Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
South Korea plans overhaul of mental health policy
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday vowed an overhaul of the nation's mental health policy as he presided over the first meeting of a presidential committee dedicated to expanding state support and changing the general perception toward mental illness. The government will start injecting an expanded state budget to address people's mental health starting next year. According to a senior official from the presidential office who declined to be named, the state support package is estima
Politics June 26, 2024
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Yoon condemns NK-Russia pact as 'step back in history'
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday denounced a pact signed between North Korea and Russia last week as "an anachronistic act" that goes against the progress of history and Pyongyang's repeated provocations as "despicable and irrational." During his televised speech to mark the 74th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, Yoon said the pact, which forges stronger military and economic cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, "blatantly violat
Politics June 25, 2024
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Opposition ramps up calls for Yoon's impeachment
Opposition politicians are raising the possibility of impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol as they push for a bill to investigate his alleged meddling in the investigation of a soldier's death. Opposition parties, which hold a strong majority in South Korea's National Assembly, plan to reintroduce a bill to launch a special counsel probe of alleged interference in a Marine Corps internal investigation following the death of a Marine last summer. On Monday, Rep. Jang Kyung-tae, an outspok
Politics June 24, 2024
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Seoul says weapon aid to Ukraine 'depends on Russia's reaction'
South Korea will map out plans to send weapons to Ukraine, depending on how Russia would react to Seoul's statement which hinted at a review of arms support in response to the development of Russia-North Korea relations on Thursday, according to the presidential office Friday. The office added that many options concerning the weapons aid to Ukraine could be taken into consideration and that South Korea will continue its "comprehensive support" to Ukraine. Seoul, however, denied th
Politics June 21, 2024
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Seoul summons Russian ambassador over Kim-Putin talks
Seoul on Friday summoned Georgy Zinoviev, ambassador of Russia to South Korea, to express its discontent over the elevated ties between North Korea and Russia that would commit each other to provide military assistance in the event of armed aggression to the other. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Zinoviev to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Seoul and explained Seoul's stance on the bilateral pact of North Korea and Russia signed Wednesday, according to the
Politics June 21, 2024
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Seoul mulls 'arms support' for Ukraine after Russia-NK pact
South Korea on Thursday said it would review its arms support to Ukraine, while expressing serious concern over a summit between the leaders of North Korea and Russia where the two agreed to provide military assistance if either country is under attack. While unveiling plans to impose additional sanctions on North Korean and Russian individuals and institutions, National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin told reporters in a briefing in Seoul that the office will "reconsider the issue of providi
Foreign Affairs June 20, 2024
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How will Kim-Putin summit affect China?
Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang on Wednesday to hold talks with his counterpart, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, will likely pose hurdles on China's diplomatic front regardless of the outcome of the meeting, according to reports and observers closely watching the rare encounter between the leaders of the two isolated regimes. Experts in Seoul, prior to the summit in North Korea, said that the talks between Putin and Kim would weaken China's influence on Nort
Politics June 19, 2024
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S. Korea plans support for workers who cover for colleagues with kids
South Korea's Cabinet approved a bill Tuesday to reward employees taking up the duties of coworkers who work reduced hours for child care with government subsidies. Effective on July 1, the revision will allow the government to make up for the employers' compensation to employees who handled the tasks of co-workers who, for example, leave the workplace early for child care purposes. Moreover, parents of young children who work two hours fewer than the regular working hours every day in
Social Affairs June 18, 2024
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Korea's largest doctors' group begins full-scale strike despite warnings
Thousands of doctors affiliated with the largest coalition of neighborhood practitioners in South Korea launched a full-scale, one-day strike on Tuesday, despite the government's return-to-work order and threat to disband the organization. The Korean Medical Association, representing some 140,000 doctors, mostly self-employed practitioners, pleaded to the public that it is the "last chance" to salvage the nation's health care from the brink of collapse. Some 50,000 people wer
Social Affairs June 18, 2024
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Seoul cautions Moscow on Putin's NK visit
Seoul has warned Moscow against "going beyond a certain point," amid reports that Russia and North Korea are seeking to deepen their military ties during President Vladimir Putin's imminent visit to Pyongyang. National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin told Yonhap News TV on Sunday evening that Seoul has "cautioned his Russian counterpart that Russia should not go beyond a certain point." "Our intelligence suggests that there is room for (Russia and North Korea) to adop
Politics June 17, 2024
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Yoon returns amid tensions over Putin's Pyongyang visit
President Yoon Suk Yeol returned home Sunday after a weeklong trip to three Central Asian countries amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula with an imminent summit between the leaders of Russia and North Korea in Pyongyang this week, which has sparked concerns about closer military ties. Amid reports on Putin's visit to North Korea, the first in 24 years, Yoon's office on Friday officially "confirmed" his visit, stressing that it would closely examine countermeasures to
Politics June 16, 2024
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Yoon returns to Seoul after Central Asia trip
President Yoon Suk Yeol returned to Seoul early Sunday morning as the couple wrapped up the state visits to three Central Asian countries. Yoon on Saturday flew from the ancient city of Samarkand, about 270 kilometers southwest of Uzbekistan's capital city Tashkent, for his final engagement with his counterpart, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Mirziyoyev formerly served as the governor of the Samarkand region from 2001 to 2003. They visited historical sites that used to be the center of
Politics June 16, 2024
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Yoon visits ancient Uzbek city, wraps up Central Asia trip
SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol visited ancient city of Samarkand before wrapping up the state visits to three Central Asian countries, according to the presidential office on Saturday. Flying about 270 kilometers southwest of Uzbekistan's capital city Tashkent, Yoon and his counterpart, Uzbek President President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, visited historic sites of what served as the center of the Timurid Empire in the 14th century, such as a public square Registan and Gur-e-Amir,
Politics June 15, 2024
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Seoul, Washington, Tokyo to keep close tabs on Putin's visit to NK
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- South Korea, the United States and Japan will join forces to analyze the process and the outcome of Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to North Korea for the first time in 24 years. According to an official of the presidential office who spoke on condition of anonymity, South Korea will "together analyze the process and the outcome" of Putin's visit to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in line with its "close and frequent com
Politics June 14, 2024
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Yoon, Mirziyoyev agree on S. Korea's 1st export of bullet trains to Uzbekistan
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Uzbek counterpart, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, held a summit Friday to bolster their "special strategic partnership" in fields not limited to infrastructure and mineral resources. Notably, with the two leaders present at the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, South Korea-based heavy industry firm Hyundai Rotem and state-run Uzbekistan Railways signed a 270 billion won ($195.7 million) deal to export South Kore
Politics June 14, 2024
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