Seoul prepares for first major military parade in ten years

For the first time in a decade, Seoul citizens will witness a large-scale military parade, with tanks and armed forces marching across the city center Tuesday amid escalating tensions with North Korea. Major thoroughfares will be closed throughout the day for the event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Korean Armed Forces' founding, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on Sept. 20. The march will commence at the Seoul Air Base at 1:30 p.m. following a memorial ceremony. From

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2023

[Photo News] Cultural diplomacy

The Greek Embassy and Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) co-hosted a forum acknowledging the growth of social media communication as part of an initiative to strengthen cultural diplomacy at the Greek ambassador’s residence in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. The event was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, CICI members, the media and members of the Greek community in Korea. (CICI)

Foreign AffairsSept. 25, 2023

Greet fall blooms at Suncheon Bay

The Suncheonman International Garden Expo, which kicked off on April 1, will show off its fall flowers over the Chuseok holiday. After first launching in 2013, the Suncheonman International Garden Expo in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, has returned for the first time in 10 years. The expo organizers said while the first edition focused on preventing urban expansion, this year's expo builds on it to include landscape gardens in wetland and urban areas, stretching across 545 hectares. The

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2023

[Herald Interview] Mayor aims to promote Suncheon as global eco-city

Roh Gwan-gyu was elected mayor of Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, in June 2022 -- just 10 months before the Suncheonman International Garden Expo. While there was limited time, Roh made sure everything was being prepared smoothly by assuming the position as the Chairman of Suncheonman International Garden Expo’s organizing committee. “Since I took office on July 1 (2022), I was always present on site to help the organizing committee make quick decisions and supplement them,” s

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2023

Chief justice seat at top court left vacant amid Assembly chaos

South Korea’s Supreme Court faces an unusual vacancy for the first time in 30 years as the National Assembly motion to appoint a replacement for the retiring chief justice was delayed amid turmoil over an arrest warrant request for the main opposition party leader. Ahn Chul-sang, the most senior of the 13 Supreme Court justices, will serve as acting chief justice starting Monday until the motion is considered and passed at the next Assembly plenary session. In a meeting also held Monday, t

PoliticsSept. 25, 2023

Trilateral talks open on Korea-Japan-China meeting

Two-day working- and senior-level talks among South Korea, Japan and China kicked off on Monday, as the three nations prepare to resume their meeting this year, after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chung Byung-won, South Korea’s deputy foreign minister, is set to meet with Takehiro Funakoshi and Nong Rong, his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, respectively, on Tuesday, following separate working-level meetings between Seoul and Tokyo, as well as Seoul and Beijing on Mond

Foreign AffairsSept. 25, 2023

Court jails man for using AI to make sexual images of minors for the first time

A man in his 40s has been sentenced to prison for producing child pornography using an artificial intelligence image generator for the first time in Korea, local media reported Monday. According to reports, the man was sentenced to 2 1/2 years on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth. The accused created a total of 360 sexually explicit images on an image-generating AI program installed on a laptop in April with commands including "10 years old," "nu

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2023

19 Koreans murdered overseas from Jan.-June

Nearly 7,300 South Korean nationals were victims of accidents or crimes in other countries during the first half of this year, with 19 of them murdered, data showed Monday. Data released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reveals that a total of 7,294 Korean nationals were victims of accidents or crimes while overseas during the 6-month period from January to June this year, marking an approximate 44 percent on-year increase. This rise comes as Korea saw a more than sevenfold on-year increas

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2023

[Herald Interview] Honoring Korean descendants who fought for their legal rights

Until the 1970s, blatant forms of discrimination against foreign nationals existed in Japan. For example, non-Japanese citizens were banned from entering law school regardless of their qualifications or if they had passed the bar exam, and many ethnic minorities were denied permanent residence, forcing them to reapply for permission to live in Japan every three years. Kim Kyong-duk, a Korean descendant born and raised in Japan, passed the Japanese bar exam in 1976. He was offered the chance to b

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2023

Growth hormone treatment for children spiking in Korea

The number of adolescents receiving growth hormone therapy is increasing rapidly, with the number for the first half of the year already surpassing that of last year. According to data released by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service on Sept. 22, 25,900 adolescents received growth hormone therapy in the first half of this year. This figure was 25,300 last year, which was about double the number recorded in 2020. Growth hormone therapy is prescribed following precise diagnoses throu

Social AffairsSept. 25, 2023

[Bills in Focus] Holding CEOs accountable for lack of internal financial control

Proposed bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies Proposed by Rep. Yoon Han-hong (People Power Party) ● The frequent occurrence of financial accidents has raised the need for financial companies to strengthen the monitoring of their internal control system. To ensure financial companies operate an effective internal control system, this amendment establishes an internal control committee under the board of directors to strengthen the board's responsibilit

PoliticsSept. 25, 2023

N.Korea blasts Yoon for denouncing military ties with Russia at UN

North Korea released scathing criticism filled with abusive language on Monday in response to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's denunciation of internationally prohibited, potential military transactions between Moscow and Pyongyang during his speech at the UN General Assembly. South Korea, however, has opted to disregard the criticism, considering it unworthy of a response. North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency, primarily oriented toward an international audience, re

North KoreaSept. 25, 2023

Political strife may delay Korea’s launch of new space agency

The plan to establish South Korea’s new space body inspired by the US' NASA, called the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) before the end of the year is now apparently off the table, as lawmakers have yet to find the middle ground for KASA’s legislation. The lawmakers of the Science ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee announced on Sept. 5 that they would set up an agenda coordination committee to conduct a series of meetings to come to a conclusion for the special

PoliticsSept. 25, 2023

Yoon's approval rating edges up after 6-day trip to New York

President Yoon Suk Yeol emphasized his diplomatic outreach with 47 heads of state during his trip to New York last week and amplified commitments to boost government assistance at a Cabinet meeting Monday. These diplomatic efforts are expected to lay a cornerstone for enhancing energy infrastructure using atomic and hydrogen power in countries vulnerable to climate change and boosting the international community's access to digital infrastructure, he said. During the livestreamed meeting,

PoliticsSept. 25, 2023

Military out to stern rise in drug use

Drug-related crimes have increased in South Korea’s military according to data that shows a consistent rise in the number of cases inside the barracks in recent years. According to a local news report on Friday, a sergeant first class in the Army was caught purchasing birth control pills containing methamphetamine in March 2019 but was handed a suspended prosecution disposition from the military prosecutor’s office. In April, six soldiers stationed in a division in Yeoncheon, Gyeongg

DefenseSept. 25, 2023

Over half of Koreans want continuous strengthening of alliance with US: poll

More than half of South Koreans are of the opinion that the nation's alliance with the United States should continue to be strengthened, a poll showed Monday. In the poll of 1,238 people aged 18 and older conducted by Gallup Korea from Sept. 4-8, 91.6 percent said the bilateral alliance is important and the majority, 53.7 percent, responded that it should be continuously strengthened. Another 24.9 percent said the alliance should be continuously maintained, whereas only 18.1 percent said it

Foreign AffairsSept. 25, 2023

S. Korea, US stage joint naval drills in East Sea amid NK threats

South Korea and the United States kicked off a combined naval exercise in the East Sea on Monday to reinforce readiness against growing military threats from North Korea, the Navy said. The three-day exercise involved nine vessels and two patrol aircraft from the two sides, including two South Korean submarines, the ROKS Yulgok Yi I destroyer, the USS Shoup Aegis-equipped destroyer and the USS Robert Smalls cruiser, the Navy said. The Navy said the anti-submarine warfare and live-fire drills wer

DefenseSept. 25, 2023