Members of the center-left Democratic Party of Korea's old guard, each of them with political careers spanning several decades, made a splendid comeback in Wednesday’s general election in South Korea. The victories of Park Jie-won, Choo Mi-ae and Chung Dong-young are expected to give more strength to the opposition camp, which delivered a crushing defeat to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his conservative People Power Party. Choo, who will be returning to the National Assembly for a sixth term

Politics April 11, 2024

With exit polls predicting a bigger than expected victory for the liberal opposition Democratic Party and its allies, approaching the critical two-thirds majority, on Wednesday evening, the mood among the main two parties stood in stark contrast to each other. "With a humble heart, we will observe the people's choice until the very end," said Lee Jae-myung, the party's chief, looking unfazed by the apparent victory. Yet, a festive mood could not be hidden, as party official

Politics April 10, 2024

As South Koreans vote Wednesday to elect all 300 members of the National Assembly, there are some crucial questions and pivotal issues to keep an eye on. Here, The Korea Herald highlights three focal points before the results come in. 1. How big will the liberal presence be? The election's likely victor appears clear: the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The question is, how big will their win be? The liberal party held onto an absolute majority position in the previous parlia

Politics April 10, 2024

In elections, the big shot politicians don’t always get to clinch easy wins. In the April 10 general election, five prominent figures of South Korean party politics are vying for parliamentary seats via constituency races. The outcomes of these contests are poised to have a significant potential impact on their future paths. A defeat, in particular, could cast their political futures into doubt. How will they fare? Below is an overview of the five races. Lee Jun-seok Lee Jun-seok, who,

Politics April 9, 2024

Herald Corp. has set out to promote globalizing and spreading the value of the Korean language in partnership with the National Hangeul Museum. Herald Corp. CEO Choi Jin-young signed a business agreement with Kim Il-hwan, the director of the National Hangeul Museum, to spread the culture of the Korean language at the media firm’s headquarters in Seoul on March 28. Under the agreement, the two organizations have agreed to collaborate in nurturing cultural projects based on Hangeul. Specif

Social Affairs April 1, 2024

The owner of a tangerine orchard has been detained for deliberately poisoning birds on Jeju Island, police said on Friday. The owner faces charges of violating the Wildlife Protection and Management Act after injecting pesticides into tangerines with a syringe, leading to the deaths of approximately 200 birds, including birds like the bull-headed shrike and the light-vented bulbul. This act was carried out in the orchard in Namwon-eup, Seogwipo City. The arrest followed reports to the local po

Social Affairs March 29, 2024

Police have initiated an investigation into a candidate for the National Assembly who has taken it upon himself to forcefully detain and inspect migrant workers, a local media outlet reported Wednesday. Police in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and Daegu received multiple complaints alleging that Park Jin-jae, a candidate for the Liberty Unification Party, has been accosting people who appear to be migrant workers, according to a report by the Kyunghyang Shinmun. The Liberty Unification P

Politics March 28, 2024

Find the answer at the bottom. Retro has become the latest dessert fad in South Korea. Dubbed “halmaenial,” the trend has seen millennials embrace the tastes and preferences traditionally associated with their grandparents' generation. Halmaenial is a portmanteau of "halmae," the Korean word for granny, and "millennial." Enjoying renewed popularity are traditional Korean snacks yanggaeng, yakgwa and yugwa. Recently, yanggaeng, or sweet red bean jelly, has s

Hashtag Korea March 27, 2024

Regular exercise at least twice a week significantly reduces sleep disorders, according to a recent study conducted by an Icelandic college. A research team led by Erla Bjornsdottir from the University of Reykjavik, Iceland, disclosed a link between physical activity and insomnia. The study analyzed data from 44,000 participants over a decade across nine European countries, with findings published in The BMJ, a British medical journal, Wednesday. The team analyzed data from 4,399 individuals who

Social Affairs March 27, 2024

The state-run Korea Environment Corporation in Seo-gu, Incheon, became the latest site to host a Climate Clock on Monday, marking the tenth installation of the clock in South Korea. This significant event continues the journey that began in 2021, when the Herald Corp. headquarters in Seoul unveiled Asia's first digital Climate Clock, underscoring the nation’s growing commitment to environmental awareness and action. The Climate Clock is a visually compelling reminder of the urgent n

Social Affairs March 26, 2024

A majority of large companies in South Korea disadvantage applicants who craft their resumes using artificial intelligence services, such as ChatGPT, according to a survey released Sunday. The Labor Ministry and the Korea Employment Information Service unveiled a report on employment trends in the second half of 2023, which was based on a survey of human resource managers at the nation’s top 500 companies by sales. The survey was conducted from Nov. 20 to Dec. 22 last year, with 315 out of

Industry March 25, 2024

The Supreme Court on Sunday upheld a previous ruling that acquitted a man on charges of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, noting that the act did not apply in the case of this man, who secretly recorded his wife's conversation using a home camera and shared the contents of the recording with a third party. In February 2020, a man installed a home camera with a recording function in the living room of the apartment he shared with his wife in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk. The c

Social Affairs March 25, 2024

In a swift, life-saving operation that was made public Wednesday, police in Seoul’s Seongbu District last week traced an emergency phone call in just 6 minutes and saved a girl from choking. The call lasted just 25 seconds, with only the sound of sobbing heard. On March 14, officers dispatched to a house in Anam-dong identified as the origin of the call found a 4-year-old girl lying unconscious after her neck became caught in the cord of a window blind. They performed CPR and after about

Social Affairs March 20, 2024

Huh Kyung-young, a cult leader, singer and fringe politician who has run in presidential elections multiple times, faces accusations of sexually harassing over 20 female followers. He has denied the allegations. The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police said Tuesday that 22 members of “Sky Palace,”a cult group founded and led by Huh, filed complaints, asking the police to investigate the leader’s alleged misconduct. They claimed that at the cult’s headquarters in Yangju, Gye

Politics March 19, 2024

A South Korean man was arrested for breaking into a livestock lab in Jangsu County, North Jeolla Province, and stealing the semen of a Korean bull of high genetic significance, local police said Monday. According to the county police, the suspect, a meat industry insider in his 30s, is alleged to have broken into the laboratory around 8 p.m. on March 8 and committed the theft. He stored the stolen semen in a cryogenic nitrogen container which he had to preserve its condition. The suspect was i

Social Affairs March 18, 2024