The wife of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been fired from her job as a sales representative for a German state-owned business agency over her attendance at a Victory Day reception at the Russian embassy in Berlin.

The employment relationship between Soen Schroeder-Kim and NRW.Global Business was terminated “without prior notice and with immediate effect,” a spokesman for the Economy Ministry of the West German state of North Rhine-Westphalia said on May 16.

“NRW.Global Business has repeatedly pointed out to Ms. Schroeder-Kim that representatives should not speak out publicly on politically sensitive issues, especially regarding Russian aggression in Ukraine,” said Mona Neubauer, spokeswoman for North Rhine-Westphalia’s economy minister.

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Leaked pictures showed Schroeder and his wife attending a reception at the Russian embassy in Berlin on May 9, prompting further criticism of the disgraced former Social Democrat head of government. Schroeder has refused to deny his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and business ties with Russia, despite the Kremlin's attack on Ukraine. Furthermore, he called the war a “mistake” and justified it with “Russia’s fear of being surrounded by NATO.”

Schroeder-Kim, 55, worked as South Korea’s representative to the North Rhine-Westphalia foreign trade promotion agency for 11 years – a position still listed on her LinkedIn profile on Tuesday.

Drone Sighting Forces Hour-Long Ground Stop at Munich Airport
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Drone Sighting Forces Hour-Long Ground Stop at Munich Airport

Munich Airport completely halted all flight operations for over an hour on Saturday morning, May 30, following a suspected drone intrusion near the airfield. The security shutdown began around 9:00 a.m. local time after multiple pilots reported seeing a suspicious aerial object close to the facility, prompting Federal Police to completely close both runways.

Several other German politicians attended a reception at the Russian embassy in Berlin on May 9 to mark Victory Day. Among them was the leader of the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany, Tino Hrupalla.

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