The South Korean government says the resurgence of COVID-19 this summer has subsided without leading to a spike in hospital admissions or deaths, despite social distancing rules being phased out. In recent briefings the Ministry of Health and Welfare called the summer resurgence, triggered by omicron’s BA.5 subvariant, “the first large wave of COVID-19 the country has gone through without social...

CHUNCHEON, Gangwon Province -- Kim Jin-tae, the governor of Gangwon Province, said on a missile crashing in one of its cities Tuesday that he believes this served as “a hard lesson” to “avoid a repetition in the future.” The missile crashed just 700 meters from a residential neighborhood after a failed launch during a joint drill with US forces, according to the South Korean military. Many loc...

The family of Lee Dae-jun, the South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korean soldiers in 2020, hit back at the Democratic Party of Korea’s claim that the ongoing investigations were a “political vendetta” against former President Moon Jae-in. Kwon Young-mi, the widow of the late official, told The Korea Herald that she was “wary of” the opposition lawmakers characterizing the investigat...

남성이 여성보다 두 배 이상 소득 높아 여성에 대한 편견 10년간 오히려 증가 [코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] “경제·정치 분야에 있어 한국의 성별 격차는 다른 OECD 국가와 비교하면 여전히 매우 큽니다.” 페드로 콘세이상 유엔개발계획(United Nations Development Programme) 인간개발보고서국(Human Development Report Office) 국장은 지난달 29일 코리아헤럴드와 만나 이같이 말했다. 그는 한국이 ‘인간개발지수(Human Development Index)’에서 지난 30년간 놀라운 성장을 기록했지만, 여성의 경제적 권한과 정치 참여 관련 지표에서는 남성과 “격차가 매우 크다”고 지적했다. 1인당 국민총소득을 살펴보면, 남성이 여성보다 두 배 이상을...

President Yoon Suk-yeol was caught on a hot mic uttering the Korean word “saeki” as he was leaving a conference attended by world leaders in New York last month. According to the South Korean broadcaster that was first to release the video footage, Yoon apparently told his aides, “Wouldn’t (inaudible) lose face if these ‘saeki’ do not pass it in the legislature?” Many have speculated that the p...

South Korea has progressed a long way over the past three decades. But that journey has not been the same for the country’s women, the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report suggests. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Pedro Conceicao, the UNDP director of the Human Development Report Office, said that Korea “has evolved since the 1990s to have a very balanced growth” ...

Legislative officials and experts from eight Asian countries gathered in Seoul on Thursday to discuss advances and challenges in legislation in times of digital technology. Speaking at the annual Asian Legislative Experts Symposium, South Korean Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu said artificial intelligence and big data technologies brought forward a “new era of legal tech industry,...

South Korea’s main opposition is demanding that Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin be removed from office over what it calls the “unprecedented diplomatic disaster” that unfolded during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s recent trip to the US. The Democratic Party of Korea convened a general meeting Tuesday afternoon and ratified a proposal to sack the top diplomat. Park “ought to be held to account f...

Elizabeth Salmon, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, said she supports the family of Lee Dae-jun, the South Korean fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers at sea in 2020. In a letter dated Sept. 23 seen by The Korea Herald, Salmon told Lee’s 20-year-old son, “I am here to support you and your family.” “I will support the effo...

South Korea said Friday it was ending its mask mandate outdoors for the first time it was introduced over a year ago. The mandate, which took effect April last year, has required people to stay masked during outdoor gatherings involving large groups such as rallies, sporting events and concerts. Starting next week, mask-wearing will not be necessary at all outside. The change is an expansion of...

Following the funeral, the West Sea Management Service under the Fisheries Ministry gave him a final send-off at the quay with Mugunghwa No. 10 --the fisheries inspection vessel where Lee last served -- moored alongside. Lee’s son, 20, held a portrait of his father in his hands as the family took a last look around the vessel and his workplace. Along the both sides of the procession, the fisher...

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office is remaining silent on media reports Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was unhappy with Seoul’s decision to announce the bilateral summit last week. Tokyo claims that the disclosure was not discussed beforehand. Yoon official said in response to a South Korean reporter question on Wednesday in New York that “there is not much to comment publicly.” “I don’t t...

On the second day of the National Assembly’s interpellation session on Tuesday, Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party said President Yoon Suk-yeol “should have met with” US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi during her trip to Seoul last month. In a question addressed to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the ruling party lawmaker on the parliamentary committee for national policy asked ...

The stalking-murder of a young woman that shocked South Korea last week has prompted a flurry of promises for change from lawmakers and the government, but measures being floated now have been stalled at the National Assembly for more than a year. At around 9 p.m. Wednesday, a 28-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times to death by her stalker of three years, 31-year-old Jeon Ju-hwan, inside th...

Also on Saturday Lee visited the Oak Hill cemetery in Cincinnati where the 22-year-old was laid to rest to pay his respects. “I don’t think it’s possible to stop grieving. We are not going to give up fighting,” he said. Shortly after his brother died, Lee said he wished to reach out to the Warmbiers for wisdom and cooperation in putting pressure on North Korea. The Warmbiers responded with an ...