Vice governor has to implement “populist” policies before new chief starts in July

Former President Roh Tae-woo, the country's first directly elected president, died Tuesday at age 88, leaving behind a checkered legacy as well as a list of diplomatic accomplishments intended to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. Roh’s aides announced Tuesday that Roh, who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993, died at around 1:45 p.m. while receiving treatment at Seoul National University Hospital. He was brought to the hospital's emergency room at 1:10 p.m.

Pianist Paik Kun-woo has filed for arbitration with the Press Arbitration Commission in a case against network broadcaster MBC over its investigative journalism program “PD Note.” The program suggested the pianist and his daughter had mistreated his wife, actor Yoon Jeong-hee, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2017. In a statement issued Monday evening, the pianist said he was seeking a correction and 1.1 billion won ($943,620) in damages for himself and his daught

President Moon Jae-in met with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of Democratic Party of Korea, at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday, marking the ruling liberal bloc’s formal consolidation for next year’s presidential election. Their tea meeting that lasted for about 50 minutes early in the day started as the president congratulated Lee for being elected the party’s presidential nominee.  “After finishing a fierce competition, it is also important to heal the scars and

South Korea’s economy has expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the July-September period due to lackluster private consumption despite recovery in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The economy grew 0.3 percent in the third quarter, compared with a 0.8 percent growth in the second quarter and the corresponding figure of 1.7 percent in the first quarter, preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea showed. The third quarter reading falls short of the BOK’s Se

Workers at South Korea’s chief weapons developer were offered no incentive pay, despite their efforts that President Moon Jae-in hailed as marking a new milestone in the country’s decadeslong drive to mount a self-reliant defense. The Agency for Defense Development -- which recently tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile, making South Korea the first non-nuclear state to do so -- has yet to prepare guidelines on compensating those who build strategic assets like SLBMs, a

Korea needs to drop “follower” mindset and raise stake in technological innovation, says SNU professor Lee Jeong-dong

South Korea’s top financial regulator on Tuesday said it will implement stricter lending calculations for mortgage loans, called the “debt-service ratio,” or DSR, months earlier than expected as part of additional debt control measures.  The DSR gauges how much borrowers pay for principal and interest in proportion to yearly income.  Since July, a 40 percent DSR has been applied to borrowers seeking to receive loans for buying properties valued at over 600 million w

South Korea's trade volume for this year surpassed the $1 trillion mark Tuesday on the back of solid export growth amid the global recovery from the pandemic, reaching the milestone at the fastest pace ever, the trade ministry said. The country's accumulated exports and imports totaled $1 trillion so far this year, with outbound shipments coming to $512.2 billion, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea made the achievement within the shortest period of

Poland’s ambassador to Korea stressed his country’s commitment to the European Union in an interview with The Korea Herald, and ruled out any prospect of an exit from the bloc. Ambassador Piotr Ostaszewski said there was no basis to claims Poland was eyeing a “Polexit” from the EU. “Brexit had a leader who led the whole issue but (talk of) ‘Polexit’ is simply propaganda,” he said, drawing contrast with the United Kingdom’s exit from the bl

South Korea's military said Tuesday it will open its first hydrogen charging station this week, helping accelerate the country's drive to promote the use of renewable energy sources. The government has been proactive in efforts to boost the hydrogen economy under the goal of going carbon neutral by 2050. The charging station will open in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, on Wednesday, also for use by civilians, according to the defense ministry. It has the capacity to power 60 sedans and

The Korea Teachers’ Credit Union, an institutional investor responsible for 40 trillion won ($34.3 billion) of assets as of end-June, denied Tuesday rumors that it was considering exposure to bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, through an exchange-traded fund created by a Korean external partner. “The KTCU has never reviewed an investment in a bitcoin-related ETF, and will never have a plan to do so,” KTCU said in a statement. The remark came after it was rep

A record-breaking ace is putting together a solid case for the most valuable player (MVP) award in South Korean baseball this year, with a handful of other contenders looking to make a last-minute push in the final stretch of the regular season. Doosan Bears' left-hander Ariel Miranda strengthened his candidacy on Sunday by becoming the new single-season strikeout king in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The Cuban ace picked up four strikeouts against the LG Twins to reach 225 for the sea

The international fervor for the Netflix series “My Name” took actor Ahn Bo-hyun by surprise. “After the success of ‘Squid Game,’ I can definitely feel the change in the air and growing interest in Korean contents, “ Ahn said in an online interview with a group of reporters on Monday. ”I was surprised to hear that our series ranked third place on the global Netflix chart. Though global fans are cheering me and other actors on social media, witnessing th