Yoon postpones dinner with PPP leaders amid row over medical school quota increase

President Yoon Suk Yeol has postponed his planned dinner with ruling People Power Party leaders until after the Chuseok holiday, his office said Wednesday, amid a row with the PPP leader over the issue of the medical school quota increase. Yoon had planned to host a dinner Friday with PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, five Supreme Council members, and the party's policy chief, but the presidential office said the meeting has been put off to prioritize the issues of peopl

Aug. 28, 2024

Daegu mayor says plan to form unified gov't with N. Gyeongsang Province failed

The plan to integrate the southeastern city of Daegu and surrounding North Gyeongsang Province has failed, the mayor of Daegu, Hong Joon-pyo, declared Tuesday. Hong said in a social media posting that "it would be hard to expect consent from the provincial assembly of North Gyeongsang Province" for the proposed integration of the local governments. The Daegu mayor had set a Wednesday deadline for his latest proposal, which calls for the establishment of unified provincial government of

Aug. 27, 2024

Presidential chief of staff avoids prison term for defaming late President Roh

A Seoul court on Tuesday ordered presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk to pay a fine of 12 million won ($8,998) for defaming the honor of the late President Roh Moo-hyun through a social media post, while overturning the initial ruling of a six-month prison term. The charges against Chung stemmed from a Facebook post he made in September 2017, in which he claimed that Roh's wife, Kwon Yang-sook, and their son had received bribes from a businessperson closely associated with Roh. In the

Aug. 27, 2024

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

Aug. 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

Aug. 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

Aug. 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

Aug. 27, 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-

Aug. 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

Aug. 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

Aug. 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

Aug. 26, 2024

Kim Jong-un hoping for Trump’s re-election: ex-North Korean envoy

Tae Yong-ho, who was Pyongyang’s envoy to the UK before seeking asylum in South Korea in 2016, said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would want US presidential nominee Donald Trump to win in November. “What Kim Jong-un wants more than anything at this moment is for Trump to win the US presidential election and for the trilateral security cooperation of South Korea, Japan and the US -- a Biden era legacy -- to become obsolete,” Tae told The Korea Herald on Sunday. Trump, speaking

Aug. 26, 2024

Opposition party accuses Yoon govt. of 'submissive' diplomacy with Japan

The main opposition Democratic Party accused the Yoon Suk Yeol administration on Monday of engaging in "submissive" diplomacy with Japan by appointing pro-Japan figures to key positions and removing public installations depicting the easternmost islets of Dokdo. "Since the start of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, we have seen continued pro-Japan submissive diplomacy and a desperation to erase history," DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said during a supreme council meeting. &qu

Aug. 26, 2024

Yoon to meet ruling party leadership this week

President Yoon Suk Yeol will host a dinner meeting with the leadership of the ruling People Power Party later this week, party officials said Monday. PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, five Supreme Council members, and the party's policy chief are expected to attend the meeting on Friday, according to party officials. During the meeting, Yoon and the party leaders are expected to discuss key policy issues ahead of the regular National Assembly session, which is set to beg

Aug. 26, 2024

Govt. to offer 40 tln won to SMEs ahead of Chuseok holiday

The government plans to provide some 40 trillion won ($30.1 billion) in financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises, and micro business owners as part of measures to support them in the run-up to the Chuseok holiday, officials said Sunday. The decision was made during a high-level meeting of government and ruling party officials, held to finalize measures on stabilizing prices, as well as supporting small business owners and others, according to People Power Party spokesperson Han Ze

Aug. 25, 2024

Govt., ruling party call for mandating disclosing battery brand information of electric vehicles

The government and the ruling People Power Party agreed Sunday to introduce a system mandating automakers to disclose the battery brand information of all electric vehicles. During a meeting between senior government officials and PPP officials, the two sides also agreed to launch at an early date a system mandating automakers to get government certification on the safety of the batteries for their EV models, which was initially set to be introduced in February next year. The move comes amid saf

Aug. 25, 2024

Ruling party proposes Oct. 1 as temporary holiday

South Korea is considering designating Oct. 1 this year as a temporary public holiday to mark the 76th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, as the ruling People Power Party requested that the government review the designation to recognize the dedication of those on active military duty. Workers here will be eligible to take the day off as a public holiday on Oct. 1 if the government approves the plan at a Cabinet meeting. It will be in addition to Oct. 3, which South Korea observes as a public holid

Aug. 25, 2024

South Korean lawmakers brace for US election as Harris, Trump diverge on North Korea

As the US election race enters its final two months, South Korean lawmakers are bracing for the impact of a Harris or Trump administration as the two presidential candidates offer opposing approaches to North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un. Ruling People Power Party lawmakers gushed over US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris putting down the North Korean leader in her nomination acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday, in a sharp contrast with her Republican riva

Aug. 25, 2024

Seoul seeks to end KHNP-Westinghouse dispute

South Korea is looking for a solution to end a legal dispute between local nuclear power company Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and US firm Westinghouse Electric Company "through various channels," amid pressure mounting on Seoul over a nuclear export deal worth at least 24 trillion won ($18 billion) with the Czech Republic. "The government is discussing with the US government through various channels to support the amicable resolution of the corporate dispute," an official of

Aug. 25, 2024

Top prosecutor refers first lady's luxury bag gift case to review committee

Prosecutor General Lee One-seok referred the case of first lady Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury bag to a review committee, his office said Friday, amid controversy over the prosecution team's decision to clear her of the charges. The announcement came as the controversy is growing after prosecutors concluded that anti-graft law violation charges cannot be sought against Kim although she received a Dior bag worth about 3 million won (US$2,255) and other expensive gifts from pastor

Aug. 23, 2024