Page 15 - South Korea

Talks on upgrading India-S Korea FTA may conclude in 2024: Korean envoy

South Korea is hoping that the negotiations will conclude before the possible visit of Yoon Suk Yeol, the South Korean President, to India

South Korea's fertility rate, which is world's lowest, drops to fresh low

The total number of births in South Korea stood at 230,000 in 2023, a 7.7 per cent decrease and another new low for the country, which has a population of about 50 million people

S Korea, US to begin major exercises in response to N Korean threats

South Korean and US troops will begin their expanded annual military drills next week in response to North Korea's evolving nuclear threats, the two countries said on Wednesday, a move that will likely enrage North Korea because it views its rivals' joint training as an invasion rehearsal. In recent months, North Korea has inflamed animosities on the Korean Peninsula with fiery rhetoric and continued missile tests. While it's unlikely for North Korea to launch full-blown attacks against South Korea and the US, observers say the North could still stage limited provocations along the tense border with South Korea. On Wednesday, the South Korea and US militaries jointly announced that the allies will conduct the Freedom Shield exercise, a computer-simulated command post training, and a variety of separate field training, from March 4-14. Col. Lee, Sung-Jun, a spokesperson for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the allies' drills are designed to bolster their joint ...

S Korea sets Feb 29 as deadline for its young doctors to return to work

South Korea's government gave striking young doctors four days to report back to work, saying on Monday that they won't be punished if they return by the deadline but will face indictments and suspensions of medical licenses if they don't. About 9,000 medical interns and residents have stayed off the job since early last week to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions by about 65 per cent. The walkouts have severely hurt the operations of their hospitals, with numerous cancellations of surgeries and other treatments. Government officials say adding more doctors is necessary to deal with South Korea's rapidly aging population. The country's current doctor-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in the developed world. The strikers say universities can't handle so many new students and argue the plan would not resolve a chronic shortage of doctors in some key but low-paying areas like pediatrics and emergency departments. Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said ..

Mark Zuckerberg's Asia tour to range from AI to Ambani wedding party

On Wednesday, Zuckerberg plans to travel to Seoul to meet with partners, the spokesperson said, declining to elaborate further

EAM Jaishankar to pay bilateral visits to S Korea, Japan from March 5-8

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay bilateral visits to the Republic of Korea and Japan from March 5-8 and will co-chair the 10th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with his Korean counterpart Cho-Tae Yul, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.The EAM will first visit South Korea's Seoul from March 5-6 to co-chair the JCM meeting, and the two sides will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, the MEA said in a statement."India - Republic of Korea Special Strategic Partnership has expanded to diverse areas of cooperation, which include trade, investments, defence, education, S & T, and culture. The JCM is expected to comprehensively review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and explore avenues for further strengthening it. It will also provide an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," the statement said.Later, EAM will visit Japan from March 6-8 for

S Korean doctors protest against govt policy, causing surgery cancellations

South Korean trainee doctors collectively walked off their jobs Tuesday to escalate their protest of a government medical policy, triggering cancellations of surgeries and other medical treatments at hospitals. The Health Ministry urged them to return to work immediately, saying they must not endanger the lives of patients to fight the government. As of Monday night, more than half of the 13,000 trainee doctors in South Korea were confirmed to have submitted resignations en masse to protest a government push to increase the number of medical students. A total of 1,630 of them have left their work sites, according to Health Ministry records. More trainee doctors are expected to follow suit. Under a decision made by their association last week, trainee doctors at the country's five major hospitals were supposed to walk off collectively on Tuesday. At the centre of the dispute is a recent government announcement that it would raise medical school admissions by 2,000 from next year. Th

The antitrust enforcers aimed at Big Tech: Then came the backlash

The Korea Fair Trade Commission, with the backing of President Yoon Suk Yeol, said in December that it planned to make a proposal modeled after the 2022 Digital Markets Act,

North Korea's Kim Jong Un supervises missile test, warns South Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of new surface-to-sea missiles and warned that the country would take a more aggressive military posture in disputed sea boundaries with war-divided rival South Korea, the North's state media said Thursday. The report by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea's military said it detected the North firing multiple cruise missiles in waters off its eastern port of Wonsan. The test, the North's sixth missile launch event of 2024, added to a provocative run in weapons demonstrations since 2022 that escalated tensions to the highest point in years. Some experts say Kim may seek to further dial up pressure in an election year in South Korea and the United States. There are growing concerns in South Korea about a direct military provocation and a possible area of conflict could be the Koreas' poorly drawn western sea boundary, which has been the site of several bloody skirmishes in past years. Kim ...

N Korea fires cruise missiles, adds to provocative weapons tests: S Korea

North Korea on Wednesday fired multiple cruise missiles into the sea in its fifth test of such weapons since January, South Korea's military said, extending a streak in weapons demonstrations that's elevating tensions in the region. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the South Korean and US militaries were analysing the launches from an area in North Korea's northeastern coast. The South Korean military didn't immediately provide the exact numbers of missiles fired or how war they flew. Experts say North Korea is ramping up pressure on its rivals in an election year in South Korea and the US, with a long-term focus of forcing Washington to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and extract security and economic concessions from a position of strength. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has also been issuing belligerent statements toward South Korea, including a declaration that he would abandon the North's long-term objective of reconciliation with its war-divided rival

No desire for talks, will destroy S Korea if provoked: Kim Jong Un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un restated he has no desire for diplomacy with South Korea and that the North would annihilate its rival if provoked, state media said Friday, in the latest of his belligerent statements that are raising tensions in the region. During a visit to North Korea's Defence Ministry on Thursday, Kim said his recent moves to cut ties with South Korea allow his military to take on a more aggressive posture by securing lawfulness to strike and destroy (the South) whenever triggered." Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have increased in recent months, with Kim elevating his weapons demonstrations and threats and the United States, South Korea and Japan strengthening their combined military exercises in response. While most South Korean officials and experts have downplayed the possibility that Kim has real intent to engage in a war, concerns about a direct military provocation have grown as the North may try to ramp up pressure in an election year in South Korea and

North Korea scraps all economic cooperation with South Korea: Report

The project was suspended in 2008 after a South Korean tourist who strayed into a restricted zone was shot and killed by North Korean guards

IPO for India unit not decided yet, final decision in a month: Hyundai

'We constantly review various measures, including listing overseas subsidiaries, to increase corporate value, but nothing has been decided,' Hyundai Motor said in a regulatory filing

AFC Asian Cup: Korean coach Jurgen Klinsmann questioned about his reaction

Jurgen Klinsmann's broad smile is part of his charm. But on Tuesday in Qatar, the South Korea coach was left to explain why he was grinning after his team suffered a painful defeat in the semifinals of the Asian Cup. Klinsmann warmly congratulated Jordan coach Hussein Ammouta on the field after his team produced a big upset with a 2-0 win at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. Perhaps a little too warmly. For me it's normal to congratulate the other coach when his team was better in a game. I think this is a sign of respect, Klinsmann said when questioned about his post-game reaction. They deserved this win today. They were the better team, but this is for me totally normal. If you say I shouldn't smile, give somebody a smile that deserves a compliment in that moment, maybe we have different approaches. There has been criticism of Klinsmann and South Korea's performances in reaching the semifinals. His tactics were questioned and the general impression is that he should have done more with su

Samsung Chief Lee Jae-yong acquitted of financial crimes related to merger

A South Korean court on Monday acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of financial crimes involving a contentious merger between Samsung affiliates in 2015 that tightened his grip over South Korea's biggest company. The ruling by the Seoul Central District Court could ease the legal troubles surrounding the Samsung heir less than two years after he was pardoned of a separate conviction of bribery in a corruption scandal that toppled a previous South Korean government. The court said the prosecution failed to sufficiently prove the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee's control over Samsung Electronics. Prosecutors had sought a five-year jail term for Lee, who was accused of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud. It wasn't immediately clear whether they would appeal. Lee had denied wrongdoing in the current case, describing the 2015 merger as normal business activity. Lee, 56, did not answer ...

South Korean court acquits Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong of financial crimes

A South Korean court acquitted Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong who was accused of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud in relation to a contentious merger between two Samsung affiliates in 2015 that tightened his grip over South Korea's biggest company. The ruling by the Seoul Central District Court on Monday could ease the legal troubles surrounding the Samsung heir less than two years after he was pardoned of a separate conviction of bribing a former president in a corruption scandal that toppled a previous South Korean government. The court said the prosecution failed to sufficiently prove that the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was unlawfully conducted with an aim to strengthen Lee's control over Samsung Electronics. Prosecutors had sought a five-year jail term for Lee. It wasn't immediately clear whether they would appeal. Lee had denied wrongdoing over the current case, saying that the 2015 merger was part of normal business activity. Lee .

India seeks greater market access for steel, rice, shrimp from S Korea

India has sought greater market access for certain products such as steel, rice, and shrimp from South Korea with a view to boost exports of these goods, an official said. These are part of the negotiations, which are underway, for the upgradation of the existing free trade agreement between the two countries, which is officially dubbed as comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA). The agreement was operationalised in January 2010. The 10th round of upgradation talks are underway here. "We are asking for greater market access for products such as steel, rice and shrimp," the official said. In the meeting, India has flagged issues over Korean firms not buying Indian steel. "Korean firms in India also place orders from their local firms in Korea, so this is a double whammy for Indian companies. The Korean side has asked for an increase in price competitiveness here," the official added. On rice, there is a tariff rate quota of five lakh tonnes in Korea. Under this, they h

Kim Jong Un calls for war readiness, inspects construction of warships

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated his focus on strengthening his naval forces as he inspected the construction of new warships at an eastern shipyard, calling such projects crucial to the country's war preparations, state media said Friday. His visit to the shipyard in Nampho followed a series of weapons demonstrations in January that furthered increased tensions with rivals, including tests of new cruise missiles designed to be launched from submarines. Kim in recent months has been emphasizing his goals of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he portrays as growing external threats posed by the United States, South Korea and Japan, which have stepped up their military cooperation to cope with Kim's nuclear weapons and missile program. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency did not specify when Kim visited Nampho. It paraphrased Kim as saying that the strengthening of his naval force "presents itself as the most important issue in reliably defending the

US F-16 fighter jet crashes in South Korean sea, pilot ejects safety

A US Air Force pilot safely ejected from an F-16 fighter jet that crashed into waters off South Korea's southwestern coast on Wednesday, in the second crash of the aircraft in less than two months. The unidentified pilot was conscious and was transported to a medical facility for assessment, the US 8th Fighter Wing said in a statement. It said it closely worked with US and South Korean mission partners to recover the pilot, who experienced an unspecified in-flight emergency and ejected before the plane crashed into sea near the port city of Gunsan. The cause of the crash was being investigated. "We are very thankful to the Republic of Korea rescue forces and all of our teammates who made the swift recovery of our pilot possible," said Col. Matthew C. Gaetke, the commander's wing, referring to South Korea's formal name. "Now we will shift our focus to search and recovery of the aircraft." The 8th Fighter Wing, which is composed of two F-16 squadrons, previously experienced an F-16 ..

North Korea tests long-range cruise missiles to sharpen attack capabilities

North Korea said Wednesday it conducted a test-firing of long-range cruise missiles with an aim to sharpen its counterattack and strategic strike capabilities, in its latest display of weapons threatening South Korea and Japan. The report by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea's military detected the North firing multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast, the third launch of such weapons this month. The event extended a provocative streak in weapons testing as North Korea continues to raise pressure on the United States and its Asian allies amid a prolonged freeze in diplomacy. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that the weapon tested on Tuesday was the Hwasal-2 and that the launch did not affect the security of neighbors. The report didn't specify the exact numbers of missiles fired or the specifics of their flight performance. The North has previously described the Hwasal-2 as nuclear-capable and that their range is up to 2,00