Articles by Kim Arin
Kim Arin
arin@heraldcorp.com-
South Korean parliament passes resolution urging support for Turkey, Syria
The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on Tuesday passed a resolution on relief efforts for quake-struck Turkey and Syria. The resolution, adopted at the committee’s plenary session convened the same day, urged the South Korean government to provide sufficient emergency relief and recovery support for damages suffered due to the earthquake. The resolution also called on measures to ensure the safety of Korean residents there as well as travelers in the even
Politics Feb. 14, 2023
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[From the Scene] ‘Ahn would get Yoon impeached’: In ruling party chair race, campaign speech goes awry
JEJU CITY -- The ruling People Power Party candidates for the leadership role embarked on a joint tour across the country on Monday with Jeju as the first stop. With the March 8 convention less than a month away, the top contenders’ allegiance to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is becoming a major talking point in the leadership race. Although the presidential office has officially espoused no particular candidate, as is the norm, the candidate most widely supported by Yoon’s base i
Politics Feb. 13, 2023
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In tit-for-tat, Democratic Party calls for special counsel to investigate first lady
The Democratic Party of Korea has called for a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee, as its chair, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, appeared before prosecutors Friday for the third time this year in one of several criminal investigations facing him and his aides. The party is now considering fast-tracking a bill to name a special counsel against the first lady, whose stock transactions have come under scrutiny in connection with a Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation investigation. &ldqu
Politics Feb. 10, 2023
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Ex-Deutsch Motors head found guilty in stock manipulation linked to first lady
The former chairperson of Deutsch Motors, Kwon Oh-soo, was handed a suspended prison sentence on Friday in the company stock manipulation case which South Korea’s main opposition party claims first lady Kim Keon Hee is implicated in. In the first trial, Kwon was sentenced to two years in prison on three years of probation and 300 million won ($237,000) in fines for violating capital market law. In total, he was found guilty in more than 3,000 different instances of fraudulent transactions,
Politics Feb. 10, 2023
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Repatriated victims of 1960s North Korean abduction tortured by police: truth commission
The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission said Thursday that at least 150 fishers who returned home from a North Korean abduction more than 50 years ago were abused by the South Korean police during a series of interrogations. In a preliminary report released Thursday, the commission said that the 150 fishers were detained without a warrant and interrogated by the police after they were sent back to the country on May 28, 1969. The commission made the determination after looking into a to
Politics Feb. 9, 2023
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Ahn Cheol-soo vows to stay in race for ruling party leader
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who ran as one of the major candidates in the 2022 presidential election, on Tuesday vowed to stay in the ruling People Power Party's leadership race. Ahn denied reports that he may bow out before the March 8 party convention, where new leaders are due to be elected. His main rival, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, is believed to be backed by President Yoon Suk Yeol. “I’m definitely not dropping out. I’m winning in the polls,” he told reporters after delivering
Politics Feb. 7, 2023
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Korea to keep remaining COVID-19 rules until WHO lifts alert
South Korea will weigh whether to lift the remaining COVID-19 policies based on the World Health Organization decision on the status of the disease, the country’s public health chief said Tuesday. Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jee Young-mee said in a press conference that while the discussions around the future course of COVID-19 policies have begun within the government, the decision on any change would likely come after the WHO withdraws its official emergency
Social Affairs Feb. 7, 2023
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Democratic Party head Lee’s alleged contact with North Korea ‘clear violation’: justice minister
Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon said Monday Democratic Party of Korea chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung’s alleged interaction with North Korea in 2019 would be “a clear violation of the law.” “These are still allegations under investigation. But unauthorized contact with North Korea is a clear violation of the law,” said the justice minister in response to a lawmaker's question at the plenary session held on the day. Lee faces allegations that he got in touch with Nor
Politics Feb. 6, 2023
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Motion filed to impeach safety minister over Itaewon disaster
South Korea’s opposition parties on Monday tabled a motion to impeach Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min over the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, a neighborhood in central Seoul, on Oct. 29 last year. The impeachment motion was submitted on the grounds that Lee failed to implement measures to prevent crowd congestion and work with concerned government agencies in the event of mass disasters. The safety minister also failed to respond in time as the crowd surge turned into a mass-c
Politics Feb. 6, 2023
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[From the Scene] Police clashes, political drama at memorial for Seoul crowd crush victims
In Seoul’s central Gwanghwamun, a memorial event was held over the weekend to mark 100 days since the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon on Oct. 29 last year. Saturday’s event, meant to be a time for remembering victims of the disaster, was quickly marred by altercations with police and politicians using the occasion to push their own agenda. At least one family member of a victim was rushed to the hospital at around 2 p.m. after collapsing during a standoff with police. Squads of poli
Politics Feb. 5, 2023
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North Korea holding off nuclear test for leverage: elite defector
North Korea is already prepared to conduct another nuclear test, but is biding its time to gain leverage in negotiations with China and other powers, according to Rep. Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who was elected into the South Korean parliament after defecting in 2016. At a press conference on Thursday, Tae said that whether North Korea decides to test its nuclear weapons for the seventh time was “between Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping.” “The question of the next nu
Politics Feb. 2, 2023
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Democratic Party accuses Yoon of ‘rolling back Moon’s reforms’ of top spy service
The push by the administration of previous President Moon Jae-in to take away investigative powers from the National Intelligence Service is being rolled back under President Yoon Suk Yeol, Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers claimed Wednesday. Opposition party Reps. Youn Kun-young and Kim Eui-kyeom of the National Assembly’s intelligence committee reiterated in a conference that the top spy service should not be allowed to continue investigations of North Korean espionage and meddling. Yo
Politics Feb. 1, 2023
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Arrest looms for accused operators of North Korean spy ring
An arrest warrant is being sought after four individuals accused of operating a spy ring for North Korea, according to a Seoul court on Tuesday. The Seoul central district court opened a hearing at 3 p.m. to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant requested by prosecutors for the four accused spies for North Korea. The court may take longer than a day to make a decision on the prosecutors’ request for a warrant of arrest, which was filed Monday. The request for their arrest comes more
Politics Jan. 31, 2023
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Seoul rights envoy urges attention to women in North Korea
Lee Shin-wha, South Korean ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights, said the situation of women and girls in North Korea “deserves a special focus” ahead of a Seoul conference on Monday. “The state of human rights is alarming in North Korea, and especially so for women,” she told The Korea Herald. “More North Korean women now contribute to the household economy as breadwinners and yet they are still expected to meet patriarchal demands
Politics Jan. 30, 2023
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Ministry blasted over rape law U-turn
South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has come under fire for withdrawing plans to expand the legal definition of rape to non-consensual sex on the same day it was announced. The move would have ended the requirement in South Korea for the threat or use of force to be in evidence in order for an act to count as rape. Park Ji-hyun, who was briefly interim chair of the opposition Democratic Party, said in a Facebook statement Friday, “If nonconsensual sex isn’t rap
Social Affairs Jan. 27, 2023
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