The Korea Herald

안녕하세요 Shin Hyon-hee 기자입니다.

Articles by Shin Hyon-hee

U.S. soldiers caught for alleged sexual harassment

Social affairsFeb 3, 2013

Three U.S. soldiers have been caught for alleged sexual harassment of a South Korean woman on a subway train and three others are being sought for their involvement, police said Sunday. The half-dozen American soldiers, whose identities have been withheld, are accused of harassing a 20-year-old South Korean woman around 9:16 p.m. on Saturday on a train on the subway line No. 1.Police said the soldiers danced to loud music on the train, and the woman asked them to be quiet. The soldiers then star
Korean tourist allegedly drugged, raped in India

Social affairsFeb 3, 2013

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― A South Korean student holidaying on her own in India was allegedly drugged and raped by the son of a hotel owner as she visited a tiger reserve in central India, police said on Friday.The 23-year-old college student has filed a police case saying she was raped on January 14 after returning to the hotel from a safari at the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh state.“The incident happened last month but she said she did not have the courage to report it right away. She a
Suu Kyi lauds Korea’s democratic transition

Foreign affairsJan 31, 2013

Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday praised Korea’s journey to democracy during her visit to a national cemetery for victims of the 1980 massacre in Gwangju.Suu Kyi, herself a beacon of democracy and major driving force behind the Southeast Asian country’s political reform, placed a wreath at the May 18th National Cemetery. The southwestern city is home to a student-led armed uprising on May 18, 1980, against the junta led by Army coup leader Chun Doo-hwan, who later became
Korean leaders pledge support for Myanmar reform, democracy

Foreign affairsJan 29, 2013

Korean leaders pledged support for Myanmar’s political reform and economic development during their meetings with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday. Suu Kyi arrived in Seoul late Monday for a five-day visit to attend the opening ceremony for the biennial Special Olympics World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.She met with President Lee Myung-bak, President-elect Park Geun-hye and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon to discuss the two countries’ cooperation on bilateral and Asia
A turning point in the N.K. human rights issue

North KoreaJan 29, 2013

With a global consensus slowly emerging, calls are growing for an independent inquiry mechanism to carry out an in-depth investigation into egregious human rights violations committed by North Korea. In his confirmation hearing last week, U.S. Sen. John Kerry emphasized the need for “speaking out for the prisoners of gulags in North Korea.” North Korea imprisons an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people in its sprawling political prison camps. As shown in the testimonies of survivors and defectors,
KOICA shores up medical services, rural development in Peru

Foreign affairsJan 27, 2013

CCORAO/PACHACUTEC, Peru ― Fresh out of high school and dismayed by his lack of resources to go to college, Orland Choque took a trip to a ceramic studio in the city of Urubamba in southeastern Peru in 2005. Upon first contact with ceramics, he was mesmerized by its sculptural possibilities. That was his “eureka moment,” he said, which led him to sign up for a pottery school run by KOICA in his hometown Ccorao. Choque, now 26, teaches and helps with the academy’s operations and administrative aff
Korea promotes student exchange programs with Chile

Foreign affairsJan 27, 2013

SANTIAGO ― With Korean pop culture fast spreading among young Chileans, the Korean Embassy in the Latin American country is setting its sights on student exchange programs as the focal point for its public diplomacy.Korea has been exploring ways to sustain the Korean Wave around the globe and to make the most of the knock-on effects on its national prestige and cooperation with partner countries. The exchange programs allow participants to better understand Korea and experience firsthand its cul
K-pop craze boosts Korea’s public diplomacy

Foreign affairsJan 27, 2013

SANTIAGO/LIMA ― On a slow Wednesday afternoon, dozens of teenage girls straggled into a public park in Santiago, their T-shirts featuring TVXQ, JYJ, Super Junior and other Korean pop stars. Soon, music was turned up, and the group began to walk through the choreography. The practice goes on for about three hours, three days a week. The venue has also become a hot spot for youngsters to exchange the latest K-pop-related information and products. “We also carry out online campaigns to boost sales
Seoul’s new initiatives key to North Korea standoff: Cha

North KoreaJan 23, 2013

South Korea should be in the driver’s seat in future multinational efforts to resolve tensions over North Korea’s nuclear programs, and incoming President Park Geun-hye’s new approach to build trust and resume exchanges with Pyongyang could play a key role in moving ahead in the process, said Victor Cha, a U.S. Northeast Asia security expert.The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Tuesday to condemn the North and toughen sanctions in response to its Dec. 12 rocket launch. The North respo
High hopes for inter-Korean resources tie-up

North KoreaJan 22, 2013

With Seoul’s incoming government looking to thaw cross-border ties, it should capitalize on the North’s ample mineral reserves to help revive its crumpling economy and beef up energy supplies at home, said Choi Kyung-soo, president of the North Korea Resources Institute. Despite daunting risks associated with political instability, he cast joint mining projects as a key tool to quell criticism over the South’s unilateral concessions to the wayward regime. President-elect Park Geun-hye has also p
Calls mount for river policy revamp

PoliticsJan 20, 2013

Opposition parties and environmentalists are stepping up calls for a thorough investigation into President Lee Myung-bak’s four-river project after the state auditor reported last week that it was fraught with flaws threatening water quality, ecosystems and biodiversity. On Thursday, the Board of Audit and Inspection raised safety issues concerning dams constructed in the Han, Geum, Yeongsan and Nakdong rivers due to substantial defects in design and construction, which would incur huge maintena
U.S., China strike deal on U.N. rebuke of North Korea

PoliticsJan 20, 2013

UNITED NATIONS ― The United States and China have struck a tentative deal on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Korea for its December rocket launch, U.N. diplomats said, and Russia predicted it would be approved by the council.The resolution would not impose new sanctions, but would call for expanding existing U.N. sanctions measures against Pyongyang, the envoys said on condition of anonymity. They added that China’s support for the move would be a significant diplomatic
Saenuri Rep. Ha calls for bipartisan bill on N. Korea

PoliticsJan 20, 2013

Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung urged rival parties to put aside differences in their grand approaches to North Korea and reach a compromise to unshackle its people from oppression, based on a shared recognition of human rights as a universal value.Led by the conservative party, a bill supporting North Korean human rights has been languished for more than seven years due to partisan and ideological divides. Ha, one of the most fervent campaigners for freedom in the communist regime, said the
Korea, U.S. to discuss ways to boost alliance

Foreign affairsJan 16, 2013

President-elect Park Geun-hye pledged Wednesday to upgrade the Korea-U.S. alliance to tackle North Korean threats and security uncertainties during a meeting with senior U.S. officials. The president-in-waiting met with Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and four other officials in her Seoul office. During the meeting, Campbell told her that he brought with him a “road map for Korea-U.S. relations” and wanted to have a productive discussion with
Unification Ministry offers broad steps for inter-Korea ties

PoliticsJan 16, 2013

The Unification Ministry on Wednesday provided the presidential transition committee with a policy assessment on the cross-border situation and a broad outline of options to help realize President-elect Park Geun-hye’s “trust-building process” with North Korea.The initiative highlights the need for trust between the two Koreas in achieving reconciliation and denuclearizing the communist country. On the campaign trail, Park vowed to reengage North Korea, resume humanitarian support and eventually