By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol said at a press conference on May 9, “I will mobilize all the country's capabilities to overcome the declining birthrate, which is a national emergency,” and announced the establishment of a new planning ministry, tentatively titled the 'Ministry of Low Birthrate Response Planning,' to prepare for a low birthrate and aging population.” President Yoon made the announcement in a message to the public earlier in the day at a press conference on the second anniversary of his inauguration at the Yongsan presidential office in Seoul. “We wil
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Goyang Special City (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) held an international cooperation promotion meeting inviting ambassadors from 32 countries at KINTEX on April 27. At the event, the ambassadors discussed ways to expand the number of countries participating in the Goyang International Flower Expo, revitalize coffee industry and cultural exchanges, and promote and cooperate on the designation of a free economic zone. Mayor Lee Dong-hwan welcomed and thanked the ambassadors from 32 countries, saying, “Today's world is forming a global village where boundaries between coun
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held talks with Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party at the Yongsan presidential office on April 29. According to Lee Do-woon, chief of the presidential press office, the meeting lasted about two hours and 15 minutes. The presidential office was represented by the secretary, chief political affairs officer, and chief public relations officer, while the Democratic Party of Korea was represented by the secretary, policy chairman, and chief spokesperson. The meeting discussed a variety of issues, centered on the
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Hanam City Mayor Lee Hyun-jae held a tea meeting with Italian Ambassador to Korea Emilia Gatto and Italian Cultural Center Director Michela Linda Magri at the Hanam Culture and Arts Center on April 27, the city said. The city organized the meeting to discuss expanding cultural, tourism, and artistic exchanges with Amb. Emilia Gatto, who is visiting the Hanam Arts Center to watch a performance of the ballet “Don Quixote,” which commemorates the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy this year. The relationship between Korea and Italy i
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young Ansan City announced that an economic delegation, headed by Mayor Lee Min-geun officially visited Dresden, Germany on April 24 (local time) and held a meeting to explore international cooperation. At the meeting, the two cities discussed mutual strategies for building a high-tech semiconductor cluster and attracting global companies while exploring ways to cooperate in the future. Dresden is the capital of the state of Saxony, located in eastern Germany, 189 kilometers south of the capital Berlin. It is one of the important cities of the former East Germany,
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Robb Pitts, Chairman of Fulton County, USA, and a delegation visited the Seongnam City Council on April 22 to promote exchanges between the two regions. The delegation met with Vice Chairperson Park Eun-mi and Culture and Welfare Committee Chairperson Ahn Geuk-soo to discuss ways to promote friendship and exchange between the two regions. “We are looking to establish partnerships with Korean companies that are interested in expanding into Fulton County,” said Chairman Robb Pitts, “and we would like to establish industrial exchanges with tech-savvy small and med
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Ambassadors from four Nordic countries visited Pohang City Hall on April 18 and discussed mutual cooperation in new industries with Pohang City Mayor Lee Kang-deok. The ambassadors visited Pohang were those from Denmark, an offshore wind power powerhouse; Norway, the world's No. 1 electric vehicle penetration rate and the largest possessor of smart aquaculture technology; Sweden, Europe's largest battery manufacturer and clean power source; and Finland, which has become a key producer of the battery value chain. Their visit was organized at the suggestion of Da
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young Goyang Special City Mayor Lee Dong-hwan, who is visiting Vietnam, signed business agreements with the Vietnam Agricultural Trade Promotion Center and the Mekong Research Institute for Science, Technology, Education and Application on April 15, and visited the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) and the Vin University to solidify cooperation. "I hope that we can establish a win-win cooperation system that will open up opportunities for Goyang companies to enter Vietnam in the future, and for Vietnamese companies to establish themselves in the free economi
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young "The priority of the national government is people's lives," President Yoon Suk-yeol said at his first meeting with Prime Minister Han Deok-soo after the general election on April 15, adding, "Let's do our best to stabilize people's lives." Yoon also asked the prime minister to "review the working atmosphere of the civil service and the discipline of the civil service in order to stabilize people's lives," according to his spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. Yoon had also issued a message emphasizing "civil stability" on April 11, the day after the general election.
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Jecheon City Mayor Kim Chang-kyu recently held a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Xing Haiming to explore ways to cooperate in attracting Chinese companies to invest in Jecheon. The meeting was attended by Jecheon Mayor Kim Chang-kyu, Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, Deputy Chief of Mission Fang Kun. They listened to the difficulties faced by Chinese companies in entering Korea and discussed continued cooperation for investment in Jecheon. As the atmosphere for attracting foreign companies to Korea is currently heating up, w
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo "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 N
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-yung Jeju City Mayor Kang Byung-sam visited Beppu City, Japan, a city of friendship and cooperation, on April 6 for two days and three nights to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Beppu City Festival and to explore mutual growth through exchanges between the two regions. On April 7, Mayor Kang attended the 100th anniversary ceremony of Beppu City at Beacon Plaza in Beppu to congratulate the city on 100 years of cityhood, and then visited the Beppu Hatto Hot Spring Festival to discuss mutual exchange and cooperation to maintain friendly relations between the two
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol visited Jingwansa Temple in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul on April 7. The visit was organized in response to the President's desire to express his appreciation for Jingwan Temple's role in promoting the unique culture of Korean Buddhism, including its meditation and food. Upon his arrival at the entrance of Jingwansa Temple, the President was warmly greeted by Jin-woo, the head of the Jogye Order, Gyeho, the Buddhist monk of Jingwansa Temple, and Beophae, the Buddhist monk of Jingwansa Temple, in front of Daeungjeon Hall. The President first par
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee Seongnam City announced on April 1 that a seven-member delegation from Huizhou, China, led by Party Secretary Yu Gil, visited the city to strengthen cooperation in friendly city exchanges. Seongnam City Mayor Shin Sang-jin held a meeting with Yu Gil, Party Secretary of Huizhou Municipal Committee, at the city hall, and discussed ways to revitalize exchanges between the two cities. The Huizhou delegation showed interest in Seongnam's Pangyo Techno Valley and discussed future industries such as information and communication technology (IT), biotechnology (BT), and
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Governor Kim Tae-hum of Chungcheongnam-do met with Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming at the reception room of the provincial government office on April 1. The two exchanged pleasantries and words of understanding on local government exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, confirming their friendship. Governor Kim said, "Korea and China are the closest neighbors and inseparable. I know more about Chinese history than Korean history because I have read a lot of books about Chinese history since I was a child." "Chungnam is the closest province