3 Indonesian wildfire heroes granted long-term residency visas
The government said Sunday that three Indonesian sailors who helped other residents evacuate from the recent wildfires in the southeastern region were granted F-2-16 long-term residency visas, issued to individuals who made a special contribution to the country.
"It has been decided to grant long-term residency based on special contributions to three people of Indonesian nationality who helped senior citizens to safety during the recent wildfires... We offer sincere gratitude to those who saved the lives of neighbors with no regard to their own," said Lee Han-kyung, deputy chief of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
Officials said the Ministry of Justice notified them of the decision on Saturday.
It was reported last week that the Justice Ministry was reviewing granting an F-2 visa to 31-year-old sailor Sugianto, a resident of Yeongdeok-gun, North Gyeongsang Province who carried some 60 of his neighbors on his back to safety when the fire spread to his village at around 10 p.m. March 25.
The village chief who helped evacuate the residents with Sugianto told local media outlets that he was a "kind young man," who would frequently help older residents carry heavy bags and fix household appliances.
Two other Indonesian sailors, one from Yeongdeok-gun and the other from Uljin-gun of the same province, were also granted the same long-term residence visa.
The wildfires that ravaged across the southeastern region left 31 dead and 51 injured, according to the officials, Sunday. The largest wildfires in the country's history are thought to have consumed over 45,000 hectares in the northern North Gyeongsang Province alone, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents in the area.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
17 hours ago
- Korea Herald
US has struck 3 Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel 's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. There was no immediate acknowledgment from Iran of any strikes being carried out. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on social media. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' Trump added in a later post that he would address the national at 10:00 p.m. eastern time, writing 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!' Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran, saying it's 'the last thing you want to do.' He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks, a timeline that seemed drawn out as the situation was evolving quickly. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday the United States that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them.' And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region." Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully. Israel 's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the US attack that American military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced the US had begun 'assisted departure flights,' the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza . White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Thursday's press briefing that Trump had said: 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' Instead, the US president struck just two days later. Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant , Israel appealed to Trump for US bunker-busting bomb , which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Previous Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on a centrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA has said. Trump's decision for direct US military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program. For months, Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice — in April and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time. The US in recent days has been shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and US bases from Iranian attacks. All the while, Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a 'second chance' for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Khamenei and making calls for Tehran's unconditional surrender. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump said in a social media posting. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Trump withdrew the US from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the 'worst deal ever.' The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, US and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran's non-nuclear malign behavior. Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further US involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end US involvement in expensive and endless wars. (AP)
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae Myung appoints vice ministers for unification, interior, agriculture, ocean, disaster management
South Korea's presidential office on Friday announced a list of vice minister-level officials across several ministries. According to Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, Kim Nam-jung, a veteran of inter-Korean affairs, was appointed vice minister of the Ministry of Unification. Kim previously served as the standing representative for inter-Korean talks and has worked at the ministry for over 30 years, earning the nickname 'the living history of the Unification Ministry.' At the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Kim Min-jae, currently an assistant vice minister, was promoted to vice minister. Kim Gwang-yong, the ministry's spokesperson, was tapped to head the National Disaster and Safety Management Agency, which plays a key role in crisis response and disaster preparedness. Kang Hyoung-seok, head of the Agricultural Innovation Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, was named its new vice minister. At the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Kim Sung-bum, director of the Marine Policy Bureau, was promoted to vice minister. The presidential office said the appointees were selected for their 'field expertise and institutional knowledge,' and emphasized the importance of leadership that can deliver 'stable and responsive governance' across sectors ranging from agriculture and marine policy to inter-Korean relations and public safety.
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Korea Herald
S. Korea suffers OECD's 4th-biggest AI brain drain
South Korea, despite being a leading producer of educated professionals in artificial intelligence and science, is rapidly losing talent to countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan and Germany, according to a new report released Wednesday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce's Sustainable Growth Initiative. In 2024, South Korea recorded a net loss of 0.36 AI experts per 10,000 people. That puts it near the bottom of the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, at 35th place. Luxembourg, by comparison, gained 8.92 persons per 10,000 people. Germany gained 2.34 and the US 1.07. This measure subtracts the number of local professionals leaving the country from those coming in. In Korea's case, the gap is growing wider every year. This trend marks a reversal from what had been a modest but positive inflow of AI talent into South Korea. Just five years ago, in 2020, the country recorded a net gain. That has since shifted to a steady and worsening outflow. The broader science sector tells a similar story. In 2021, Korea's rate of scientists moving abroad (2.85 percent) was higher than the rate of foreign scientists moving in (2.64 percent). This placed Korea 33rd out of 43 countries in terms of scientific talent retention. The US is the top attractive destination for Korean researchers. The US issued 5,684 high-skilled EB-1 and EB-2 visas to Korean nationals in 2023. That is roughly 11 per 100,000 people, a far higher rate than China (0.94), Japan (0.86) and even India (1.44). And 71.1 percent of Korean Ph.D. graduates in the US reported plans to stay there long-term, a rise from the previous five years, when it had stayed below 70 percent. The SGI report identifies several structural issues behind the exodus. Chief among them is Korea's rigid and hierarchical workplace culture, which many young professionals find stifling. Compensation is also a major issue. The median starting salary for assistant professors in Korea is about $32,000 a year. In the US, it's over 83,000. Countries like Japan ($46,000) and Germany ($70,000) also pay significantly more. In addition, the report posits that Korea's 52-hour workweek cap, though intended to protect workers, often limits the flexibility that high-performing researchers need. Other countries make exceptions. The US, for instance, exempts many high-earning professionals from strict working hours regulations. Japan and Germany also allow special provisions for researchers in advanced fields. With Korea's working-age population shrinking and the research workforce projected to decline by over 20 percent by 2040, the report warns that the country faces a future where it trains the world's talent but struggles to keep enough of it to sustain its own growth. SGI recommends sweeping policy changes, including performance-based pay, flexible work arrangements for high-skilled professionals, and structured incentives for overseas Koreans to return. 'We're watching the foundation of Korea's scientific future quietly erode,' said SGI researcher Kim Cheon-goo. 'And we are helping build it elsewhere.'
