UNJournal Jon Lee | First lady Kim Keon-hee hosted the Korea-Africa Summit Spouses’ Program at the Blue House on June 4. The event was organized by Mrs. Kim to invite the spouses of the heads of state of the 13 African countries visiting Korea for the Korea-Africa Summit to share Korean traditional culture and continue exchanges. In her remarks at the luncheon, Mrs. Kim said, “Korea has experienced miraculous growth in a short period of time after rising from the ashes of war more than 60 years ago, and Africa is also gaining global attention as the fastest-growing continent. This is the first
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo North Korea fired a large number of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea on May 30, it was confirmed. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “At around 6:14 a.m. on May 30, we captured about 10 suspected short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) fired into the East Sea from the Sunan area of Pyongyang, North Korea.” North Korea has a history of ballistic missile provocations, including test launches, but this is unusual. The missiles traveled more than 350 kilometers before landing in the East Sea. Based on the distance, it is believed to be an intermediate-
Bu UN Journal Lee Kap-soo The 11th Kia Skill World Cup has taken place at Kia Osan Training Center and JW Marriott Hotel Seoul in Korea. Held between May 21-23, the competition marked the first offline event after the pandemic since 2018, gathering 42 national winners from 40 countries to compete in the finals. The Kia Skill World Cup is a celebrated global mobility engineering competition for Kia technicians. First hosted in 2002, the competition highlights outstanding technical experts from around the world and enhances the brand’s customer service capabilities. The 42 national winners compe
UNJournal Jon Lee | GS E&C, Dongbu E&C, and Daebo E&C have received a one-year ban from bidding on public works projects from LH in connection with the collapse of the underground parking lot of an apartment building in Geomdan, Incheon, last year. GS E&C and Dongbu E&C announced on May 3 that they have been notified by LH that they have been banned from bidding on public works projects. As a result, the companies will not be able to participate in bidding for public works projects ordered by domestic public institutions for one year from May 22 this year to May 21 next yea
UNJournal Jon Lee | "We will humbly accept the will of the people expressed in the general election and do our best to renew the state affairs and stabilize the economy and people's lives," said President Yoon Suk-yeol. Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea secured large majority in the general election, crushing the ruling People's Power Party. The Democratic Party of Korea won 175 seats in the general election, maintaining its position as the sole majority party. The People's Power Party won 108 seats, the Fatherland Innovation Party 12 seats, the Reform Party 3 seats, the New Future Par
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held a luncheon with Yonsei University Professor Emeritus Kim Hyung-seok at the Yongsan Presidential Office on April 3. The President visited and talked with Professor Kim since his retirement as Prosecutor General in March 2021, and has always expressed his admiration for him by reading his books such as "One Hundred Years of Life.” "I visited you at this time three years ago and heard great comments from you," the president said at the beginning of the luncheon, "and I wanted to have you here as soon as possible after taking office, but I f
By UN Journal Kayla Lee Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang In-sun held a campaign for safe overseas travel at Incheon International Airport's Terminal 1 on March 27. Daniel Lindemann and Lucky, media personalities in Korea, also participated in the campaign. Last year, about 22 million Koreans traveled abroad, -- 79% of the 28 million in 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19 -- with the number expected to recover to the pre-pandemic level this year. Amid this expected increase in overseas travel, this campaign was launched to raise awareness and provide useful information on safe overseas tr
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held his third "luncheon meeting with religious leaders" since taking office on March 12. Ten religious leaders from Christianity, Buddhism, Catholicism, Won Buddhism, Confucianism, Cheondogyo, and the Korean National Council of Religious Affairs were invited to the luncheon, which was held at Sangchunjae, the Blue House. The luncheon was attended by Rev. Jang Jong-hyun, president of the National Council of Churches of Korea; Kim Jang-hwan, senior pastor of Suwon Central Baptist Church; Jin Woo, head of the Jogye religion; Deok-soo, head of t
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held the 19th "Folk Life Discussion with the People" at the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office on March 11 under the theme of "Happiness for the People, Power for Gangwon!" and discussed development issues such as high-tech industries and tourism that will open up the future of Gangwon. In his remarks, the president said that through the public forum, which began this year, he realized that it is the right direction to discover policy issues from the perspective of policy consumers and break down the barriers between ministries an
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young "The March 1 Movement will be completed with a unified Korea where everyone enjoys freedom and prosperity," President Yoon Suk-yeol said on March 1, marking the 105th anniversary of the movement. "We must now move toward a free and unified Korean peninsula where all people are the owners," Yoon said in a commemorative speech at the 105th anniversary of the March 1 commemoration ceremony at the Yoo Kwan-sun Memorial Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. Referring to the 1919 Declaration of Independence, Yoon said, "At the root of the Declaration of Independence was 'liberalism,' w
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young Gyeongju City will leap into the world by hosting the 32nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting 2025 and 'Globalizing the Silla Culture Festival'. Gyeongju City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, held the '2024 Municipal Issues Briefing' hosted by the Culture and Tourism Bureau at the city hall on Feb. 6. Nam Shim-sook, head of the Culture and Tourism Bureau, emphasized that the city will definitely host the APEC Summit in November 2025 in Korea. This is because hosting the summit is expected to promote the image of 'Gyeongju as a cultural and tourism city' to the world, and is expected
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Busan City Mayor Park Hyung-jun announced on Feb. 22 that he met with French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Bertoux at the International Conference Room of City Hall on the 23rd to discuss cooperation plans for Busan-France interaction. Ambassador Philippe Berthoux said, "The French Embassy in Korea will be able to play a bridge role in the interaction between Busan and France." "We expect to cooperate with Busan in various fields such as culture and tourism, cultural contents such as movies and videos, cultural facilities such as art museums, economic trade, and mariti
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young | Gyeongju City has launched a supporters' group composed of foreign language-speaking public officials to focus on its bid for the 2025 APEC Summit. The city of Gyeongju held a launching ceremony for the "Gyeongju Love Global Public Officials Supporters Group" at the large conference room of Gyeongju City Hall on Feb. 16, the city announced on Feb. 18. The supporters' group is composed of 34 public officials from 22 departments who can speak English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish. Gyeongju City, which is focusing its administrative efforts on hosting the
By UN Journal Lee Kap-soo Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul held a meeting with Koo Cha-yol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on February 13, to discuss ways to enhance the responsiveness and vitality of Korean businesses in the face of a rapidly changing and uncertain global landscape. This is the fifth engagement with business associations since Minister Cho took office. Minister Cho participated in the New year event hosted by the innovative venture industry (January 19) and met with leaders of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI, January 22), Korea Ch
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young In April last year, five construction companies, including GS E&C, Daebo E&C, and Dongbu E&C, were suspended from business due to the Incheon Geomdan apartment incident, and credit rating agencies downgraded their ratings and outlooks. This, coupled with the uncertain external environment and market downturn, has raised concerns about the level of financial burden on construction companies. GS E&C, which has been suffering from bad reputation due to poor construction, announced on February 15 that it will sell 'Songdo Xi Scenery Granoble', which will