Latest news with #LeeJaemyung
Al Jazeera
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
South Korea mulls allowing individual tours to North Korea as tensions ease
South Korea is considering allowing individual tours to North Korea as it studies ways to improve relations with its neighbour, a spokesperson for South Korea's Ministry of Unification says. 'The government is formulating and pursuing North Korea policies with the goal of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improving inter-Korean ties with various measures under consideration in the process,' the ministry said in a statement on Monday. The announcement was made as Seoul takes more steps to ease tensions with its northern rival after the election of President Lee Jae-myung, who has pledged to improve strained ties with Pyongyang. In a bid to ease tensions, Lee suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border and ordered a halt to leaflet campaigns criticising the North's leaders by anti-Pyongyang activists. Koo Byung-sam, spokesperson for the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, refused to comment on a 'particular issue'. But he said he understood individual tours were not in violation of international sanctions, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. South Korea's Dong-A Ilbo newspaper also said Lee's administration is considering resuming individual trips to North Korea as a negotiating card to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang. It reported that Lee mentioned the proposal during a National Security Council meeting on July 10. The government subsequently began a review of the plan, the report added, quoting a senior official. Tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea that are not targeted under United Nations sanctions imposed over its nuclear and weapons programmes. Citing anti-Pyongyang broadcasters, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency also reported on Monday that the National Intelligence Service this month had suspended all of its decades-old broadcasts targeting the North Korean regime. Lee said he will discuss further plans with top security officials to resume dialogue with North Korea, which technically is still at war with the South after the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty. North Korea recently opened a beach resort in the city of Wonsan, a flagship project driven by leader Kim Jong Un to promote tourism. But the tourist area is temporarily not accepting foreign visitors, according to a note on Wednesday by DPR Korea Tour, a website operated by North Korea's National Tourism Administration. North Korea's tourism industry appears to be struggling even after it lifted COVID-19 border restrictions, allowing rail and flight services with Russia and China. Asked if South Koreans would travel to Wonsan, Koo said North Korea first needs to open the area to the outside world. South Korea once ran tours to North Korea's Mount Kumgang area but suspended them in 2008 when a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
At Least 17 People Killed in Devastating Floods and Landslides Following Days of Torrential Rain
NEED TO KNOW At least 17 people have died, and 11 people have been reported missing, in floods and landslides following days of torrential rain in South Korea According to local authorities, homes have collapsed, cars and campsites have been swept away, and farmlands have been severely damaged The storms are predicted to subside by Sunday night, July 20, but the country will be hit with a heatwave later this weekAt least 17 people have died in floods and landslides following days of torrential rain in South Korea. According to reports from the BBC and Reuters, 11 people have also been reported missing across the country following the heavy rain, which began on Wednesday, July 16. Much of the damage has been focused in Gapyeong, a town northeast of Seoul known for its vacation resorts and farmlands. More than 13,000 people were evacuated from their homes amid the severe weather, and President Lee Jae-myung ordered the most devastated areas to be declared special disaster zones on Sunday, July 20, the BBC reported. Video footage and photos show landslides engulfing houses and campsites, as well as cars being swept away by the water. The country's Interior and Safety Ministry said that one person was killed on Sunday after their house collapsed during the rain, and another person was found dead after being swept away by a swollen stream, per the Associated Press. At one Gapyeong campsite, a landslide killed a man in his 40s and left two of his family members missing, as well as 24 other people stranded, fire officials told Reuters. Officials rescued one person near the campsite by using a zip line to cross a river, and another video shared by firefighters shows people being rescued by helicopter. Thousands of roads and buildings have also been damaged or submerged by the flooding, and farmlands have faced extensive damage. South of Gapyeong, an entire town was covered with earth and debris after a landslide struck on Saturday in the Chungcheong region, the outlets reported. Ten people were found dead and four others were also reported missing in the southern village of Sancheong. One person also died in the city of Gwangju, and local media outlets have reported that more than 40,000 households have lost power amid the storms. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Earlier in the week, authorities said that one person was killed when their car was buried by soil and concrete in Osan, located just south of Seoul, during a heavy downpour. Three more people were found dead in a submerged car, a swollen stream and a flooded basement in the province of South Chungcheong, according to AP. South Korean Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung asked local authorities to make use of "all available resources" as soon as possible, the BBC reported. AP reported that as of 4 p.m. local time on Sunday, more than 2,700 people were still evacuated from their homes. Much of the rain has subsided in the central and southern regions, but the northern provinces are now being hit with heavy rainfall, and more rain is expected in Seoul. According to the BBC, the rainfall is expected to end on Sunday night, and South Korea will then face a heatwave, with temperatures predicted to reach 90 degrees later this week. Read the original article on People
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Climate
- Telegraph
At least 14 dead in ‘once-in-a-century' storms in South Korea
At least 14 people have died and 12 are missing after five days of torrential rain in South Korea in what the national weather agency described as a 'once-in-a-century' event. The country's southern regions have received up to 600-800 millimetres of rain since Wednesday, some of the heaviest hourly rainfall on record. Torrential downpours hit Gapyeong, a resort town 70km east of Seoul on early Sunday, leaving at least two dead and four missing. One person was found dead after being swept away by the floods, and another was killed after their house collapsed because of the heavy rainfall. There are concerns that the death toll could continue to rise, with 12 people still missing according to the Ministry of the Interior and the Safety and National Fire Agency on Sunday. Over 2,000 public buildings have been damaged across the country, according to the ministry, with reports of damage to farmland and the death of livestock. Communication remains unstable in the areas hit by flooding, and many sites remain inaccessible, according to local reports. Footage shows heavy rainfall in the south of the country, with submerged vehicles, roads blocked by water, people wading through the streets and the extensive damage to farmland. In response to the floods, Lee Jae-myung, South Korea's president, ordered on Sunday for the areas that were hit the hardest by the extreme weather to be designated as special disaster zones, and the government has set up a multi-agency recovery effort. The majority of deaths have occurred in the southern county of Sancheong, with eight people killed and six others unaccounted for in the town following landslides, flash floods and the collapse of houses after experiencing almost 800 millimetres of rainfall since Wednesday. Earlier this week, three people were found dead in a flooded car, and a person was also killed after their car was buried by soil and concrete after an overpass collapsed in Osan, south of Seoul. Across the region, nearly 10,000 people have evacuated their homes since Wednesday, while more than 41,000 households have temporarily lost power, the BBC reports. South Korea also endured heavy rain and flooding in 2022, killing at least 11 people. The rain has mostly stopped in the worst-affected southern and central areas, with the rainfall moving north overnight and is expected to last until Monday in some areas, before a heatwave next week.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
South Korea's new president faces battle over gender equality
In South Korea, children as young as eight are repeating misogynistic slurs they picked up from YouTube and online forums. "They think it's just a joke," said Seonyeong Baek, a researcher who studies online hate. "But it's actually a serious problem in everyday speech." This isn't fringe behaviour. It's part of a larger shift — where incel rhetoric and anti-feminist backlash have spilled from internet communities into real life, shaping how young people talk, how women are treated at work, and even how the government sets policy. President Lee Jae-myung's recent win gave many women hope that the country would finally tackle gender inequality. But so far, that hope is clashing with deep-rooted bias, rising digital abuse, and a culture that still treats working mothers like a problem to solve. South Korea has the worst gender pay gap in the developed world — hovering near 30 per cent — but that barely scratches the surface. "It's not always about the wage," said Hyunsook Jung from the southern port city of Mokpo. "It's about where the ladder stops." Even in female-heavy industries like fashion, she watched men rocket past her into overseas roles and executive positions. "When both parents work, it's still the mother who prepares meals, cares for in-laws, and gets the first phone call from school. That's the default," she said. The message is clear: women can work, but they're still expected to run the household — and look good doing it. "Korean women and working mothers still find themselves torn between being the 'perfect mother' and the 'perfect professional,'" said Young Ha Yoon, a 50-year-old mother from Incheon. Exit polls showed the majority of women voted for Mr Lee. Many voters, like Ms Hyunsook, told the ABC they wanted practical changes — stable economic policy, affordable child care, and more support for working mothers. JH, a mother of two from Gwangju who asked not to be identified, hoped the new government would help women stay in the workforce after childbirth — a key concern in a country with one of the world's lowest birth rates. "Flexible hours, reliable personal leave, and a workplace culture that supports carers should be treated as essential, not optional," she said. Some women spoke of returning to work just two months after giving birth. "Waiting lists are long for child care, and the hours don't reflect the reality of working parents," said Ms Young from Incheon. She said there had been some progress, citing "Women's Re-employment Centres". But barriers after career breaks remain. "The causes of the wage gap are complex — career interruptions, promotion discrimination, job instability, and gender-based job segregation," she said. "The government is looking at equal pay policies and a wage transparency system." Others described stress balancing long work hours and difficulties with solo parenting. Former president Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality. Mr Yoon's People Power Party leaned on that rhetoric, pushing many women to support the Democratic Party instead. "Not only did female approval ratings for the Democrats rise, but voter turnout among women — especially younger ones — increased," said Jeong Han-wool, a polling expert at the Research Institute of Korean People. The ministry — which translated literally from Korean is called the "Ministry of Women" — has faced criticism for underperformance and Mr Yoon's conservative base called it unfair to men. Yet analysts say its existence remains important. In early July, the ministry announced monthly support payments for single-parent families of 200,000 South Korean won ($220). The ministry also supports victims of sexual violence with a hotline service. The ABC contacted the South Korean government for comment. Mr Lee has tried to appease both sides, offering a rebrand of the department instead. "It's optics, not substance," said Youngmi Kim, a senior lecturer in Asian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. "Renaming it won't fix structural problems — discrimination, career gaps, safety." Despite the pay gap, in a 2019 survey Mr Jeong found that nearly 70 per cent of men in their 20s think discrimination against men is serious. He said there had been a rise in the zero-sum thinking that women's gains come at men's expense. Much of this resentment brews in online echo chambers like Ilbe and FM Korea, both internet forums where anti-feminist comments flow, according to researchers. Ilbe gained notoriety in 2014 when its users mocked grieving parents of the Sewol ferry disaster by holding pizza parties during hunger strikes. "It wasn't just misogyny anymore. It became politicised — anti-liberal, anti-feminist, and deeply disrespectful," Ms Baek said. Since then, it's gotten darker. "Men come out of the compulsory military for two years and see their female peers ahead in the workplace," said Professor Kim. "There's a lot of anger," she added. But Mr Jeong cautioned against generalisation. "The narrative of young Korean men turning radical is often overstated. Most don't support extreme views. Many actually back reforms like increased conscript pay and more inclusive military policies." The term "incel" — involuntary celibate — originated in North America, but in South Korea, it has found a uniquely local expression. Ilbe is one of the most notorious communities. Ms Baek said the incel mindset was trickling down into universities. And it's not just words. There's a surge in deepfake porn, often made and shared by young men and even boys in middle school. Telegram chatrooms swap non-consensual AI-generated nudes like trading cards, Ms Baek said. "They don't even see it as a crime — it's just entertainment for them," she said. Students even compiled spreadsheets listing deepfake porn chat groups. Most of these deepfake communities operate on encrypted platforms like Telegram, making regulation difficult. The government has laws to punish people who possess or share deepfakes, regardless of their intent. But enforcement remains weak. "There's no way to monitor chat rooms unless someone reports it," Ms Baek said. "So if no-one speaks up, no-one is caught." Last year, nearly 800 people sought help from the national digital sex crime centre — an 11-fold increase since 2018. Telegram cannot proactively moderate private groups but accepts reports from users, NGOs and authorities. Mr Lee's approach has been described as cautious — more reactive than visionary. Mr Jeong said there was agreement that the pay gap should be closed. "But very little serious diagnosis of where and why it happens — and almost no concrete proposals on how to fix it." He noted that anti-feminist commentators often dismiss the gap as a statistical illusion. "That argument continues to muddy the public debate and prevent real progress," he said. Women's rights groups have been treading cautiously in recent months, avoiding open confrontations amid political uncertainty after Mr Yoon's failed martial law attempts. Still, activists hope to see movement on key issues: wage transparency, a consent-based rape law, LGBTQ+ protections, and gender equality lessons replacing patchy sex education at schools. So far, most of these are missing from the administration's early agenda. Despite the polarisation, some common ground is emerging: many across the political spectrum now recognise the urgency of tackling deepfake abuse and digital sexual violence. But broader reforms — from equal pay and childcare policy to cultural norms in the home and workplace — will require more than tweaks or rebranding. As polling expert Mr Jeong put it: "The political crisis has suppressed contentious issues like gender equality. But that doesn't mean they've gone away." Ms Young said the work ahead is clear. She said Korean women are stuck between policies that look good on paper, and a reality that hasn't caught up. "Although Korea's policies have made significant progress, workplace culture and societal perceptions are evolving more slowly."
Times of Oman
4 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
PM Modi meets Special Envoys from South Korea, highlights 10 years of Special Strategic Partnership
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday received a delegation of special envoys from South Korea and highlighted the completion of 10 years of India-South Korea partnership. He underlined that the close collaboration between the two countries plays a key role in the Indo-Pacific region. In a post on X, he said, "Delighted to receive the delegation of Special Envoys from the Republic of Korea led by Mr. Kim Boo Kyum. Recalled my positive meeting with President @Jaemyung_Lee last month." PM Modi highlighted the various areas of collaboration between India and South Korea, such as innovation, defence, ship-building and skilled mobility. He added, "India-ROK Special Strategic Partnership, which completes 10 years, continues to grow from innovation and defence to shipbuilding and skilled mobility. Close collaboration between the democracies contributes to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region." PM Modi met Lee Jae-myung on the sidelines of the 51st G7 Summit at Kananaskis, Canada in June 17 earlier this year. The leaders discussed several areas of collaboration such as commerce, investment, technology, green hydrogen. Previously on June 11, Secretary East, P Kumaran met South Korea's Political Affairs Deputy Minister Chung Byung-won on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit Meet on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said. In May this year, Indian Ambassador to South Korea Amit Kumar highlighted the rapidly expanding partnership between India and South Korea, outlining the depth of bilateral ties, the progress under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and emerging opportunities in new technologies and green energy. In an interview with ANI during the visit of an all-party Indian parliamentary delegation to Seoul, Ambassador Kumar discussed how the relationship now spans political, economic, security, and technological domains and holds significant promise for future growth. (
