Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
Pressure mounts on Yoon aide over remarks threatening press freedom
President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Monday released a statement over mounting calls for presidential aide Hwang Sang-moo to step down after his controversial remarks about press freedom were disclosed by a media outlet. The presidential office said in a statement that it "respects press freedom" and the responsibilities that come with that freedom. Yoon's office also denied that it has ever attempted to suppress the media's freedom of expression. "The presidential o
Politics March 18, 2024
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Yoon aide under fire for remarks over press freedom, Gwangju Uprising
President Yoon Suk Yeol's senior secretary Hwang Sang-moo has come under fire for controversial remarks about the freedom of the press and the spirit of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising. An association representing journalists from South Korean television network MBC on Friday demanded Hwang, the senior presidential secretary for civil society, apologize publicly and immediately step down. It described Hwang's stance on journalism as "shocking." Rep. Ko Min-jung of the main op
Politics March 15, 2024
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Superhighway with no speed limit planned for South Jeolla Province
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to introducing a 47-kilometer superhighway with no speed limit in South Jeolla Province worth 2.6 trillion won ($1.97 billion), in a bid to construct a "Korean-style Autobahn." The new highway will connect the city of Gwangju with the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam-gun, South Jeolla Province, enabling cars to operate at speeds above 200 kilometers per hour along its 47-kilometer length. Yoon said his conservative adm
Politics March 14, 2024
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Seoul to double budget by 2027 to join global space race
South Korea on Wednesday unveiled plans to set up a new space industry cluster in the next eight years that is not only capable of manufacturing satellites and rockets, but also astronaut training. To aid the goal of space exploration, some 1.5 trillion won ($1.14 billion) of the budget will be allocated in 2027, up from the 836.2 billion won budget this year. The funding will lay the cornerstone for South Korea's aerospace industry to bloom, Yoon said. He envisioned South Korea's boos
Politics March 13, 2024
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Yoon unveils W360b project to build massive data center cluster in Gangwon
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday unveiled a project worth 360 billion won ($274 million) to build a cluster of data centers in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, and set up a mechanism to use freshwater from behind the dam for cooling. By 2027, the cluster that comprises seven data centers with a combined peak power use reaching 220 megawatts, smart farm facilities and the cooling mechanism using water behind Soyang Multipurpose Dam in Chuncheon is to complete construction, according to Yoon. The pro
Politics March 11, 2024
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Is S. Korea violating ILO rules in fight against junior doctors?
Amid the ongoing standoff between the South Korean government and medical professionals, a new criticism has been raised from within medical circles that the back-to-work order imposed on junior doctors in teaching hospitals violates international labor standards. The doctors' walkout in South Korea began in mid-February as a boycott of the government's plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota by at least 2,000 places each year, from 3,058. As of Thursday, nearly 12,000 jun
Social Affairs March 10, 2024
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GTX-B breaks ground for 30-min Seoul-Incheon commute
Construction work for the GTX Line B suburban rail network broke ground in Incheon on Thursday, as the 6.84-trillion-won ($5.14 billion) project aims to connect the port city to Seoul and Gyeonggi Province via express train services. President Yoon Suk Yeol said the combined population of 13 million people in Incheon and Seoul will enjoy 30-minute commutes once construction of the 82-kilometer railway is complete as planned by 2030. "The transportation revolution in Incheon has just begun t
Politics March 7, 2024
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Yoon refuses to bend to doctors' protest
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday refused to concede to some 9,000 trainee doctors' walkout, defining their collective action as "illegal" and insisting it must be met with stern actions guided by law and principle. Yoon denied the accusations that the government's measures against defiant doctors, such as its decision to suspend the medical licenses of some 7,000 trainees, were meant to suppress doctors' freedom and rights. Instead, these should be construed as actions "to mee
Politics March 6, 2024
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Yoon to expand state-backed college student aid
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday announced plans to expand state-backed scholarship programs to woo South Korea's young generation. Yoon told some 460 participants in a policy debate held in the city of Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, that the government "has the responsibility to help the talented young generation live up to their capacity." Yoon said the number of students eligible to get state-sponsored scholarships, provided by the state-run Korea Student Aid Foundation, wil
Politics March 5, 2024
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[Election 2024] Will election untie Yoon's hands?
The general election on April 10 will not only be an election for a new parliament of 300 legislators but also a decisive moment for the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been struggling to advance his agenda since his narrow election victory two years ago. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, led by Yoon's presidential election opponent Rep. Lee Jae-myung, currently holds a simple majority. The ruling party, on the other hand, has only 113 out of the 300 parliamentary seats. T
Politics March 4, 2024
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Yoon touts improved Japan ties on Independence Movement Day as gateway to 'new world'
President Yoon Suk Yeol hailed Seoul's thawing relationship with Tokyo as a chance to move the two East Asian countries toward a "new world," stressing that now is the time for South Korea to leave historical grievances in the past. Yoon described Japan, which ruled South Korea for 35 years until the end of World War II, as South Korea's "partner in the pursuit of common interests for global peace and prosperity," at the March 1 Independence Movement Day celebration held at Y
Politics March 1, 2024
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Yoon says 2,000 increase in med school quota non-negotiable
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday remained set on his push for an increase in the annual medical school enrollment quota of 2,000, saying the number "is non-negotiable." "No excuses can justify (doctors') collective action of taking people's health hostage and posing a threat to people's lives," Yoon told some 100 participants including mayors and provincial governors at the Central and Local Government Cooperation Council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential of
Social Affairs Feb. 27, 2024
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Korea to lift land use restrictions near military bases
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday pledged to remove restrictions near military bases regarding land use for private purposes such as construction, in yet another apparent move to appeal to voters ahead of the April parliamentary election. Yoon's conservative administration has decided to ease land regulations on a total of 339 square kilometers of land across the nation -- equivalent to 47,480 soccer fields, or 0.3 percent of South Korea's land area -- mostly near military airfields an
Politics Feb. 26, 2024
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DP rift widens over candidate nomination process
An internal rift in the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has widened amid accusations from current and outgoing party members that the candidate nomination process for the April legislative election is unfair and lacks transparency. Both the ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party have been gradually selecting their candidates to run in South Korea's 253 constituencies. Lawmakers are either elected directly by the constituency or through a proportional representation system t
Politics Feb. 25, 2024
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Yoon bets big on nuclear energy
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday pledged to spend 4 trillion won ($3 billion) on nuclear energy research and development projects during his five-year term until 2027, bolstering his earlier commitment in July 2022 to reverse the nuclear phase-out policy. Yoon also set the goal of planning nuclear power projects that would earn the domestic nuclear energy industry a combined 3.3 trillion won, and promised to extend a total of 1 trillion won in special loans for industrywide support. Moreover,
Politics Feb. 22, 2024
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