The recent announcement that foreign students taking online classes in the US should leave the country is creating confusion and turmoil among South Korean students at colleges and universities there. Many of them are now being forced to head back to Korea or shift to in-person classes, taking the risk of contracting the new coronavirus, if they want to maintain their visa status. The latest announcement from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement applies to F-1 and M-1 non-immigrant visa h

Kwangwoon University Intelligent Defense ICT Center works to foster more professionals and intellectual property rights In face of rising demand for artificial intelligence-based applications, Kwangwoon University Intelligent Defense ICT Center is looking to foster high-quality research professionals and help Korea gain international technological competitiveness with more intellectual property rights. The center, established as part of the University ICT Research Center Fostering Project under

The government is pushing for parliamentary ratification of key International Labor Organization conventions as it seeks to avoid penalties on the global level and improve workers’ rights. The country has been under pressure from the European Union, among others, which claims the failure to institutionalize the global labor pacts is in breach of the Korea-EU free trade agreement. Despite joining the ILO in 1991, South Korea has yet to ratify four of the eight core conventions on protectio

A stretch of rainy days is in store for most parts of the country later this week and scorching summer heat will begin in earnest after that, the nation‘s weather agency said Monday. The Korea Meteorological Administration said another extended period of rain will kick off Friday in Seoul from clouds currently stationed near Jeju Island advancing north. Southern regions will start seeing drizzles and rain showers earlier in the week. The agency, which has refrained from forecasting the

A South Korean national who operated the world’s largest child pornography website will not be sent to the US to face trial there, a local court ruled Monday, rejecting a US request for his extradition. The Seoul High Court, at its third and final hearing on the high-profile case, said that there are justifiable reasons not to extradite Son Jong-woo, the mastermind behind the US-based child porn website Welcome to Video. It is in the national interest to keep Son in Korea and further the

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Hae-chan will retire from politics next month. A memoir recapping his 50 years of involvement in local politics, spanning from his days participating in pro-democracy student activism in the 70s, to turbulent partisan politics and the inner workings of the liberal Cabinet, is in the works. Lee, 67, whose two-year term as the chief of the liberal party ends next month, will not be taking any official post in politics after that, as Lee pledged during

As coronavirus continues to rage across the US, affecting education and the job market, young Koreans who have spent years in the country studying are pivoting back to their homeland for a safer future. But many find that the grass on this side of the Pacific is not much greener. In-person classes are limited here too, as universities try to cope with the persistent threat of the virus, while the influx of students returning from abroad adds to the already fierce competition for jobs and resea

Calls are growing for the truth behind the suicide of a promising triathlete late last month, amid allegations she had repeatedly been abused by team officials. Five public petitions regarding the death of Choi Sook-hyun, posted on the website of the presidential office, together garnered more than 58,400 signatures by 5 p.m. Thursday, less than a day after they were posted.   “Another unfortunate accident occurred, and we can’t help but ask until when we should be seein

The Minimum Wage Council has been met with a stark contrast in opinion between labor and business representatives, with both sides proposing radically different figures in determining next year’s minimum wage. At the fourth plenary meeting held Wednesday, labor representatives proposed a 16.4 percent hike for next year’s minimum wage to 10,000 won, while the business circle demanded a 2.1 percent cut to 8,410 won. It is the first time the both sides shared their proposals since the

Tripartite labor, management and government dialogue fell short just 15 minutes before the scheduled signing of the final agreement Wednesday morning following strong opposition within the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the two major umbrella labor groups. The remaining parties, including the other labor group Federation of Korean Trade Unions, are waiting for the KCTU to reach an internal agreement soon, but it is becoming increasingly likely that the deal may never be inked as i

Seoul City’s education chief vowed to reduce educational disparity and innovate the current grading system to promote equal opportunities for all students. The initiatives are intended to support the liberal Moon Jae-in administration’s educational reform promoting social fairness, which has also called for abolition of elite institutions across the country. The policy has faced some controversy for depriving students of educational choice. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Su

Tripartite dialogue between sector representatives of labor, business and the government to find ways to overcome the COVID-19 crisis is forecast to end with no solid outcome within this month, as scheduled, as the three parties are nowhere near closing gaps between their drastically different arguments and demands. The parties agree on the need to stabilize employment and support businesses struggling from fallen profit levels, but the ways to achieve those goals and how to finance support ini

In light of two brutal child abuse cases that grabbed major headlines of Korean media outlets, many angry Koreans are calling for tough penalties on parents who abuse their children under the pretext of discipline. Earlier this month, police arrested a stepmother in her 40s after her 9-year-old stepson died days after having been found unconscious inside a suitcase. According to the police, the boy was locked up inside the suitcase -- measuring 44 centimeters across and 6 centimeters wide -- f

Controversy over the Incheon International Airport Corp.’s plan to directly hire security workers has spilt over into the political arena, with the main opposition party pinpointing President Moon Jae-in’s “zero irregular job” initiative as the root cause of the problem.  Public outcry erupted when the state-run airport operator, favored by many job seekers for its job security and benefits, announced plans last week to grant permanent positions to 1,902 contract a

The US state of Tennessee won the 2020 Global Clean Environment Prize in the public sector Thursday for making recognizable environmental improvements while pursuing economic growth. At the 2020 Global Clean Environment Awards Ceremony in Seoul, the 16th most populous state in the United States was recognized for improving the environment in Chattanooga, considered one of the most polluted cities in the US, while achieving economic development at the same time, through cleanup projects run by

A major labor union group is pushing ahead with a mass protest plan in Seoul next week, despite warnings over coronavirus infections.  The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will hold the organizer responsible should the virus spread among rally participants. On July 4, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of two major umbrella labor groups in Korea, is scheduled to hold a nationwide rally in central Seoul to demand government measures to protect non-regular workers from pan

A video of a Dutch teen of Korean descent being targeted by a group of people in a racist attack angered many South Koreans here amid growing discrimination against Asians since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The boy’s mother, Sora van der Vliet, spoke with The Korea Herald about the incident, which occurred June 21 near Lake Jagersplas in the Dutch city of Zaandam, where her son, 16-year-old Yanil, was hanging out with eight of his friends. According to her, a group of five boys approa

Tension and animosity were apparent Wednesday in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Seoul, as two groups with divergently different political views stood just steps apart and waged rallies. To the left of the Statue of Peace, a symbolic art piece made in remembrance of “comfort women,” was the Korea Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan waging its 1,445th Wednesday rally with around 30 participants. The euphemistic term refers to

  A controversial study on the effect of a radical rise in the legal minimum wage level came out Tuesday, pitting employers against employees in the midst of negotiations for the next year’s wage standard. Researchers at the Korea Economic Research Institute analyzed in the study the impact of the 16.4 percent increase in the 2018 wage level on low-income workers to find that many low-paying jobs were erased, while those who were employed enjoyed higher pay. The institute is affilia

This year’s monsoon season is set to start Wednesday, with clouds from the west coast expected to pour heavy rain across the country, which has been dealing with one of the hottest summers in history already. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Tuesday that rain will start from early Wednesday morning on Jeju Island and in the western region, followed by Seoul and Gyeonggi Province later in the morning then gradually expand to across the country in the afternoon. A number of reg