Conflict over equal rights for sexual minorities is flaring up due to the planned constitutional revision. During the presidential election, issues regarding sexual minorities drew attention, and the topic remains a thorny issue that riles up anti-gay sentiment. On Thursday, 300 organizations formed a coalition, announcing their opposition to providing equal rights regardless of sexual orientation. Made up of some 250 members, the group, whose name translates to people’s coalition against homose

Politics July 28, 2017

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has officially adopted a homeless dog as a presidential pet, his office said Wednesday. Moon received a rescue dog named “Tory” from the animal rights group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth after signing an adoption agreement, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, adding that this is the first time that a shelter dog has become a so-called “First Dog.”  Moon and Tory (Yonhap)The four-year-old black mongrel joins Moon‘s two other pets -- a Pungsan dog

Politics July 26, 2017

PARIS (AFP) -- Sperm count among men in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand has halved in 40 years, according to research warning of fertility risk, though outside experts urged caution about the results.A review of data collected from nearly 43,000 men in 185 previous studies from 1973 to 2011, found a “significant decline” in sperm concentration, according to findings published in the journal Human Reproduction Update.The decline was 52.4 percent -- from 99 million to 47 million s

World News July 26, 2017

Representatives of South Korea and China held a meeting to discuss cooperation on climate change, the foreign ministry here said Wednesday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Kim Chan-woo, South Korea’s ambassador for climate change, and Xie Zhenhua, China’s climate change special representative, had a luncheon meeting on Tuesday in Beijing, where a meeting of the two countries’ joint climate change committee was also held.  Xie Zhenhua (Yonhap)Xie said even though China and South Korea could

Diplomatic Circuit July 26, 2017

President Moon Jae-in fulfilled his pledge to fill at least 30 percent of the Cabinet with female ministers as of Wednesday, with his nomination of ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Kim Young-joo for labor minister. Currently, the new Cabinet has five female ministers and, if Kim is appointed, it would make 31.5 percent out of the 19 ministerial positions, including the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, whose chief was recently upgraded to a ministerial level. Kim’s confirmation h

Politics July 26, 2017

Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday discovered documents from the former Lee Myung-bak administration that are rumored to contain evidence of links between the government and corporations, local media outlets reported Wednesday.The contents of the documents, found in the office of the presidential secretary for national security, have not been disclosed. But they reportedly concern the construction of Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul by retail giant Lotte Group, and include information on dealings invol

Politics July 26, 2017

A South Korean lawmaker on Tuesday proposed a bill to designate parking spaces for pregnant women. Proportional representative Kim Hyun-a of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party submitted the bill to the National Assembly, after a citizen requested its enactment on a popular Korean TV program “Infinite Challenge,” citing physical difficulties she faced while parking in narrow parking spaces.  Parking space designated for the disabled (Yonhap)The proposal aims to revise an existing law governi

Politics July 25, 2017

Rep. Lee Jeong-mi, the newly appointed chair of the far-left Justice Party, on Monday vowed to bring “minor agendas,” such as issues involving gender disparity, sexual minorities and farmers, to South Korea’s mainstream politics. “Issues like the gender gap, temporary employees, farmers or sexual minorities have been considered as accessories in the field of South Korean politics,” Lee told reporters at a luncheon, nearly two weeks into the job. “We will not be a party offering a stopgap measure

Politics July 24, 2017

Three members of the North Chungcheong provincial assembly were expelled from the Liberty Korea Party on Monday, following criticism for going on an overseas trip while the region was severely hit by heavy rains. “We decided to revoke the party membership of the three who evoked much criticism,” the main opposition party’s spokesperson Jun Hee-kyung said in a party meeting.  Members of North Chungcheong Provincial Assembly, Kim Hak-chul (left) and Park Han-beom, apologize at the North Chucheong

Politics July 24, 2017

The government will execute 70 percent of the supplementary budget approved Saturday before October, in an attempt to maximize its effects and to offset the delay in its approval by the National Assembly. “It is very important to effectively execute the budget at the right time and place to maximize the influence of the funds,” Vice Minister Kim Yong-jin of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in an urgent economy inspection meeting held Saturday after the bill was passed. “We will come up

Politics July 23, 2017

For Kim Chong-in, 78, morning starts at 5 a.m., with news updates about world politics. “Humans are political animals. You should know what’s going on around the world,” the veteran politician told The Korea Herald at his office in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. That’s the approach Kim, originally an economics professor, took to stay relevant, and ideally ahead of the game, for more than three decades in South Korea’s turbulent politics. Of all countries, France is his main interest now, Kim said,

Politics July 21, 2017

With more than a century of history, Gwangjang traditional market is still bustling with shoppers and visitors. Although it sells all sorts of goods from clothes to fresh meat and vegetables, the biggest reason that people flock here is food. Long lines of stalls offer visitors a wide variety of food available at cheap prices, starting right from South Koreans’ all-time favorite delicacies – tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) and sundae (pig intestines filled with glass noodles) -- to sushi and beef s

Social Affairs July 21, 2017

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Wednesday filed a complaint against Blue House officials for leaking presidential records of the previous administration, claiming they broke a law banning the documents’ public disclosure for 30 years. The complaint requests the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to investigate presidential spokesperson Park Soo-hyun and others involved in two live press briefings held on the discoveries, in two batches, and the content of the dossiers, purportedly complied d

Politics July 20, 2017

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday appealed for parliamentary support of his core issues, including an extra budget bill currently pending, in a rare meeting with opposition party leaders. During a meeting with the heads of four political parties over a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae, including his ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Moon proposed to leave acrimonies in the past and open a new cooperative dialogue, while pledging not to seek a political vendetta on opponents.  (Yonhap)“Even if the parl

Politics July 19, 2017