Government to double space budget in five years, invest W100tr by 2045

The Cambodian boy who was visited by South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee last month will be given cost-free care at a top hospital in Seoul next month. Asan Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in Seoul, said Monday that all of the boy’s medical expenses will be covered by the hospital and its parent foundation, the Asan Foundation. The boy, who is reported to be suffering from a congenital heart disease, will likely be treated at the Seoul hospital’s pediatric cardiac cen

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo departed for Paris on Monday to rally international support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in its southern port city of Busan. Han is set to attend the 171st General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions, an intergovernmental body in charge of overseeing the Expo, on Tuesday. During the assembly, Han is scheduled to give a presentation, outlining the government's vision to host the Expo in Busan and help produce solutions to

President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating rose to 36.4 percent, surpassing the mid-30 percent range for the first time in four weeks, a poll showed Monday. Yoon's approval rating climbed 3 percentage points from the previous week, posting the biggest on-week jump since he took office in May in a Realmeter poll, while his disapproval rating fell by 3 percentage points to 60.8 percent. The poll was conducted on 2,514 voters nationwide from Monday to Friday last week. This is the first ti

Tens of thousands of fans are expected to hold street cheering events in central Seoul to root for South Korea's second World Cup match in Qatar, although the state weather agency has predicted a cold wave and rain later in the day. "The heads of local governments and the heads of police and fire departments should inspect crowd management measures in advance in preparation for rain," Han said, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Han also ordered the interi

The plan to include launching Korean NASA

The Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday gave President Yoon Suk-yeol a one-day ultimatum to fire Lee Sang-min, the minister of interior and safety, over the deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon last month. “The president needs to stand by his words that there will be accountability. The first step to do that is to remove the interior and safety minister from his post,” Democratic Party spokesperson Rep. Lee Soo-jin said in a briefing. If Yoon fails to respond to do so by Monda

President Yoon Suk-yeol hosted a dinner with ruling People Power Party (PPP) leaders at the presidential residence Friday to discuss his recent Southeast Asia trip and other issues, his office said. The meeting was attended by PPP chief Chung Jin-suk, floor leader Joo Ho-young, Secretary-General Kim Seok-ki and other members of the interim leadership, as well as Yoon's chief of staff Kim Dae-ki, senior political secretary Lee Jin-bok and senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim E

Reporters Without Borders called on President Yoon Suk-yeol to reverse his decision to bar journalists with public broadcaster MBC from the presidential plane and also called for the reinstatement of the president’s daily meetings with the press. “Even the highest elected representative should not decide which media can report on them or which questions are suitable to be asked,'' said the RSF East Asia Bureau Head Cedric Alviani in an email response to The Korea Herald on

The National Assembly investigation into how the response failed in the deadly Halloween crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon began on Thursday, after the ruling People Power Party backed out of meeting at the last minute. The party demanded that the agreement -- reached just one day prior -- be revised to exclude the top prosecutors’ office from being investigated. The plenary session, postponed two hours amid the squabbling, however, voted in favor of the plan investigating the Suprem

A parliamentary subcommittee on Thursday passed a bill to ban demonstrations within 100 meters of the Presidential Office in central Seoul and residences of former state leaders. The ruling and opposition parties' have endorsed the bill, saying that protests near the Yongsan Presidential office and former President Moon Jae-in’s private residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, should be blocked. The current Assembly and Demonstration Act prohibits rallies and demonstrations wi

Prosecutors on Wednesday raided the land ministry and an affiliate of CJ Group as part of a probe into corruption allegations involving a former chief of staff under the preceding Moon Jae-in administration. Prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office searched the office of the Korea Integrated Freight Terminal Co. and residences of company officials, as well as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, to seize documents and emails, officials said. The prosecution h

The ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party agreed to launch a 45-day parliamentary investigation into the Itaewon Halloween tragedy, the two parties said Wednesday. The probe was to kick off on Thursday as soon as the assembly members approve the motion for the investigation. But the actual probe will begin after the National Assembly passes the national budget bill for next year, they said. The probe period could be extended later on, they added. It will be an 18-m

Tesla CEO says Korea among his top investment candidates

President Yoon Suk-yeol will host a dinner with ruling People Power Party leaders later this week to discuss his recent Southeast Asia trip and other issues, his office said Wednesday. Friday's dinner will be attended by People Power Party chief Chung Jin-suk, floor leader Joo Ho-young, Secretary-General Kim Seok-ki and other members of the interim leadership, as well as Yoon's chief of staff Kim Dae-ki and senior political secretary Lee Jin-bok. Yoon is expected to share the results of his trip