Yoon orders Suneung to only cover materials taught in class

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday ordered the Education Ministry to come up with measures to alleviate parents' financial burden on private education spending and to have the Suneung, the nation's scholastic aptitude test, only include materials taught in schools' classrooms. Speaking to reporters at the presidential office, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said the ministry will come up with relevant measures as ordered by the president. The announcement came as South Korea sees a

June 15, 2023

Yoon oversees largest-ever S. Korea-US live-fire drills

President Yoon Suk Yeol oversaw the largest joint live-fire exercises ever conducted by the South Korean and US military, as the two allies marked the last day of their three-week drills Thursday meant to openly deter North Korea’s growing aggression. The show of force, which took place at Asia’s largest military training field in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, involved mobilizing the South Korean F-35A fighter jets and K9 howitzers and the US F-16 jets and Gray Eagle drones. About 2,50

June 15, 2023

Ruling party lawmaker seeks bill targeting secret Chinese police

A lawmaker of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party is pushing legislation to require registration of persons and entities representing foreign interests, in an apparent aim at Xing and the secret Chinese police stations currently under investigation. Rep. Choe Jae-hyeong, the first-time lawmaker who previously headed the Board of Audit and Inspection, announced Thursday that the legislation which he said would “put the brakes on indiscriminate and illegal” foreign agents ope

June 15, 2023

Ruling party head accuses opposition of ‘fraternizing with China’

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, chief of the ruling People Power Party, castigated liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Thursday for their trip to China amid an ensuing row over Chinese envoy Xing Haiming’s criticism of South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol. Kim said the trip of seven Democratic Party lawmakers came at a “diplomatically tricky” time, accusing them of “fraternizing with” Beijing against the backdrop of Xing blaming the Yoon administration for South

June 15, 2023

Yoon vows to respond firmly to N. Korea's reckless provocations

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Thursday to respond firmly to North Korea's provocations as he marked the anniversary of a 1999 inter-Korean naval skirmish near the maritime border. "We will respond firmly without a moment of hesitation to North Korea's reckless provocations," he wrote on his Facebook page. "Only our overwhelming strength will bring true peace, not a fake peace that we must beg the enemy for." Yoon has previously cast the former Moon Jae-in administra

June 15, 2023

[Up close in Yeouido] Days of strategic ambiguity are over: Rep. Shin Won-sik

In this series, The Korea Herald sits down with members of the 21st National Assembly to discuss top political events and issues affecting Seoul and beyond from South Korea’s heart of power in Yeouido. -- Ed. The time is ripe for South Korea to join its allies in sending defense aid to Ukraine, according to Army general-turned-lawmaker Rep. Shin Won-sik. In an interview with The Korea Herald, the first-time lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party and the National Assembly national defens

June 14, 2023

Yoon orders probe into officials responsible for allegedly corrupt solar projects

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday ordered the office of the presidential secretary for civil service discipline to conduct a thorough investigation into the officials mired in corruption allegations over solar power projects, part of the previous Moon Jae-in government's push to increase the share of renewable energy in Korea's energy mix. "President Yoon ordered a thorough investigation into the entire decision-making line involved in the solar projects at the time," said Yoon's sp

June 14, 2023

Yoon presents credentials to ambassador to Philippines, 7 others

President Yoon Suk Yeol presented credentials to eight new ambassadors, including those to the Philippines and Bangladesh, on Wednesday. The ambassador to the Philippines is Lee Sang-hwa, former top envoy to Myanmar, while the ambassador to Bangladesh is Park Young-sig, former top envoy to Nepal. The other ambassadors who received credentials will serve in Algeria, Peru, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Zimbabwe and Cameroon. (Yonhap)

June 14, 2023

'Foreign tenant info' system goes into effect

Beginning Wednesday, people buying, renting or mortgaging a house are able to check whether there is a foreigner who has already filed a moving-in report for the house in advance, the Ministry of Justice said. The ministry said the new system that makes it possible to confirm in advance the presence of a foreign national with countervailing tenant power at a specific address went into effect on the day. Previously, people buying or renting a home often ran into unexpected restrictions on the exe

June 14, 2023

Five Democratic Party lawmakers on visit to China amid tensions over ambassador's remarks

Five lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party are on a visit to China, sources said Wednesday, amid heightened tensions between the two countries over Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming's remarks, which were strongly denounced as disrespectful to South Korea. The lawmakers -- Reps. Kim Tae-nyeon, Hong Ihk-pyo, Koh Yong-jin, Hong Kee-won and Hong Sung-kook -- arrived in Beijing on Monday for a five-day visit for meetings with people from Chinese political and business circles, the sour

June 14, 2023

New round of IPEF talks to take place in S. Korea next month

A new round of official negotiations for the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework will be held in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan next month, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The fourth round of talks will kick off in Busan on July 9 for a six-day run, as 14 member nations seek to make progress in setting details in three of its four key pillars of trade, clean economy and fair economy, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Last month, the member nati

June 14, 2023

Reports of cannibalism in North Korea amid extreme hunger

The hunger and economic hardships driven by COVID-19 are forcing North Koreans to resort to extreme means of survival, such as cannibalism, recent defectors were quoted as telling South Korean authorities. This is one of the first accounts of the level of hunger in North Korea since COVID-19, given by North Korean family who came to South Korea by boat early last month. The family consisting of a mother and two brothers, their wives and young children were found by South Korean authorities cross

June 13, 2023

Prime Minister nods at ‘Would you drink Fukushima water?’

"Would you drink Fukushima water?" This seems to be a defining question in the intense debate over Japan’s planned discharge of the treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became the latest figure to be brought into the debate. During his appearance at the National Assembly on Monday, he was asked the question to which he answered, “If it has undergone a scientifically proven purification p

June 13, 2023

Yoon calls for transparency in subsidies for non-profit private organizations

President Yoon Suk Yeol has emphasized the need for increased transparency in subsidy allocations for non-profit private organizations, citing a substantial rise in subsidies during the previous administration. During a live streamed Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, President Yoon said that subsidies to non-profit private organizations had increased by approximately 2 trillion won ($1.57 billion) during the previous administration under Moon Jae-in without what he called adequate oversight. H

June 13, 2023

Yoon to fly to Paris for Busan's World Expo bid

President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit France and Vietnam from June 19 to June 24 to participate in the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris to rally international support for the 2030 Busan World Expo bid, and to hold a bilateral summit with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong. The BIE General Assembly is scheduled to take place in Paris on June 20-21, with the fourth presentation taking place on the first day. This presentation will be livestreamed worldwide via th

June 13, 2023

Democratic Party of Korea strikes down arrest warrant bills in bribery scandal

South Korea’s main opposition party voted down bills seeking the National Assembly’s consent in issuing arrest warrants for two lawmakers accused in an intraparty bribery scandal. At the plenary session on Monday, the arrest warrant bills for both lawmakers -- Reps. Lee Sung-man and Youn Kwan-suk -- failed to pass the Assembly, whose majority is controlled by the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee and Youn gave up their Democratic Party membership last month after they were accused of ha

June 12, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Union transparency, eased disclosure rules and emissions control in cement plants

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Income Tax Act Proposed by Rep. Suh Bum-soo (People Power Party) ● The current legal system classifies membership fees paid by trade union members as general donations. However, trade unions are not obliged to submit a statement of account for public disclosure, as this obligation is limited to non-profit, non-governmental organizations designated as “organizations for public interest” by the Minister of Economy and Finance. In order to enhance

June 12, 2023

[News Focus] What's really driving Yoon's war on unions?

    Last week, South Korea’s largest umbrella union declared a boycott of the country’s tripartite social dialogue channel, declaring an "all-out war" against what they called the “anti-labor” administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The decision by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions has effectively struck down the Economic, Social and Labor Council, as it has been the sole labor representative in the presidential consultative body for labor polic

June 12, 2023

‘Nuclear terrorism’: Democratic Party of Korea blasts ‘pro-Japan’ Yoon over Fukushima water

The Democratic Party of Korea escalated its campaign against Japan on Monday, accusing President Yoon Suk Yeol of being weak on Tokyo and its plan to gradually release treated wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant. Ahead of the plenary session of the National Assembly, Democratic Party lawmakers issued a joint statement vowing to stop Japan from discharging the wastewater into the sea altogether. “Our party will do everything in our power to block Japan from dumping i

June 12, 2023

Samsung technician-turned-lawmaker to start political party

Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, an independent lawmaker who was formerly a chip technician at Samsung Electronics, is poised to set up a new political party. Yang, 56, will hold a launch ceremony for the party at the KBIZ Hall of the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, on June 26. The launch ceremony will include an announcement about the new party, including information on the party's members. Yang's office told The Korea Herald on Monday no further information could be provided. Yang i

June 12, 2023