Police are reviewing whether to seek an arrest warrant against a South Korean man caught attempting to cross the inter-Korean border to defect to the North. According to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, they are investigating a 34-year-old man surnamed Suh, who was arrested early on Sunday after he was found attempting to cross the border near the Unification Bridge, located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.  Unification Bridge in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (Yonhap)It is his seco

North Korea Aug. 13, 2018

MANILA, Philippines -- Digitalization and information communications technology have become indispensable in everyday life. From serious traffic congestions to establishing a city administration program, digitalization plays a key part, drawing out more convenient ways to get things done.To gain insight to the different implications of digitalization, some 70 youths from South Korea, Japan, China and 10 ASEAN countries participated in the 2018 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop organized by ASEA

Foreign Affairs Aug. 12, 2018

Law sets out the standards and principles of society. It tells people what is right and wrong, and gives clear-cut answers to conflicting situations. But revision is necessary for the law to properly represent society because it is a set of man-made conventions. The Ministry of Government Legislation takes that role, from breaking down difficult legal terms to finding and fixing major flaws in existing laws. “It is a legal adviser that manages the legislative actions of all administrative bodies

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2018

The National Assembly is under fire following revelations that politicians have been taking overseas trips funded by state organizations, as well as pocketing special activities funds. On Wednesday, the National Assembly said it would refer lawmakers suspected of having taken such illicit overseas trips to the ethics committee if irregularities are found. The announcement came after the state-run Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission revealed in late July that 38 incumbent lawmakers were s

Politics Aug. 9, 2018

The government’s passage of a human rights action plan, which recommends introducing laws prohibiting discrimination, has been hit by severe opposition from religious groups.On Tuesday, the government passed the National Plan of Action for Human Rights in a Cabinet meeting, to serve as human rights guidelines in effect from 2018 to 2022.The action plan, released by the Justice Ministry, carries 272 policy instructions in eight categories of human rights goals -- such as protecting the rights of

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2018

The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday welcomed the government’s response that the country would not abolish the refugee law and called for further efforts to reduce prejudice against refugees.In a statement, the commission’s chief Lee Seong-ho said it is the “responsibility” of a member state of the international society to accept refugees in the country. It called on the government to review the low acceptance rate of refugees and to hire more officials to review refugee status applic

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2018

The independent counsel team looking into a massive opinion-rigging scandal will summon South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo again for questioning.The independent counsel team said in a press briefing Tuesday that it has not completed its investigation of Kim, who is suspected of colluding with a power blogger nicknamed “Druking” to manipulate internet comments in order to sway public opinion in favor of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo

Politics Aug. 7, 2018

Kim Kyoung-soo, a provincial governor and key aide to President Moon Jae-in, was questioned by special prosecutors on Monday over allegations that he colluded with a power blogger to manipulate political comments online in order to sway public opinion. Kim, governor of South Gyeongsang Province, appeared in front of the independent counsel team’s office in Seoul at 9:30 a.m. He denied his involvement in the opinion-rigging case. “I have asked for the independent counsel investigation for this ca

Politics Aug. 6, 2018

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles featuring inter-Korean relations to mark the paper’s 65th anniversary that falls on Aug. 15. Following is the second installment. -- Ed As the two Koreas strive to improve relations, a stalled project to bridge the linguistic gap between them could be revived. While Korean is the official language of the two Koreas, the forms of the language spoken by South and North Koreans have drifted apart as a result of the differing cultures and social sy

North Korea Aug. 5, 2018

South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo is to be questioned Monday over his alleged collusion with a blogger who is standing trial over a political opinion-rigging scheme.The independent counsel team led by special prosecutor Huh Ik-bum is expected to grill Kim at its office in Seoul from 9:30 a.m. The special investigators believe the former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea could be an accomplice of Kim Dong-won, the blogger nicknamed “Druking,” in the online opinion-rigging case. 

Politics Aug. 5, 2018

The UN Human Rights Committee recently concluded that South Korea had violated the international human rights law in mandating foreign teachers take HIV and drug tests to be issued or granted the extension of visas.In a finding dated July 31, the committee ruled in favor of a petition filed in 2013 by an American teacher, and requested the government to provide adequate compensation to the petitioner. The policy was introduced in December 2007. The HIV testing part was scrapped in 2017, followin

Social Affairs Aug. 2, 2018

The extreme heat wave gripping the Korean Peninsula is forecast to reach its highest temperature in the coming days, the state weather agency said on Tuesday. While the day time high in Seoul rose to 38.3 degrees Celsius around 3 p.m. Tuesday, the figure is likely rise to 39 C on Wednesday, the highest temperature in the city since the government started compiling the data in 1907, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. (Yonhap)On Tuesday, KMA issued additional extreme heat wave w

Social Affairs July 31, 2018

Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life mourned the death of iconic liberal politician Roh Hoe-chan of the Justice Party, who took his own life last week amid allegations of receiving illegal political funds. Over 72,300 visitors lined up day and night to pay tribute at the 40 memorial altars set up across the nation, and politicians across the aisle expressed their condolences for the late politician. On Monday, Justice Party Chairwoman Lee Jeong-mi expressed gratitude for people’s s

Politics July 30, 2018

When Lee Young-moo entered Hanyang University as a student in 1973, the school’s emphasis on its founding principle, “Love in Deed and Truth” did not mean much. But as he got older, the principle could not have been more right, the now university president said. Hanyang University which was established as Korea’s first private engineering institute (DongA Engineering Institute) in 1939, is striving to become the No.1 university in the field of social innovation.“As far as universities are concer

Social Affairs July 29, 2018

Thousands gathered to bid farewell to the late politician Roh Hoe-chan of the Justice Party in a ceremony at the National Assembly on Friday.　Amid scorching heat that reached 33 degrees Celsius at 10 a.m., lawmakers, families and supporters stood at Jeonghyungwan in front of the National Assembly building to pay their last respects to the iconic liberal lawmaker.(Yonhap)“You were a just man. You had progressive values and have been a symbol of liberal politics,” National Assembly Speaker Moon He

Politics July 27, 2018