Unification minister, US nuclear envoy discuss ways to restart talks with Pyongyang

Unification Minister Lee In-young met with the visiting US envoy for North Korea on Tuesday and together they discussed ways to resume stalled nuclear talks at the earliest and engage with Pyongyang.  During an hourlong breakfast meeting, Lee and the US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, shared their views on the North’s recent attitude and the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, a ministry official said.  Lee stressed the need for the stable management o

North KoreaAug. 24, 2021

Gov't to offer university tuition support to some families with multiple kids

The government has decided to provide low-to middle-income families with multiple children with university tuition support as part of policies for youth, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. President Moon Jae-in received a briefing on the scheme, details of which will be made public on Thursday, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Under the plan, households in the bottom 80 percent income bracket are expected to receive full college tuition support starting with their third child.

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

South Korea, Russia affirm need to induce Pyongyang back to nuclear talks

Seoul and Moscow on Tuesday reaffirmed the importance of close coordination and the need to induce Pyongyang back to the stalled denuclearization talks, in the meeting between the two sides’ top nuclear envoys.  South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk held talks with visiting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, who doubles as the country’s top nuclear envoy, on Tuesday. The pair exchanged views on the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula and ways fo

North KoreaAug. 24, 2021

Carbon neutrality law will serve as basis for reducing emissions: Environment Minister

Korea will become the 14th country in the world to legislate a carbon neutrality act, if it is so enacted by the National Assembly, and lay the foundations for future measures, Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae said Tuesday. “The carbon neutrality act will serve as a basis for putting carbon neutrality at the center in regards to planning the national budget and coming up with new policies,” Han told reporters. Last week, the National Assembly‘s Environment and Labor Commi

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Moon to invite startup entrepreneurs, promise support at Cheong Wa Dae event

President Moon Jae-in will invite venture startup investors and entrepreneurs to Cheong Wa Dae this week to encourage them and promise government support to extend South Korea's latest boom in the startup scene, his office said Tuesday. The event, titled "K+ Venture," will be held Thursday afternoon at the presidential office and will be attended by SMEs and Startups Minister Kwon Chil-seung and some 70 startup investors, entrepreneurs and those currently preparing to launch their own

PoliticsAug. 24, 2021

Army noncommissioned officer in hospital after suicide attempts following sexual abuse

An Army noncommissioned officer was hospitalized following multiple suicide attempts after suffering alleged sexual harassment and bullying by her colleagues, the victim's family has said, in yet another sex crime in barracks and the military's failure to protect the victim. According to a petition posted on an online bulletin of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, the staff sergeant allegedly suffered sexual harassment, molestation and stalking by a sergeant first class of the same unit aft

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Delta variant cases spike to over 13,000 in S. Korea

South Korea has confirmed 2,899 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, including 2,874 of the highly transmissible delta variant, health authorities said Tuesday. The caseload of such infections reached 16,842 here, with the number of delta cases, first reported in India, tallied at 13,454, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally indicates that the delta variant is becoming the dominant strain of COVID-19 h

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Schools in Seoul removing regulations on students' underwear color

Schools in Seoul have begun scrapping rules requiring their students to don all-white underwear in the face of mounting criticism that such a policy can violate human rights, the city's education office said Tuesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said a total of six girls' middle and high schools have removed or revised their dress codes that regulate the color of students' underwear and socks, and 25 more plan to do so by the end of this year. The office said the 31 of the city's

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Busan medical school voids admission of ex-justice minister's daughter

Pusan National University (PNU) in this southern port city said Tuesday it has decided to nullify its admission of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter into its medical school in 2015 following her mother's recent conviction in an academic fraud case. The state-run university said its decision to cancel Cho Min's admission to PNU's Graduate School of Medicine six years ago came after an analysis of an appellate court's ruling on her mother's academic fraud charges and an in-house committe

PoliticsAug. 24, 2021

Russia reaffirms willingness for 'constructive role' in peninsula peace process

Russia's top nuclear envoy reaffirmed the country's willingness to play "a constructive role" in advancing the peace process on the Korean Peninsula during the talks with his South Korean counterpart Tuesday, Seoul's foreign ministry said. Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov, who doubles as Moscow's envoy for North Korean issues, made the point to Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, as they discussed ways to bring Pyongyang back to di

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 24, 2021

South Korea considering evacuating ‘Afghan allies’: top security adviser

South Korea is considering evacuating some 400 Afghans who helped the reconstruction efforts there and are now targets for Taliban revenge. Still, the government appears cautious about welcoming refugees from Afghanistan. President Moon Jae-in’s top security adviser, Suh Hoon, said Monday that the government was reviewing all possible options to assist Korea’s “Afghan allies” -- referring to translators, medical personnel and engineers who had been hired to wor

Foreign AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Hong quickly chasing Yoon in polls

Five-term lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo of the main opposition People Power Party is quickly closing the gap with former prosecutor general Yoon Seok-youl in presidential preference polls as Yoon loses centrists and Hong attracts more 20-somethings. In a survey of 1,007 voters nationwide conducted on Friday and Saturday by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) and commissioned by TBS, 20.5 percent said they would vote for Hong among conservatives, while 28.4 percent chose Yoon. Hong entered the

PoliticsAug. 24, 2021

USFK reports 11 COVID-19 cases among new arrivals

Eleven people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including six service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here, the US military said Tuesday. The infected individuals arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on commercial flights between Aug. 7-21, according to USFK. "All individuals have since been transferred to an isolation facility designated for confirmed COVID-19 cases at United States Army Garrison Humphreys or Osan Air Bas

DefenseAug. 24, 2021

S. Korea, China launch committee for future-oriented relations

South Korea and China launched a committee on the "future-oriented" development of their relationship Tuesday, ahead of the 30th anniversary next year of the establishment of their diplomatic ties. The launch of the Committee for Future-Oriented Development of Korea-China Relations came as Seoul seeks to maintain close ties with Beijing despite an intensifying Sino-US rivalry injecting complexity into its diplomacy toward the major Asian power. The committee was formed based on last

Foreign AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Bill reignites controversy over BTS conscription

A fresh bill proposing military exemptions for K-pop artists and athletes has reignited controversy. On Tuesday, Rep. Sung Il-jong of the main opposition People Power Party said he had proposed a bill that would excuse men from military service if they promoted national prestige. The exemptions would apply to top K-pop stars, such as the members of boy band BTS, and athletes who set national records. The regulations were revised in December to allow leading pop culture artists to postpone

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

PPP reviews discipline against lawmakers involved in suspicious property deals

The main opposition People Power Party held a meeting Tuesday to decide on disciplinary measures against its lawmakers allegedly connected to suspected illegal real estate dealings one day after the state anti-corruption watchdog announced the results of a probe into opposition lawmakers' past deals. On Monday, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) said it has identified 13 alleged speculation cases linked to 12 incumbent PPP legislators. The ACRC has delivered its findings to

PoliticsAug. 24, 2021

East Sea's water temperature rises to record high in July

BUSAN -- July's average sea surface temperature in the waters between South Korea and Japan reached the highest level in 40 years, a think tank said Tuesday, calling for countermeasures against ocean subtropicalization. According to the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, the East Sea's average sea surface temperature was 22.2 C last month, the highest since relevant record keeping began in 1982 and 2.7 C higher than the average of the past 30 years. Considering an increase of a m

Social AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Unification minister hold talks with US nuclear envoy on N. Korea: official

Unification Minister Lee In-young met with the US envoy for North Korea on Tuesday and discussed a coordinated approach to jump-start stalled talks with Pyongyang, an official said. During the breakfast meeting, Lee and US Special Representative Sung Kim shared their overall views on the current situation and discussed how to resume dialogue and cooperation with the North at an early date, the official said. Kim's visit here comes amid chilled inter-Korean relations after the North blasted the

Foreign AffairsAug. 24, 2021

Indian Embassy, Yonsei University host symposium on Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

The Indian Embassy has teamed up with Yonsei University’s Institute of East and West Studies to co-host a two-day International Symposium entitled “Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh: Developmental Dynamics and Future Trajectories.” As part of celebrations for India’s Independence Day, the symposium was held Monday and Tuesday to analyze development strategies and map future trajectories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh region through growth models of India and Korea. Ra

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 24, 2021

Danish tech ambassador sees room for more ESG cooperation

Denmark has a lot of room for increased cooperation in strengthening public-private partnerships as well as in the environmental, social and governance, or ESG, realm with Korea, Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen, Denmark’s tech ambassador said in an email interview with the Korea Herald. Saying that the Danish-Korean green growth alliance launched in 2011 shows Denmark and Korea are on track to strengthening public-private partnerships and ESG, Larsen said that Korea’s hosting of the Part

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 24, 2021