Kang Jung-ai, South Korea’s minister of patriots and veterans affairs, says building a culture of remembering and honoring the people who fought for Koreans and their freedom is “what our country needs.” “Honoring veterans goes far beyond giving them compensation and benefits. Thanking and respecting the people who served our country should be a part of our national identity and treasured value,” she said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday. “Yes,

Ripped clothes made in S. Korea, mended socks, gloves also found, reflecting struggles of N. Koreans: ministry

Following scorching heat waves nationwide and record-breaking heavy rain on Jeju Island over the last few weeks, South Korea's residents are grappling with "climate anxiety," as many have found themselves concerned about the increasingly unpredictable extreme weather. Climate anxiety -- related to "climate depression" -- is a term used to describe feeling distressed due to worries about climate change and its impacts on the Earth and human existence. “I always thou

Yoon's job rating in low 30% range for 11th consecutive week

Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Lee Jae-myung on Monday stepped down from his position as the party’s chair, a move that is viewed as a step towards running for a second term as the main opposition party's leader at the upcoming party convention. "I have resigned from my position as the chair of the Democratic Party with the wrap-up of today’s party supreme council meeting," Lee told reporters at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. Lee expressed his concern

Even foreign students are stuck in Seoul-centric mode. A recent report showed that over half of them were studying in the Greater Seoul area as of last year. A total of 181,842 international students were in South Korea as of 2023, according to a report issued Monday by the government-affiliated Korean Council for University Education, more than double the 85,923 in 2023. Of those, 119,237 were studying for a university degree while 52,602 were in a non-degree programs such as language study cou

At least 16 people have been confirmed dead in Monday's battery factory fire in Hwaseong as of 5 p.m., with the final death toll expected to rise above 20. Of the 23 people who had earlier been reported missing in the fire, 20 were confirmed to be foreign nationals. The rescue authorities commenced a search of the lithium primary battery plant, run by Aricell, after firefighters got the blaze under control at 3:10 p.m. It was over three hours after the fire first broke out on the secon

Most victims of workplace bullying in South Korea refrain from filing formal complaints about it to the authorities or their employers, a survey showed Monday. Gabjil 119, a civic group that assists victims of workplace abuse, conducted a survey of 1,000 employees and found that only 10.3 percent of respondents said they have filed a report against such cases. The survey allowed respondents to pick multiple responses. Of those who sought outside help, only 8.1 percent reported such cases to th

South Korea and the United States will hold their fourth round of negotiations on sharing the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong American troops here, a foreign ministry official said Monday. The talks on the Special Measures Agreement will take place in Seoul from Tuesday through Thursday, led by Lee Tae-woo, South Korea's chief negotiator for the talks, and Linda Specht, the US lead negotiator for security agreements at the State Department, the official said. The current six-year S

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has exchanged greetings with Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, North Korea's state media reported Monday. "Over the past 50 years, our two countries have established and developed solid ties based on comradely friendship and revolutionary obligation in the struggle to accomplish the socialist cause," according to Kim's message released by th

The state arms procurement agency said Monday it has completed the operational deployment of the locally built Surion utility helicopter to the Army, more than a decade after the first unit's delivery. South Korea began delivering the KUH-1 Surion helicopter to the Army in late 2012, after a seven-year development period starting in 2006. It was designed to replace the Army's aging fleet of US-made UH-1H and 500MD helicopters. The Army now operates more than 200 Surions, which carry ou

A South Korean scholar, well known for his expertise in relations with Japan, has been tapped to be the new ambassador to the neighboring country, government sources with knowledge of the matter said Monday. Park Cheol-hee, chief of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, the think tank under the foreign ministry, has been nominated as the new ambassador, and Seoul has asked for Tokyo's consent, known as an "agrement," the sources said. Park would replace the incumbent ambassador,

Representatives of doctors and the government are expected to sit down for talks as early as this week, as both sides have hinted that they would hold negotiations to seek a breakthrough to end a monthslong standoff over the government's medical reform. The move came as Lim Hyun-taek, a hawkish head of the Korea Medical Association, has stepped back from the standoff, prompting the KMA to form a committee to cope with potential talks with the government. After holding its first meeting last

North Korea on Monday criticized the United States for its military support of Ukraine and supported Russia's actions as a "legitimate act of self-defense," underscoring the growing military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. "If the rulers of the US persist in recklessly pushing their war machine into Ukraine for a proxy war against Russia, it will inevitably provoke a stronger response from Russia," Pak Jong Chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the

Users of Naver Papago, the South Korean online portal operator's artificial intelligence-powered translation service, have steadily increased, topping 20 million last month on overseas demand, industry sources said. The number of Papago's monthly active users, both for app and web versions, reached 20.74 million in May, up 18 percent from a year ago, according to the sources, which cited a report by Naver Cloud Corp. Papago's MAUs first surpassed the 20 million threshold in Marc