t

Social AffairsMay 10, 2022

Yoon to formally ask National Assembly to approve PM nominee

President Yoon Suk-yeol plans to formally ask the National Assembly to approve Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo on Tuesday after he takes the oath of office, the floor leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said. PPP floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong told CBS radio that Yoon plans to file his first motion to ask the National Assembly to approve Han later in the day. "Under the National Assembly law, the National Assembly should hold a plenary session as soon as possible to approv

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

Yoon pays tribute at national cemetery ahead of inauguration ceremony

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday visited Seoul National Cemetery to pay his tribute to fallen patriots before attending his inauguration ceremony. Yoon was accompanied by his wife Kim Keon-hee and aides, including presidential chief of staff designate Kim Dae-ki, at the Seoul National Cemetery, where he laid flowers and burned incense for the national heroes. Yoon wrote a message in the guestbook that read, "Upholding the sacrifice and the devotion of the patriotic martyrs, I will make th

PoliticsMay 10, 2022

S. Korea develops radar technology to accurately target missile warheads

South Korea has developed a homegrown radar technology to identify and track ballistic missile warheads as part of efforts to strengthen the nation's air defense, its state-run military research agency said Tuesday. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has secured the technology designed to discern warheads of hostile missiles from other non-explosive parts, such as propellants and debris created from the separation of rockets, its officials said. "It is one of the technologies necessar

DefenseMay 10, 2022

S. Korean shipbuilders suffer manpower shortage amid brisk orders

South Korean shipyards are suffering from a labor shortage due mainly to massive layoffs years earlier, stoking concerns over output disruptions amid bumper orders, industry sources Tuesday. The local shipbuilding industry had a combined workforce of some 93,000 as of the end of last year, down a whopping 54 percent from seven years earlier, according to the Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association. The tumble results largely from large-scale layoffs that local shipbuilders carried out to c

Social AffairsMay 10, 2022

Yoon govt. to hold 1st policy consultative meeting with ruling party this week: official

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration's first ruling party-government consultative meeting is expected to take place Wednesday to discuss an extra budget bill aimed at compensating pandemic-hit small merchants, an official with the now ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Tuesday. The meeting between the PPP and the new government is likely to be held at 7:30 a.m. at the National Assembly one day after Yoon takes office, according to the official. "Since the extra budget bill is the most urgent

PoliticsMay 10, 2022