Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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[Herald Interview] 'Amid aging population, Korea to invite more young professionals from overseas'
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Nicaragua shuts down Seoul embassy
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Rocket engine expert, ex-NASA exec to lead Korea's new space agency
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[Editorial] Compromise matters
The Minimum Wage Commission held its first plenary session Tuesday to start negotiations to set the minimum wage for 2023, a highly sensitive issue for both labor and business that is also expected to set the overall labor policy tone of the incoming administration. The minimum wage for this year is 9,160 won ($7.52) per hour, up 5.05 percent from 2021, after much wrangling between labor and business. Neither side was satisfied with the final result, as the gap was too wide to narrow. Similar
April 7, 2022
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[Editorial] Delegate authority
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is stepping up preparations to form the first Cabinet of his administration. He nominated former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as prime minister, and rumors have flown about who will be named as deputy prime ministers and ministers. Kim Eun-hye, Yoon’s spokesperson, said on Monday that Yoon would try to announce the full lineup of the Cabinet next week at the latest. Yoon met with Han on Sunday ahead of announcing his nomination of prime minister. Han repor
April 6, 2022
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[Editorial] Emotional battle
The incoming and outgoing administrations are still engaged in confrontation, failing to forge cooperative relations to tackle crucial issues during the transition period. A case in point is the high-profile clash over the recent appointment of Park Doo-sun as CEO of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The relocation of the presidential office is also a matter fraught with friction and mistrust. Similarly, both sides wrangle over the disclosure of protocol costs for the first lady Kim
April 5, 2022
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[Editorial] Opaque transactions
Whenever new suspicions have been raised about first lady Kim Jung-sook’s outfits, Cheong Wa Dae offered an explanation, but it said different things each time. Tak Hyun-min, protocol secretary for President Moon Jae-in, said on a radio program on Wednesday that the first lady bought clothes and accessories at her own expense for the past five years with her own credit cards. But that was not quite the case. A master of Korea’s traditional costume hanbok and an artisan of handmad
April 4, 2022
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[Editorial] A temporary fix
As the Russia-Ukraine war persists, global energy prices are on the rise and propelling electricity bills around the world even higher. Bucking the trend is South Korea. For a while, the country’s electricity rate freeze will offer a reprieve to consumers and companies, but it is a short-sighted policy that could backfire with a vengeance. State-run power firm Korea Electric Power Corp. had proposed a 3 won (0.2 cent) increase in the adjusted unit fuel cost, a benchmark for the country&r
April 1, 2022
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[Editorial] Absurd reason
A citizen posted a petition on the website of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on March 18 asking for disclosure of protocol expenses for First Lady Kim Jung-sook, such as costs of clothes, accessories and shoes she bought to attend official events. The petitioner said that if the office acted squarely and above board, it has no reason to refuse to disclose them. On March 15, a similar petition was made on the website, requesting an immediate disclosure of Kim’s ceremonial expenses
March 29, 2022
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[Editorial] Fixing failed strategy
North Korea’s old survival playbook has gotten more sophisticated over the past few decades. The formula is rather straightforward. It develops and test-fires new missiles that could pose a threat to South Korea and its allies, particularly the United States. Once it gets rewards such as sanctions relief, it suspends its weapons program for a while. However, when a new geopolitical change is in sight the regime resumes test-firing missiles, often armed with more advanced technologies. Se
March 28, 2022
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[Editorial] Awkward reason
President Moon Jae-in emphasized a “security vacuum” as he sought to put a brake on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s plan to relocate the presidential office. Yoon was going to move the presidential office to the building of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul, before May 10, his inauguration day, so that he could be working at the new office from the first day of his presidency. Moon is said to have taken an opposite position after a National Security Council
March 25, 2022
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[Editorial] Wrong target
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is forging a strange logic for the defeat in the March 9 presidential election. Its misguided target is none other than the media. In the Democratic Party’s view, the party and its former candidate were innocent victims of so-called “fake news.” Rep. Yun Ho-jung, who now stands as the party’s interim leader, said in a press briefing Sunday that the party plans to focus on reforming the media, and revealed its unwavering determination
March 24, 2022
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[Editorial] The right direction
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said in his luncheon meeting with the chiefs of six major business lobby groups Monday that the government’s job is to remove institutional obstacles so that businesses can decide more freely, invest freely and grow. He also said that the government is focused on establishing infrastructure so that companies will spearhead the creation of jobs and make investments, which will eventually help the nation grow. The administration under President Moon Jae-in ha
March 23, 2022
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[Editorial] Twisted fact
President Moon Jae-in has often touted the success of “K-quarantine,” a set of state-led quarantine, outreach and contact tracing policies aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic as one of his representative achievements. K-quarantine, a term first introduced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, was even used as a key idea of exporting the country’s coronavirus management strategies to other countries. In recent weeks, things have changed fairly dramatically. It seems a s
March 22, 2022
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[Editorial] For a flying start
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol launched his transition team and presided over its first meeting Friday. It was launched pretty quickly. Just eight days passed after he won the presidential election. Until May 9, it will sort out major issues for the Yoon administration to deal with and review Yoon’s election pledges intensively and modify them if needed. Among its core tasks are reorganizing the government and forming the Cabinet. The team is comprised of 24 members in seven subcommitte
March 21, 2022
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[Editorial] A tug of war
The first meeting between President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, scheduled for Wednesday, was abruptly canceled, revealing their conflicting views on key issues and the purpose of the get-together. It marks the first case in which a meeting between the incumbent and president-elect was called off after the plans were made public. As it was unprecedented, speculation mounted over why the two leaders failed to get together. According to a Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson, the meetin
March 18, 2022
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[Editorial] End imperial presidency
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol made it clear his plan to abolish the office of senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. He also plans to appoint a special inspector, a Cheong Wa Dae post left vacated so far by President Moon Jae-in, when he takes office. The office watches public officials for irregularities, weighs up nominees for important government posts, and is a bridge between the president and the Ministry of Justice. Also as a command center over the prosecution and police, it su
March 17, 2022
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[Editorial] Gravity of transition
As the bitter presidential election marred by scandals and mudslinging is now over, what follows is a crucial transition period that will shape key policies and initiatives for the new administration led by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. Yoon appointed Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the People’s Party, as chief of the presidential transition committee, an organization that will handle the transition of power from the Moon Jae-in administration. Ahn’s appointment came as no surprise,
March 16, 2022
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[Editorial] Prudence warranted
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday reaffirmed his election pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. He said that the ministry has completed its historical missions and that his government would form a new organization to deal with inequality, human rights abuses and the like more effectively than the ministry. The pledge faces not only strong opposition from women’s communities and the ruling majority Democratic Party of Korea, but also calls for prudence from
March 15, 2022
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[Editorial] Sign of change
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to push for the relocation of the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun Square. Yoon plans to use the current prime minister’s office at the complex as his main working space and set aside four to five floors for his secretariats, security and other presidential officials. Yoon is also expected to move the presidential residence outside of Cheong Wa Dae to a nearby venue so that the current facili
March 14, 2022
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[Editorial] New era dawning
Opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol was elected the next president in a close race. The People Power Party candidate beat Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea by about 247,000 votes, the slimmest margin since the Constitution was amended to hold direct presidential elections in 1987. The election results show how bitterly divided politics are here. This was foreseen to some extent. Campaigns were extremely negative. Calling this a contest between the two “all-time most unlikabl
March 11, 2022
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[Editorial] Choice for the future
South Koreans went to the polls Wednesday, defying the threat of COVID-19 infection to elect a new president who will lead a nation filled with overwhelming challenges for the next five years. Although the winner was yet to be confirmed due to a mind-bogglingly tight race as The Korea Herald went to press, what’s certain is that the 20th presidential election reflects the high political engagement of Koreans. There is much at stake as the country needs a leader who can map out the right
March 10, 2022
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[Editorial] Choice of fate
Koreans are going to the polls today to elect a new president with the hope the candidate they choose will lead them into a better future. An election is a platform for people to evaluate candidates and select one who will lead them. Voters weigh many elements including a candidate’s morality, vision, policies and competence. The presidential election today can be simplified into a matter of choice between a change of regime and a continuation of it. In his inaugural address on May 10
March 9, 2022