Yoon meets leaders of Sri Lanka, San Marino, other nations

President Yoon Suk Yeol held summits with the leaders of Sri Lanka, San Marino and four other nations in New York on Monday, kicking off a series of bilateral meetings arranged on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to seek support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Yoon, who arrived in New York on Monday for a five-day visit, is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday and hold at least 30 bilateral summits on the margins, according to his office. Duri

PoliticsSept. 19, 2023

Uzbek man risks life to save Korean woman from blaze

An Uzbek man, aged 40, risked his life to rescue a Korean woman, aged 69, from a blaze that broke out in a restaurant in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. According to the South Gyeongsang Province Fire Department, a fire broke out in a restaurant run by an older couple in Bukbu-dong, Yangsan, around 6:44 p.m. on Monday. Witnessing the sound of an explosion, broken glass, and flames in the restaurant, someone called 119. Meanwhile, however, the woman was alone in the restaurant as the

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

'Cross-cultural exchanges crucial to Mexico-Korea ties'

Mexico's ambassador to Korea, Carlos Penafiel Soto, underlined people-to-people connections and the mutual exchange of knowledge as the linchpin of Mexico-Korea ties, marking Mexico’s 213th anniversary of independence from Spain on Wednesday. Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810. Noting bilateral strategic partnerships and political dialogue that were developed over six decades, Soto highlighted recent bilateral trade between Mexico and Korea that hit $30 billion in 202

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

Central American nations commemorate Independence Day

Honoring history and pledging to build a new future, the embassies of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua commemorated the 202nd Independence anniversary in Seoul on Friday. To commemorate the occasion, the Seoul City Hall building was illuminated in blue and white -- the colors that symbolize the common history of the region. The event was attended by the ambassadors, diplomats, and community members of the Central American countries. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, H

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

140 years of German-Korean ties celebrated

Alumninetzwerk Deutschland-Korea and the German Embassy in Seoul held an integrated academic conference and press day commemorating the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Germany on Monday. Under the theme "Together for another 140 years," the event discoursed on the enduring partnership between South Korea and Germany and encapsulated the spirit of unity and collaboration. The attendees included ADeKo Chairman Kim Hyo-jun, German Ambassado

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

Cross-border shopping from S. Korean consumers nearly tripled from 2018 to 2022: data

Direct purchases South Koreans made from overseas almost tripled over the past four years, data from the Korea Customs Service showed Tuesday. According to the data submitted to Rep. Han Byung-do of the main opposition Democratic Party, South Korean shoppers made about 96,120,000 cross-border purchases online in 2022, up by almost threefold from 32,255,000 in 2018, the data showed. In the first half of this year, the figure came to 57,570,000. The surge in direct purchases from overseas also cam

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

US court rules in favor of KEPCO, KHNP over nuclear reactor exports

A US district court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit that an American energy firm filed to stop two South Korean state-run companies from exporting nuclear power plants, determining it is not qualified to take the legal move. The District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the complaint that Westinghouse Electric Co. filed against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Korea Electric Power Corp. last October. The US firm filed the suit to prevent the Korean companies from transferring technic

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

Mosaic of N. Korean leader erected in Pyongyang as part of personality cult

A mosaic mural depicting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was erected in Pyongyang, state media reported Tuesday, as North Korea has been bolstering its leader's personality cult. The North held a ceremony unveiling the mosaic Sunday at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, a school for children of the privileged class, on the occasion of its 75th founding anniversary, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The painting described Kim, wearing a red scarf around his neck, as smiling while b

North KoreaSept. 19, 2023

Ratio of women execs at major firms more than doubles over 5 years

The share of female executives at South Korea's major firms has more than doubled over the past five years on positive factors, including last year's implementation of a related law, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. A total of 265 firms belonging to the country's top 30 business groups had a combined 726 women executives as of end-March, accounting for 6.9 percent of their total 10,561 C-suite positions, according to the Leaders Index. The proportion was up 3.7 percentage points

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

N. Korean leader returns home after trip to Russia: state media

Leader Kim Jong-un has crossed back into North Korea after a trip to Russia that "opened a new chapter" for the development of the bilateral relations between the two nations, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday. Kim passed through the Tumangang Railway Station on the border between the two countries on early Monday morning, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim, who left Pyongyang on his armored train on Sept. 10, held a summit with Russian President Vlad

North KoreaSept. 19, 2023

Biden thanks S. Korea, other countries for helping achieve return of US detainees from Iran

President Joe Biden expressed his appreciation Monday to South Korea and other countries for helping achieve the return of five American citizens who were detained in Iran. Biden issued a statement celebrating their release under a rare swap deal with Tehran that reportedly saw around $6 billion in Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions unlocked. "I am grateful to our partners at home and abroad for their tireless efforts to help us achieve this outcome, including the

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

S. Korea, US nearing completion to revise joint deterrence strategy against NK threats

South Korea and the United States are nearing completion to revise their joint deterrence strategy document against North Korea's military threats, Seoul's defense officials said Monday, as the allies held regular defense talks here. The two sides evaluated progress in the ongoing efforts to revise the "Tailored Deterrence Strategy" (TDS) during the biannual Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) earlier in the day, officials said, with the revision set to be complete by

DefenseSept. 18, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Indonesia's political stability, regulatory reforms offer new opportunity for Korea Inc.'

Indonesia is on a historic transition from a natural resource-dependent economy to a modern one by fostering manufacturing and service industries as drivers of future growth. During this ongoing transformation, political stability and regulatory reforms are poised to create a business-friendly environment, according to Moeldoko, Indonesia's chief of staff to President Joko Widodo. And the country wants Korean businesses, in particular, to be a part of its journey, he said. In an interview

Foreign AffairsSept. 18, 2023

Another arrest warrant sought for Actor Yoo Ah-in over alleged drug use

Prosecutors filed a request for an arrest warrant on Monday for actor Yoo Ah-in on charges of illegal drug use, four months after the court rejected the police’s request an initial warrant against him. The department investigating violent crimes under the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it has requested the court issue an arrest warrant for the 37-year-old actor. Yoo, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sick, is suspected of breaching the country’s Narcotics Control Act

Social AffairsSept. 18, 2023

Seoul to build domed baseball stadium, massive convention center in Jamsil

A domed baseball stadium and convention center will be built in Jamsil as part of Seoul City’s initiative to develop the area in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul, the city government said Monday. As part of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s eight-day trip to Canada and the US, Oh announced the city’s plans to build a domed baseball stadium and convention center after visiting the Rogers Centre in Toronto on Saturday. The Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose baseball stadium and is home to the Toro

Social AffairsSept. 18, 2023

Police to strengthen preventive patrol

South Korea's police authorities announced on Monday plans to reassign 2,900 back-office staff to preventive patrol duties. The organizational reform is aimed at strengthening crime prevention capabilities amid a surge in apparent senseless crimes, the National Police Agency said. Most police officers who perform back-office jobs -- largely dedicated to administrative affairs -- will be given new high-visibility roles in crowded areas and secluded areas like park walking trails This is part of a

Social AffairsSept. 18, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Human rights and environmental due diligence, more exemptions from development charges

Proposed bill: Act on Human Rights and Environment Protection for Sustainable Business Administration of Corporations Proposed by Rep. Jung Tae-ho (Democratic Party of Korea) ● ESG policies are now considered a key factor in business management in achieving corporate sustainability and long-term value. In tandem with the global trend of mandating human rights and environmental due diligence within supply chains, this bill requires companies to create plans for implementing human rights and envir

PoliticsSept. 18, 2023

Railroad strike over, but second strike may follow

The Korean Railroad Workers' Union ended its four-day general strike Monday morning, but announced the possibility of a second general strike without specifying when. “The second general strike plan has been set internally, but we will decide whether or not to go on a second strike and the exact schedule based on the Land Ministry's response,” Baek Nam-hee, the media communication chief of the railway union, said to The Korea Herald. “There are many concerns regarding

Social AffairsSept. 18, 2023

Korea stacks up 15m doses of COVID-19 vaccine for winter

The first batch of Pfizer's vaccine for XBB.1.5, an omicron subvarient of COVID-19, has arrived at Incheon Airport on Monday, according to the quarantine authorities. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that 4.04 million doses of the latest Pfizer vaccine arrived in the afternoon, out of a total 15 million doses set aside for this year's winter vaccination program. "A lot of research has shown that those who have taken this updated COVID-19 vaccine, which i

Social AffairsSept. 18, 2023

A third of Korean households made up of single people

The landscape of Korean families has changed quite significantly over the last 30 years, with one-third of households in the country made up of single people and a fertility rate that has halved in the last two decades, government data showed Monday. According to the “Social Security in Statistics 2022” report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of people living alone has more than doubled in the past 20 years. The number of single-person homes was 2.25 million

Social AffairsSept. 18, 2023