
Vietnam's Lam receives honorary doctorate from Yonsei University
Lam, general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, was given the honorary degree Monday when he visited the university in western Seoul.
Lam called for closer ties between South Korea and Vietnam during the ceremony, citing challenges in global trade environment and non-traditional security issues.
"The world today is experiencing unprecedented changes," he said. "In order to respond to difficulties and challenges in this ever-changing environment, (I) hope the two countries cooperate in multilateral systems and managing joint issues in international law."
He also pointed out South Korea's rapid economic growth after the 1950-53 Korean War, crediting an efficient government, a "culture with depth," and highly-skilled manpower.
Lam's state visit marks the first by a foreign leader since the launch of the Lee administration in early June. (Yonhap)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
5 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Trump says US could unveil semiconductor tariffs next week
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Friday his administration will unveil tariffs on semiconductor imports as early as next week, as South Korean tech firms Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. have been carefully watching his tariff policy developments. Trump made the remarks in a meeting with reporters aboard Air Force One, as he was en route to Alaska for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- the high-stakes meeting where Trump is seeking to broker a halt to the war in Ukraine. "Chips and semiconductors, we'll be setting sometime next week, (or) the week after," Trump said, according to a White House press pool report. He did not elaborate on the exact tariff rate, but said there would be a tariff increase from a "lower" rate to a "very high" rate. "Well, I'm going to have a rate that is going to be lower at the beginning. Then that gives them a chance to come in and build. And very high after a certain period of time," he said. "And if they don't build here, they have to pay a very high tariff." Last week, Trump said his administration will impose a tariff of about 100 percent on chips, as he is pushing to strengthen semiconductor production in the U.S. To impose the tariffs, Trump has invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a law that provides the president with the authority to adjust imports into the US when he determines they threaten to impair national security. (Yonhap)


Korea Herald
21 hours ago
- Korea Herald
80 citizens, 80 letters: The people delivering Lee their ‘mandate'
President Lee Jae Myung, who began his term with a brief inauguration a day after the June 3 election, was on Friday evening to receive 80 letters of appointment from people representing the diversity and history of Korean society, in the first ceremony of its kind aimed at underscoring the legitimacy of his mandate from the people. Eighty people, selected to represent each of the 80 years since liberation in 1945, are to take part in the ceremony coinciding with Liberation Day at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. Each representative will step onto a circular stage and place a personally written letter of appointment inside a large symbolic cube set at the center in an event beginning at 8 p.m. Four particular individuals — Mok Jang-gyun, a descendant of an independence fighter, Lee Guk-jong, director of the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital, Lee Yeon-soo, CEO of NCSoft's artificial intelligence division, and film director Ha Ga-young — will be the last to place their letters. Among the 80, several figures stand out for their roles in key historical and contemporary moments. Lee Kyung-pil, 74, represents the year 1950 as one of five infants born aboard a US military vessel during the Hungnam evacuation at the start of the Korean War. Representing the year 1960 is Lee Hae-hak, an 80-year-old pastor who took part in the April Revolution that brought down President Syngman Rhee's authoritarian rule. In 2016, professional Go player Lee Sedol, now 42, drew international attention for his competition against Google's artificial intelligence program AlphaGo. The list also includes married couple Yoo Choong-won and Kim Sook-jung, honored for physically blocking an armored vehicle during former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration in December 2024. Kim Joon-young and Sa Gong Hye-ran, who gave birth to Korea's first quintuplets in nearly 40 years last year, were recognized for representing hope and social sustainability amid a deepening demographic crisis. The ceremony will be attended by former President Moon Jae-in and his wife, as well as the family of the late President Roh Moo-hyun. Religious leaders and public figures across various sectors are also expected to attend. Former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, along with the spouses of late Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were invited, but will not attend, citing health reasons. Members of the main opposition People Power Party and the minor New Reform Party said they would also not attend, in protest of Lee's special pardon of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, who was convicted of embezzling donations intended for the victims of sex slavery during Japan's colonial rule. A total of 3,500 members of the public, selected through an online application process, are to be present. The ceremony is to be broadcast live on KBS from 8 p.m. According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, the 80 representatives were chosen not only for notable achievements in areas spanning democracy, economic development, science, culture and sports, but also for representing the lived experiences of each generation. 'Together, they embody the everyday resilience and collective progress of the Korean people,' Kang said in a press briefing Thursday.


Korea Herald
a day ago
- Korea Herald
Russia's Duma speaker meets N. Korea's Kim, conveys Putin's greetings: report
The chief of Russia's parliamentary lower house met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Russian media report said Friday. The meeting between Kim and Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, took place the previous day during his visit to Pyongyang for the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese occupation, TASS reported, citing a Russian parliamentary news release. "Volodin congratulated the North Korean leadership and people on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a solemn meeting on the occasion of the public holiday," TASS said. Volodin also expressed gratitude to Kim for the support the North Korea people provided fighting on the Kursk frontline region in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the report. The Russian lawmaker is visiting North Korea from Thursday to Friday with a parliamentary delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, which falls on Friday. On Thursday, he also met with Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the North's parliamentary standing committee, and discussed interparliamentary interaction between the countries, TASS said. (Yonhap)