The Korea Herald

Violence mars UPP meeting

PoliticsMay 13, 2012

Scandal-ridden progressive party faces leadership vacuum The future of the scandal-ridden Unified Progressive Party was further in doubt over the weekend as the party faced a leadership vacuum upon violent disruptions of its central committee meeting. Immediately before the start of the central committee meeting on Saturday afternoon, all of the party’s co-chairs ― Lee Jung-hee, Cho Joon-ho, Si...
South Korea, China, Japan agree to start official FTA talks

PoliticsMay 13, 2012

BEIJING ― The leaders of South Korea, China and Japan agreed to start official negotiations on a trilateral free trade pact within this year during their annual meeting in Beijing on Sunday, stepping up efforts to deepen economic cooperation. To this end, they agreed to begin the necessary domestic procedures and working-level consultations soon, Seoul officials said. President Lee Myung-bak, C...
Minister calls for changes in unification policy

PoliticsMay 13, 2012

Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik on Friday called for fresh measures to steer the unification between two Koreas despite strained cross-border ties following a failed rocket launch. He stressed that the South should shift its focus on bilateral exchanges, cooperation and talks to policies that can be pursued constantly and independently irrespective of swings in inter-Korean relations. “Under the...
Progressive party on verge of collapse

PoliticsMay 13, 2012

Umbrella labor group threatens to withdraw support over vote-rigging scandal About five months after the grand coalition of Korea’s key progressive forces, the Unified Progressive Party appears on the verge of collapse over the factional struggle prompted by vote-rigging allegations. The party now faces the danger of losing one of its biggest associates, as the Korea Confederation of Trade Unio...
N.K.’s No. 2 leader tours food factory in Singapore

North KoreaMay 13, 2012

North Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam visited a foodstuff factory in Singapore on Saturday after talks with the city-state’s parliamentary leader, the North’s official news agency reported. Kim, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and his party were briefed on the constant development of the typical foodstuff factory, the (North) Korean Central News Agency ...
Leadership race in main opposition party heats up

PoliticsMay 13, 2012

Throngs of Democratic United Party members threw their hats into the ring for the upcoming leadership race on Sunday, taking up the challenge against a purported frontrunner Lee Hae-chan. The DUP is set to elect on June 9 its new leadership that will spearhead the party’s race toward the Dec. 19 presidential election. The party, which lost to the ruling Saenuri Party in the April general electio...
Police to track emergency callers’ location from Nov.

Social affairsMay 13, 2012

A revision of the Location Privacy Protection Act will go into effect on Nov. 15 after its promulgation this week, allowing the police to track the location of callers to their 112 hotline, the National Police Agency said Sunday. Under the revised bill that passed parliament and the Cabinet earlier this month, police are allowed to seek help from mobile phone operators to track the physical loca...
Lee repeats need for Japan to face history

PoliticsMay 13, 2012

BEIJING ― President Lee Myung-bak reiterated the need to face up to history to help enhance bilateral ties with Tokyo during his talks here with his Japanese counterpart, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday. On the sidelines of the annual talks between the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China, Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held bilateral meeting to discuss cooperation in security and b...
Challenges ahead for carbon trade scheme

Social affairsMay 13, 2012

A plan to introduce a greenhouse gas emissions trading program didn’t generate as much debate in Korea as in the U.S. and some other countries before it passed the parliament earlier this month. But bipartisan support for the plan doesn’t guarantee a smooth glide toward its implementation, experts warned. Instead, a bitter debate may be just starting as the government moves to design its fine d...
Bank probe widens to corruption charges

Social affairsMay 13, 2012

Prosecutors were stepping up investigations into suspended savings banks on Sunday, as more allegations involving the top brass of embezzlement, accounting fraud and illicit lending surfaced. On Friday, they secured an arrest warrant for an executive at Hanju Savings Bank who has vanished after allegedly siphoning off 1.6 billion won ($1.4 million) from 350 customer deposits on May 5. The sum a...
Korea’s international aid focuses on independent development

Foreign affairsMay 13, 2012

VIENTIANE ― As a recently wealthy member of the international community, Korea is obliged to increase its aid for developing countries and its best option is sharing the lessons learned from its growth, which other nations can follow, said the head of the Laos branch of Korea’s aid agency. “Developing countries face various obstacles when trying to stand on their own feet,” Kwon Young-eui, chief...
Korea builds social infrastructure in Laos

Foreign affairsMay 13, 2012

Aid agency KOICA focuses on health, education and agriculture This is the fifth installment of a series of articles introducing programs and activities of the Korea International Cooperation Agency, a state-run organization for overseas assistance and humanitarian aid. ― Ed. VIENTIANE ― Korea’s aid program in Laos focuses on building social infrastructure to support the country’s drive to overc...
S. Korea and Japan discuss security cooperation

NationalMay 13, 2012

BEIJING -- The leaders of South Korea and Japan on Sunday discussed security cooperation, which has recently gained momentum as the two neighbors seek to sign two military pacts on sharing information and logistical support. President Lee Myung-bak and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda held a bilateral meeting as they gathered here for the annual tripartite summit with China. Seoul and To...
Forum connects Indian businesses to Korea

Foreign affairsMay 13, 2012

More than 70 Korean and Indian CEOs and entrepreneurs came together last week to discuss unprecedented business opportunities in the rapidly developing South Asian nation. The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the Indian Embassy held a business forum in Seoul on May 7. Speaking at the event, Indian Ambassador Vishnu Prakash highlighted India’s investment plans for $1 trillion in infrastru...
British journalist remembered in Seoul

Foreign affairsMay 13, 2012

The British Embassy has held a memorial ceremony for a journalist who opposed the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. U.K. Ambassador Scott Wightman attended Yanghwajin Foreigners’ Cemetery on May 8 to remember British journalist Ernest Bethell, who is buried there. Former Korean Prime Minister Lee Soo-sung chaired the ceremony and President Lee Myung-bak sent flowers to mark the event organized b...