How will Kim-Putin summit affect China?

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday to hold talks with his counterpart, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, will likely pose hurdles on China's diplomatic front regardless of the outcome of the meeting, according to reports and observers closely watching the rare encounter between the leaders of the two isolated regimes. Experts in Seoul, prior to the summit in North Korea, said that the talks between Putin and Kim would weaken China's influence on Nort

June 19, 2024

Rival parties divided over Kim-Putin summit

South Korea’s political sphere on Wednesday was divided over Russian President Vladimir Putin's first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years, and with it the growing concerns of strengthened military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. The main opposition party leader and ex-unification ministers under previous liberal administrations called for a revival of the inter-Korean dialogue channel to safeguard peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. On the other hand, the ruling party s

June 19, 2024

Sejong University signs agreement with Army to train cyber specialists

Sejong University signed a bilateral agreement with the Republic of Korea Army Headquarters to collaborate in online fields. The agreement aims to improve the acquisition rate of cyber specialists within the Army. This initiative follows the Ministry of National Defense's "Decision to Expand the Contracted Department of Military" in December 2023 to recruit experts in online fields. Sejong University's Department of Information Security was selected in March 2024 through an o

June 19, 2024

Research center for Israel studies opens in Seoul

A research center dedicated to Israeli studies opened Tuesday under the Seoul National University, becoming the first such academic institution in South Korea. Amb. Akiva Tor, Israeli envoy to South Korea, said in an opening ceremony on this day that the center’s launch “marks an auspicious beginning.” Israel Education Research Center will be “the first academic center in Korean higher education dedicated to the study of Jewish civilization and Israeli society,” he

June 18, 2024

Democratic Party's charter amendment clears leader's path to presidential election

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday amended the party charter to allow its leadership to choose the term of its chair and supreme council members. The party’s decision will allow current Democratic Party of Korea Chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung to run for the 2027 presidential election, if he wishes, even if he is reelected as the party chair at the upcoming convention scheduled for Aug. 18. While the charter states that a party chair or a supreme council member must resign fr

June 17, 2024

Mayor Choi an administrative expert with compassion and justice

Mayor Choi Min-ho, the driving force behind Sejong City, stands out as a seasoned public administrator boasting 31 years of comprehensive service in pivotal roles spanning central and local governance. Originating from Daejeon in 1956, he completed his education at Boseong High School and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. Subsequently, he pursued a master's degree in public administration at Yonsei University, a law degree at Tokyo University in Japan, and achieved a doctorate

June 17, 2024

Standoff in National Assembly intensifies over key committees

Rival political parties on Monday extended their standoff over picking the chairs of key standing committees of the National Assembly, leading to surging tension in the political sphere. Tensions stemmed from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s unilateral decision last week to snatch 11 of the 18 standing committee chair positions for the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly, which began its four-year term on May 30. The opposition-led Assembly has so far elected mai

June 17, 2024

Sejong evolving beyond a city for civil servants

Sejong City, strategically located in the heart of South Chungcheong Province, emerged as a pivotal player in the nation's balanced regional development strategy when it was established in 2012. Situated approximately 150km south of Seoul, Sejong City shares borders with Daejeon, Gongju, Cheongju, and Cheonan, creating a unique urban landscape in an otherwise rural setting. Despite its relatively modest population of around 400,000 residents, Sejong City boasts administrative significance c

June 17, 2024

Mayor Choi proclaims Sejong as 'Hangeul Culture Capital'

SEJONG -- To commemorate his second year in office, Mayor Choi Min-ho of Sejong City shared his vision for transforming the government administrative city into a global standard capital model. During an exclusive interview at his office early this month, Mayor Choi underscored Sejong's forthcoming identity as the "Hangeul Culture Capital" of the nation, highlighting a commitment to nurturing the legacy of King Sejong the Great within the city's development plans until his ter

June 17, 2024

Seoul cautions Moscow on Putin's NK visit

Seoul has warned Moscow against "going beyond a certain point," amid reports that Russia and North Korea are seeking to deepen their military ties during President Vladimir Putin's imminent visit to Pyongyang. National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin told Yonhap News TV on Sunday evening that Seoul has "cautioned his Russian counterpart that Russia should not go beyond a certain point." "Our intelligence suggests that there is room for (Russia and North Korea) to adop

June 17, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Support for small air services, safe environment for AI

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation Proposed by Rep. Park Choong-kwon (People Power Party) ● This amendment extends the sunset date of the special provision of tax deduction related to national strategic technologies, including semiconductor technologies, from Dec. 31, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2030. Proposed Bill: Act on Artificial Intelligence Industry Promotion and Trust Securement Proposed by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo (People Power Party) ● As a

June 17, 2024

Govt. to hold experts' meeting for development of potential oil, gas reserves off East Sea

The industry ministry and the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. plan to hold a meeting with experts this week to discuss strategies for developing potential oil and gas reserves off the East Sea, industry sources said Monday. The meeting scheduled for Friday comes as the government and KNOC plan to choose the site for the first drilling operation in July, under the project that could potentially uncover between 3.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of gas and oil in the East Sea, according to the

June 17, 2024

Prosecution to begin probe into ex-first lady's trip to India

Prosecutors have begun an investigation into allegations that former President Moon Jae-in's wife, Kim Jung-sook, spent a large sum of taxpayer money to fund her solo trip to India in 2018, prosecution officials said Monday. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office plans to call in Lee Jong-bae, a Seoul city councilor affiliated with the ruling People Power Party, as an accuser on Wednesday, as he filed a complaint against Kim last December. The councilor accused the former first lady

June 17, 2024

Ruling party, govt. agree to provide energy vouchers to 1.3m households this summer

The ruling People Power Party and government officials on Sunday agreed to provide energy vouchers to 1.3 million vulnerable households as the country braces for a hotter-than-average summer. The support scheme was announced during a meeting of senior officials of the government, the presidential office and the ruling party, according to Rep. Jang Dong-hyuk, the party's chief spokesperson. The decision to provide support of up to 53,000 won ($38), up 10,000 won from last year, comes as Sout

June 16, 2024

Putin’s Pyongyang trip highlights need for bond in isolation

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s impending trip to North Korea, which Seoul authorities say could happen any moment, reflects a mutual interest in building a closer bond for the two countries facing self-inflicted isolation from the West, experts say. The last time Putin was in Pyongyang in 2000, he was stopping by on his way to the summit of the Group of Eight or G8 in Japan, long before Russia was suspended indefinitely from the group of leading industrialized countries over the annexa

June 16, 2024

Yoon returns amid tensions over Putin's Pyongyang visit

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Sunday after a weeklong trip to three Central Asian countries amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula with an imminent summit between the leaders of Russia and North Korea in Pyongyang this week, which has sparked concerns about closer military ties. Amid reports on Putin's visit to North Korea, the first in 24 years, Yoon's office on Friday officially "confirmed" his visit, stressing that it would closely examine countermeasures to

June 16, 2024

Yoon returns to Seoul after Central Asia trip

President Yoon Suk Yeol returned to Seoul early Sunday morning as the couple wrapped up the state visits to three Central Asian countries. Yoon on Saturday flew from the ancient city of Samarkand, about 270 kilometers southwest of Uzbekistan's capital city Tashkent, for his final engagement with his counterpart, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Mirziyoyev formerly served as the governor of the Samarkand region from 2001 to 2003. They visited historical sites that used to be the center of

June 16, 2024

Yoon visits ancient Uzbek city, wraps up Central Asia trip

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol visited ancient city of Samarkand before wrapping up the state visits to three Central Asian countries, according to the presidential office on Saturday. Flying about 270 kilometers southwest of Uzbekistan's capital city Tashkent, Yoon and his counterpart, Uzbek President President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, visited historic sites of what served as the center of the Timurid Empire in the 14th century, such as a public square Registan and Gur-e-Amir,

June 15, 2024

Opposition leader calls for inter-Korean talks amid tensions

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Saturday said the two Koreas should sit together and communicate to ease the escalating tensions over Pyongyang's trash-carrying balloon campaign and Seoul's response. On social media, Lee said the peace built up on the Korean Peninsula is at risk as the two Koreas have been engaged in tit-for-tat measures. Referring to the North's sending of balloons carrying trash across the border, South Korean civic group's sending of anti-Pyongyang leaf

June 15, 2024

Seoul, Washington, Tokyo to keep close tabs on Putin's visit to NK

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- South Korea, the United States and Japan will join forces to analyze the process and the outcome of Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to North Korea for the first time in 24 years. According to an official of the presidential office who spoke on condition of anonymity, South Korea will "together analyze the process and the outcome" of Putin's visit to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in line with its "close and frequent com

June 14, 2024