South Korea and Ukraine had formed a consensus to keep discussions on the repatriation of captured North Korean soldiers confidential for as long as possible, a South Korean diplomat said Sunday. Yoon Ji-wan, charge d'affaires at the South Korean Embassy in Ukraine, made the remark during a parliamentary audit by the subcommittee on foreign affairs conducted at the South Korean Embassy in Poland. "We had no discussions on a timeline for disclosure, but we did share the idea that confidentiality

I arrived in Seoul in early 2024 as a stranger fresh from a term in Washington. Aside from a brief visit during my time in International Organization for Migration in 2003, South Korea was known to me only as home of the Korean Wave. I however spent the next three years learning how to harness this Korean Wave to serve Thai-Korean relations. My time in Korea was highlighted by key leaders’ meetings and visits which paved the way for our countries’ relations. The most consequential did not take p

The Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK) will strengthen business ties between Germany and South Korea, particularly in joint product development and industrial cooperation, according to Germany's ambassador to Seoul. German Ambassador Georg Wilfried Schmidt told reporters Wednesday that companies from both countries were increasingly developing products together, building on established trade and manufacturing ties. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to deliver a keynote

Seoul can learn from Quebec’s climate-conscious building design and Barcelona’s walkable neighborhoods, while Quebec and Catalonia can draw lessons from Seoul’s public transportation and urban renewal, architects attending the Catalonia-Quebec-Korea Architecture Forum say. As cities face rising temperatures and pressure for denser development, they argued that new housing should go hand in hand with better public spaces and preservation of neighborhood identity. Their comments came at the Catalo

CHUNGJU, North Chungcheong Province — One moment, foreign diplomats were looking out over Chungju from one of the world's tallest elevator test towers. Hours later, they were clapping along to samulnori at a Buddhist temple, sipping locally distilled soju and eventually getting on their feet to dance to jazz. By the following morning, many had traded diplomatic attire for colorful hanbok. A total of 24 participants, including former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 18 members of the

Peru is rolling out privately managed special economic zones, also known as free zones, to attract South Korean investment in critical minerals processing and manufacturing and better connect the resource-rich country to global supply chains, Peruvian Ambassador to South Korea Paul Duclos says. According to Duclos, the new framework for special economic zones is designed to attract investment in manufacturing and processing rather than simply facilitate trade. “We are seeking to generate new lev

J.Y. Park, founder and chief creative officer of JYP Entertainment, testified at a parliamentary audit on Wednesday over controversy surrounding his role in Fanomenon, a government-backed K-pop festival. The K-pop mogul co-chairs the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, a ministerial-level body formed last year. He attended the hearing session voluntarily. Park was not originally on the committee’s witness list, he told SBS Radio on Monday. He said he contacted the National Assemb

The Indonesian Embassy in Seoul marked the country's 81st Independence Day on Sunday in an outdoor event highlighting the "people" aspect of the Korea-Indonesia partnership. The embassy held the event at the Mulbit Stage in Yeouido, where the reception was held alongside Festival Indonesia, featuring Indonesian food, traditional games, music, dance and fashion, along with programs involving participants from both countries. The setting marked a departure from diplomatic national day receptions t

The National Assembly was set to launch its annual audit of government agencies Tuesday, with rival parties expected to clash over the Supreme Court chief's refusal to recommend a new justice nominee to the president and the recently publicized transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war from Ukraine. Eight of the Assembly's 17 standing committees will hold their sessions starting 10 a.m. on the first day of the audit, scheduled to run through Oct. 27. Heated clashes are expected at the legisl

As Korean companies reassess global supply chains and seek new growth platforms in Southeast Asia, the choice of investment location has become more strategic than ever. Cost competitiveness remains important, but successful expansion now depends equally on supply-chain resilience, infrastructure, access to skilled talent, energy security, market connectivity and the ability to move quickly from investment approval to commercial production. Malaysia already offers many of these advantages. Its m

Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who helped lead the former Czechoslovakia's peaceful transition from communist rule, is being remembered in Seoul at a former interrogation site that became a symbol of South Korea's own fight for democracy. A photo exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of Havel's birth opened Thursday at the National Museum of Korean Democracy in Seoul, organized by the Korea Democracy Foundation, the Czech Embassy and the Czech Center Seoul. The museum stands on the for

South Korea and the United States have formally selected a gas-fired power plant project in Texas as the first project under Seoul's $350 billion investment commitment to the US, the industry ministry said Thursday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced the three projects, including the Texas plant, after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding in November last year, under which South Korea pledged to invest in the US in return for lower US tariffs on Korean imports.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled South Korea's US investment projects under last year's bilateral trade agreement: the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Texas, eight large-scale nuclear power plants and a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska. The announcement followed protracted negotiations over major energy infrastructure projects under the agreement that committed South Korea to investing $350 billion in the United States -- $150 billion for the shipbuilding sector

Peru is looking for more South Korean investment in infrastructure, transport and minerals, pitching a $39 billion portfolio of projects to Korean companies in Seoul. Peru's investment push comes as Korean companies seek diversified mineral supply chains, building on a bilateral free trade agreement in force since 2011. The portfolio, presented by Peru's private investment promotion agency ProInversion at an investment seminar Monday, has 85 projects and six contract addenda. Among them are Line

For newly elected Chungju Mayor Lee Dong-seok, making Chungju a “young city” is about more than the age of its residents. “A young city is one that is not afraid to try new things, responds quickly to change and allows young people to picture their future here,” the mayor said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. Elected in June, Lee drew attention as the youngest local government head in North Chungcheong Province at age 40. He has made a “young Chungju” a defining theme of his administ