South Korean parties discuss limiting noncitizen voting ahead of municipal election

The two main parties of South Korea are looking to enact tougher requirements for foreign permanent residents to vote in local elections, following a meeting of their two leaders on Sunday. At the weekend meeting, People Power Party’s Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Lee Jae-myung discussed raising the bar for permitting noncitizens with F5 or permanent residency visa status to cast ballots for public offices, sources told The Korea Herald. Following the meeting, th

PoliticsSept. 5, 2024

S. Korea to expand export ban list against Russia, Belarus

South Korea will tighten export controls against Russia and Belarus by expanding its list of items subject to export restrictions, including machine tool parts and sensors, in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the industry ministry said Thursday. According to the revision to the regulations on trading strategic items, South Korea added 243 more items that can potentially be used for military purposes to the list of items that are banned from shipping to Russia and Belarus, according

Foreign AffairsSept. 5, 2024

S. Korean envoy calls for solidarity among NATO, Indo-Pacific partners against cyberthreats

A senior South Korean diplomat has called for joint efforts among the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and in the Indo-Pacific to act against growing cyberthreats, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Rhee Dong-yeol, ambassador for international cybersecurity affairs, made the call during the Cyber Champions Summit held in Australia on Wednesday, as he particularly noted the need to address the spread of misinformation as a key focus for international cooperation against cybert

Foreign AffairsSept. 5, 2024

N. Korea sending balloons into S. Korea for 2nd consecutive day: JCS

North Korea again started floating balloons into South Korea on Thursday morning, South Korea's military said, hours after it sent hundreds of balloons across the border the previous day. "As North Korea has again been floating balloons since 9 a.m., we advise the public to beware of falling objects and report to nearby military units or the police when discovering a fallen balloon," the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a notice to reporters. The move came after North Korea sen

North KoreaSept. 5, 2024

[Graphic News] Number of foreign nationals entering Korea to study exceeds 200,000

The time high in the first half of this year, exceeding 200,000. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, 204,000 people visited for such purposes — a 50.6 percent increase from the same period last year. This growth is largely attributed to global interest in Korean culture, with visitors from China leading the way at 112,724 (55.2 percent). Other top countries include Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Experts credit the surge to the worldwide popularity of Korean music, film

Social AffairsSept. 5, 2024

Yoon makes late night visit to hospital ER

President Yoon Suk Yeol made a late night visit to a hospital emergency room Wednesday to encourage medical staff and promise the government's unwavering support amid growing strains on health care services. Yoon visited a regional emergency medical center in Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul as the government began deploying military doctors and public physicians to hospital emergency rooms across the country the same day. His visit came amid mounting concerns hospital ERs in particular

PoliticsSept. 4, 2024

N. Korea launches more trash balloons toward S. Korea

North Korea again launched balloons likely carrying trash toward South Korea on Wednesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, marking a resumption of its trash-balloon campaign after a near monthlong halt. The JCS said an unspecified number of balloons could travel to northern Gyeonggi Province, just north of Seoul, and advised the public not to touch fallen balloons and report them to the military or police. Since late May, the North has launched thousands of balloons carrying trash in a tit-for-t

North KoreaSept. 4, 2024

Workload and low wages push more young police officers and fire fighters to quit

A growing number of young police officers and firefighters in South Korea are quitting their jobs, citing heavy workloads and low wages, data showed Wednesday. According to data from the National Police Agency submitted to Rep. Shin Jung-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of police officers with less than ten years of service who resigned voluntarily nearly doubled from 155 in 2022 to 301 last year. Similarly, 125 firefighters with less than ten years of service resigned last year

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

Defectors' rise to high posts in Seoul could shake NK elite: Tae

Tae Yong-ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat, said Wednesday that his appointment to a vice-ministerial position in the South Korean government sends a compelling message to the North Korean elite -- the key pillars of the Kim regime's sustainability -- by highlighting their potential for a promising future within South Korean society or a unified Korea. Tae has become the first North Korean defector who once served in the North Korean regime to ascend to a high-ranking South Korean o

North KoreaSept. 4, 2024

IWIK head attends ESG forum in Bhutan

The International World in Korea said Wednesday that its president, Kim Ah-sol, visited the kingdom of Bhutan at the invitation of the Korea-Bhutan Friendship Association, a nonprofit organization authorized by Bhutan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote cultural exchanges between the two nations. Kim's visit was part of the 2024 Bhutan ESG Forum Tour, hosted by the Korea-Bhutan Friendship Association, from Aug. 27 to Monday. On the second day of the tour, Kim visited the National

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

Stigma, criticism follow deepfake victims

As hundreds of reports have been recently made to police regarding the distribution and creation of sexually explicit deepfake images and videos, calls for increased protection and stronger punishment of perpetrators are being raised in South Korea. According to the Korean National Police Agency, authorities have seen a giant surge in the number of reports made by victims of deepfake pornography since it declared a seven-month crackdown on digital sex crimes from Aug. 27 to March 31, 2025. As of

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

[Contribution] Korea can find new hope in rural areas

By Song Mi-ryung, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs Can rural areas in South Korea give the nation new hope? According to an analysis conducted by the Bank of Korea last year, the level of population concentration in Korea’s urban areas was 431.9 percent, more than four times higher than the OECD average of 95.3 percent. This research findings show that, if the country succeeds in lowering its urban population concentration level to the OECD average, then the total fertilit

PoliticsSept. 4, 2024

Stress and unhealthy stress relief fan cancer prevalence in Korea

High stress and subsequent unhealthy eating habits are key factors contributing to the surge in cancer diagnoses in South Korea, according to Kim Eui-shin, a leading cancer specialist. He also noted that the country’s negative perception of cancer is a major hurdle in its fight against the disease. In a recent appearance on the YouTube channel “Jisik Hansang,” Kim identified stress as a significant cancer risk factor. “Korean society is very competitive, and there is no s

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

Conflict flares over special counsel bill on Marine's death

Tensions between the rival parties have escalated in recent days over the opposition's move to float a revised version of a special counsel probe bill into the death of a young Marine, as it claimed to have added an earlier suggestion from the ruling party leader into the latest version of the legislation. On Wednesday, the ruling People Power Party and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea clashed over opposition parties' move to propose the latest and fourth version of the bill t

PoliticsSept. 4, 2024

More ERs cut nighttime operations during Chuseok

More emergency departments are suspending nighttime operations or providing services during the upcoming Chuseok holiday due to severe workforce shortages, despite efforts to recruit additional staff and the deployment of military physicians to mitigate disruptions. Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, notified patients that it would only admit patients needing around-the-clock cardiopulmonary resuscitation or those in severe conditions from 7 a.m. every Thursday to 7 a.m. the

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

Illegal immigration starts to fall from last year's record high

Among foreign nationals in South Korea, approximately 1 in 6 -- 15.8 percent -- is here illegally, according to government data from the end of June. Out of the country's total foreign population of 2.61 million -- including tourists and other nonresidents --- 414,730 are in the country without permission, according to Justice Ministry statistics for June. That is down from the record high of 430,389 in October last year. The proportion is also down from 20 percent at the end of 2021, as th

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

Leaders of S. Korea, New Zealand vow to elevate ties

The leaders of South Korea and New Zealand on Wednesday agreed to enhance security cooperation and pledged to elevate bilateral relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" by expanding collaboration in trade, investment, security and technology, according to the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Condemning the growing threat posed by military exchanges between North Korea and Russia as well as Pyongyang's nuclear development program, Yoon and New Zealand's Prime Min

PoliticsSept. 4, 2024

1 out of 3 households in Gyeonggi live alone

A full 31.2 percent of the 5.5 million total households in Gyeonggi Province consist of just one person as of last November, a report by the regional government showed Wednesday. As of November 2023, there were a total of 1.71 million single-person households in the province, up from 1.63 million the previous year. A full 21.9 percent of all single-person households nationwide are in Gyeonggi. South Korea's most populous province, Gyeonggi has a population of 13.67 million as of August 2024

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

Number of foreign students in Korea hits record high

The number of foreign students enrolled in South Korean universities exceeded 200,000 this year, stepping closer to the government's goal of attracting 300,000 by 2028. The number of international students enrolled at colleges in 2024 is 208,962, a 25 percent increase from 2022, the year before the plan was implemented, according to the education ministry at a briefing on its Study Korea 300K Project. It follows separate Justice Ministry data, which measures by visa rather than enrollment,

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2024

Yoon administration proposes 1st hike in pension charges in 27 years to slow fund depletion

The South Korean government on Wednesday laid out plans to raise the mandatory national pension contribution rate by 4 percentage points from the current 9 to 13 percent starting next year, with the intention of extending the life span of the state-sponsored public retirement pension scheme by at least 16 years. This reform plan comes as the national postretirement fund's financial viability remains doubtful, with the country suffering from the double whammy of low birth rates and an aging

PoliticsSept. 4, 2024