Author: Jae young

July 18, 2025SEOUL – Embryos produced via in vitro fertilization have surged by 83.2 percent in South Korea over the past five years, according to government data released Thursday, signaling the growing use of assisted reproductive technology in a country grappling with low birth rates.A total of 783,860 embryos were created through IVF in 2024, up from 427,818 in 2019, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare data submitted to Rep. Kim Yoon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. The number has been steadily climbing since 2016, when 334,687 embryos were created, and surpassed 500,000 for the first…

July 18, 2025SEOUL – Casualties began to mount as heavy rain hit South Korea’s western flank, flooding roads, disrupting public transport and causing evacuations in multiple parts of the Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong provinces.At least four people were killed as torrential rain battered parts of Gyeonggi Province and Chungcheong from early Wednesday to Thursday morning, according to local reports quoting authorities as of 6 p.m.Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong, two cities located in the southern parts of Gyeonggi Province, received more than 80 millimeters of rain per hour on Thursday.In Osan — a city adjacent to Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong, a 10-meter-high retaining…

July 18, 2025SEOUL – Foreign Minister nominee Cho Hyun ruled out the possibility of President Lee Jae Myung meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before sitting down with US President Donald Trump, drawing a clear line amid speculation over who Lee will meet in his debut stand-alone summit.Cho brushed off growing concerns that Lee might visit China first to attend Beijing’s Sept. 3 commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II — even as the date for a summit with Trump in the US still up in the air.During his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly…

July 17, 2025SEOUL – A contentious labor bill championed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is barreling toward passage. The business community, however, warns that the revision could throw the country’s industrial relations into disarray.Commonly known as the “Yellow Envelope” bill, the proposed amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act would broaden labor protections across all employment types while restricting companies’ ability to sue for financial damages resulting from industrial action.The bill, which has evolved dramatically from earlier drafts, takes its name from a 2014 campaign where citizens sent cash donations in yellow envelopes to support…

July 17, 2025HANOI – Chun Sung Woog, legal representative of Segyung Vina Co., Ltd, the Vietnamese branch of Segyung HiTech Co.,Ltd, has publicly apologised to all parties involved in the incident in which a young Vietnamese woman was assaulted by two South Korean women at a photo booth in Hà Nội.The company also committed to fully compensating the victims.“First and foremost, Segyung Vina would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the Government of Việt Nam, the Vietnamese people, the Korean Association in Việt Nam and all stakeholders related to the incident at the photobooth in Mỹ Đình Ward, Hà…

July 17, 2025SEOUL – President Lee Jae Myung presided over a general meeting of the National Security Council on July 10, three weeks before the US is scheduled to impose tariffs.People expected the meeting to deal mostly with the issue of negotiations with the US over its tariffs.But officials related to trade were absent from the meeting.During the meeting, Lee called for efforts to mend inter-Korean ties. He was also reportedly briefed by the Ministry of National Defense on security issues, including an early transition of wartime operational control.Reportedly, US tariffs, an issue at hand, were barely discussed.A Federation of…

July 17, 2025SEOUL – Former President Yoon Suk Yeol remains in custody, after a warrant for his detention was issued by a local court amid a special counsel probe into alleged abuse of power and attempts to fabricate a martial law document.Despite his detention, however, Yoon has yet to be questioned — and investigators say they are unable to force the issue.The probe, led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk, had aimed to interrogate Yoon shortly after his arrest. But the former president has refused to comply with both voluntary and forced summons procedures, citing health concerns.The special counsel attempted a…

July 17, 2025SEOUL – In just a few days, South Korea will officially end its decadeslong practice of allowing private agencies to handle adoptions and begin a new era in which the state takes primary responsibility for the process, grounded in public oversight and the protection of children’s rights.The shift is more than a bureaucratic change. It is a historical reckoning.For over 70 years, beginning in the aftermath of the Korean War, South Korea sent more than 170,000 children overseas for adoption, a number some experts say is closer to 250,000 when unofficial records are considered. This made Korea one…

July 16, 2025SEOUL – Composer-conductor Choi Jae-hyuck and haegeum player-composer Joo Jeong-hyeon have been on the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts’ radar since the launch of its summer contemporary music series, The Sync Next, in 2022.This year, for the first time, the center brought them together to explore what kind of synergy might emerge.The performance, part of the Sync Next 25 program running from July to September at the Sejong Center’s S Theater, pairs Choi’s ensemble, Ensemble Blank, with Joo, an experimental haegeum player whose work spans performance, composition and video. It also marks their first-ever collaboration.“Joo is an…

July 16, 2025SEOUL – A high school teacher in her 30s was officially detained by authorities on Monday, for allegedly conspiring with a parent of a student to break into her former school and steal final exam papers.The Andong branch of the Daegu District Court issued a warrant for the suspect’s arrest, citing concerns of her fleeing or destroying evidence. She is facing charges of accepting bribes in exchange for improper action, intrusion of building, and interference with business.The suspect and the parent are believed to have forced their way into the high school in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, at…