S. Korea's gender pay gap worst in OECD

South Korea has the worst gender pay gap among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development according to 2022 data, an OECD estimate showed on Thursday. This marked the 27th year straight that Asia's fourth-largest economy recorded the most severe gender pay gap among the member states. The 2022 figure showed Korea's female workers were paid on average 31.2 percent less than their male counterparts in 2022, or 68.8 percent, the data showed. The d

May 23, 2024

Seoul Metro’s Line No. 8 to extend its routes in August

Line No. 8 of the Seoul Metro, a subway operator of South Korea's capital city, will extend its services to the Byeollae Station in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, by August, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Thursday. Six new stations will be added along a 12.9-kilometer stretch from Amsa Station, which is currently the last stop for the eastbound subway trains of Line No. 8. Travellers will be able to transfer from Line No. 8 to Gyeongchun Line, and vice versa, at Byeollae Sta

May 23, 2024

Woman's body found on Haeundae Beach

The body of a woman in her 40s had been found in the waters near the Haeundae Beach in Busan, local coast guard said Thursday. Officials at the Busan Coast Guard said they received a report of what appears to be a person floating in the water at around 8:57 p.m. on Wednesday. Officials found that it was a woman, wearing everyday clothes. Initial inspection of her body showed that she had drowned to death, and that she had no signs of physical trauma. Officials noted that it does not seem likely

May 23, 2024

Jamsil takes Gangnam's crown as Seoul's busiest subway station

The busiest subway station in the Seoul Metro system in terms of daily users was Jamsil Station on Line Nos. 2 and 8, the main operator of the metro system for the nation's capital and parts of the surrounding cities said Thursday. According to the Seoul Metro, 155,229 people used the Jamsil Station between January and April of this year. The state-run company surveyed the ridership for each station, based on the number of people who either entered or exited the system at the said station.

May 23, 2024

Drowned cat kicks off animal abuse probe

The municipal government of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday is investigating an animal abuse case, in which a cat was drowned in what appears to be a deliberate attempt. The Tongyeong station of the Korea Coast Guard received a report at around 8 a.m. Wednesday, of what appeared to be an animal floating around the waters off Misu-dong in Tongyeong. The animal turned out to be a dead cat, whose body was tied to a rope that was bound to rocks beneath the surface. Investigators suspe

May 23, 2024

[Community Discovery] Jung-gu showcases historic, cultural sites at nighttime festival

Jeong-dong Culture Night will take place near Deoksugung and Jeong-dong Street in Jung-gu, central Seoul, to show off its historic and cultural sites and host various cultural events from Friday to Saturday. This year marks the event’s ninth anniversary since the event was established in 2015 as South Korea’s first "cultural property festival," or a festival against the backdrop of conserved cultural assets. Since then, the festival has gathered more than 200,000 local an

May 23, 2024

Symphonic music festival in Gwangju to bring together 2,000 musicians in July

The 2024 20th World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference Gwangju-Gyeonggi will open in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in July, hosting more than 2,000 musicians from over 30 countries, according to the municipal government. This year's edition of the biennial symphonic wind music festival will run from July 16-20. The music festival in the suburbs southeast of Seoul will include main concerts, lectures, fringe festivals and exhibitions, among which the main concer

May 23, 2024

Embryo activist: Baby's lawsuit takes on S. Korea climate inaction

When he was a 20-week-old embryo -- before he even had a real name -- Choi Hee-woo became one of the world's youngest-ever plaintiffs by joining a groundbreaking climate lawsuit against South Korea. His case, known as "Woodpecker et al. vs. South Korea" after Choi's in utero nickname, seeks to prove Seoul's modest climate goals -- reducing carbon emissions by 40 percent of 2018 levels by 2030 -- are a violation of their constitutionally guaranteed human rights. In Asia&#

May 22, 2024

[Herald Interview] Korean adoptees embark on journeys to find roots

Growing up in what he described as the "small town" of Umea, Sweden, Jakob Sandberg has rarely felt like an outsider, despite his Asian features setting him apart from the majority of his friends. Rather, it was actually South Korea, his motherland before being adopted to Sweden, where he encountered situations that led him to feel like an alien or “someone weird.” Though he looked different than most of his friends, he recalled his carefree childhood in Sweden. “I ha

May 22, 2024

Overseas Koreans Agency welcomes adoptees seeking connection to motherland

The Overseas Korean Agency hosted the "2024 Overseas Korean Adoptees Gathering" by cordially inviting overseas Korean adoptees to South Korea for a four-day event that kicked off Tuesday. Inviting 96 adoptees from 15 countries, the gathering aims to allow the participants to have a chance to feel more attached to their motherland while having them fully engaged in hands-on programs, such as "Talk-show" and "Info-session." Under the tagline of "Power of Connecti

May 22, 2024

[H.eco Forum] Celebrities advocate doing what we can to combat climate change

Three celebrities known for their involvement in the environmental movement -- actor Kim Suk-hoon, writer Lee Seul-a and Ko Kum-sook, co-founder of zero-waste shop Almang Market -- discussed the small changes they have made to combat climate change at the H.eco Forum held at Some Sevit, Seoul, on Wednesday. The annual forum, held under the theme, “The Transition: Blue, Clean and Green,” featured the celebrities sharing their experiences during a special panel session titled, &ldq

May 22, 2024

[H.eco Forum] ‘Struggle for net zero, struggle for survival’

For both developed and developing countries, carbon neutrality is no longer a choice, but a human survival strategy, experts and policymakers told the H.eco Forum 2024 on Wednesday in Seoul. During a panel talk with the theme of “Energy Transition for Net Zero Roadmap,” Yoo Yeon-chul, executive director of the UN Global Impact Network Korea, shared how three core themes shaped recent notable international events, such as the 28th UN Climate Change Conference held in Dubai in 2023 and

May 22, 2024

[H.eco Forum] H.eco Forum calls for transition to clean, carbon-free energy

Amidst pledges and goals, grandiose yet seemingly distant, where do we stand in our much-touted transition to clean energy? This was the central question pondered at this year's H.eco Forum, held Wednesday in Seoul. In its fourth edition this year, the annual event brought together environmental scholars, activists and experts from within and beyond South Korea, as well as ordinary citizens, under the theme, “The Transition: Blue, Clean, and Green,” at Some Sevit in southern Seo

May 22, 2024

[H.eco Forum] 'Where we stand in renewables'

A panel of industry insiders and observers sat down for a reality check on where the world stand in the renewable energy transition, during the H.eco Forum 2024 held in Seoul on Wednesday. Under the title “Blue, Clean and Green Energy,” the panel discussion centered around some notable industrial developments in the field, ranging from offshore wind, solar radiation and small modular nuclear reactors, sharing their insights with attentive participants in the audience. The four paneli

May 22, 2024

[H.eco Forum] EU diplomat urges ‘ppali ppali’ for climate response

The European Union’s envoy in South Korea on Wednesday praised the country’s increased commitment to boosting renewable energy, while still urging more speed and international cooperation on the global front against climate change. Speaking at H.eco Forum 2024 in Seoul, EU Ambassador to South Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez noted the Asian country’s pledge to join the global efforts to collectively triple renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030, made at the United Nation

May 22, 2024

Govt. floats conditional driver's licenses for seniors, then revises it to ‘high-risk drivers’

The South Korean government’s plan to implement conditional licenses for "senior citizen drivers" has been reworded to "high-risk drivers," following a public backlash over potential infringement of the human right to mobility for older people. On Monday, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and the Korean National Police Agency said they were studying a new measure that would restrict highway access and nighttime driving for drivers 65 and over based o

May 22, 2024

[H.eco Forum] Former IEA chief calls for embracing hydrogen, nuclear for sustainable future

Nobuo Tanaka, former executive director of the International Energy Agency, emphasized the importance of hydrogen and nuclear energy for both Japan and South Korea to address global energy and climate crises, during his keynote speech at the H.eco Forum held in Seoul on Wednesday. "Japan and Korea, I definitely think, can be winners by using clean hydrogen as well as nuclear power," Tanaka said during his keynote speech at the annual forum organized by Herald Media Group. Tanaka, who c

May 22, 2024

New CIO chief vows to restore public trust

Oh Dong-woon, the new chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, pledged Wednesday to strengthen the agency's role as an independent investigative body and to restore public trust. In his inaugural address, Oh said, “The CIO has been criticized for falling short of public expectations. My responsibility is to strengthen the agency's role as an independent investigative body in line with the purpose for which the CIO was created.” “Since t

May 22, 2024

Arrest warrant sought for trot singer for DUI, hit-and-run

Police said Wednesday that they had sought an arrest warrant for trot and popera singer Kim Ho-joong over suspicions of drunk driving and a hit-and-run, a day after he appeared for questioning. The Seoul Gangnam Police Station said they applied for arrest warrants at around 11:15 a.m. for Kim on charges of reckless driving resulting in injuries under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and fleeing the scene. Police have also sought warrants to arrest Lee Gwang-deuk, the head

May 22, 2024

[Graphic News] Medical tourists visiting Korea reach record high

According to the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of foreign national patients visiting Korea reached a record high of 606,000 last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The report indicates that more than half of these foreign patients sought services at dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. The number of foreign patients visiting Korea last year increased by 2.4 times compared to the previous year, reaching 606,000. This is 1.2 times higher than the 497,000 patien

May 22, 2024