Articles by Kim Arin
Kim Arin
arin@heraldcorp.com-
Deported North Koreans ‘didn’t want to be here’: lawmaker
The recent indictment of former President Moon Jae-in’s top officials in the investigation of the forced return of two North Korean fishermen in 2019 is “nothing more than political revenge,” an ex-Moon aide and sitting lawmaker said. “This is political revenge against the last administration -- nothing more, nothing less,” Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Youn Kun-young, who served as the state affairs monitoring director in Moon’s Cheong Wa Dae, told The Korea
Politics March 2, 2023
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Korean government maintains Russian draft evaders not refugees
The South Korean government once again held firm in its stance that Russians coming to the country to avoid being drafted in the war in Ukraine would not qualify as refugees. In a message to reporters on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice said it would appeal Incheon District Court’s Feb. 14 decision that two of the three Russian men who arrived here in October should be allowed the chance to apply for refugee status here. “The Justice Ministry has decided to appeal the court’s
Social Affairs March 1, 2023
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Democratic Party in chaos as supporters hunt ‘anti-Lee Jae-myung’ lawmakers
The narrow defeat of a National Assembly motion to arrest Democratic Party of Korea chairperson Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Monday has angered supporters, while the party continued to rally behind its legally embattled leader. The vote, which proceeded anonymously at the Monday plenary session, split 139 in favor to 138 against, below the minimum threshold of 149 votes required for the motion to pass. Nine votes were abstentions and 11 were deemed as invalid. The Democratic Party, which holds 169 seat
Politics Feb. 28, 2023
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Assembly rejects motion for opposition leader’s arrest in narrow vote
Democratic Party of Korea leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung avoided facing an arrest warrant by a close margin in a National Assembly vote on Monday, despite earlier pledges from the party that the motion will be defeated by “an overwhelming majority.” The motion to allow a judge to consider an arrest warrant for Lee, submitted to the National Assembly last week by the Seoul Central District Court, was rejected in an anonymous vote. The vote split 139 in favor to 138 against, failing to meet
Politics Feb. 27, 2023
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[From the Scene] In Seoul, Ukrainians and Russians protest against war
A large crowd turned out at a series of vigils and rallies held outside the Russian Embassy in Seoul on Friday and Saturday to show support for Ukraine, one year since Russia’s invasion of the country. Chants denouncing Russia -- “Withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine! If Russia stops fighting, there is no war!” -- rung around the square near the embassy, as Ukraine supporters and anti-war demonstrators gathered. One of them was Andrei Litvinov, a Ukrainian teacher at a school i
Social Affairs Feb. 26, 2023
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South Korea testing North Korean defectors for possible radiation exposure
The South Korean government said Friday it would resume radiation testing for defectors from near North Korea’s nuclear test site in Punggye-ri to check for possible exposure. Lee Hyo-jung, the Ministry of Unification’s deputy spokesperson, said in a briefing that from this year testing will be offered to North Koreans who lived in Kilju or nearby regions after North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, if they are willing. There are 881 defectors who would be eligible for the t
Politics Feb. 24, 2023
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Bill seeks to find justice for Vietnamese victims of South Korean troops’ war crimes
Twenty-five lawmakers on Thursday together signed a bill to investigate the war crimes of South Korean troops during the Vietnam War. “For years the Vietnamese victims have asked for the South Korean government’s acknowledgement of the civilian killings linked to South Korean soldiers, as well as an official apology and compensation. No such steps have been taken by the South Korean government to date,” Rep. Kang Min-jung, one of the lawmakers who authored the bill, said in a p
Politics Feb. 23, 2023
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Foundation formed to connect Korean diaspora youth
The launch event for a foundation aimed at connecting Korean diaspora youth called K-Diaspora World Solidarity was held Thursday at a National Assembly building. Democratic Party of Korea Rep. So Byung-chul said in an address that he hoped the foundation would serve as “a platform for networking among young Koreans all over the world” and that it would “connect a scattered diaspora.” “I hope that the foundation will serve as a center for discovering Korean culture a
Social Affairs Feb. 23, 2023
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Opposition head Lee bashes prosecutors on his potential crimes
The Democratic Party of Korea’s legally troubled Chairperson Rep. Lee Jae-myung went on a lengthy rant at a press conference Thursday, just days ahead of a National Assembly vote that could send the arrest warrant filed for him to court. Lee, once again denying any wrongdoing, called the prosecutors’ investigations into corruption controversies from his time as Gyeonggi Province governor and Seongnam mayor “political propaganda.” “What prosecutors said in the warran
Politics Feb. 23, 2023
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Korea declares emergency measures over children’s health care crisis
South Korean hospitals are scrambling to keep their children’s units running, with the government declaring emergency measures Wednesday to keep the faltering pediatric health care system afloat. In an emergency briefing, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong said his ministry would be adding more public pediatric intensive care centers, and implement a compensation system that will prompt larger hospitals to operate pediatric emergency rooms around the clock. “Investments in
Politics Feb. 22, 2023
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Potential radiation exposure to North Koreans near nuclear test site overlooked: report
Hundreds of thousands of North Korean residents near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site are living under the possible risk of nuclear radiation exposure, a Seoul-based nongovernmental organization said in a report Tuesday, and called it a serious human rights question that is often overshadowed by security concerns. In the report, the Transitional Justice Working Group said existing literature on the North Korean nuclear issue so far has been marked by a lack of attention to how people living near
Politics Feb. 21, 2023
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Russian draftees seeking refuge await decision in South Korea
Three draft-eligible Russians have been left stranded at Incheon Airport for about four months as they await the South Korean government’s decision on their refugee claims. The Russian men -- aged 26, 34 and 38, respectively -- first got here in October and applied for refugee protection after initially reporting their purpose of visit as tourism. Their applications were rejected by the Ministry of Justice, however, which stated that fleeing military service would not qualify as a reason t
Social Affairs Feb. 20, 2023
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Left-wing party official arrested in North Korean spy ring investigation
Two were arrested over the weekend on Jeju Island on charges of violating the national security law in a spiraling investigation into a North Korean spy ring. According to the Progressive Party, the head of the party’s Jeju chapter and a senior official at the anti-free trade Nationwide Farmers’ Association were nabbed by the National Intelligence Service and the police on Saturday. Their arrest comes after the NIS and police searched the offices of the Progressive Party and the home
Politics Feb. 19, 2023
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Arrest warrant sought for Democratic Party of Korea leader in corruption scandal
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea chair and last year’s presidential candidate, is facing a possible arrest over corruption controversies from his time as the mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province. The Seoul prosecution service’s anti-corruption investigation bureau on Thursday filed a request for an arrest warrant after Lee with the Seoul central district court, about a year and four months after the investigation opened in September 2021. Lee is the fi
Politics Feb. 16, 2023
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New government body to be established for ‘overseas Koreans’
South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday agreed to set up a government office for people of Korean lineage living abroad. Reps. Sung Il-jong and Kim Sung-hwan, leading the policy committees of People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea, respectively, announced the bipartisan agreement on this day following a meeting. “The office will serve more than 7 million Koreans overseas,” Sung told reporters. In October last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol creating a
Politics Feb. 14, 2023
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