A former South Korean ambassador for representing the interests of 7.5 million overseas Koreans is the top candidate to lead a new agency to be set up early next month for exclusively overseeing such roles, according to reports quoting senior officials at the presidential office Tuesday. Lee Ki-cheol, the ambassador, served as Seoul’s chief envoy to the Netherlands and consul general in Los Angeles after leaving the post. He is currently secretary-general of UNICEF Korea. The move to estab

Foreign Affairs May 23, 2023

A soldier in his 20s was shot dead during a regular shooting exercise at an Army base in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, the Army said Monday, calling the incident an accident. The private first class, whose name was withheld, was shot by an assault rifle in the head and was in a state of cardiac arrest when first responders arrived at the scene. He died after he was taken to a nearby civilian hospital. “We will closely work with civilian police and offer whatever help necessary to the investig

Defense May 22, 2023

South Korea and Germany agreed on Sunday to sign a military deal on sharing their military secrets to streamline supply chains involving the two countries’ defense industries. The summit, which took place at the presidential office in Seoul following the two leaders’ participation in the Group of Seven summit in Japan the same day, is the latest efforts by Yoon to partner with democracies to put checks on North Korea amid its escalating nuclear threats. “Germany understands th

Foreign Affairs May 21, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held talks meant to discuss efforts for denuclearizing North Korea and improving economic ties, as they mark 140 years of relations in Seoul on Sunday. As of press time, details of the discussion had not been disclosed. Yoon’s spokesperson Lee Doo-woon previously said, “The summit is an opportunity to deepen cooperation over economic security and also over regional and global issues.” Lee was referring to supply chain co

Politics May 21, 2023

South Korean authorities have detained a group of North Koreans that crossed the maritime border in the West Sea on a fishing boat two weeks ago for questioning, a senior official in Seoul said Thursday. “We were tracking their movements well before the group approached the Northern Limit Line,” the official said, referring to the maritime border. “Authorities are looking into the motive as per protocol.” The official, however, did not say how many North Koreans had cross

North Korea May 18, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau agreed to build on common economic and security priorities set out in their Indo-Pacific strategies at a summit in Seoul on Wednesday. The highlight of the three-day trip by Trudeau that ends Thursday comes as Yoon seeks economic partners while attracting support for his efforts for North Korean denuclearization. “We have jointly denounced growing nuclear threats from North Korea, which thwart regional peace and stability. W

Foreign Affairs May 17, 2023

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska called for “more radical” support to push back against Russia’s war in the country, saying a visit to her country by its friends like President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee would rally Ukrainians. "Indeed, when there is a criminal in the house, the owners clearly need not only humanitarian aid, food and medicine, but something more radical to drive the criminal out," she said in a written interview with Yonhap News

Foreign Affairs May 16, 2023

Eyes are on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s upcoming diplomatic engagements, with some speculating how the coming weeks could influence his still-low popularity at home, which has seen improvement since summits with the US and Japanese leaders. The five-day Realmeter poll conducted from May 8-12 found that 36.8 percent of Koreans approve of Yoon’s job performance -- a steady rise from three weeks ago, when the figure stood at 32.6 percent in the same weekly poll. In the last week of April,

Politics May 15, 2023

South Korea and Japan agreed on a visit by Korean experts to the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant ahead of releasing the plant’s treated but still radioactive water, amid lingering health concerns over the diluted water. The delegation, decided on at a nearly 12-hour meeting in Seoul that ran past midnight Saturday, has yet to finalize details like the facilities it will review, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said following the meeting. Korea has said the tour is meant to “revi

Foreign Affairs May 14, 2023

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, British minister of state for the Indo-Pacific region, will discuss security and business ties with her South Korean counterpart during a two-day trip starting Thursday, the UK Embassy in Seoul said. The two countries, marking 140 years of diplomatic relations this year, are expected to focus on boosting “economic security,” the embassy highlighted, describing the UK’s commitment to “partner with dynamic and fast-growing economies in the region&rdquo

Foreign Affairs May 11, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol will discuss expanding ties with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at talks Wednesday next week, ahead of their plans to take part in the Group of Seven meeting in Japan from May 19-21. Yoon’s office said the three-day visit by Trudeau that starts Tuesday offers an “opportunity for the two friendly countries sharing such universal values as freedom, democracy and the rule of law to discuss a plan for future cooperation.” Last year, Seoul and Ottawa

Foreign Affairs May 11, 2023

진행자: 최시영, Ali Abbot 1. Yoon nudges Musk for Korea investment 기사요약: 윤석열 대통령이 방미를 계기로 별도 접견한 일론 머스크 테슬라 회장에 기가팩토리 한국 투자를 요청했고 이에 머스크가 확답은 생략한 채 검토를 긍정적으로 약속. [1] President Yoon Suk Yeol asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to expand investment in South Korea, “an ideal place” for such high-tech investments, at a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a summit with his US counterpart in Washington this week. --expand investment: 투자 확대하다 /increase, deepen, step up --on the sidelines: ~를 계기로

Podcast May 11, 2023

POCHEON, Gyeonggi Province -- The weapons systems developed by South Korea not only are efficient, but also offer opportunities to enhance defense ties, according to the top Chilean and Czech envoys in South Korea. The two ambassadors were speaking to reporters following live-fire drills conducted by the Korean Army during a May 2 demonstration. The event, held for the first time for foreign diplomats in Seoul, was the latest highlight of the push by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration to secure po

Foreign Affairs May 10, 2023

Improving ties between South Korea and Japan will open the door to a new future where the two countries, along with the US, can bolster the current coalition working on North Korea’s denuclearization, President Yoon said Tuesday, a day before his first anniversary of taking office. Speaking at a weekly Cabinet meeting, Yoon lauded closer Seoul-Tokyo relations prompted by his summits with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in March and May -- a revival of regular visits to each other&rsq

Politics May 9, 2023

The latest remarks by the Japanese prime minister over Korean victims of forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 rule of the peninsula have raised more questions than answers as the two countries seek closer ties by ending the dispute, experts said Monday. “I personally feel my heart ache at the thought of countless people having gone through very challenging and sad times under extreme conditions,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference Sunday, following talks wit

Foreign Affairs May 8, 2023