Yoon names new labor minister, ambassadors to Japan, Australia

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday named the chief of a state diplomatic academy as the new ambassador to Japan and a former Navy chief as the ambassador to Australia, his office said. Park Cheol-hee, an expert on Japan and the current head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, was nominated as the top envoy to Tokyo, while retired Navy Adm. Sim Seung-seob, a former chief of naval operations, was nominated as the top envoy to Canberra. Yoon also named Kim Moon-soo, head of the presidential

PoliticsJuly 31, 2024

Seoul mayor stresses cooperation among capitals of South Korea, China, Japan

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has called for restoring cooperation among the capital cities of South Korea, China and Japan during a meeting with Beijing's mayor, officials said Wednesday. The meeting with Beijing Mayor Yin Yong took place Tuesday as Oh was in the Chinese capital as part of a nine-day trip that also took him to France. It marked the first senior-level meeting between the capital cities since 2018. "Exchanges between local governments are very important," Oh said during t

Foreign AffairsJuly 31, 2024

Appellate court dismisses compensation collection bid by victims of Japan's sexual enslavement

An attempt by victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery to collect court-ordered compensation from the Japanese government has fallen through as Tokyo refused to submit a list of its assets in South Korea. The case involves several Korean victims of Japan's sexual enslavement during World War II, who won a damages suit against the Japanese government in early 2021, securing a claim of 100 million won ($72,364) in compensation per person. However, Japan refused to pay the ordered compen

Foreign AffairsJuly 31, 2024

Lee Jin-sook appointed as broadcast watchdog chief despite opposition protest

Lee Jin-sook, the nominee to head South Korea's broadcasting watchdog, was appointed by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday despite protest from opposition parties over her alleged misuse of corporate funds in the past. Lee, a former journalist at public television network MBC, reported to work at the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) at the government complex in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, after being officially appointed. The newly appointed KCC chief underwent a rare three-day confirm

PoliticsJuly 31, 2024

[영어답게 표현하기] 유용한 비즈니스 영어 표현들

이번 회에는 저희 책 Advanced Vocab에서 소개한 중상급 영단어들을 알려드립니다. 단어의 우리말 뜻을 기억하는 데에 그치지 않고, 난이도 있는 단어를 실제로 활용하는 단계까지 나아가 보기 바랍니다. 〈직업, 일 자격〉 1. litigation [lìtəɡéiʃən] 법적 소송 개별적인 소송을 lawsuit이라 하고, 소송을 하는 것이나 소송이 진행되고 있는 과정은 litigation이 라고 한다. The two companies had been mired in litigation for nearly a decade and finally decided to settle their dispute in arbitration. 두 기업은 거의 10년간 법적 소송을 통해 분쟁 중이었으며 결국 중재를 통해 분쟁을 해결하기로 결정했다. ● 두 제약사는 복제약과 관련한 특허권 소송을 해결했다. The two pharmaceutical compa

English EyeJuly 31, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on rate cut hopes

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday, following a mixed close on Wall Street, as investors expect the Federal Reserve may begin a rate cutting cycle later this year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 5.20 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,743.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 percent to 40,743.33 points, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.3 percent to 17,147.42. This week, all eyes are on the Fed's policy decision on We

MarketJuly 31, 2024

[Graphic News] National Museum draws record number of foreign visitors January to June

The number of foreign visitors to the National Museum of Korea hit a record high of 94,951 in the first half of this year, museum officials said. The figure represents a 34.5 percent increase from 70,585 a year ago and a 55.6 percent rise from prepandemic levels in 2019, they said. They expect the annual number of foreign visitors to reach 200,000 this year if the current trend continues. The museum attributes the rise to its efforts to diversify exhibition content, aligning with growing globa

TravelJuly 31, 2024

S. Korea finishes 6th in men's freestyle swimming relay

NANTERRE, France -- South Korea finished sixth in its first-ever final of an Olympic swimming relay race on Tuesday, unable to overcome an early gap. The team of Yang Jae-hoon, Lee Ho-joon, Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo posted a time of 7:07.26 in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay final at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, just west of the French capital. This was South Korea's first appearance in any Olympic swimming relay final. The four swimmers hoped to make even more histo

More SportsJuly 31, 2024

S. Korea claims 1st table tennis medal in 12 years, adds bronze in judo

PARIS -- South Korea extended its medal-winning streak to four days at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, picking up a bronze medal each in table tennis and judo. The first medal of the day was a drought buster, as Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin captured the bronze medal in the mixed doubles table tennis event for South Korea's first ping pong medal in 12 years. They defeated Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong 4-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-7, 14-12) in the third-place contest. The South Koreans

More SportsJuly 31, 2024

Judoka not content with bronze in Paris, eyes gold in LA

PARIS-- Since making his senior international debut in 2022, South Korean judoka Lee Joon-hwan has picked up two bronze medals at world championships and a silver medal at the Asian Games. Falling short of a gold medal, however, is not something Lee wants to get accustomed to. The 22-year-old captured a bronze medal in the men's -81 kilograms at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. The third-ranked Lee defeated world No. 1 from Belgium, Matthias Casse, in one of two bronze medal contests at Cha

More SportsJuly 31, 2024

Lee Joon-hwan wins bronze in men's judo

PARIS -- Lee Joon-hwan claimed a bronze medal in the men's -81-kilogram judo at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday for South Korea's second medal in the sport here. Lee, world No. 3, defeated the top-ranked Matthias Casse of Belgium in one of the two bronze medal contests at Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris. Lee scored the decisive "waza-ari," or a half point, 48 seconds into the sudden-death extra period. Lee ran into his old nemesis from Georgia, world No. 2 Tato Grigalashvili, in

More SportsJuly 31, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Cultural differences make our eyes open

Despite many striking similarities, there are a myriad of cultural differences between the East and the West. Living in Korea and the US, I can attest to the plethora of such differences. Those differences reflect how Koreans and Americans perceive things differently. The way of disciplining a child is a good example. For instance, American parents usually “ground” a badly behaving boy by confining him in his room, probably with no TV or computer. On the other hand, Korean parents pu

ViewpointsJuly 31, 2024

S. Korea wins bronze in mixed doubles table tennis

Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin captured the bronze medal in the mixed doubles table tennis event at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, giving South Korea its first table tennis medal in 12 years. Lim and Shin defeated Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong 4-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-7, 14-12) at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris. Both players earned their first career Olympic medals. Lim and Shin had fallen to the bronze medal match after losing to the top-seeded pair from China, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yings

More SportsJuly 30, 2024

S. Korea qualifies for swimming relay final for 1st time

South Korea qualified for the final of the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay swimming at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, the country's first-ever appearance in a relay medal race. The quartet of Lee Ho-joon, Lee Yoo-yeon, Kim Yeong-hyeon and Kim Woo-min finished seventh overall in the heats with a time of 7:07.96 at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, to punch their ticket to the final scheduled for Tuesday night. The top eight teams from the heats qualified for the final

More SportsJuly 30, 2024

Driver behind deadly car crash in downtown Seoul arrested

The driver in the fatal car crash near Seoul City Hall was arrested Tuesday, about a month after the accident that left nine people dead. The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for the driver, known only by his last name, Cha, citing a flight risk. The court held a hearing earlier in the day to determine whether to issue a writ for the 68-year-old. Ahead of the hearing, Cha, who appeared in public for the first time, repeatedly said he was sorry to the victims and their famili

Social AffairsJuly 30, 2024

S. Korea condemns deadly Golan Heights attack

South Korea condemns the deadly rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children and calls on all parties to avoid escalating tensions, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. "We condemn the attack on the Druze community village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights and extend heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the family members of the 12 children who lost their lives in the attack," the ministry spokesperson said in a commentary. "We urge all parties

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 30, 2024