New cases in 600s for 2nd day amid vaccination campaign

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 600s for the second consecutive day on Sunday as the country focuses on its vaccination campaign amid tight vaccine supply. The country reported 610 more COVID-19 cases, including 572 local infections, raising the total caseload to 131,671, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections fell from 681 on Saturday after posting more than 700 cases on Thursday and Friday as sporadic cluster infections continued

Social AffairsMay 16, 2021

[Photo News] Summer comes early to Seoul

With the sun shining bright and temperatures soaring up to 30 degrees Celsius, South Korea is experiencing an early dose of summer this week.  A man takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves as he walks down the street in an effort to cool down amide the early summer temperatures.  Seoulites rest in the shade as daytime temperature in the capital rises well past 25 C.  With summer almost here, customers head to electronic stores to look for fans to help cope with the sizzli

Social AffairsMay 15, 2021

S. Korea aims to fully normalize offline classes in H2: PM

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Saturday that South Korea will aim to fully normalize offline classes at local schools later this year amid the country's efforts to speed up its inoculation program. The country has been operating a mixture of offline and online classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Due to the prolonged pandemic, I am concerned about the academic gap among students and their lack of social and emotional connection," Kim in a Facebook message marking Teachers' Day

Social AffairsMay 15, 2021

New cases fall below 700; cluster infections, travelers strain virus fight

  South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 700 on Saturday as the authorities expressed concerns about yet another uptick in additional cases amid a growing number of travelers that can lead to more sporadic cluster infections. The country reported 681 more COVID-19 cases, including 661 local infections, raising the total caseload to 131,061, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. South Korea posted more than 700 daily infections on Thursday and Friday as spo

Social AffairsMay 15, 2021

Seoul seeks IMO's involvement in dispute over Fukushima radioactive water

Oceans Minister Moon Seong-hyeok asked the International Maritime Organization to explore ways to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog to ensure safety in Japan's planned release of wastewater from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, his ministry said Friday. Moon made the request in a letter sent to Lim Ki-tack, secretary general of the UN organization, calling Tokyo's decision to discharge the radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean a "unilateral" step that could cause &

Social AffairsMay 14, 2021

Brokers in Optimus fund scam get prison sentences on fraud charges

Two brokers indicted on charges of fraud linked to a massive investment fund scam centered on Optimus Asset Management were given prison sentences by a court on Friday. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced one broker surnamed Shin, who formerly ran an entertainment agency, to an imprisonment of four years and another broker surnamed Kim to three years and six months in prison after finding them guilty of defrauding the CEO of Optimus of 1 billion won ($886,000). The Optimus scandal cente

Social AffairsMay 14, 2021

PPP slams Moon for appointing Cabinet members without opposition consent

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday slammed President Moon Jae-in for appointing the new prime minister and two other Cabinet members despite opposition objections. "The Moon Jae-in administration does not budge a bit no matter how hard it is hit by (souring) public opinion. Its DNA of arrogance and self-righteousness has never been cured," PPP floor leader Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said during an emergency plenary meeting of the party. PPP staged the meeting in front of

PoliticsMay 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Court rejects injunction on sales of Kim Il-sung memoir

The court said Friday that it had rejected an injunction request from NGOs to ban the sales and distribution of a memoir of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung. Kim Seung-kyun, who runs a company that used to trade with North Korea, republished the eight-volume memoirs, titled “With the Century,” last month for the first time in South Korea, and sales of the books once called by the Supreme Court “an item of expression that benefits the enemy” began. The set of book

Social AffairsMay 14, 2021

Adoptive mother sentenced to life for killing toddler

The Seoul court sentenced an adoptive mother surnamed Jang to life in prison Friday for abusing and killing a 16-month-old girl named Jeong-in. Her husband was sentenced to five years in prison for neglecting the abuse. Jang was indicted last December on charges of habitually abusing her adopted daughter between March and October last year and causing her death. The adoptive father surnamed Ahn was also indicted without detention for neglecting to take action despite being aware of his wife&rs

Social AffairsMay 14, 2021

Moon seeks close teamwork with ruling party in his final year in office

President Moon Jae-in on Friday emphasized the importance of close cooperation between his Cheong Wa Dae team and the ruling party in handling major policy issues during the remainder of his tenure. Meeting with the leaders of the Democratic Party (DP) at Cheong Wa Dae, he recalled frequent rifts between South Korea's ruling parties and lame-duck presidents. When a presidency was on the home stretch, there used to be a chasm between a ruling party and the government, Moon pointed out. "T

PoliticsMay 14, 2021

S. Korea considering ways to hold consultations with Japan on Fukushima water

South Korea is considering ways to hold bilateral consultations with Japan on Tokyo's planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the foreign ministry said Friday. A local news outlet reported earlier that the two countries agreed to form a consultative group to exchange information and views on risks, verification and legal issues and other details related to the Fukushima water release. South Korea has expressed concerns about potential health risks

Foreign AffairsMay 14, 2021

S. Korea, US seek talks with Japan amid new NK policy

Senior South Korean and US defense officials agreed to hold three-way minister-level talks with Japan in the coming days, potentially to discuss security issues involving the Korean Peninsula, at a two-day dialogue that ended Thursday in Washington. The trilateral talks, which last opened at an expanded meeting of ASEAN defense ministers in 2019, are expected to resume at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 4-5. The gathering is coming at a critical time for the US seeking to engage

DefenseMay 14, 2021

S. Korea extends advisory against overseas travel amid pandemic

The foreign ministry on Friday extended the special advisory against overseas travel for another month amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. The advisory calls for South Koreans not to go abroad unless the trip is essential and for those staying outside of the country to take extra precautions for safety. The measure will be effective until June 15 and can be extended again. The extension came as foreign countries maintain their entry restrictions and the majority of international flights

Social AffairsMay 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi Gov. Lee beats former prosecutor general for 1st time in hypothetical presidential race: poll

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung has overtaken Yoon Seok-youl, the former prosecutor general, for the first time in a hypothetical two-way presidential hopeful poll released Friday. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,007 adults nationwide from Tuesday to Wednesday, 42 percent picked Gov. Lee, affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party (DP), as their favored candidate for the next presidential election slated for March 2022. Yoon, who has led the presidential hopefuls' race in various pol

PoliticsMay 14, 2021

Military to wrap up first dose vaccinations of troops over age 30 this week

The military is expected to complete the administration of the first doses of COVID-19 vaccinations to service members aged 30 and older this week, officials said Friday. As of Thursday, 97.5 percent of around 114,000 troops, who are eligible for the inoculation program and agreed to take it, have received their first jabs of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, according to the defense ministry. "We are working to wrap up this round of the vaccination program this week, though there could b

DefenseMay 14, 2021

Korea to have new social distancing rules from July: New PM

New Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on his first day of work that the nation would have new social distancing rules from July if the coronavirus situation stabilizes. Kim, who took office Friday, presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Seoul Government Complex. “We will do our best to ensure that more than 13 million people complete their first vaccinations without a hitch in the first half,” Kim said. He added that t

PoliticsMay 14, 2021

New cases above 700 for 2nd day as vaccinations again set to gather pace

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed above 700 for the second day in a row on Friday as the country's vaccination campaign is again set to gather pace with more shipments of vaccines amid a tight supply. The country reported 747 more COVID-19 cases, including 729 local infections, raising the total caseload to 130,380, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections continued to rise this week, jumping to 715 cases Thursday from 635 Wednesday, 511 Tues

Social AffairsMay 14, 2021

China supplied 587 tons of refined oil to N. Korea in March: UN report

China exported around 587 tons of refined oil to North Korea in March, according to data that the country provided to a UN sanctions committee for the first time in six months. According to the latest update on the UN Security Council webpage on its sanctions committee on North Korea, Beijing supplied Pyongyang with 4,893 barrels, equivalent to 587.4 tons, in March. Since its last report in September last year, China had skipped disclosing its monthly oil exports. The March figure represents

North KoreaMay 14, 2021

Moon appoints prime minister, science, land ministers

President Moon Jae-in appointed Kim Boo-kyum as new prime minister and two others to lead the science and land ministries Friday. They were picked in last month's Cabinet shake-up coming on the heels of the ruling party's rout in major by-elections. The president conferred the certificates of appointment on Prime Minister Kim, Science Minister Lim Hye-sook and Land Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk as well as two other minister nominees -- Commerce Minister Moon Sung-wook and Labor Minister An Kyung-duk

PoliticsMay 14, 2021

New PM Kim Boo-kyum pledges to seek national unity on first day on job

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday that he will work toward pursuing national unity in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, as he began his official term as the administration's third prime minister. "I will become a prime minister who thoroughly aims for national unity," Kim said while arriving at the government complex in Seoul on his first day as prime minister. "The current struggle can be overcome only if we work together," Kim added, referring to the ongoing

PoliticsMay 14, 2021