Articles by Kim Arin
Kim Arin
arin@heraldcorp.com-
Seoul rights envoy urges attention to women in North Korea
Lee Shin-wha, South Korean ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights, said the situation of women and girls in North Korea “deserves a special focus” ahead of a Seoul conference on Monday. “The state of human rights is alarming in North Korea, and especially so for women,” she told The Korea Herald. “More North Korean women now contribute to the household economy as breadwinners and yet they are still expected to meet patriarchal demands
Politics Jan. 30, 2023
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Ministry blasted over rape law U-turn
South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has come under fire for withdrawing plans to expand the legal definition of rape to non-consensual sex on the same day it was announced. The move would have ended the requirement in South Korea for the threat or use of force to be in evidence in order for an act to count as rape. Park Ji-hyun, who was briefly interim chair of the opposition Democratic Party, said in a Facebook statement Friday, “If nonconsensual sex isn’t rap
Social Affairs Jan. 27, 2023
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Yoon may revisit law letting police handle espionage cases: ruling party
President Yoon Suk Yeol is rethinking the new law that will let police handle espionage cases, according to the ruling People Power Party spokesperson Yang Kum-hee. In December 2020, the laws on the National Intelligence Service were amended to forfeit the intelligence agency of the authority to investigate crimes related to North Korean espionage and other foreign meddling. The controversial amendment was unilaterally passed by the Democratic Party of Korea. Yang said there was “shared un
Politics Jan. 27, 2023
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Democratic Party ramps up attacks on Yoon over North Korean drone incursion
The opposition Democratic Party of Korea went after the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s national security strategy on Thursday in a bid to keep the ruling People Power Party on the defense. Democratic Party floor leader Rep. Park Hong-keun convened an emergency meeting, in which he said that the “incompetence of the administration was threatening the security of the country.” “North Korean drones intruded into our airspace and revealed critical security gaps, and yet the r
Politics Jan. 26, 2023
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[From the Scene] ‘Zero-COVID’ is over. Why are Chinese still protesting?
China’s strict “zero-COVID” policy ended last month, but the movement of defiance against Chinese President Xi Jinping continues. On Lunar New Year’s Eve on Saturday, a small group of Chinese people gathered near the Embassy of China in Seoul for the fourth “white-paper” protest to take place here. The movement against COVID-19 restrictions came to be known as white-paper protests after people in China held up blank sheets of papers to express discontent and d
Social Affairs Jan. 25, 2023
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In trial on border killing, ex-Moon officials deny cover-up
Former top intelligence and security officials of the previous Moon Jae-in administration denied at the first hearing held Friday that they tried to cover up North Korean troops killing a South Korean government official at sea in 2020. Appearing at court, the lawyer representing former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won said he “denies all that is written in the indictment.” According to the indictment Seoul prosecutors submitted to the National Assembly, Park order
Politics Jan. 20, 2023
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Ex-intel chief denies Moon let spies get away
Park Jie-won, former head of the National Intelligence Service, on Friday denied criticism that the intelligence agency was lax on counterespionage investigations under the previous Moon Jae-in administration. People Power Party Rep. Sung Il-jong claimed in Friday’s meeting of the ruling party leadership that the Moon administration “let spy activities slide” and “tried to debilitate the NIS by stripping the intelligence agency of the authority to investigate North Korean
Politics Jan. 20, 2023
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Face masks no longer required indoors in Korea from Jan. 30
Starting Jan. 30, wearing face masks will no longer be required indoors in Korea -- a move that comes three years after the mandate was introduced. Prime Minister Han Duk-soo told a government meeting Friday that with the exception of some high-risk places including hospitals, pharmacies and public transit, face masks will cease being mandatory. “COVID-19 cases have been on the decline for three weeks in a row, and the situation has remained stable in Korea,” he said, adding that he
Social Affairs Jan. 20, 2023
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Defector-turned-lawmaker announces bid for ruling party decision-maker
Rep. Tae Yong-ho, who was a North Korean diplomat before he defected in 2016, on Thursday announced his bid to run for the Supreme Council member of the ruling People Power Party. Speaking at a press conference, he said as someone who has known the North Korean regime from the inside, he believes he has a “historical responsibility” to put his experience to greater use. “Sooner or later, North Korea’s regime will find itself in an existential crisis. If we are prepared, w
Politics Jan. 19, 2023
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A look back on three years of COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
Three years ago on Friday, South Korea detected its first case of COVID-19 or novel coronavirus disease as it was known then. Since then, the total count of cumulative cases here reached 29,927,958, as of midnight Wednesday. This means that about 58 percent of the population in South Korea have tested positive for the virus, public health authorities say. The country is now readying to move on from the pandemic. As the threat of a winter surge abates, public health authorities are now debating w
Social Affairs Jan. 19, 2023
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Bereaved father collapses as Itaewon disaster probe ends in partisan row
Father who lost his son to the Itaewon crowd crush in October of last year collapsed Tuesday as the last day of the National Assembly probe turned into a row between the ruling and opposition parties. The father of late Lee Ji-han, who died at age 24 on the night of the disaster in central Seoul, was taken to a nearby hospital by an ambulance after collapsing near the end of the final plenary session of the parliamentary probe. He had to be escorted out of Tuesday’s session, after crying u
Politics Jan. 17, 2023
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Democratic Party accuses Yoon of ‘kowtowing to Japan’
The Democratic Party of Korea held a series of emergency meetings Monday, accusing the Yoon Suk Yeol administration of “being subservient” to Japan with its apparent plan for compensating victims of colonial forced labor. “The Yoon administration is willing to give up everything if it means mending ties with Japan,” Democratic Party head Rep. Lee Jae-myung said at the meeting convened by the party’s committee on peace and foreign affairs. “The administration m
Politics Jan. 16, 2023
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Ex-intel chief deleted records to conceal North Korean murder of South Korean: prosecutors
The former head of the National Intelligence Service of Korea, Park Jie-won, ordered the deletion of all intelligence reports on North Korean troops killing South Korean government official Lee Dae-jun on Sept. 22, 2020 at sea, according to an indictment submitted to the National Assembly on Thursday. Park “had officials at the National Intelligence Service delete intelligence reports related to Lee Dae-jun’s case, which is not part of their duty,” and “destroyed records
Politics Jan. 13, 2023
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Democratic Party of Korea head Lee asks to meet with Yoon for unity
The head of main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, Rep. Lee Jae-myung asked for a meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, saying the conservative administration was not making an effort to bring the parties together. The party chair repeated his request for a meeting with the president at the press conference held just two days after he was summoned by prosecutors in an investigation into allegations that he solicited bribes while he was mayor of Seognam, Gyeonggi Province. In Sept
Politics Jan. 12, 2023
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Ex-security chief hid North Korea killing South Korean to shield Moon: prosecutors
Suh Hoon, an ex-national security and intelligence chief, ordered the cover-up of the killing of a South Korean official by North Korean troops at sea in 2020 over concerns the incident would prompt criticism of then-President Moon Jae-in, according to an indictment Seoul prosecutors submitted to the National Assembly. Seoul prosecutors said in the indictment written Dec. 9 that while Suh was the top national security adviser at Cheong Wa Dae, he told staff to keep the death of the official disc
Politics Jan. 11, 2023
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