Impeached former President Park Geun-hye had her residence moved to a quiet neighborhood in Seoul with little fanfare on Saturday.Park, who was ousted from office two months ago, remains in jail while facing bribery and other criminal charges, mostly involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil and key former aides.With Park away, movers arrived at her former home in Samseong-dong in southern Seoul at around 7:30 am. They started loading their trucks some half an hour later. Naegok-dong (Yonhap)P

Social Affairs May 6, 2017

The worst fine dust of 2017 blanketed much of South Korea on Saturday, as the authorities issued health warnings against the sandy, chemical-laden wind from China.The National Institute of Environmental Research said fine dust warnings have been issued in 12 cities and counties nationwide as of 7:30 am Seoul and a few other regions have been placed under an advisory. (Yonhap)The fine dust warning is issued when an hourly average dust concentration of more than 300 micrograms per cubic meter (㎍/㎥

Social Affairs May 6, 2017

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy will gain further momentum after the presidential election set to take place early next week, central bank governor said Saturday, citing strong exports and improved consumer sentiment amid signs of recovery in global economies.“In the past, domestic consumption tended to gather momentum on positive anticipation over the economy in the first year of the new administration, since the new government had pushed its drive for boost measures,

Economy May 6, 2017

Former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan has won his much-anticipated season debut.The South Korean star captured the men‘s 400-meter freestyle title at Arena Pro Swim Series at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta on Friday (local time), with the time of 3:44.38.He beat the runner-up, Felix Auboeck of the United States, by a whopping 6.01 seconds.Park’s winning time was the fourth-fastest 400m freestyle record of 2017. Sun Yang of China owns the fastest time of the season with 3:42.16. Park

More Sports May 6, 2017

“New Republic of Korea with Moon Jae-in. If you don’t vote, shy-shy-shy.” The familiar tune from K-pop girl group Twice blares from a loudspeaker atop a remodeled truck in a Seoul street, apparently being used for the campaign of presidential candidate Moon. The verse has been rewritten to encourage voters to support the liberal aspirant. A bigger truck, with a makeshift stage, is parked in the middle of a wide street in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, with a large crowd gathered in front. On the sta

Politics May 5, 2017

The first-ever early voting in a presidential election will begin Thursday, ahead of the main vote Tuesday. This is the first time early voting, in which voters can use any polling station, is being provided in a presidential election. According to the National Election Commission, there are 3,507 advance polling stations across the country, including Seoul Station, Yongsan Station and Incheon Airport.  National Election Commission officals install advance polling facilities in a community cente

Politics May 3, 2017

The South Korean presidential race will enter its final week Wednesday, during which the publishing of poll results is banned. Under local regulations, the results of polls conducted from six days prior to the voting day cannot be published over concerns that opinion polls may “impede fairness and affect the election results.” However, polls can be conducted during the six-day period, provided that results are not published and the National Election Commission has been informed beforehand. Viola

Politics May 2, 2017

Bareun Party presidential candidate Rep. Yoo Seong-min is facing increasing pressure from his own party to form a three-way conservative-centrist coalition.On Friday, 20 of the party’s 33 lawmakers released a statement calling for three presidential candidates-- Yoo, Liberty Korea Party’s Hong Joon-pyo and Ahn Cheol-soo of People’s Party -- to form an alliance to stop front-runner Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea.  Bareun Party’s Reps. Kim Sung-tae (right), Kim Hack-yong (center) and

Politics April 28, 2017

Two presidential candidates on opposite ends of the political spectrum are making unusual progress in their popularity: Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party. A Realmeter poll, released Thursday, showed the hard-line conservative Hong with 13 percent support, up 2.5 percentage points from the previous week. This is in spite of the controversy of an anecdote in his autobiography that he helped a friend with a failed sexual assaul

Politics April 27, 2017

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles that try to capture the voter sentiment in key regions. The following is the third installment on Seoul, the nation’s capital. -- Ed.Nearly half of the nation’s 50 million population resides in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and the number of votes up for grabs here is proportionally great -- roughly 17 million. Like other metropolitan cities of the world, the “greater Seoul area” also boasts diverse communities. Many residents here came

Politics April 25, 2017

Leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea said he feels he is “nearing victory” in text messages sent to his camp staff and party members Monday. “I can visualize and hear your warm comradeship. I feel victory nearing us,” read the message revealed by Moon’s spokeperson Park Kwang-on. “I am certain of my victory.”Leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yonhap)Moon expressed gratitude to his party members for their campaigning

Politics April 24, 2017

Just one day after coming under fire for refusing to label North Korea “the main enemy” on live TV, leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in was dragged further into controversy Friday over his stance on Pyongyang -- South Korea’s communist neighbor, brethren and foe. A former top diplomat renewed his claim that Moon had in 2007 suggested the Seoul government consult Pyongyang before deciding its position on a UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses. Song at that time served

Politics April 21, 2017

Just one day after coming under fire for refusing to label North Korea “the main enemy” on live TV, leading presidential candidate Moon Jae-in was dragged further into controversy over his stance on Pyongyang, South Korea’s communist neighbor, brethren and foe. A former top diplomat Friday renewed his claim that Moon had in 2007 suggested the Seoul government consult Pyongyang before deciding its position on a UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses. Song at that time served a

Politics April 21, 2017

North Korea lashed out at Japan Thursday for trying to remove girl statues symbolizing women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II.Minju Joson, the mouthpiece of North Korea’s cabinet, said Japan’s actions will not cover up the “hideous unethical crimes” it committed during the war, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency.“Japan’s action related to the girl statue for peace reminds one of mere child’s playing to get the sun eclipsed by palms,” KCNA said i

North Korea April 20, 2017

Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s friend at the center of a bribery scandal, has been banned for life from equestrian competitions following her irregularities, an official from the sport’s national governing body said Thursday. An official at the Korea Equestrian Federation said that its discipline committee had a meeting on Monday and decided to permanently ban Chung, the daughter of Choi Soon-sil, which prevents her from competing in any equestrian

Social Affairs April 20, 2017