Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari expressed hopes for more trade and investment from Korea, stressing the Nigerian government’s recent policies to encourage foreign investment in an exclusive written interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul. "Our government has improved the ease of doing business in our country, and we have created a 'one stop shop' at the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission. We have also reinvigorated the commission with all the resources needed to attract FDI

South Korea and Hungary have agreed to push for the signing of a new framework meant to promote bilateral trade and investment, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday. The agreement was reached during a meeting between South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Monday. Ahn visited Budapest as the first stop of his weeklong three-nation trip to Europe as a special envoy of President Yoon Suk-yeol, according the Ministry of Trade, Industry and En

The government and the ruling People Power Party pledged Wednesday to significantly bolster efforts to tackle ever-growing drug use, officials said. The People Power Party and the government held a policy consultation meeting at the National Assembly and discussed various measures to prevent people from abusing substances and provide help to those suffering from drug addiction. "Our party and the government will put in all-out efforts to completely eradicate drugs from people's daily l

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed above 40,000 for the second straight day Wednesday, fanning concerns of a possible resurgence of the pandemic. The country reported 40,842 infections, including 81 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 25,396,155, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The figure is higher than the past seven day average of 27,259, showing signs of a possible rebound in infections. The country reported 26 deaths, bringing the death toll to 29,04

President Yoon Suk-yeol voiced regret Wednesday after the main opposition party boycotted his budget speech, saying the party has left a bad precedent that could weaken public confidence in the National Assembly. Yoon delivered a budget speech in a half-empty National Assembly hall Tuesday after the main opposition Democratic Party decided to boycott the session in protest over the prosecution's recent raid of its headquarters and other actions it described as suppression of the opposition. &quo

GWANGMYEONG -- A mother and her two teenage sons have been found dead with stab wounds at their home in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, police said Wednesday. Her husband in his 30s alerted police around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday that the three were found dead, officials said. The bodies of the mother in her 30s and the two boys were on the living room floor of their apartment when the police arrived, officials said. "We plan to investigate the case while leaving various possibilities open based

Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan plan to hold consultations on Wednesday on regional and global security issues amid concerns over the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test. South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong is scheduled to engage in the trilateral session with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Wendy Sherman and Takeo Mori -- in Tokyo to discuss ways to deal with North Korea's evolving threats highlighted by a series of bal

The largest-ever annual shopping event in South Korea will take place next week amid the government's effort to curb high prices and boost private spending, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The Korea Sale Festa, the Korean equivalent of Black Friday, will be held from Nov. 1-15 both online and in stores nationwide, with around 2,300 companies participating, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The figure is the largest ever since the festival was launched in 2016, i

WASHINGTON -- The United States is very much focused on improving human rights conditions in North Korea, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, calling it a serious challenge. Ned Price, however, said he had no announcements to make when asked if the US would appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights, a position that has remained vacant for nearly six years. "When it comes to human rights in North Korea, of course, it is something that we are deeply concerned with,"

From the stance of Korean diplomacy, relations with Japan are the primary dilemma. Although there may be some differences in degree compared to the US according to political orientation, an alliance has immutable value. It has an absolute influence on daily life in Korea. At the same time, though we may have a different perspective from China, we cannot neglect China’s influence on Korea’s economy and policies toward North Korea. The US and China are like two strong wings flanking K

President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the grave of late former President Park Chung-hee on Tuesday to mark the 43rd anniversary of his death, his office said. Park was killed by his spy chief on Oct. 26, 1979, after ruling the country with an iron fist for 18 years. Yoon paid his respects at Park's grave at Seoul National Cemetery a day before the death anniversary, according to his office. He was joined by his chief of staff Kim Dae-ki, National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han, Veterans Minister P

Korea National University of Arts, known as K-Arts, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this week, aims to turn itself into a global institution attracting foreign students, its president, Kim Dae-jin, said Wednesday. “Thirty years ago, K-Arts was established to provide top quality education so that Korean students would not have to go abroad to study -- a goal that not many believed back then,” Kim said. “For the next 30 years, we want to become an institution sought after

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday addressed the National Assembly amid escalating partisan conflict that led to an unprecedented complete boycott by the main opposition party. Doubling down on defense In the address, Yoon stressed the need to strengthen deterrence against North Korea, saying that another nuclear weapons test by Pyongyang is imminent. “It is judged that North Korea has already completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test,” Yoon said. "North Korea has rece

When stock and crypto markets were hot and borrowing costs were cheap, many younger South Koreans, who typically had strong risk appetite but little capital to invest, dabbled in leveraged investing, known as “bittoo” in Korean. Many of these young investors had dreamed of getting rich quick and retiring young to become a new member of “FIRE tribe” -- the acronym standing for financially independent, retire early. But many are now suffering, as markets have tanked and int

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon implies that Kim abused lawmakers' exemption from liability for speech in National Assembly