Yoon names chiefs of tax, fire, weather authorities

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday announced picks for four vice-ministerial officials including chiefs of the tax, fire and weather agencies, as well as first vice minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination amid reports that he might carry a major Cabinet reshuffle soon. Kang Min-soo, who heads the Seoul Regional Tax Office, was nominated as the new chief of the National Tax Agency. Kang, 56 is the only vice-ministerial official out of four named Thursday to go through the parli

June 27, 2024

Yoon likely to keep PM amid reports of Cabinet reshuffle

President Yoon Suk Yeol is likely to retain Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to local reports over an imminent Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday. Prime Minister Han has served in his post since Yoon's inauguration over two years ago. Han has stayed in the post even after he offered his resignation following the ruling bloc's defeat in the April general elections. The Cabinet reshuffle "will unlikely take place before end-June, and will likely be done after mid-July," a sen

June 26, 2024

South Korea plans overhaul of mental health policy

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday vowed an overhaul of the nation's mental health policy as he presided over the first meeting of a presidential committee dedicated to expanding state support and changing the general perception toward mental illness. The government will start injecting an expanded state budget to address people's mental health starting next year. According to a senior official from the presidential office who declined to be named, the state support package is estima

June 26, 2024

Seoul littered with trash dropped by North Korean balloons

North Korea floated balloons filled with trash toward the South for the fifth time late Monday, on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, which was June 25, 1950. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that as of Tuesday morning more than 350 trash balloons from North Korea had been identified, the majority of which fell in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital city. So far, this latest batch of balloons appeared to contain mostly waste paper that was de

June 25, 2024

Yoon condemns NK-Russia pact as 'step back in history'

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday denounced a pact signed between North Korea and Russia last week as "an anachronistic act" that goes against the progress of history and Pyongyang's repeated provocations as "despicable and irrational." During his televised speech to mark the 74th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, Yoon said the pact, which forges stronger military and economic cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, "blatantly violat

June 25, 2024

Yoon visits site of battery plant fire that killed at least 22

President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the site of a battery plant fire that killed at least 22 people on Monday and ordered government officials to draw up measures to prevent similar accidents from occurring, his office said. Yoon decided to visit the plant run by lithium battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, to carry out an emergency inspection after being briefed on the fire by Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, according to his office. Yoon earlier instructed the minister a

June 24, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Fair franchise practices, prevention of disinformation spread

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Jeong Jun-ho (Democratic Party of Korea) ● The existing law requires corporate directors to perform duties in good faith for the interest of the company but does not hold them liable for damages inflicted on specific shareholders if the overall corporate value remains the same. Therefore, this amendment aims to protect the interest and value of shareholders by adjusting the scope of directors’ duty of loyalty to includ

June 24, 2024

[Korean War anniversary] Korea needs to plant a culture of honor, veterans chief says

Kang Jung-ai, South Korea’s minister of patriots and veterans affairs, says building a culture of remembering and honoring the people who fought for Koreans and their freedom is “what our country needs.” “Honoring veterans goes far beyond giving them compensation and benefits. Thanking and respecting the people who served our country should be a part of our national identity and treasured value,” she said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday. “Yes,

June 24, 2024

Opposition ramps up calls for Yoon's impeachment

Opposition politicians are raising the possibility of impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol as they push for a bill to investigate his alleged meddling in the investigation of a soldier's death. Opposition parties, which hold a strong majority in South Korea's National Assembly, plan to reintroduce a bill to launch a special counsel probe of alleged interference in a Marine Corps internal investigation following the death of a Marine last summer. On Monday, Rep. Jang Kyung-tae, an outspok

June 24, 2024

DP leader resigns as step to seeking 2nd term

Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Monday stepped down from his position as the party’s chair, a move that is viewed as a step towards running for a second term as the main opposition party's leader at the upcoming party convention. "I have resigned from my position as the chair of the Democratic Party with the wrap-up of today’s party supreme council meeting," Lee told reporters at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. Lee expressed his concern

June 24, 2024

Race begins for People Power Party leadership

The race to become the leader of the nation’s conservative ruling party kicked off Sunday, with three star politicians declaring their candidacies throughout the day. The announcements by former Justice Minister and onetime ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon, judge-turned-five-term lawmaker Rep. Na Kyung-won and former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong follow Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun’s declaration of candidacy on Friday. The race is expected to be a monthlong four-candidate battle with crossfire

June 23, 2024

Former land, justice ministers to run for ruling party chief

Former Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong will announce his candidacy for the chairmanship of the ruling People Power Party on Sunday, Won's camp said Friday. "I have concluded that the party and the government must now work together in unison to bring about changes and reforms that fully support the public sentiment expressed through the general election," said Won. Earlier, Han Dong-hoon, who led the ruling People Power Party through the April election fo

June 21, 2024

Seoul says weapon aid to Ukraine 'depends on Russia's reaction'

South Korea will map out plans to send weapons to Ukraine, depending on how Russia would react to Seoul's statement which hinted at a review of arms support in response to the development of Russia-North Korea relations on Thursday, according to the presidential office Friday. The office added that many options concerning the weapons aid to Ukraine could be taken into consideration and that South Korea will continue its "comprehensive support" to Ukraine. Seoul, however, denied th

June 21, 2024

Seoul summons Russian ambassador over Kim-Putin talks

Seoul on Friday summoned Georgy Zinoviev, ambassador of Russia to South Korea, to express its discontent over the elevated ties between North Korea and Russia that would commit each other to provide military assistance in the event of armed aggression to the other. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Zinoviev to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Seoul and explained Seoul's stance on the bilateral pact of North Korea and Russia signed Wednesday, according to the

June 21, 2024

How will Kim-Putin summit affect China?

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday to hold talks with his counterpart, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, will likely pose hurdles on China's diplomatic front regardless of the outcome of the meeting, according to reports and observers closely watching the rare encounter between the leaders of the two isolated regimes. Experts in Seoul, prior to the summit in North Korea, said that the talks between Putin and Kim would weaken China's influence on Nort

June 19, 2024

Rival parties divided over Kim-Putin summit

South Korea’s political sphere on Wednesday was divided over Russian President Vladimir Putin's first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years, and with it the growing concerns of strengthened military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. The main opposition party leader and ex-unification ministers under previous liberal administrations called for a revival of the inter-Korean dialogue channel to safeguard peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. On the other hand, the ruling party s

June 19, 2024

Sejong University signs agreement with Army to train cyber specialists

Sejong University signed a bilateral agreement with the Republic of Korea Army Headquarters to collaborate in online fields. The agreement aims to improve the acquisition rate of cyber specialists within the Army. This initiative follows the Ministry of National Defense's "Decision to Expand the Contracted Department of Military" in December 2023 to recruit experts in online fields. Sejong University's Department of Information Security was selected in March 2024 through an o

June 19, 2024

Research center for Israel studies opens in Seoul

A research center dedicated to Israeli studies opened Tuesday under the Seoul National University, becoming the first such academic institution in South Korea. Amb. Akiva Tor, Israeli envoy to South Korea, said in an opening ceremony on this day that the center’s launch “marks an auspicious beginning.” Israel Education Research Center will be “the first academic center in Korean higher education dedicated to the study of Jewish civilization and Israeli society,” he

June 18, 2024

Democratic Party's charter amendment clears leader's path to presidential election

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday amended the party charter to allow its leadership to choose the term of its chair and supreme council members. The party’s decision will allow current Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung to run for the 2027 presidential election, if he wishes, even if he is reelected as the party chair at the upcoming convention scheduled for Aug. 18. While the charter states that a party chair or a supreme council member must resign fr

June 17, 2024

Mayor Choi an administrative expert with compassion and justice

Mayor Choi Min-ho, the driving force behind Sejong City, stands out as a seasoned public administrator boasting 31 years of comprehensive service in pivotal roles spanning central and local governance. Originating from Daejeon in 1956, he completed his education at Boseong High School and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. Subsequently, he pursued a master's degree in public administration at Yonsei University, a law degree at Tokyo University in Japan, and achieved a doctorate

June 17, 2024