Cambodian boy visited by first lady to get free care at top Seoul hospital

The Cambodian boy who was visited by South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee last month will be given cost-free care at a top hospital in Seoul next month. Asan Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in Seoul, said Monday that all of the boy’s medical expenses will be covered by the hospital and its parent foundation, the Asan Foundation. The boy, who is reported to be suffering from a congenital heart disease, will likely be treated at the Seoul hospital’s pediatric cardiac cen

Nov. 28, 2022

PM leaves for Paris to drum up support for 2030 World Expo bid

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo departed for Paris on Monday to rally international support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southern port city of Busan. Han is set to attend the 171st General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions, an intergovernmental body in charge of overseeing the Expo, on Tuesday. During the assembly, Han is scheduled to give a presentation, outlining the government's vision to host the Expo in Busan and help produce solutions to

Nov. 28, 2022

Yoon's approval rating rises to 36.4% : Realmeter

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating rose to 36.4 percent, surpassing the mid-30 percent range for the first time in four weeks, a poll showed Monday. Yoon's approval rating climbed 3 percentage points from the previous week, posting the biggest on-week jump since he took office in May in a Realmeter poll, while his disapproval rating fell by 3 percentage points to 60.8 percent. The poll was conducted on 2,514 voters nationwide from Monday to Friday last week. This is the first ti

Nov. 28, 2022

[World Cup] PM orders safety measures over World Cup street cheering

Tens of thousands of fans are expected to hold street cheering events in central Seoul to root for South Korea's second World Cup match in Qatar, although the state weather agency has predicted a cold wave and rain later in the day. "The heads of local governments and the heads of police and fire departments should inspect crowd management measures in advance in preparation for rain," Han said, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Han also ordered the interi

Nov. 28, 2022

Yoon to announce road map for space economy Monday

President Yoon Suk-yeol will announce the road map for a "space economy" on Monday which includes a plan to launch a space agency by next year, the presidential office said Sunday. "President Yoon will announce the road map for a future space economy tomorrow, including six state agendas for Korea to become a powerful nation of space economy," Lee Jae-myung, a deputy presidential office spokesperson, said at a briefing held at the presidential office in Yongsan. Lee also said

Nov. 27, 2022

Democratic Party gives Yoon ultimatum to fire safety minister

The Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday gave President Yoon Suk-yeol a one-day ultimatum to fire Lee Sang-min, the minister of interior and safety, over the deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon last month. “The president needs to stand by his words that there will be accountability. The first step to do that is to remove the interior and safety minister from his post,” Democratic Party spokesperson Rep. Lee Soo-jin said in a briefing. If Yoon fails to respond to do so by Monda

Nov. 27, 2022

Yoon hosts dinner with ruling party leaders

President Yoon Suk-yeol hosted a dinner with ruling People Power Party (PPP) leaders at the presidential residence Friday to discuss his recent Southeast Asia trip and other issues, his office said. The meeting was attended by PPP chief Chung Jin-suk, floor leader Joo Ho-young, Secretary-General Kim Seok-ki and other members of the interim leadership, as well as Yoon's chief of staff Kim Dae-ki, senior political secretary Lee Jin-bok and senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim E

Nov. 25, 2022

Reporters Without Borders denounces Yoon’s media handling

Reporters Without Borders called on President Yoon Suk-yeol to reverse his decision to bar journalists with public broadcaster MBC from the presidential plane and also called for the reinstatement of the president’s daily meetings with the press. “Even the highest elected representative should not decide which media can report on them or which questions are suitable to be asked,'' said the RSF East Asia Bureau Head Cedric Alviani in an email response to The Korea Herald on

Nov. 25, 2022

27 days after Itaewon disaster, Assembly probe sets sail

The National Assembly investigation into how the response failed in the deadly Halloween crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon began on Thursday, after the ruling People Power Party backed out of meeting at the last minute. The party demanded that the agreement -- reached just one day prior -- be revised to exclude the top prosecutors’ office from being investigated. The plenary session, postponed two hours amid the squabbling, however, voted in favor of the plan investigating the Suprem

Nov. 24, 2022

Parliamentary subcommittee passes bill on banning rallies at presidential office

A parliamentary subcommittee on Thursday passed a bill to ban demonstrations within 100 meters of the Presidential Office in central Seoul and residences of former state leaders. The ruling and opposition parties' have endorsed the bill, saying that protests near the Yongsan Presidential office and former President Moon Jae-in’s private residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, should be blocked. The current Assembly and Demonstration Act prohibits rallies and demonstrations wi

Nov. 24, 2022

Prosecutors raid land ministry, CJ affiliate in corruption probe

Prosecutors on Wednesday raided the land ministry and an affiliate of CJ Group as part of a probe into corruption allegations involving a former chief of staff under the preceding Moon Jae-in administration. Prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office searched the office of the Korea Integrated Freight Terminal Co. and residences of company officials, as well as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, to seize documents and emails, officials said. The prosecution h

Nov. 23, 2022

Parties agree to launch 45-day probe into Itaewon crowd crush

The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party agreed to launch a 45-day parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon Halloween tragedy, the two parties said Wednesday. The probe was to kick off on Thursday as soon as the assembly members approve the motion for the investigation. But the actual probe will begin after the National Assembly passes the national budget bill for next year, they said. The probe period could be extended later on, they added. It will be an 18-m

Nov. 23, 2022

Yoon asks Tesla chief to build 'gigafactory' in South Korea

President Yoon Suk-yeol has asked Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla & SpaceX, to make significant investments in South Korea, including building a production facility for electric vehicles here, during a meeting held via videoconference Wednesday morning, the presidential office said. Initially, Yoon was scheduled to meet with Musk face-to-face at the B-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. However, the meeting was canceled as Musk was unable to make the trip to Bali. Instead, they decided to meet virtually at 10

Nov. 23, 2022

Yoon to host dinner with ruling party leaders

President Yoon Suk-yeol will host a dinner with ruling People Power Party leaders later this week to discuss his recent Southeast Asia trip and other issues, his office said Wednesday. Friday's dinner will be attended by People Power Party chief Chung Jin-suk, floor leader Joo Ho-young, Secretary-General Kim Seok-ki and other members of the interim leadership, as well as Yoon's chief of staff Kim Dae-ki and senior political secretary Lee Jin-bok. Yoon is expected to share the results of his trip

Nov. 23, 2022

[Advertorial] What does it mean to have perfect scores on your Advanced Placement test?

At Seoul International School (SIS), we have the great privilege of having immensely talented students across diverse disciplines, from academics to sports, music, arts, forensics, community service, and more. Last year alone, five students scored perfect scores on Advance Placement tests. They are Jin Wook Shin ('23) in Physics I, Clare Hyunsuh Kim ('23), Abigail Kim ('22) and Rachel Lee ('22) in Drawing, and Hyunseo Yoo ('22) in 2D Design. To put this in perspective,

Nov. 22, 2022

Yoon visits grave of late President Kim Young-sam on death anniversary

President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the grave of late President Kim Young-sam on Tuesday and paid tribute on the seventh anniversary of his death, his office said. Kim, who was in office from 1993 to 1998, formally ended decades of military rule in South Korea and accepted a massive international bailout during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis. He was buried at Seoul National Cemetery. "Now is the time for all to reflect on the grand politics, upright politics of Geosan," Yoon wrote in

Nov. 22, 2022

Confusion intensifies over Yoon's dispute with MBC

President Yoon Seok-yeol's unedifying dispute with local news outlet MBC fell into a deeper quagmire Monday, with journalists and opposition parties blasting the presidential office's decision to suspend Yoon's daily morning interviews and erecting a wall between the press room and the main entrance of the building, which critics say is to tame the media as a whole. The Journalists Association of Korea released a statement saying the presidential office's decision is seen a

Nov. 21, 2022

Main opposition headquarters searched after online post claims bomb planted

Police commandos and sniffer dogs have searched the headquarters of the main opposition Democratic Party after an online post claimed a bomb had been planted in the building, officials said Monday. The post was uploaded on the online community DC Inside around 9:40 p.m. on Sunday, saying, "I am informing you that an explosive has been planted at the Democratic Party headquarters," the police officials said. After getting notified of the post by an anti-terrorism center of the National

Nov. 21, 2022

Political turmoil surrounds DP and its leader over development corruption scandal

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is facing another blow over a property development corruption scandal as its leader Lee Jae-myung’s closest confidant was arrested. The party is also engulfed with concerns as the prosecution investigation comes closer to Lee. The Seoul Central District Court on Saturday granted an arrest warrant for Jeong Jin-sang, a vice chief of staff to Lee. Jeong was arrested on charges connected to a high-profile real estate development sca

Nov. 20, 2022

Opposition lawmakers join anti-government candlelight vigil

A liberal group held a candlelight demonstration Saturday afternoon in Jung-gu, Seoul, demanding the resignation of President Yoon Suk-yeol and an independent counsel probe of first lady Kim Keon-hee over multiple allegations, with six lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea officially participating. The event, hosted by the local activist group Candlelight Movement, began Saturday at 4 p.m. around Sungnyemun in central Seoul. Participants chanted slogans denouncing the govern

Nov. 20, 2022