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 Kayla Lee Folk painting is a composite art, and the fact that all Korean crafts always have folk-like paintings on them allows us to speculate on the function of Korean folk paintings. In other words, folk paintings are not just decorations on celadon, white porcelain, cabinets, pencil cases, and many other crafts, but they are an important folk painting element without which a work of art would be lifeless. Folk paintings, which are the most obvious manifestation of the Korean people's sense of aesthetics and sculpture, have been one of the most important elements of Kore
By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee President Yoon Suk-yeol received the credentials of nine new foreign ambassadors to South Korea at a ceremony held at the presidential office on April 26. The nine ambassadors-designate are: H.E. Jacques Flies from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, H.E. Georgiy Zinoviev from the Russian Federation, H.E. Jeffrey David Robinson from Australia, H.E. Marek Repovský from the Slovak Republic, H.E. Petar Kraytchev from the Republic of Bulgaria, H.E. Vu Ho from the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, H.E. Emmy Jerono Kipsoi from the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Jorge Enrique Valerio
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo SK On, a leading global electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer, announced that its Cobalt-free battery has won a Bronze award in the Smart Transportation category at the prestigious 2024 Edison Awards on April 18. The latest honor not only shows SK On's technological prowess but also underscores the company’s commitment to ethical innovation and sustainable progress in the green energy sector. SK On's Cobalt-free battery is considered a breakthrough in EV battery technologies, overcoming technological barriers in cobalt-free cathode material compositions. R
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 Romanian President Klaus Iohannis visited the headquarters of Doosan Enerbility in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, on April 24 and met with Chairman & CEO Park Gee-won of the company. Romania is in the process of building its first small modular reactor (SMR) power plant. Romania's RoPower is planning to build a 462-megawatt (MW) SMR plant at the site of a coal-fired power plant in the Doişeşti region. US-based NuScale Power will supply six 77-megawatt (MW) SMRs to the plant, and Doosan Enerbility will manufacture and deliver reactor modules, the core equipment
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo | In accordance with the decree No 59 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 7, 2022, "On measures to organize and hold the international folklore festival "Boysun Spring", the international folklore festival "Boysun Spring" is held once every two years in Boysun District, Surkhandarya Region. This festival, which is planned to be held on May 1-7 this year, includes a newly established 6-hectare area located in the "Bibishirin" neighborhood of Boysun district (a modern hotel with 110 seats, a center for 100 seats of artisans, a
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo April 26 is the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. On this day, people all over the world recall Chernobyl, a sacrifice of those who without sparing their lives and health stopped the radiation disaster and prevented a larger disaster. As a result of explosions at Unit 4, the reactor was completely destroyed. The accident was accompanied by fires and releases of radioactive substances. The radioactive cloud passed over the USSR, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and affected more than 20 countries. The contamination of the territory of Belarus amounted
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Kazakh President Tokayev received the CEO of KIA Corporation, Song Ho-sung on April 23, 2024. During their meeting, it was emphasized that the production of cars is one of the key areas of Kazakhstan’s industrial policy. CEO Song talked about the progress of construction of a full-cycle car production plant in Kostanay, which will be built in 2025. This ambitious project has already attracted over 200 million US dollars in investment and is expected to create 1,500 permanent jobs. The plant is designed with a capacity to produce 70,000 cars annually, with 50,00
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo K-water has decided to expand global cooperation to jointly respond to the climate crisis and expand water industry exports. Related to this, K-water CEO Yun Seog-dae visited Kyrgyzstan to meet with high-level government officials, sign business agreements and discuss ways to expand cooperation in the water sector in April. Kyrgyzstan is a key partner country of Korea. Kyrgyzstan and South Korea have been cooperating mainly in the fields of environment and health and hygiene. As the lead agency for the Ministry of Environment's International Greenhouse Gas Redu
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 Jon-young President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit on April 23 with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, who is on an official visit to South Korea, and exchanged a wide range of views on ways to promote practical cooperation between the two countries, as well as regional and international developments. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the ROK-Romania Strategic Partnership last year, the two leaders recognized that the bilateral relationship is deepening in many aspects and adopted the Joint Statement on Strengthening the ROK-Romania St
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The following article was contributed by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul to Diplomacy Journal for publication. __ Ed. Since gaining sovereignty, Kazakhstan has navigated a complex international landscape with a foreign policy strategy rooted in pragmatism and proactive engagement. Embracing a multi-vector approach, the nation has become a pivotal player in shaping global and regional agendas while steadfastly defending its national interests. This approach has not only bolstered Kazakhstan's standing on the world stage, but has also fostered cooperation and
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The following article was contributed by Avazbek Kholbekov, expert of the Development Strategy Center, to the Diplomacy Journal for publication through the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Seoul. –Ed. Over the past five years in Uzbekistan, a number of laws have been adopted in our country to ensure the priority of private property and strengthen its legal protection. Most importantly, based on the principle of "From Action Strategy to Development Strategy" there was adopted the "Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026", as a logical continuation of Action