[Herald Interview] Philippine envoy welcomes speedy return for migrant workers

The Philippine ambassador has welcomed revised laws to help migrant workers renew their employment contracts here, but has also called for amnesty for those who have already overstayed their visas. While Luis T. Cruz said South Korea and the Philippines shared the common goal of “the rights and welfare of the workers,” he also called for further improvements to the law on Korea’s Employment Permit System. EPS allows Korean employers to hire temporary foreign workers for jobs they have not been a

Feb. 26, 2012

Lee names vice foreign ministers, academy head

President Lee Myung-bak named Ahn Ho-young, ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, as the first vice foreign minister and Kim Sung-han, international relations professor at Korea University, as second vice foreign minister, said Cheong Wa Dae, Friday.“Ahn has vast experience in foreign affairs and trade with excellent work achievements and good managerial ability,” the Presidential Office said in a statement.Ahn was a sherpa during the G20 Seoul Summit hosted by Korea.After graduating fro

Feb. 24, 2012

Ex-vice foreign minister tapped for envoy to U.S.

The South Korean government said that it has tapped Choi Young-jin, former vice foreign minister, as new ambassador to the United States, a government official said Thursday.Choi will be replacing the outgoing ambassador Han Duck-soo, who made a surprise offer to step down during his visit to Seoul last week and elected Wednesday as the new chief of the Korea International Trade Association.The government has asked the U.S. for an agreement on the appointment of Choi Thursday, said Foreign Minis

Feb. 23, 2012

Seoul appoints 18 new ambassadors

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Wednesday it had appointed 18 new ambassadors and five consuls general in an annual reshuffle.Hong Seong-hoa, former ambassador to Colombia, will serve as ambassador to Mexico and former ambassador to Peru Han Byung-kil will become ambassador to Argentina.Baek Ju-hyun, former director general of the overseas Koreans and consulate affairs department, was named to head the Korean Embassy in Kazakhstan. Lee Tae-ho, former director general of the free

Feb. 23, 2012

Heroic envoy to Korea dies in East Timor

The East Timor Ambassador to Korea Joao Viegas Carrascalao has died of a heart attack, embassy officials said Tuesday. He was 66.Staff at the embassy said that he died on Saturday at 1:40 a.m. at his home in East Timor, to which he had recently returned.He was then pronounced dead at the Guido Valadares National Hospital. He had been suffering ill health for some time.“The main reason for his death was a heart attack. He was in a dire, dire physical situation and he had been struggling because o

Feb. 21, 2012

Envoy slams Noda’s demand to remove statue

It was inappropriate for Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to demand Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak remove the “Peace Statue” during their summit late last year, said Shin Kak-soo, South Korean ambassador to Japan.The monument was installed by Korean civic groups in December in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to remind Japan of the Korean women forced into sex slavery during World War II.“It is true that the Japanese government keeps asking Seoul to remove the statue,” Shin told repo

Feb. 21, 2012

Korean Wave touches Peru, Argentina in different steps

The Korean Wave, or hallyu, has hit Latin America, where an increasing number of people are becoming more interested in Korean dramas, K-pop and Korean classical musicians, the Korean ambassadors to Peru and Argentina said.“In Peru, the Korean Wave is literally explosive. While the state-run TV’s viewer ratings hit an average 2 percent, channels that air hallyu content such as K-dramas, sitcoms and films, mark 6 percent viewer ratings on average,” said Park Hee-kwon, ambassador to Peru, told The

Feb. 20, 2012

Iraqi foreign minister hints at Korean T-50 training jet buy

Minister appeals Seoul to ‘reconsider’ travel ban on Iraq for better business tiesIraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who visited Seoul last week, said his country was likely to buy Korea’s T-50 training jets and the possibility of the sale is “positive.”His remarks came after Korea Aerospace Industries, the country’s sole aircraft maker, failed to sell its homegrown T-50 supersonic trainer jets to Israel a few days ago. The Israeli government chose the Italian-made M-346 instead.“We’re looki

Feb. 19, 2012

‘Odissi’ of Indian dance in Korea

Indian classical dance performances have wowed Korean audiences in Seoul and Busan. Award-winning performer Kavita Dwibedi executed the classical Indian Odissi dance recitals at Seoul’s Baekam Art Hall and Busan’s Cinema Center Sky Hall last week. Dwibedi, who is head of the Odissi Academy in New Delhi was brought up in a family of traditional arts practitioners and has performed all over the world. Odissi originated as a temple dance in eastern India where it was performed as an act of religiou

Feb. 19, 2012

PEN Korea forum to focus on North Korean writers

International authors will discuss setting up a group for North Korean writers in exile at a meeting in Gyeongju this year. Vice president of the Czech PEN Club Marketa Hejkalova said that issues of human rights and freedom of expression in North Korea would be discussed at the PEN International world congress this September.The acclaimed novelist came to Korea as part of a delegation of writers in preparation for the congress of some 300 authors from 114 countries, including Nobel literary priz

Feb. 19, 2012

U.S. envoy talks about FTA, security ahead of 100th day

The U.S. ambassador to Korea has stated that the trade pact between the two countries is “vitally important” to both economies amid calls from the Korean opposition party to repeal it. The Democratic Unity Party is calling for the free trade agreement to be revised, saying the deal contains elements that could damage the Korean economy. But ambassador Sung Kim called the KORUS FTA a milestone in diplomatic relations and said that both sides were working to review the regulations as quickly as po

Feb. 19, 2012