Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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DP aims to draft extra budget with both selective, universal virus handout plans
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) plans to swiftly draw up an extra budget that includes plans for both targeted and universal pandemic relief packages, the party's head of policy said Thursday, in spite of fiscal concerns raised by the finance ministry. "The party and the government will draw up an extra budget at the earliest date through active consultations. We intend to include a firm amount of targeted support together with a universal handout program," Rep. Hong Ik-pyo, DP's hea
Feb. 4, 2021
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Moon vows speedier deregulation for AI sector
President Moon Jae-in said Thursday his government will accelerate its drive for the introduction of legislation and deregulatory measures to foster the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. He was speaking in his video message for a ceremony held in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, to kick off a major project to create a "national AI complex." A total of 620 billion won ($550 million) will be spent over the coming four years, with more than 1,200 jobs expected to be created. N
Feb. 4, 2021
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PM instructs changes to virus distancing rules to address negative opinions
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday instructed officials to revamp the nation's social distancing scheme against COVID-19 once again to allow better public receptiveness, citing negative opinions toward its coercive aspects. In an interagency meeting on the COVID-19 response held at the government complex in Seoul, Chung told authorities to reorganize the current distancing rules under the assumption that "the public is involved" in the process. South Korea first adopted a thre
Feb. 4, 2021
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Minor party will not compete in mayoral by-elections amid sexual harassment scandal
The minor progressive Justice Party decided Wednesday not to field candidates in the April mayoral by-elections in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal that led to the expulsion of its leader. Kim Jong-cheol resigned as head of the party on Jan. 25 after admitting to sexually harassing a female lawmaker of the same party. He was expelled from the party Thursday. At a meeting of its national committee, the party decided not to nominate candidates in the by-elections as a way of "abiding by t
Feb. 3, 2021
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Opposition advises lawmakers to focus on ‘sexual assaults’
The main opposition party instructed its lawmakers to focus on the topic of sexual assaults among others when they shoot questions at the government during a series of interpellation sessions beginning Thursday. In an internal document revealed Tuesday, the People Power Party advised 12 participating legislators to concentrate on framing the government and the ruling party as “anti-corporation, anti-market economy, anti-rule of law and (prone to) sexual assaults.” An administrativ
Feb. 3, 2021
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Main opposition leader proposes bipartisan consultative body on COVID-19 relief
Rep. Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the main opposition party, proposed Wednesday the ruling party and the government form a consultative body with it to coordinate COVID-19 relief measures. "I propose that concerned officials of the ruling and the main opposition parties and the government form a consultative body to enable the speedy and practical provision of assistance to victims reeling from (antivirus business restrictions)," the floor leader of the People Power Party (PPP) s
Feb. 3, 2021
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PM asks for Protestant community's cooperation amid church-linked virus outbreaks
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has called for Protestant churches' cooperation with state antivirus measures amid a string of outbreaks tied to churches throughout the country. On Tuesday, Chung met with leading members of the United Christian Churches of Korea and the National Council of Churches in Korea at the government complex in Seoul and asked for their help in containing the new coronavirus pandemic. "Last week, COVID-19 cases spiked again after showing a decrease," Chung said
Feb. 3, 2021
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Leading Seoul mayor contender Ahn to compete with independent rival in preliminary race
Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief of a minor opposition party and a leading Seoul mayoral contender, on Wednesday accepted an independent rival's offer to compete in a preliminary race as a step to field a single candidate for the opposition bloc in the April 7 mayoral election. The latest decision by Ahn, the chief of the People's Party, will pit him against former lawmaker Keum Tae-sup and other potential contenders in a preliminary election to pick a common opposition candidate outside the main oppos
Feb. 3, 2021
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Moon inspects coronavirus vaccine delivery system in mock drill
President Moon Jae-in made an on-site inspection Wednesday of South Korea's preparations for COVID-19 vaccine receipt, handling and distribution, as inoculations are scheduled to begin here later this month. He visited the Korean Air's cargo terminal station at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, where a pan-governmental mock drill was under way ahead of the shipment of the initial batch of foreign-made vaccines. Later in the day, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety sa
Feb. 3, 2021
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FM nominee Chung rejects allegations of push to help build nuke power plant in N. Korea
Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday rejected allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration had pushed to help build a nuclear power plant in North Korea, stressing the government has never discussed the idea with Pyongyang. During a press availability, Chung also said the conditions for the construction of such a plant in the North were "impossible," given that the idea can be reviewed only after the conclusion of denuclearization negotiations with the North, the lif
Feb. 2, 2021
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President, first lady send New Year’s gift boxes
President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook are sending out gifts to some 15,000 people, including front-line health care workers fighting COVID-19, ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays next week, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Possibly in reflection of the president’s wish for national unity, the gift box consists of specialties from across the nation. These include Andong soju, a distilled liquor from the city in North Gyeongsang Province; fried rice cakes from Yeoju, Gyeonggi P
Feb. 2, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Cheong Wa Dae rules out disclosing USB handed over to North during 2018 summit
Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday ruled out disclosing the contents of a flash drive containing a broad cross-border economic cooperation vision that President Moon Jae-in handed over to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their first summit meeting in 2018. “It is an irresponsible request,” Choi Jae-sung, the president’s senior secretary for political affairs, said in a radio interview in response to the opposition bloc’s demand for a full disclosure of the contents of the
Feb. 2, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Former opposition leader vows to improve Seoul’s gender equality, child safety
Na Kyung-won, former floor leader of the conservative opposition, has vowed to improve gender equality and curb crimes against women and children if she becomes the first female mayor of Seoul. “Korea’s perception on gender has not yet reached an advanced level,” said Na in an interview with The Korea Herald. As to why sexual harassment is still rampant in the workplace, Na pointed to “a closed, vertical organizational culture as well as weak law enforcement and insti
Feb. 2, 2021
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Gender ministry to carry out fact-finding survey on stalking, dating violence
South Korea's gender ministry said Tuesday that it will carry out a fact-finding survey on stalking and dating violence later this year and map out employment plans for women in the novel coronavirus pandemic. In the 2021 policy plan, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family put its policy priority on preventing sexual crimes against women and promoting gender equality in the job market to help women get employed and continue their careers in an easier way. The ministry said stalking and dat
Feb. 2, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Ruling party will seek extra budget to prepare 4th round of COVID-19 relief fund: chief
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) will seek an extra state budget to provide the fourth round of a COVID-19 relief fund, party Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon said Tuesday. "(The DP) will prepare the fourth round of the disaster assistance fund. It will draw up a sufficient supplementary budget," the party chief said in his parliamentary speech marking the recent launch of a monthlong extra parliamentary session. Since May last year, the government has distributed more than 31 trillion won
Feb. 2, 2021
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Moon calls for policy focus on inclusive recovery from coronavirus crisis
President Moon Jae-in instructed his government Tuesday to redouble efforts to address the problem of growing difficulties facing the vulnerable, including micro and small merchants, amid the prolonged COVID-19 crisis. His message came as the ruling Democratic Party has proposed a fourth batch of emergency relief money handouts, which require supplementary budgets. Moon pointed out the three key policy goals of 2021 -- recovery, inclusiveness and resurgence -- speaking during a weekly Cabinet
Feb. 2, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Cheong Wa Dae denounces ‘ideological offensive’ over ministry documents
Cheong Wa Dae condemned what it called an outdated ideological offensive surrounding documents the Energy Ministry deleted, which allegedly indicated plans to help North Korea build a nuclear power plant at the time of the 2018 inter-Korean summit. “They crossed the line,” a ranking Cheong Wa Dae official said Monday in response to main opposition People Power Party leader Kim Chong-in accusing the government of “benefiting the enemy.” “It is a ridiculous insti
Feb. 1, 2021
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Impeachment motion proposed against senior judge accused of judicial power abuse
A group of lawmakers led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) proposed a motion Monday to impeach a senior judge accused of abusing judicial power in several politically sensitive court rulings. The motion filed by DP Rep. Lee Tah-ney seeks to impeach Lim Seong-geun, currently a senior judge at Busan High Court, for his alleged meddling in several politically controversial trials between 2015 and 2016 while he was serving at the Seoul Central District Court. Some 160 lawmakers, mostly from the
Feb. 1, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Put policies for foreigners on back burner: former Seoul Mayor
Former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon says he would use all of his administrative powers to focus on local people suffering from the pandemic, leaving aside support policies for foreign residents and investment for now if he is reelected to the post. “The top priority is (Korean) people’s livelihood. There are limits to what Seoul can invest (in foreigners) except for helping them avoid discomfort in Seoul,” Oh said in an interview with The Korea Herald in his office at Gwangjin-gu,
Feb. 1, 2021
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Gyeonggi chief Lee overtakes race in presidential hopefuls poll: Realmeter
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung topped a latest poll of potential presidential candidates released Monday, gaining significant ground compared to two months ago. In a survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,529 people over the age of 18 from Jan. 25-29, 23.4 percent picked Lee as their favored presidential candidate. Lee saw a 5.2 percentage point jump in favorability in comparison to two months ago. The results marked the first time Lee finished first in a presidential hopeful poll from Realm
Feb. 1, 2021