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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

First lady says she hopes to be 'K-culture salesperson'

Korea's first lady Kim Keon Hee visiting the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., U.S. is seen in this April photo provided by the presidential office. YonhapFirst lady Kim Keon Hee has said she hopes to be a "K-culture salesperson" promoting Korean culture and art overseas, according to a recent interview with a U.S. media outlet.In the written interview with Artnet News, an online art journal, published Monday (local time), Kim also said she believes she can serve as a cultural bridge between Korea and the United States, citing her experience organizing major exhibitions of artists, such as Mark Rothko, and discussions she had while accompanying President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit to the U.S. in April."I could sense how greatly the stature of Korean culture and art has risen when I traveled abroad or met with international dignitaries in this first year since the inauguration of President Yoon Suk Yeol," she said, referring to growing interest in a variety of fields, including K-pop, dramas, films, fashion and food."Given Korea's diversity, originality and creativity, ou

Jun 27, 2023
First lady says she hopes to be 'K-culture salesperson'

Yoon mulling replacing unification, industry ministers: source

President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech at a special exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in central Seoul, Sunday. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk Yeol is weighing replacing the unification and industry ministers in a small-scale Cabinet reshuffle, a source at the presidential office said Monday.The source told Yonhap News Agency that Yoon is mulling replacing the chiefs of the unification and industry ministries, but uncertainty still remains due to unspecified "variables."Kim Young-ho, a professor at Sungshin Women's University and the chief of an advisory committee designed to lay out a new vision on unification, is being considered as the most likely successor to Unification Minister Kwon Young-se.Kwon, a longtime politician, reportedly voiced his willingness to return to the ruling party in a bid to run for next year's general elections.Bang Moon-kyu, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is reportedly deemed as a potential successor to Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang.Yoon has b

Jun 26, 2023
Yoon mulling replacing unification, industry ministers: source

Pro-labor 'yellow envelope' bill could imply existing laws need not be kept: presidential office

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, walks into the presidential office in Seoul for a Cabinet meeting, June 13. YonhapA pro-labor bill pushed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea could imply that existing laws need not be kept, raising the need to look at it more seriously, a presidential official said Monday.The DPK, which holds the majority in the National Assembly, has vowed to pass the so-called yellow envelope bill through a plenary session later this week despite opposition from the ruling People Power Party.The bill guarantees the bargaining rights of indirectly employed workers and prohibits litigation for damages and provisional seizures against unionized workers with the aim of suppressing their strikes. This could make it difficult for employers to file complaints against illegal strikes by their workers and exempt laborers from liability for participating in illegal strikes. "The yellow envelope bill could end up implying that existing laws need not be kept, so it needs to be looked at more seriously and we will closely follow deliberations at the National Assemb

Jun 26, 2023
Pro-labor 'yellow envelope' bill could imply existing laws need not be kept: presidential office

Yoon calls for measures to unify foreign labor oversight roles

Presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon gives a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, June 26. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk Yeol instructed Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday to come up with measures to unify the government's oversight responsibilities for the foreign labor force, citing growing labor shortages at industrial sites, his spokesperson said.Yoon gave the instruction during a weekly meeting with Han at his office, saying the labor shortages are becoming serious despite the government's efforts due to "structural" reasons of a decline in the working age population, according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon."The president instructed the prime minister to come up with measures to unify oversight of the foreign labor force, which is scattered across ministries, to ensure it is managed comprehensively and flexibly in line with changes in the market," Lee said during a press briefing."The prime minister reported that he would form a task force to unify oversight of the foreign labor force and swiftly come up with remedies," he said.Currently, the legal and a

Jun 26, 2023
Yoon calls for measures to unify foreign labor oversight roles

Korea's age system to change from Wednesday

Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu speaks during a media briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul, Monday. YonhapAll Koreans to become one or even two years younger under int'l systemBy Jun Ji-hyeKorea will scrap its traditional method of counting a person's age and officially adopt the internationally recognized system beginning this Wednesday, the Ministry of Government Legislation announced Monday.The change comes as the revisions to the Basic Administrative Act and the Civil Act, which were passed by the National Assembly last December to scrap the country's increasingly unpopular custom, are set to take effect that day.This will make all Koreans one or even two years younger, as under the Korean traditional age system, a person is deemed to be a year old at the time of birth and then gains a year every Jan. 1. The international standard calculates a person's age from zero at birth and a year is added on every individual's birthday.For example, as of June 26, a person born on June 30 of 2003 is 19 and turns 20 on June 30 this year under the international system. Bu

Jun 26, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Korea's age system to change from Wednesday

PPP leader to visit THAAD village after gov't concludes no health hazards from battery

Ruling People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon speaks at a meeting of the party's Supreme Council at the National Assembly in Seoul, June 26. YonhapThe leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was to visit a southeastern village hosting a U.S. THAAD missile defense battery on Monday after the government concluded that the battery poses no electromagnetic hazards.Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon plans to attend a briefing on the results of the environmental impact assessment and meet with villagers during the visit to Seongju, 214 kilometers south of Seoul, including tasting melons produced in the region.The trip comes after the environment ministry concluded Wednesday that the maximum amount of electromagnetic waves emanating from the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base ― a key source of concern among local residents ― was just 0.2 percent of a legal safety protection standard.The results debunked years of claims from anti-THAAD activists that electromagnetic waves from the powerful radar at the missile defense battery would leave melons, a key product of the region, withering away

Jun 26, 2023
PPP leader to visit THAAD village after gov't concludes no health hazards from battery

Ethics panel to determine disciplinary action against Rep. Kim Nam-kuk over cryptocurrency dealings

Rep. Kim Nam-kuk appears for a meeting at the Ethics Investigation Advisory Committee regarding his dubious cryptocurrency trading at the National Assembly in Seoul, June 15. NewsisAn advisory panel of the parliamentary ethics committee was to hold a meeting Monday to determine the level of disciplinary measures against independent lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk accused of dubious cryptocurrency dealings.The Ethics Investigation Advisory Committee had held three rounds of meetings since early this month to see if there were any irregularities surrounding Kim's once massive virtual assets holdings, and its chair has said the panel hopes to make a conclusion at its fourth meeting Monday.The first-term lawmaker has come under fire following revelations that he had owned around 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, worth around 6 billion won ($4.5 million), a significant amount inconsistent with his frugal image, spurring suspicions about where the money came from and whether he used insider information.Further fueling criticism of Kim were revelations that the young lawmaker had traded cryptocurrency coin

Jun 26, 2023
Ethics panel to determine disciplinary action against Rep. Kim Nam-kuk over cryptocurrency dealings

Korea to relax requirements for E-7-4 skilled worker visa in bid to tackle labor shortage

Entrance to the Ministry of Justice at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times photo by Lee Han-hoBy Jun Ji-hyeThe Ministry of Justice will relax requirements for the E-7-4 skilled worker visa that guarantees long-term employment, officials said Sunday, noting that its quota will also be increased.The move comes as industries and local governments have called for the need to ease visa requirements for foreign technicians amid deepening labor shortages.Under the current rules, foreign employees who have worked legally in Korea for five years could apply for the E-7-4 visa. The ministry said this requirement will now be reduced to four years. The quota will increase as well. While this year's quota was already set at 5,000, the ministry said it will expedite the granting of the visa to these 5,000 to July instead of the end of the year, and push for expanding the number of visa recipients within the latter half of the year. The number of E-7-4 visa recipients has been increasing consistently from 1,000 in 2020 to 1,250 in 2021 to 2,000 in 2022 and to 5,000 t

Jun 26, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Korea to relax requirements for E-7-4 skilled worker visa in bid to tackle labor shortage

Minor progressive parties seek to unify

Lee Jeong-mi, leader of the minor opposition Justice Party, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoMinor liberal parties seek to unify in the coming months in order to spread their common values more effectively and challenge the two-party system in the general election next year.Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday, Lee Jeong-mi, leader of the minor opposition Justice Party, said she will join forces with those who share similar visions, with a plan to finalize the process by the end of October at the latest.“We will meet with those who agree with the social vision that the Justice Party pursues with a firm determination to challenge the two-party system,” Lee said. “We are seeking to collaborate especially with those in the labor and green activism movements.”There have been reports that several former members of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea such as Rep. Yang Hyang-ja and Keum Tae-seop, a former lawmaker, have also been moving to create a new party. Yang said

Jun 26, 2023By Jung Min-ho
Minor progressive parties seek to unify

Mom's murder of 2 newborns reignites debate over anonymous childbirth

gettyimagesbankVarious values clash including rights to life, rights to know about rootsBy Jun Ji-hyeThe recent arrest of a mother accused of killing her two newborns and keeping their bodies in a freezer at home is reigniting a years-long debate over the need to enact a law allowing women to give birth anonymously in cases of unwanted pregnancy.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Sunday, several related bills are currently pending at the National Assembly, including one submitted in December 2020 by Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the ruling People Power Party. Kim's bill is aimed at allowing pregnant women facing economic or social hardship to give birth without exposing their personal information and to hand their babies over to a local government.Supporters say such a law would prevent women who have unwanted pregnancies from abandoning or even killing their babies, while objectors claim the law would take away children's right to be protected and to know their roots.On Friday, the Suwon District Court issued a warrant to formally arrest the woman in her 30s, charged with strangli

Jun 25, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Mom's murder of 2 newborns reignites debate over anonymous childbirth
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