S. Korea, Denmark forge 'comprehensive green strategic partnership' in virtual summit

South Korea and Denmark agreed Sunday to elevate their ties to a "comprehensive green strategic partnership" as part of efforts to further deepen cooperation on the climate and environment. The accord was reached during virtual summit talks between President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen held just before the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit opens. It marks South Korea's first bilateral green partnership with a foreign country. The two sides commemorate the 10th anniversary

Foreign AffairsMay 30, 2021

US soldier apprehended for assaulting 3 Koreans

A US Forces Korea service member is under investigation for allegedly assaulting three South Korean men while under the influence, police said Sunday. The 34-year-old staff sergeant, stationed with the Eighth Army in Pyeongtaek, was apprehended by police in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon late Saturday and transferred to the military police. The unnamed soldier is accused of first punching a 20-something man in the face on Itaewon's streets and then knocking a 40-something man from

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

P4G climate summit opens in Seoul

The P4G summit kicked off in Seoul on Sunday, bringing together top government officials and heads of international organizations around the world to discuss climate change and ways to achieve green growth at a critical time when there are growing calls for a sustainable, green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is hosting the two-day event, vowed to take on a larger role in fighting climate change as he attended the opening ceremony held at Dong

Foreign AffairsMay 30, 2021

Seoul Cyber University, Mines Advisory Group link up to develop educational programs

Seoul Cyber University has inked a deal with Mines Advisory Group on Thursday to collaborate on developing educational programs and raise professional human resources on mine action, the Korean online university said Sunday. The deal involves the two parties co-developing an educational training program in line with the International Mine Action Standards in preparation for enacting laws on mine actions. The parties have also agreed to work on strengthening the Korean military and encourage pa

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

[Newsmaker] Korean expats seek alternative military service

Advocacy groups for overseas Koreans are demanding for measures to protect the rights of expats living outside of South Korea in carrying out their mandatory military service, as a revision that recently took effect infringes their right to visit and stay in their home country as lawful citizens. The Korean International Network and others claimed in a joint statement Sunday that the right to choose their place of living could be infringed for third and fourth generation Korean nationals living

DefenseMay 30, 2021

S. Korea to receive J&J vaccine for 1m people from US this week: PM

South Korea will receive the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine for 1 million people from the United States this week following Washington's pledge to donate vaccines for Korean troops, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday. It is nearly double the volume that US President Joe Biden vowed to provide, during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in earlier this month, to fully inoculate all 550,000 South Korean service members. "Our military aircraft will bring the vaccine home

Foreign AffairsMay 30, 2021

[Herald Interview] Korea-US alliance should not take aim at China: Chinese envoy

South Korean diplomacy in recent years has been increasingly complicated by a tough balancing act: Weighing the demands of its security ally the US against its top trading partner China.  Seoul’s strategic dilemma was showed again recently when the joint Korea-US statement -- issued following the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart, Joe Biden -- triggered a sharp response from Beijing. Despite relatively toned-down language and no direct refer

Foreign AffairsMay 30, 2021

Japan's Dokdo claims spark calls for Olympics boycott

The torch relay route map on the Tokyo Olympics website illustrating Korea’s Dokdo as part of Japan’s territory has raised the possibility of Seoul boycotting the Summer Games. Dokdo, Korea’s easternmost islets, appeared on the official website of the Tokyo Olympics Committee as part of Japan in July 2019. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry immediately urged Tokyo to delete Korea’s islets from the map. Japan then revised the map to make Dokdo less visible, but the islets we

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

2 soldiers, 1 airmen test positive for coronavirus

Two Army soldiers and an Air Force officer have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Sunday. The soldier in the border town of Cheorwon received a positive result for COVID-19 in a test required to exit quarantine. He has been in isolation since coming into contact with his base members who contracted the virus earlier, according to the ministry. The remaining soldier and the officer were confirmed to have been infected following their recent vacations, it added.

DefenseMay 30, 2021

USFK members, foreigners hold no-mask parties on Busan beach amid pandemic

Around 2,000 foreigners, including US soldiers in South Korea, set off firecrackers and held parties without wearing masks on and around a local beach amid the coronavirus pandemic, police said Sunday. The foreigners danced, drank and set off firecrackers on and around Haeundae Beach in the southern city of Busan from Saturday afternoon through early Sunday, with many of them not wearing face masks and violating social distancing rules, according to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency and wi

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

One-person households account for 30.3% of total in 2020

The portion of single-member households in South Korea surpassed 30 percent of the total last year, a government survey showed Sunday, amid an increase in diverse forms of families. One-person families accounted for 30.4 percent of the total in 2020, according to a survey conducted on 11,000 households by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family every five years. The percentage was 21.3 percent in 2015 and 15.8 percent in 2010. At the same time, the proportion of households composed of pare

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

NK trade union holds oath-taking ceremony against non-socialist practices

Members of North Korea's umbrella trade union held an oath-taking ceremony and vowed to stamp out anti-socialist practices, state media said Sunday. The meeting took place in Pyongyang on Saturday by participants in the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea's 8th plenary session held earlier in the North Korean capital, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It was the union's first plenary session in about five years. The participants "vowed to become resolu

North KoreaMay 30, 2021

New infections drop back to 400s amid continued cluster infections

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back to the 400s on Sunday for the first time in 20 days amid continued cluster infections and growing fears over the spread of more virulent variants. The country reported 480 more COVID-19 cases, including 464 local infections, raising the total caseload to 139,910, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It marks the first time that the new caseload fell below 500 since May 10 when 463 cases were reported. The drop is belie

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

Vice justice chief undergoes police probe over assault case

Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu was questioned by police Sunday over allegations that he pressured a taxi driver he assaulted to destroy related evidence and went unpunished. Lee appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in central Seoul to undergo questioning for the November case where Lee allegedly hurled insults at the driver and grabbed him by the collar in an intoxicated state when the man tried to wake him up after arriving at his home. Police were called to the scene and let L

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

[Newsmaker] Support growing for volunteer military system over draft: survey

A growing number of South Koreans support replacing the current military draft with a volunteer system, a survey showed Sunday. According to the Gallup Korea poll, 43 percent of respondents were in favor of switching to the volunteer military system, while 42 percent were in favor of maintaining the status quo. The remaining 15 percent declined to answer. The law requires all able-bodied South Korean men to serve about two years in the military. Women are exempted from mandatory service and al

Social AffairsMay 30, 2021

S. Korea set to host virtual P4G summit on climate

A major global summit on climate and sustainable growth is scheduled to open on Sunday under the initiative of South Korea. President Moon Jae-in will host the two-day 2021 P4G Seoul Summit via video links, joined by more than 60 other top government officials and heads of international organizations, according to his office. They include British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and John Ke

PoliticsMay 30, 2021

NK continuing activities at Yongbyon but no clear sign of spent fuel rods transfer: 38 North

North Korea appears to be continuing activities at its Yongbyon nuclear complex but no clear evidence has been detected to determine if spent fuel rods have been transferred from the storage facility to produce plutonium, a US think tank has said. The monitoring website 38 North made the assessment Friday, based on recent satellite imagery, also noting that minor activities have been spotted at the site's uranium enrichment plant while construction of a new wing of a lab building continued. &

North KoreaMay 30, 2021

Moon shares Biden's Twitter message on their summit last week

South Korean President Moon Jae-in publicly thanked US President Joe Biden on Saturday for his note on their White House summit last week. Moon shared Biden's related Twitter message on his Facebook account and also retweeted it. Moon attached a message reading "Mr. President Biden, Thank you." Hours earlier, Biden tweeted, "I was honored to welcome President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea last week at the White House." "The alliance between our nations was forg

Foreign AffairsMay 29, 2021

President Moon upbeat about COVID-19 vaccination goal

President Moon Jae-in expressed optimism Saturday that South Korea will attain its goal of getting 13 million people inoculated against COVID-19 by the end of June. "Vaccinations are gaining speed," he wrote on his Facebook account. Just over the past two days, 1.2 million people received vaccine shots, raising the total to 5.23 million, 10.2 percent of the nation's population, as of Friday, he noted. If the current pace is maintained, there will be no problem in achieving the aim of

Social AffairsMay 29, 2021

Fire stops turbine at Shin-Kori 4 nuclear plant

A fire stopped the operation of a turbine at a nuclear plant on the country's southeastern coast Saturday, officials said. There were no reports of casualties or radiation leaks. The fire broke out at the Shin-Kori 4 reactor in Ulsan, some 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at 9:28 a.m. and was extinguished about an hour later, according to the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. The authorities suspect the fire started from an exciter of a turbine. The Nuclear Safety and Security Co

Social AffairsMay 29, 2021