DP, govt. decide to abolish housing supply program for civil servants in Sejong

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government on Friday decided to abolish a controversial housing supply program for public sector employees relocating to the central administrative city of Sejong, calling it an "excessive privilege." The decision was reached in a policy consultation meeting between the DP, the government and Cheong Wa Dae held at the National Assembly. The special benefit program has recently been under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that an affiliate

PoliticsMay 28, 2021

[Graphic News] Over half of Koreans say Moon-Biden summit talks went ‘well’

　Over half of South Koreans positively evaluated last week’s summit meetings between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden, a poll showed. 　In the Realmeter poll of 2,004 adults conducted nationwide May 24-25, 56.3 percent said the Moon-Biden summit meetings went “well.” Of the positive reviews, 29.6 percent described them as going “very well,” it said. 　On the other hand, 31.5 percent gave it a thumbs-down. Among those who had a negative assessment

NationalMay 28, 2021

New virus cases back under 600, potential uptick still worrisome

South Korea's new daily coronavirus cases fell below 600 on Friday, but sporadic cluster infections traced to entertainment facilities still hampered the virus fight, sparking concerns over yet another uptick in additional cases. The country reported 587 more COVID-19 cases, including 571 local infections, raising the total caseload to 138,898, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload stood at 629 cases the previous day after reporting a nearly two-week h

Social AffairsMay 28, 2021

S. Korea proposes regional medical supply reserve for health emergencies

South Korea has proposed the establishment of a multinational reserve of medical supplies to respond to future health emergencies during a regional cooperation forum, the foreign ministry said Friday. Seoul made the proposal at the third virtual session of the Northeast Asia Conference on Health Security on Thursday. The forum was launched in December based on an initiative that President Moon Jae-in suggested to foster joint efforts to handle pandemics and other challenges. Diplomatic and hea

Foreign AffairsMay 28, 2021

N. Korean ICBMs pose 'real danger' to US homeland: Gen. Milley

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continues to build up its ballistic missile capability, which poses "real danger" to the US mainland, the top US military commander said Thursday. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said the North is showing no signs of giving up its efforts to bolster its military capability. North Korea "continues to enhance its ballistic missile capability and possesses the technical capacity to present a real danger to the US homeland

North KoreaMay 28, 2021

Citizens complain of scarcity of 'no-show' vaccines

South Korea on Thursday launched an innovative pilot program to help non-priority people receive AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines made available from canceled appointments, but the so-called leftover vaccines can hardly be found in reality, many citizens said. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency began the test operation of the search and reservation system for AstraZeneca vaccines available from appointment no-shows through the country's largest web portal Naver and top mobile messenge

Social AffairsMay 27, 2021

S. Korea seeks unfettered access to space tech after ban lifted

South Korea is now free to flex its muscles in space, as it was cut loose from a Korea-US missile pact that has long capped Seoul’s missile program and space reach, experts said Thursday. At last week’s Seoul-Washington summit, the two allies agreed to abolish the 1979 pact that banned medium and long-range ballistic missiles. The US reversed the decision in what many see as an effort to reel in South Korea to counter China and North Korea. Military experts hailed the event, and s

PoliticsMay 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] P4G Seoul Summit to discuss ways to tackle famine

SEJONG -- The topic of food and agriculture will likely come under the spotlight as one of the core items on the agenda for the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, set for May 30-31. P4G -- Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 -- is a global initiative launched in 2017 to accelerate the response to climate change and the implementation of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Twelve countries, including South Korea, are taking part in the gathering. While the internatio

Social AffairsMay 27, 2021

Post-vaccine return to normal leaves out children

Come fall, things will largely return to normal with the vast majority of people in Korea having received at least one COVID-19 shot, health officials say. Masks will become optional outdoors for vaccinated people in the summer, and they will be able to socialize again beyond their close circles. But the conversations about moving past the pandemic ways of life leave out children, who will be the last group to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. That means for them, the point of return to n

Social AffairsMay 27, 2021

Moon says S. Korea has room to keep aggressive fiscal policy

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that South Korea needs to maintain expansionary fiscal policy for the time being despite a hike in national debts attributable to the response to COVID-19. He emphasized that the role of state budget spending is important amid the crisis, speaking at the outset of an annual meeting on fiscal strategy. It was convened to review fiscal policy, set the direction of next year’s budget plans and discuss midterm fiscal strategy for the period of 2021-25. He

PoliticsMay 27, 2021

Denmark PM to attend 2021 P4G Seoul Summit

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will participate in the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit’s live session Monday, the Embassy of Denmark in Seoul said Wednesday. The P4G summit is set to start Sunday. In addition to the prime minister, high level representatives of Denmark’s private and public sectors, central and regional governments as well as the royal family will participate in the summit and the Green Future Week leading up to the summit. The all-virtual summit is focused on ac

Diplomatic CircuitMay 27, 2021

Moon requests confirmation hearing report on prosecutor general nominee

President Moon Jae-in formally asked lawmakers Thursday to send a report on the results of their confirmation hearing on his pick to become prosecutor general. Moon requested that the National Assembly forward the report by next Monday under a related law, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. He earlier nominated Kim Oh-soo, former vice justice minister, to lead the state prosecution service, a position that has been vacant since the sudden resignation of Yoon Seok-youl in

PoliticsMay 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yoon Seok-youl leads presidential hopeful race as Lee Jae-myung's approval catches up

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is leading the race among prospective presidential hopefuls, while runner-up Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung has managed to narrow the gap in approval with Yoon, according to a new poll released Thursday. According to the survey conducted on 2,004 voters nationwide from Monday-Tuesday by Realmeter, Yoon was the most favored candidate for the upcoming 2022 presidential election, receiving 30.5 percent of support. Lee came second, chalking up 25.3 per

PoliticsMay 27, 2021

Main opposition leader resumes public activities after testing negative for COVID-19

The acting chief of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) resumed his public activities Thursday after testing negative for COVID-19. Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, PPP floor leader who is currently acting as the chairman, had temporarily canceled his schedule for the day, including a meeting of the interim party leadership in the morning, following a coronavirus infection case inside the party. According to the party, Kim attended the same party meetings Monday and Tuesday as a party official wh

PoliticsMay 27, 2021

[KH Explains] How to get yourself a COVID-19 vaccine earlier than scheduled

Starting Thursday, South Korea launched a system for people to reserve leftover COVID-19 vaccines on a daily basis through mobile applications. For those concerned about vaccine supplies, the news could be exciting, as they now have a chance to skip ahead of the line. The system could also play a role in helping the country carry out its vaccination plan on time, or even sooner than originally scheduled. Korea aims to inoculate 13 million people by the end of June and achieve herd immunity by

Social AffairsMay 27, 2021

[Herald Interview] Young president hopeful pledges volunteer military

Ruling Democratic Party’s Rep. Park Yong-jin, 50, the first politician who announced a run for president in next year’s election, has vowed that he would reform the military conscription system. Park says it is time to transition to a voluntary military, with compulsory service restricted to basic training for men and women. “The debate on volunteer military system in our society has been quite long. But we are not going in that direction yet. We still conscript young peo

PoliticsMay 27, 2021

Joint military exercises key to ensuring defense readiness of S. Korea, US: Pentagon

Joint military drills are a key measure to ensure the readiness of South Korean and US forces, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday, even as the pandemic has thrown the timetable out the window. The spokesman noted the scope and timing of future exercises will be determined through close consultation between the two allies. "Military readiness is a top priority of the Secretary of Defense. Our combined military training events are a principal method of ensuring our combined Alliance readin

DefenseMay 27, 2021

Jeju flooded with locals avoiding overseas travel amid COVID-19

Jeju Island, South Korea's most popular holiday destination, appears to be increasingly favored by locals as an alternative to overseas travel amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a report indicated Thursday. The report released by the state-funded Korea Culture and Tourism Institute (KCTI) showed that domestic tourism to the southern resort island has been almost fully restored to the pre-coronavirus level amid overseas travel restrictions. It said the number of Koreans who went abroad in Ma

Social AffairsMay 27, 2021

S. Korea to ease bird culling measures

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Thursday it will ease some preventive measures against avian influenza and instead provide more incentives to chicken farms. Under the plan, the ministry will spare birds from poultry farms that have strictly followed preventive measures in case of another outbreak of the highly contagious animal disease in the region, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Currently, birds of the same species within a 1-kilometer radius of in

Social AffairsMay 27, 2021

3 Army soldiers test positive for COVID-19

Three more Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. Two soldiers, based in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, and the border county of Cheorwon, respectively, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after virus cases were reported at their units, according to the ministry. An officer in the northeastern county of Inje tested positive upon return from a vacation. The latest cases raised the total number of infections reported among the militar

DefenseMay 27, 2021