Former ambassador to Vietnam tapped SMEs minister

Oh Young-ju, formerly ambassador to Vietnam, has been nominated as the new minister of SMEs and startups, the presidential office said Monday. The 60-year-old is an international relations expert who has worked as the nation’s first female second vice minister of the Foreign Ministry since July this year. Before that, Oh served as Korea’s ambassador to Vietnam. Oh majored in political science and international relations at Ewha Womans University. “These days when our economy

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

Ocean specialist tapped as maritime affairs minister

Kang Do-hyung, president of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, has been nominated as the new minister of maritime affairs and fisheries, according to the presidential office Monday. Born in 1970 on Jeju Island, Kang studied ocean science at Inha University. He earned his doctor’s and doctorate degrees in maritime life science at Jeju National University. Kang initiated his professional career at KIOST, a private oceanography research organization based in Busan, as a seni

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

Korean War veteran’s daughter named veterans affairs minister

The descendant of a veteran who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War was tapped on Monday to head the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office nominated Kang Jung-ai, a 66-year-old business professor and the former president of Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, to replace Park Min-shik, who has been handling affairs related to veterans and their families since 2022. If her appointment is confirmed, she would be the second to lead the government age

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

Taxi app, AI translation in metro added to Seoul tourist services

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday announced two new services for foreign tourists: a taxi-hailing app and real-time translation services in subway stations. The city government has launched Taba, a taxi-hailing service specifically designed for overseas visitors to the city. The new app is expected to resolve limitations in existing domestic taxi-hailing apps, making it easier for tourists to request taxis with their phones. Existing taxi-hailing services require authentication to occu

Social AffairsDec. 4, 2023

Majority of seniors want work, as 1 in 5 engage in job search

As over half of Korean senior citizens expressed a desire to work, nearly 1 in 5 seniors are actively engaged in job seeking, reports showed Monday. According to a report from Korea Employment Information Service, which analyzed Statistics Korea’s data, among individuals aged between 65 and 79, 55.7 percent expressed a desire to continue working. That is an increase of 0.9 percentage point from a year ago and 12.1 percentage points from a decade prior. Of the older individuals aspiring f

Social AffairsDec. 4, 2023

Rural development expert nominated as agriculture minister

Song Mi-ryung, former deputy director of the Korea Rural Economic Institute, has been nominated as the new minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, the presidential office said Monday. Born in 1967, Song studied political science at Ewha Womans University. She earned her master’s degree in urban design and planning and her doctorate in public administration at Seoul National University. Having started her professional career at the KREI in 1997, she has devoted almost 30 years to t

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

Yoon replaces 6 ministers ahead of his 3rd year, general election

President Yoon Suk Yeol replaced six ministers on Monday, in an apparent move to set free current Cabinet members seeking to run in the April general elections and to seek fresh momentum in his leadership. It was the biggest reshuffle of the Cabinet since Yoon's term began in May 2022, with economic affairs firmly in focus. Yoon named Choi Sang-mok, former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, to succeed Choo Kyung-ho as the new deputy prime minister and minister of finance. Choi,

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

Bills, budget plan left in limbo ahead of elections

Several key bills aimed to provide stronger social safety nets and confirm next year’s budget plan were stuck in limbo as of Monday, as rival parties continued to lock horns ahead of the general elections in April. With less than a week remaining for the plenary session of the 21st National Assembly, observers expressed concern that the bills could be scrapped altogether, with the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea remaining in a standoff. "We

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

[Out of the Shadows] Surviving drug addiction: Peers from Korea, Japan share their stories

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of recovering drug users from South Korea and Japan gathered in Seoul on Saturday to support each others’ path to sobriety. The 19th edition of the workshop took place as a one-day event with the members of Narcotics Anonymous from the two countries. NA is a community organization made up of peers to support those in recovery from drug addiction using a non-professional approach. It aims to remove the stigma surrounding drug addict

Social AffairsDec. 4, 2023

Another search targets opposition leader in corruption probe

Prosecutors searched an office in Gyeonggi Province on Monday as part of a criminal investigation surrounding the province's former governor and the current chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, Rep. Lee Jae-myung. The main opposition chief’s spouse, Kim Hye-kyung, and at least one of his close aides are accused of having misappropriated the province’s public funds while he was serving as governor. Prosecutors in Suwon in Gyeonggi Province said they seized records of pay

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

S. Korea successfully tests solid-fuel space rocket

South Korea successfully launched a solid-fuel space rocket carrying a small commercial satellite in the final round of tests for an actual launch planned for two years later, according to the Ministry of National Defense on Monday. The test launch was conducted at around 2:00 p.m. from a barge located in waters south of Jeju Island. It was the first instance of the country integrating an operational satellite, not a dummy satellite, into the developmental phase of a solid-fuel space rocket. Mon

DefenseDec. 4, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Removing elevated railways, deferring taxation on inherited shares

Proposed bill: Special Act on the Transition of Elevated Metro Lines Including Line 1 of Seoul to Underground Lines Proposed by Rep. Lee In-young (Democratic Party of Korea) ● Elevated railways, such as Seoul Subway Line 1, are perceived to be the cause of noise pollution and safety issues. This bill aims to facilitate the implementation of projects to transform elevated railways into underground railways by establishing a dedicated organization and offering subsidies, loans and other incentives

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

N. Korea's Kim calls for measures to prevent fall in birth rate

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for measures to prevent a decrease in the country's birth rate in the first national meeting of mothers in 11 years, state media reported Monday. Kim said he has thought about North Korean mothers whenever he faced difficulties in steering state and party affairs, and stressed the role of mothers in such various fields as helping resolve "non-social" problems and promoting the unity of society. "There are also issues of preventing th

North KoreaDec. 4, 2023

US deploys fighter jets in S. Korea for air exercise in Singapore

A group of US fighter jets stationed in South Korea joined an annual aerial exercise in Singapore last month, the US Air Force has said, with a commercial aircraft refueling the fighters en route to the city-state for the first time. The US military deployed six F-16s of the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, to participate in the bilateral Commando Sling exercise with the Singaporean Air Force at Paya Lebar Air Base from Nov. 6 to 24. During the flig

DefenseDec. 4, 2023

Majority of Korean office workers sleep deprived

More than half of Korean company employees report for office duty on less than seven hours of sleep, a recent report showed. According to a survey conducted on 880 participants by the online job portal Incruit, 56.3 percent of office workers get only four to six hours of slumber daily. In second place, 41.6 percent of participants listed an average of seven to nine hours. The Korean Society of Sleep Medicine recommends at least six to eight hours of sleep, warning that sleeping less than six hou

Social AffairsDec. 4, 2023

Province office raided in probe into wife of opposition leader

Prosecutors raided the Gyeonggi provincial government office Monday as part of an investigation into allegations that opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's wife misused an official credit card while Lee was serving as Gyeonggi governor. The Suwon District Prosecutors Office sent investigators to the provincial government office to seize evidence connected to the investigation, officials said. The investigation follows a disclosure by a former Gyeonggi government employee last year that Lee'

Social AffairsDec. 4, 2023

S. Korea, Canada sign MOU on climate change cooperation

South Korea and Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding on climate change cooperation as a follow-up step to the May summit of the two countries' leaders, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday. The MOU was signed by Kim Hyo-eun, South Korea's ambassador for climate change, and her Canadian counterpart, Catherine Stewart, on Sunday, on the sidelines of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, the ministry said. The MOU calls for bolstering cooperation in exchanges of

Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2023

Feulner says N. Korea pays heed to 'strength' and 'solidarity'

What a recalcitrant North Korea respects is "strength" and "solidarity," a US think tank founder has said, noting he would advise former President Donald Trump to keep up trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan. Edwin Feulner, founder of the conservative Heritage Foundation, made the remarks as Trump seeks a second White House term. The think tank has led the development of "Project 2025," a presidential transition plan in the event o

Foreign AffairsDec. 4, 2023

Yoon's approval rating inches down to 37.6%

President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating inched down to 37.6 percent, falling for the first time in three weeks, according to a poll released Monday. The survey, conducted by the polling agency Realmeter, showed that the positive assessment of Yoon's performance inched down by 0.5 percentage point from the previous week. Yoon's approval rating had previously rebounded from 34.7 percent to 35.6 percent and then to 38.1 percent, lingering in the high 30 percent range. By region, re

PoliticsDec. 4, 2023

Buddhists, political leaders bid farewell to late Ven. Jaseung

Buddhists and political leaders bade their final farewell to late Ven. Jaseung, a former leader of South Korea's largest Buddhist sect Jogye, at the funeral held Sunday. Ven. Jaseung, who served as president of the Jogye Order from 2009 to 2017, was found dead at a burnt dwelling at a temple in Anseong, south of Seoul, on Wednesday, in an apparent self-immolation, or a Buddhist practice of burning oneself alive as an offering to Buddha. Police have discovered several notes from the monk

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2023