Campaign calls for mutual respect between Koreans, Filipinos

Business leaders, politicians and diplomats from Korea and the Philippines, attending a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday, stressed the importance of mutual cultural understanding and respect between the people of both nations, the event’s organizer said Tuesday. According to the Seoul-based Sunfull Foundation, the "K-Respect Campaign" event was attended by 37 members of the Korea-Philippines Economic Council, led by Chairman Robert Yupangco, along with lawmaker

PoliticsAug. 27, 2024

93% of parents in Korea's youngest city oppose shared kick scooters

Some 93 percent of the parents of children and teens living in Sejong say they do not need any electric kick scooter sharing systems in the city, a survey showed Tuesday. Kim Hyo-sook, city council member of South Korea's youngest city in terms of average age, commissioned the survey from the Sejong City Office of Education of 4,325 parents in the area whose children are currently in kindergarten, elementary, middle or high school. A total of 4,025 said they do not need shared kick scoote

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2024

Top-earning delivery rider dies after traffic accident

A food delivery rider, who had risen to internet stardom as the highest-earning delivery driver in the nation, died Sunday night, a month after he was struck by a bus while riding his motorcycle. According to the Incheon Yeonsu Police Station on Tuesday, the fatal accident took place at 2:30 p.m. in Yeonsu-go, Incheon, July 31, when an intra-city bus collided with the delivery worker in his 40s at a crossroad. Investigations revealed that the bus driver had violated a traffic signal, striking th

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2024

‘I hated being asked where I’m from,’ ex-North Korean diplomat tells Seoul lawmakers

Ri Il-kyu, the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect to South Korea since 2016, says he “felt humiliated” every time he had to reveal which Korea he was from when he was serving overseas missions. Speaking at a National Assembly event hosted by ruling People Power Party lawmakers on Monday, he said North Korean diplomats “absolutely hate being asked which country they are from.” Ri served as a counselor for political affairs at the North Korean embassy based in

PoliticsAug. 27, 2024

Crisis in medical system builds as hospital workers plan walkout

Amid a prolonged medical standoff, concerns are again looming large as more than 22,000 unionized hospital workers plan to strike beginning Thursday if the ongoing arbitration by the labor relations committee fails to reach an agreement on a pay raise and the normalization of hospital operations. The planned walkout comes after 91 percent of the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union -- which has some 30,000 nurses, caregivers and other medical workers at 61 hospitals as members -- vote

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2024

Half of S. Koreans have chronic anger issues: study

About half of the South Korean population seems to be suffering from long-term repressed anger issues, with nearly 1 in 10 being severe cases, a local study revealed Tuesday indicated. You Myoung-soon, a professor in Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Health, conducted a study on the social and psychological well-being of Korean nationals, based on the survey her team conducted of 1,024 adults June 12-14. The team asked the respondents to rank their level of pent-up ang

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2024

Presidential office rules out bringing in foreign doctors

A senior official of the presidential office said Monday that the government was not considering bringing in foreign doctors to alleviate the medical staffing shortage exacerbated by an ongoing walkout of trainee doctors. The officials said on condition of anonymity that Seoul "is not immediately considering dealing with the medical staff shortage by deploying foreign physicians." The comment came as the official was talking about ongoing disruptions in emergency medical centers due to

PoliticsAug. 27, 2024

Seoul Metro to replace 3 removed Dokdo models with video displays

After stirring controversy by removing models of the Dokdo islets from three of Seoul subway stations over the past few months, Seoul Metro said Tuesday that it has decided to install TVs in the stations that will play promotional videos of the South Korean islets. According to the subway operator which is owned by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the videos will be played at the wall-mounted TVs that will be installed at Jamsil Station, Anguk Station and Gwanghwamun Station by early September

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2024

Off-duty firefighter puts out flames at barn with no gear, prevents forest fire

An off-duty firefighter stopped what could have become a sizeable forest fire by extinguishing a barn fire that he encountered on his way home, a local fire station said Monday. Lt. Han Jeong-hyeon of the Hwacheon Fire Station was driving home at around 6:30 p.m. on Friday when he saw smoke rising near a mountain in Sinbuk-eup of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. The 42-year-old firefighter headed toward the site, where he found an senior man trying to extinguish a fire in his barn. The elder man w

Social AffairsAug. 27, 2024

PM urges nurses, medical workers to call off planned strike

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday urged nurses and medical workers nationwide to call off a strike planned for this week, saying the government is doing everything it can to improve their working conditions. Han issued the appeal during a government meeting convened to address the strike planned for Thursday. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union, which has some 30,000 nurses and medical workers at 61 hospitals as members, voted in favor of the strike Saturday, demanding an impr

PoliticsAug. 27, 2024

Trump demands NATO allies spend at least 3 percent of GDP on defense

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday called on member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to spend at least 3 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on their defense, calling the current 2 percent guideline "the steal of the century." The former president's remarks added to speculation that should he return to the White House, he could put pressure on South Korea to increase its financial contributions to the stationing of the 28,500-stro

Foreign AffairsAug. 27, 2024

Fear of deepfake porn chat rooms on Telegram targeting indiscriminate women grips nation

Numerous chat rooms on Telegram suspected of creating and distributing deepfake pornographic material with doctored photos of ordinary women have been discovered recently, stoking fear and outrage across the country. Many victims in these chat rooms -- one of which was found to have over 133,000 members -- were believed to be minors, including middle and high school students, as well as university students, teachers and even military personnel. Through reporting, Yonhap News Agency has learned o

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Sports minister says audits into football, badminton federations set to conclude in Sept.

Ongoing government audits into the national governing bodies for football and badminton over recent controversy will conclude sometime in September, the sports minister said Monday. Yu In-chon, minister of culture, sports and tourism, made the remark during a plenary meeting of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly. When asked about the ministry's audit into operations of the Korea Football Association (KFA), brought on by its controversial hiring of Hong Myung-

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

Yoon, US Senate's armed service committee chief discuss alliance, N.K. threats

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with the head of the U.S. Senate's armed service committee Monday to discuss ways to bolster the combined defense posture against North Korean threats, his office said. During the talks with U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) in Seoul, Yoon stressed the need to advance the bilateral alliance and trilateral cooperation involving Japan to effectively deter North Korean threats, the presidential office said. Yoon also asked for continued support from the U.S. Congress in st

Foreign AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Ruling bloc divided on foreign nannies' pay

South Korea's ruling bloc is divided over whether to exclude foreign caregivers from minimum wage standards, with ruling party politicians advocating for more affordable options for households, while the labor minister nominee warns it could breach the Constitution as well as international labor laws. Kim Moon-soo, the former Gyeonggi Province governor nominated by President Yoon Suk Yeol for labor minister, said in a written statement Sunday, a day ahead of his parliamentary confirmation hearin

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

In Andong, $1,500 accidentally thrown in trash returns to owner

In Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, $1,500 in US dollar banknotes were accidentally dumped in the trash. Thanks to impressive civil services and a stroke of luck, the cash was retrieved and returned to its owner, according to Andong City Government on Monday. It all started with an urgent call to Andong City Hall at around 1 p.m. Friday. The call was from a citizen who reported accidentally discarding the US dollar bills, meant for upcoming overseas travel, with their trash. Upon realizing the

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

Rise in multinational recipients of basic pension spurs review of eligibility

The number of elderly individuals with multiple nationalities receiving South Korea's basic pension has jumped fivefold over the past decade, according to government data released Monday. The data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare shows that the number of pension recipients with multiple nationalities has steadily risen, from 1,047 in 2014, the first year of the pension’s introduction, to 5,699 in 2023. Their proportion also grew from 0.02 percent in 2014 to 0.09 percent last ye

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024

North Korea’s new missile launchers can reach central South Korea: NIS

South Korea’s spy service believes North Korea’s new tactical ballistic missile launchers unveiled earlier this month may be capable of reaching as far as central South Korea, in the North and South Chungcheong provinces. Cho Tae-yong, the director of the National Intelligence Service, briefed lawmakers on Monday that some 110 kilometers south of the inter-Korean border would be within reach of possible attacks by the North Korean missile launchers. The two vice chairs of the Nationa

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Korea needs more disabled in Cabinet posts’

While South Korea’s infrastructure for people with disabilities has significantly improved in the past decades, the government still needs to appoint more of them to key posts in the administration, a former member of the US National Council on Disability said. Pak Dong-woo, known to people around him as Joe Pak, who served as the first Korean American member of the NCD under US President Barack Obama's administration from 2009 to 2013, highlighted the importance of such inclusivity w

PoliticsAug. 26, 2024

Heat wave to end later this week

A temporary end to the scorching heat could be near, as the Korea Meteorological Administration stated Monday that high temperatures will decrease in some parts of South Korea from Wednesday. According to the KMA, the Tibetan and North Pacific high pressure systems -- which brought hot and humid temperatures into Korea -- has shrunk, opening a gap for cold, dry air from the north to enter into the atmosphere above Korea. The weather agency added that while ocean surface temperatures around the

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2024