Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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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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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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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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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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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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Rival parties lock horns over hot button issues on 1st day of parliamentary audit
Rival parties clashed over hot-button issues, including the recent shooting death of a South Korean fisheries official, on Wednesday, the first day of the annual parliamentary inspection. The National Assembly kicked off the annual inspection of the government and state agencies for a 20-day run, the first parliamentary audit since the incumbent 21st assembly's new four-year term began in late May. The audit began as rival parties have been locked in a spat over two thorny issues -- the sho
Oct. 7, 2020
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Killing of South Korean civilian by NK was hostile act: defense minister
Lawmakers began the parliament’s annual inspection of state affairs on Wednesday with the ruling and opposition parties bickering over the selection of witnesses. The recent killing of a South Korean civil servant by North Korean troops, along with the row over special treatment for the justice minister’s son in the military, overshadowed other issues. On the first day of the parliamentary audit, which runs until Oct. 26, a total of 14 parliamentary standing committees, includi
Oct. 7, 2020
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'Wall of buses' stirs up debate over how far police can go to stop rallies amid pandemic
The rare sight of hundreds of police buses packing downtown Seoul last Saturday has ignited a debate over whether such a display of force was justified in light of the coronavirus pandemic to stop mass anti-government rallies from being held. The debate comes ahead of another set of rallies planned for Friday, a national holiday celebrating the creation of the Korean alphabet, hangeul, which police have threatened to block again with buses. Authorities are guarded against further outbreaks of
Oct. 7, 2020
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Ruling party head, Gyeonggi governor tied in poll of liberal presidential hopefuls
Ruling Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Nak-yon and Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung were tied in the lead in a poll of potential presidential candidates among liberal politicians released Wednesday. In a survey by pollster Hankook Research conducted from Saturday to Sunday on 1,000 people aged 18 or older, the favorabilities of the two Lees both stood at 24 percent. Author Rhyu Si-min, former health minister who heads a memorial foundation of late former President Roh Moo-hyun, came in th
Oct. 7, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Govt. purchases of Japanese products persist amid boycott: lawmaker
The South Korean government has maintained business deals with Japanese companies with war crime records despite a nationwide boycott on Japan-made goods since last year, according to a lawmaker Wednesday. According to Rep. Jung Sung-ho of the ruling Democratic Party, the government procured 28.7 billion won ($24.6 million) worth of products from Japanese firms with war crime histories, including Hitachi and Mitsubishi, from 2015 to August of this year. During the period, the total amount of J
Oct. 7, 2020
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Over 280m individual records leaked from public, private entities since 2012
More than 280 million personal data records have been leaked from public and private organizations over the past eight and a half years, a ruling party lawmaker said Wednesday, calling for reinforcing relevant liability insurance regulations. Rep. Kim Byung-wook of the Democratic Party, citing data from the Personal Information Protection Commission, said about 280,440,000 individual records were leaked from public institutions, private companies and information and communication service provid
Oct. 7, 2020
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Over 4 in 10 Koreans want ruling party to win 2022 presidential race: poll
Over 4 out of 10 South Korean adults want the current ruling party to stay in power by winning the upcoming 2022 presidential race, a poll showed Wednesday. In a survey by Korea Research conducted from Saturday to Sunday on 1,000 adults nationwide, the preference toward a win by a ruling party candidate stood at 44 percent. The poll was commissioned by the daily Kyunghyang Shinmun and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent. Of the resp
Oct. 7, 2020
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Moon seeks to capitalize on Hangeul's popularity for key diplomatic strategies
President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday his administration will redouble efforts to spread Korean language study abroad and publicize Korean culture with a view to laying a robust basis for Seoul's key diplomatic initiatives to improve ties with such countries as India, Southeast Asian countries and Russia. He cited a report from Culture Minister Park Yang-woo during a weekly Cabinet meeting earlier in the day that Hangeul, the Korean alphabet and script, is growing popular abroad. This year's Hang
Oct. 6, 2020
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Cheong Wa Dae declines to confirm report on nuclear fuel purchase plan
South Korea's presidential office on Tuesday declined to comment on a media report that Seoul approached Washington to purchase nuclear fuel to operate a nuclear-powered submarine. On Tuesday, Donga Ilbo reported that Kim Hyun-chong, Cheong Wa Dae deputy national security adviser, traveled to Washington in mid-September and expressed Seoul's wish to buy nuclear fuel from the United States to run a nuclear submarine. The paper said Washington officials denied the request, citing its non-prolif
Oct. 6, 2020
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Moon offers condolences to son of civil servant killed by North Korea
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday offered his condolences to the son of the civil servant killed by North Korean soldiers in response to the son’s letter addressed to the president. “I understand the sentiments of a son who has lost his father. My heart also aches,” Moon was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok. “As the Coast Guard is investigating the situation, let’s wait for the results of the Coast Guard’s investigation and sear
Oct. 6, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Controversies surrounding ministers fan talks of Cabinet reshuffle
Talks of a Cabinet reshuffle are rising, following a series of controversies surrounding high-profile ministers of the Moon Jae-in administration. Controversies about Cabinet members and nominees have dogged President Moon Jae-in throughout his term, but this time talks of a reshuffle are rising from within the ranks of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Ministers linked to a possible reshuffle include Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha and Ministe
Oct. 6, 2020
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Moon pledges to nurture SMEs, startups as leaders of post-pandemic economy
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday promised to strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture startups, commending the innovations in those areas as key to the nation's post-pandemic economic recovery. "We will surely prop up SMEs and venture companies as centers of the economic recovery in the coronavirus era and as leaders of the post-coronavirus digital economy," Moon said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. The Cabinet reviewed t
Oct. 6, 2020
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[Newsmaker] In letter to President Moon, son of slain fishery official demands truth
A son of the fishery official killed by North Korea at sea last month doubted the South Korean government's announcement that his father sought defection and pleaded with the president to find the truth about his father's death. In a letter released late Monday by Lee Rae-jin, the official's older brother, the son asked President Moon Jae-in, "Do you think it really makes sense that my father, who never learned how to swim and weighed only 68 kg for his height of 180 cm, swam 38 km against
Oct. 6, 2020
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Prosecutors seek 18-month prison term for ex-President Chun in libel trial
The prosecution on Monday sought an 18-month prison term for former President Chun Doo-hwan on charges of defaming an activist priest who documented a bloody crackdown by Chun's troops on pro-democracy demonstrators in Gwangju. On May 18, 1980, citizens in Gwangju, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, rose up against the military junta led by Chun. His troops ruthlessly cracked down on the nine-day uprising, leaving more than 200 people dead and 1,800 others wounded, according to official dat
Oct. 5, 2020
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Moon urges no let-up in coronavirus alert ahead of another holiday period
President Moon Jae-in expressed his appreciation Monday for South Korean people's cooperation in the fight against the novel coronavirus during the Chuseok holiday season and requested continued support for the government's antivirus campaign. He cited another holiday that will start Friday, which is Hangeul Day, or the Korean Alphabet Day, while speaking in front of pool reporters and cameras during a weekly meeting with his senior Cheong Wa Dae aides. Many South Koreans refrained from visiti
Oct. 5, 2020
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Parliament's annual audit to center on N. Korea, justice minister
Lawmakers will hold the parliament‘s annual inspection of state affairs this week with North Korea’s recent killing of a South Korean civil servant and a row over special treatment for the justice minister’s son expected to be key agenda items for the three weeks of hearings. The parliamentary audit will start Wednesday and runs until Oct. 26, covering more than 640 government organizations. The Defense Committee, which will audit the Ministry of National Defense and the
Oct. 5, 2020
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USFK has not used 68b won of Korea's defense contributions since 2014: data
About 68 billion won ($58.4 million) out of South Korea's defense contributions to the United States Forces Korea (USFK) over the six years from 2014 has been left unused, data from the defense ministry showed Monday. According to the data released by Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party, USFK has not used 67.88 billion won out of Seoul's contributions made since 2014 toward shared defense costs. The amount of Korean defense contributions unused by the US reached 14.5 billion won
Oct. 5, 2020
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Unverified rumors and misinformation sprout around justice minister scandal
Unverified accusations and false information are flooding the country’s political arena and online communities, prompted by the scandal surrounding Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and her son. Choo faces allegations that she used her position as a ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader to give preferential treatment to her son, identified by the surname Seo, during his service with the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army from 2016 to 2018. Unverified information about governm
Sept. 30, 2020
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NSC vows efforts to find facts on N. Korea's killing of S. Korean official
South Korea's top national security officials expressed their deep condolences Tuesday over a government official killed by North Korean troops' gunfire at sea and agreed to continue efforts to figure out exactly what happened, Cheong Wa Dae said. During a weekly meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), they also decided to keep up intelligence cooperation with neighboring countries on the case. The meeting was presided over by Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential
Sept. 29, 2020
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In phone talks with Moon, Putin says Russia set to cooperate on Korea peace: Cheong Wa Dae
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday in phone talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in that Moscow is ready to continue cooperation on efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Putin also took note of the Moon administration's push for the normalization of inter-Korean relations and expressed "expectations" for the resumption of dialogue "by the parties concerned," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok said after
Sept. 28, 2020