Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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[Editorial] 'Mega Seoul' idea
Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, said that the party will take procedures to incorporate Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, into Seoul. Gimpo is a city adjacent to western Seoul. Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the party, said that the party will positively consider incorporating other adjacent cities into Seoul if there is demand. The argument for incorporating Gimpo into Seoul was made in the wake of Gyeonggi Province’s push to establish North Gyeonggi Special Self-Governing Pr
Nov. 2, 2023
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[Editorial] Time to heed warnings
Experts have been churning out a flurry of warnings about South Korea’s snowballing household debt. In recent days, two notable warnings have been issued: one from a top-ranked official of the presidential office and the other from the International Monetary Fund. Both warnings share the view that household debt is now at a serious level and the related risks should be kept manageable. The question is whether the government, lenders and households are willing to take the advice seriously a
Nov. 1, 2023
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[Editorial] Spreading drug use
Actor Lee Sun-kyun, known for his appearance in the Academy-winning Korean movie “Parasite,” and K-pop star G-Dragon of Big Bang are under police investigation on suspicion of drug use. A medical doctor was recently booked on allegations of supplying illegal drugs to Lee and others. About 10 people, including Lee, a music composer and an aspiring singer, are reportedly being investigated by the police. The two cases involving Lee and G-Dragon are causing quite a stir. The police arre
Oct. 31, 2023
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[Editorial] Speed up reform
Pension reform is one of three major reforms being pursued by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. The other two are labor and education reforms. But the pension reform proposal unveiled by the government on Friday is disappointing. The plan did not present specific figures on pension premium rates, the starting age of pension payout and payout amount. It was a proposal lacking substance. It would be difficult to persuade lawmakers and people even with figures and good grounds, but this proposal do
Oct. 30, 2023
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[Editorial] Korean 'Jessica’s Law'
Statistics show that sex offenders have high rates of recidivism. One of the legislations to prevent this in regard to child sex offenders is Jessica’s Law, which was passed in Florida in 2005. It mandated at least 25 years in prison for first-time child sex offenders and stricter regulations such as wearing tracking devices. The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday introduced a draft on the South Korean equivalent to Jessica’s Law, which is designed to block convicted child sex offenders
Oct. 27, 2023
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[Editorial] Back to basics
Kakao, an internet company that has grown from a mobile messenger to Korea's 15th largest business group in asset terms, is facing a crisis. Kim Beom-soo, its founder, largest shareholder and former chairman, was summoned and questioned Monday by the Financial Supervisory Service in connection with alleged stock price manipulation. He is suspected of conspiring to artificially boost the price of SM Entertainment shares to frustrate Hybe's tender offer for SM stocks. Earlier, the FSS in
Oct. 26, 2023
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[Editorial] Carry out real reforms
In the conflict-laden arena of South Korean politics, reform is a much-abused word that often rings hollow and invokes skepticism. Politicians from both ruling and main opposition parties have long disappointed the public by only talking up the need for reforms without taking the real steps necessary to overhaul their parties. The ruling People Power Party appointed Ihn Yo-han, also known as John Linton, as the chair of its innovation committee on Monday. Ihn, a professor at Yonsei University Co
Oct. 25, 2023
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[Editorial] Graphite this time
China on Friday unveiled plans to restrict exports of graphite, a material crucial to the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. The plans follow Beijing's export curbs that took effect from Aug. 1 on gallium and germanium products used to manufacture advanced semiconductors. According to the notice jointly issued by China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs, the graphite export controls are for the sake of the national security and interests and effe
Oct. 24, 2023
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[Editorial] Deepening uncertainties
The South Korean economy is expected to face an extended period of turbulence in its markets following a spike in the benchmark US Treasury yield. The likely mix of elevated interest rates and an economic slump is now feared to hit Korean companies, individuals and the government. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury briefly surpassed 5 percent for the first time in 16 years on Thursday, sparking concerns that its ripple effect could be considerable across various sectors, including not o
Oct. 23, 2023
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[Editorial] Unconvincing strike
Two of the three unions of Seoul Metro, which operates the subway service in Seoul, announced a plan to strike during a press conference Wednesday. After labor dispute mediation by Seoul National Labor Relations Commission ended without results on Tuesday, two Seoul Metro unions -- one affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the other with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions -- jointly declared that they have decided to go on a strike on Nov. 9 for all eight Seoul subway l
Oct. 20, 2023
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[Editorial] Prevent illegal short selling
Two global investment banks based in Hong Kong face the biggest-ever fines and possibly criminal charges in South Korea for their alleged illegal short selling activities, which sparked calls from retail investors for tougher rules and heavier penalties against such practices. The Financial Supervisory Service said it was seeking to impose its largest-ever fine on the two IBs for what is called “naked short selling,” FSS Gov. Lee Bok-hyun said in a parliamentary inspection that crimi
Oct. 19, 2023
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[Editorial] Grave security threat
As the circumstances in which North Korea provided weapons to Russia have come to light, the possibility of Russia providing North Korea with cutting-edge defense materials or military technologies in return is looming. If Russia transfers technologies necessary to perfect North Korea's ballistic missiles, it will seriously violate United Nations sanctions against the North and greatly undermine stability on the Korean Peninsula. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on
Oct. 18, 2023
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[Editorial] Quota for medical schools
The South Korean government is set to unveil a plan to increase the annual enrollment quota for medical schools in a bid to tackle the shortage of doctors in key fields and the increasing demand for medical services in connection with the rapid aging of Korean society. Senior officials from the ruling People Power Party, the government and the presidential office held a meeting Sunday to explore options over the increase of the number of medical students. President Yoon Suk Yeol is scheduled to
Oct. 17, 2023
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[Editorial] Review quiet diplomacy
China is said to have forcibly repatriated hundreds of North Korean defectors locked up in its detention facilities. The Ministry of Unification said such claims by civil organizations working to improve North Korean human rights seem to be true and that South Korea expressed regret to China over the issue. Beijing, however, is silent. According to the organizations, Chinese public security authorities forcibly sent back about 600 North Korean defectors imprisoned near the border with North Kore
Oct. 16, 2023
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[Editorial] Support chip sector
South Korean chipmakers have secured an indefinite waiver for US chip equipment exports to China. The eased US controls are clearly a positive turn of events. But the Korean government, keen to shore up its vital chip sector, is in no position to feel relieved. On Monday, the presidential office said Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will be allowed to keep providing US chip equipment to their Chinese factories indefinitely without a separate approval process. The US government designated Samsung
Oct. 13, 2023
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[Editorial] NEC's lax attitude
The overall election management system of the National Election Commission has been found to be effectively defenseless to hacking attacks. A joint security check by the National Intelligence Service and Korea Internet & Security Agency detected a number of vulnerabilities in the voting and ballot counting systems and the internal operational system of the commission. The intelligence agency discovered there had been eight hacking attacks on the commission in the past two years, including se
Oct. 12, 2023
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[Editorial] Israel-Hamas war
Saturday's surprise attack by Hamas on Israel has escalated into a deadly war in the conflict-laden Middle East, which not only puts the region’s geopolitical order in turmoil but also adds to the deep uncertainty of global politics and the economy at large. In response to Hamas’ incursion of unprecedented scale and preparation, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said in a statement: “We are at war.” More than 900 people were killed in Israel, while H
Oct. 11, 2023
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[Editorial] Speed up trials
Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung is to stand trial in several cases, but delays have been severe. He can try delay tactics as a defendant, but the judiciary must not play into his hands. His trials must be conducted all the quicker, considering his status as party leader. Before the legislative general election just six months away, voters need to know the courts’ judgments on grave allegations involving a party leader. Lee attended his first court hearing Friday, seven month
Oct. 10, 2023
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[Editorial] Sticky inflation
South Korea’s consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier, marking the highest on-year increase in five months, amid worrisome signs of additional volatility in prices. Some experts raise the possibility that the Korean economy might fall into a trap of “sticky inflation,” referring to a situation where prices do not adjust quickly or smoothly in response to changes in supply and demand, leading to persistent inflation. It is too
Oct. 9, 2023
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[Editorial] Uproot opinion-rigging
The anomalies which happened on the Korean web portal Daum during the Asian Games show that overseas manipulation of public opinions on domestic portal sites has become a reality. During the Asian Games men's football quarterfinal match between South Korea and China on Sunday, the ratio of clicks cheering for China on Daum reached 91 percent at one point, compared with a mere 9 percent for South Korea. On Naver, another Korean web portal, the number of clicks cheering for South Korea took
Oct. 6, 2023