Articles by Shin Ji-hye
Shin Ji-hye
shinjh@heraldcorp.com-
Moon faces dilemma over Beijing Olympics boycott
The US decision to have its diplomats boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics is posing a dilemma for South Korea, as Washington could prod allies to follow suit, while Seoul hopes to use the games as an opportunity to restart dialogue with Pyongyang. Amid the struggle between the two global superpowers, South Korea has taken an ambiguous diplomatic position, as it values both its security alliance with the US and its economic ties with China. But with Washington’s recent announcement, South
Foreign Affairs Dec. 7, 2021
-
Presidential office creates new technology and cybersecurity role
South Korea’s Office of National Security will establish a new technology and cybersecurity role to take charge of strengthening innovative research capabilities and coordination among related ministries, officials said Tuesday. The launch of the new position, Secretary to the President for Emerging and Critical Technologies and Cybersecurity, comes amid an intensifying global technology competition and a growing need for protecting core technologies such as artificial intelligence and qu
Politics Dec. 7, 2021
-
Korea’s first national administrative legislation committee launched
The National Administrative Legislation Committee has been launched as an advisory body on the administrative legal system at the national level, officials said Friday. The joint public-private committee, which belongs to the Ministry of Government Legislation, will be jointly chaired by Minister Lee Kang-seop and private chairperson Hong Jung-sun, a former professor at Yonsei University. It has a total of 38 members. Members from the private sector include various administrative law expert
Social Affairs Dec. 3, 2021
-
China supports declaration of Korean War’s end: Cheong Wa Dae
Top Chinese Communist Party diplomat Yang Jiechi said the nation supports President Moon Jae-in’s push for the declaration of the end of the Korean War during talks with Korea’s national security adviser Suh Hoon in Tianjin, China, officials said on Friday. Suh’s visit to China was made as a follow-up to Yang’s visit to Seoul in August 2020. They discussed bilateral relations, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and other regional issues. Cheong Wa Dae said Suh ex
Foreign Affairs Dec. 3, 2021
-
Moon’s end of war proposal faces multitude of challenges
President Moon Jae-in hopes to declare the end of the Korean War during his term, but such a declaration without corresponding denuclearization does not guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula and time is too short to untangle complicated interests of all involved parties, experts say. Moon revived the issue, which had remained dormant since the failed 2019 US-North Korea summit -- at the United Nations in September. Since then, Seoul and Washington have discussed the issue, and are reportedly
North Korea Dec. 2, 2021
-
Moon orders stricter immigration measures to block omicron
President Moon Jae-in ordered the government to immediately implement stricter immigration quarantine measures to block the inflow of the omicron variant after receiving a report that a suspected case was found here, officials said Tuesday. Authorities said on the day that a Korean couple, who visited Nigeria, was suspected of having the omicron variant, and is currently conducting a genome test. The results will be confirmed later on Wednesday evening. “The analysis of the new variant
Social Affairs Nov. 30, 2021
-
Home care becomes COVID-19 default
As infections surge and the capacity for beds reaches its limit, the government decided that COVID-19 patients should be treated at home -- with hospital treatment the exception. “New confirmed patients, critically ill patients and deaths are all increasing, and the capacity for beds is getting tighter,” President Moon Jae-in said at the COVID-19 special quarantine inspection meeting Monday. It is the first such meeting in the Seoul metropolitan area since July 12. He said Korea c
Social Affairs Nov. 29, 2021
-
Lee seeks to break away from hard-line image in about-face
The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung appears to have ditched his dogmatic views and hard-line stance, instead opting to woo voters with apologies and tears. On Wednesday, he apologized on behalf of his party for failing to empathize with the “painful hearts of the people,” and got down on his knees, saying he will apologize at every opportunity and bring about changes in the party. A day earlier, Lee apologized for using abusive language against his s
Politics Nov. 25, 2021
-
S. Korea reports first COVID-19 fetal death
A Korean woman had a stillbirth after being confirmed with COVID-19 and the deceased fetus tested positive, officials said Wednesday. It is the first COVID-19 death in Korea in a child under the age of 19. “The route of infection has not been confirmed,” authorities said. “It was a stillbirth case before birth registration, so we decided to separate it from the confirmed cases.” The mother’s gestation period was 24 weeks and she was not vaccinated against COVID-
Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2021
-
New cases soar to new high, PM warns of tougher measures
With Korea’s daily tally rising above 4,000 for the first time since the pandemic began last year, the prime minister said the wider Seoul area might return to stricter restrictions if cases continue to surge. As of Tuesday midnight, the number of new daily cases marked 4,116, with 4,088 locally transmitted. The number of severely ill patients increased by 37 from the previous day to 586, and the number of deaths was 35, the highest since the implementation of phased daily recovery. Pri
Social Affairs Nov. 24, 2021
-
Korea, Costa Rica raise bilateral relations into ‘action-oriented’
South Korea and Costa Rica will upgrade relations and boost their partnership in various fields, the two sides revealed after a summit between President Moon Jae-in and Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada in Seoul on Tuesday. At the summit, the two leaders agreed to develop bilateral relations into an “action-oriented comprehensive partnership” from the current comprehensive partnership and adopted a joint declaration to promote collaboration. “Next year is a speci
Politics Nov. 23, 2021
-
Chun Doo-hwan dies at 90
Chun Doo-hwan, who was president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988 after seizing power in a military coup and whose reign was marked by the brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju in 1980, died Tuesday. He was 90 years old. He died less than a month after Roh Tae-woo, one of his closest aides in the 1979 coup, who was elected president after democracy protests forced Chun to stand down. Chun, who had multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, died at 8:40 a.m. at his home in Y
Social Affairs Nov. 23, 2021
-
Moon says real estate issues ‘most regrettable’
President Moon Jae-in cited issues surrounding real estate as the most regrettable during his term in a live conversation with the public Sunday night. During a live talk with around 300 people attending for over 1 1/2 hours, Moon answered questions on the response to the pandemic, people's livelihoods and post-pandemic tasks. Moon said, "The most regrettable thing is that we did not give enough opportunities for people who don’t own homes, ordinary people and young people and new
Politics Nov. 21, 2021
-
Yoon Seok-youl’s election committee takes shape
The main opposition People Power Party’s presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl on Sunday finalized the leadership of his election committee, reaching across the aisle to shape his campaign. Former interim leader Kim Chong-in will head the election committee, and current and former party leaders Lee Jun-seok and Kim Byong-joon become standing committee chairmen. Former Democratic Party leader Kim Han-gil serves as chairman of the so-called New Era Preparatory Committee. Yoon revealed
Politics Nov. 21, 2021
-
Presidential candidates’ wives under fire
The spouses of key presidential candidates have been making headlines for days and are finding themselves at the center of allegations, rumors and even mockery. Kim Kun-hee, wife of the main opposition People Power Party’s candidate, Yoon Seok-youl, has been mired in allegations of stock price manipulation related to the used car dealership Deutsch Motors. The prosecution arrested Deutsch Motors CEO Kwon Oh-soo on Tuesday. Kwon is suspected of playing a leading role in manipulating th
Politics Nov. 18, 2021
Most Popular
-
1
Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
-
2
Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
-
3
Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
-
4
Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
-
5
Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
-
6
[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
-
7
[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
-
8
North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
-
9
Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
-
10
Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023