Govt. to temporarily raise health insurance payments to hospitals for Chuseok holiday

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday the government will temporarily raise health insurance payments to hospitals for the upcoming Chuseok holiday to better reward their services and to prevent disruptions in emergency medical care. During a Cabinet meeting, Yoon addressed concerns over possible disruptions to the medical system during the extended holiday, which starts later this week, as a majority of junior doctors have stayed away from the job since February in protest of a sharp hike in the

Sept. 10, 2024

FSS chief urges banks to curb household debts

The head of the financial watchdog on Tuesday called for banks to curb a continuing rise in household lending. Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the call in a meeting with the heads of 18 banks. "Should we fail to keep household debts at a proper level in the future, it may lead to increased economic burden by expanding market volatility and working as an obstacle to economic growth," Lee told the meeting. Tuesday's meeting follows reports that househo

Sept. 10, 2024

First lady likely to escape 'Dior bag' indictment

First lady Kim Keon Hee is unlikely to be indicted for alleged antigraft rule violations, as the final legal procedure concerning her acceptance of luxury gifts totaling over 5 million won ($3,730), including a Christian Dior bag, has been cleared. Outgoing Prosecutor General Lee One-seok told reporters on Monday on his way to his office in Seocho-gu in southern Seoul that he "respects" the recommendation Friday by a 15-member independent review panel of the Supreme Prosecutors' O

Sept. 9, 2024

Yoon taps ex-police deputy commissioner for security role

President Yoon Suk Yeol tapped former Deputy Police Commissioner Park Jong-joon as the new head of the Presidential Security Service in charge of the security and protection of the South Korean leader, the presidential office announced Monday. Effective Monday, the 59-year-old Park replaced Kim Yong-hyun, who was appointed minister of national defense on Friday to succeed Yoon's new national security adviser Shin Won-sik. Park told reporters Monday that he recognized the safety of a country

Sept. 9, 2024

Opposition slams Yoon for failing to secure formal apology from Japan

The main opposition party slammed President Yoon Suk Yeol of "flattering" his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, accusing him of making consecutive concessions to Tokyo without securing a formal apology or compensation for its historical grievances. A day after the Japanese prime minister left Seoul, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday pledged to revise rules to stop comfort women statues at home and abroad from being defaced or meddled with, withou

Sept. 8, 2024

Rival parties unite to form 4-way body to break med school standoff

South Korea's rival political parties on Friday united in a rare display of bipartisan cooperation to form a four-party consultative body with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the medical community, aiming to jump-start negotiations over the medical school enrollment hike, which have been at the root of health care disruptions since February. People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon proposed the formation of a four-way consultative body, bringing together the Yoon government, ruling and o

Sept. 6, 2024

Prosecution committee recommends to drop charges against first lady over Dior bag acceptance

A panel under South Korea's top prosecutors office on Friday has advised not to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over allegations that she broke the country's antigraft law by accepting a luxury Christian Dior handbag worth 3 million won ($2,248) from a Korean American pastor in 2022. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Investigation Review Committee, consisting of 15 outside experts, held the meeting from 2 p.m. to 7:10 p.m. to deliberate whether she is guilty of six different

Sept. 6, 2024

Yoon approves appointment of new defense minister

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the appointment of Kim Yong-hyun, former head of the Presidential Security Service, as defense minister and presented a certificate of appointment on Friday, his office said. Kim, a retired three-star Army general and close aide to Yoon, was nominated to the post last month to replace then minister Shin Won-sik, who has since served as national security adviser. Following Yoon's election in May 2022, Kim led efforts to relocate the presidential office from C

Sept. 6, 2024

Lawmaker blasted for allegedly asking hospital for favors

A lawmaker with the ruling People Power Party came under fire Thursday for suspicions he solicited favors from a hospital amid disruptions in health care services nationwide. At the plenary meeting of the National Assembly, Rep. Yohan Ihn was photographed by a press camera texting “thanks” on his cellphone to an unidentified recipient who appeared to be telling him about a patient that he knows. In the messages, as captured in the photograph, the person on the other side of the conve

Sept. 5, 2024

Lawmakers blame lack of control tower behind surge in deepfake sex crimes

Both ruling and opposition lawmakers have recently highlighted the need for a solid control tower within the Cabinet to tackle the latest surge in digital sex crimes involving deepfake pornography, while criticizing the weak coordination among ministries tasked with handling the issue. During a parliamentary hearing held by the National Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee on Wednesday, main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Kim Nam-hee blamed the Ministry of Gender Equal

Sept. 5, 2024

Opposition lawmakers reject president's Chuseok gifts

Some opposition party lawmakers took to social media to reject Chuseok gifts sent by President Yoon Suk Yeol, posting photos of the gifts and criticizing the administration. Rep. Kim Joon-hyung of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party posted a picture to Facebook on Wednesday showing him returning the unopened gift to a parcel delivery worker. “I clearly told them not to send gifts,” Kim said in the post. “But just like how he handles diplomacy, appoints ministers as he p

Sept. 5, 2024

South Korean parties discuss limiting noncitizen voting ahead of municipal election

The two main parties of South Korea are looking to enact tougher requirements for foreign permanent residents to vote in local elections, following a meeting of their two leaders on Sunday. At the weekend meeting, People Power Party’s Han Dong-hoon and Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Lee Jae-myung discussed raising the bar for permitting noncitizens with F5 or permanent residency visa status to cast ballots for public offices, sources told The Korea Herald. Following the meeting, th

Sept. 5, 2024

Yoon makes late night visit to hospital ER

President Yoon Suk Yeol made a late night visit to a hospital emergency room Wednesday to encourage medical staff and promise the government's unwavering support amid growing strains on health care services. Yoon visited a regional emergency medical center in Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul as the government began deploying military doctors and public physicians to hospital emergency rooms across the country the same day. His visit came amid mounting concerns hospital ERs in particular

Sept. 4, 2024

[Contribution] Korea can find new hope in rural areas

By Song Mi-ryung, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs Can rural areas in South Korea give the nation new hope? According to an analysis conducted by the Bank of Korea last year, the level of population concentration in Korea’s urban areas was 431.9 percent, more than four times higher than the OECD average of 95.3 percent. This research findings show that, if the country succeeds in lowering its urban population concentration level to the OECD average, then the total fertilit

Sept. 4, 2024

Conflict flares over special counsel bill on Marine's death

Tensions between the rival parties have escalated in recent days over the opposition's move to float a revised version of a special counsel probe bill into the death of a young Marine, as it claimed to have added an earlier suggestion from the ruling party leader into the latest version of the legislation. On Wednesday, the ruling People Power Party and main opposition Democratic Party of Korea clashed over opposition parties' move to propose the latest and fourth version of the bill t

Sept. 4, 2024

Leaders of S. Korea, New Zealand vow to elevate ties

The leaders of South Korea and New Zealand on Wednesday agreed to enhance security cooperation and pledged to elevate bilateral relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" by expanding collaboration in trade, investment, security and technology, according to the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Condemning the growing threat posed by military exchanges between North Korea and Russia as well as Pyongyang's nuclear development program, Yoon and New Zealand's Prime Min

Sept. 4, 2024

Yoon administration proposes 1st hike in pension charges in 27 years to slow fund depletion

The South Korean government on Wednesday laid out plans to raise the mandatory national pension contribution rate by 4 percentage points from the current 9 to 13 percent starting next year, with the intention of extending the life span of the state-sponsored public retirement pension scheme by at least 16 years. This reform plan comes as the national postretirement fund's financial viability remains doubtful, with the country suffering from the double whammy of low birth rates and an aging

Sept. 4, 2024

DP proposes special counsel probe bill on Marine's death for 4th time; PPP unlikely to accept

The main opposition Democratic Party has proposed a bill mandating a special counsel recommended by the Supreme Court chief justice investigate the military's response to a Marine's death last year. The bill, proposed Tuesday, mandates that the chief justice recommend four candidates to the special counsel. They will be narrowed down by the opposition parties to two, from which the president will make the final appointment. The special counsel will be tasked with looking into allegatio

Sept. 4, 2024

Democratic Party fans claims Yoon is planning martial rule

The Democratic Party of Korea continues to fuel unsupported claims that President Yoon Suk Yeol is trying to declare martial law nationwide with his recent shake-up of the defense leadership. Democratic Party lawmakers, including the party’s chair Rep. Lee Jae-myung, have repeatedly raised suspicions that Yoon is preparing to establish martial law in South Korea, claiming to have “sources.” The main opposition party claims that Yoon nominated his close ally Kim Yong-hyun -- ret

Sept. 3, 2024

Outgoing Japanese PM to visit Seoul on Friday

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold talks during Kishida's two-day visit to South Korea from Friday, in what would be his final one-on-one with Yoon before his planned departure from his post, the presidential office announced Tuesday. Yoon's office said in a note to reporters that the talks will highlight the past achievements through bilateral cooperation and ways to boost ties between the two East Asian countries in bilateral, regional and int

Sept. 3, 2024