USFK reports 2 additional coronavirus cases

An American service member and a South Korean contractor working for US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to the US military. The service member, on a temporary duty to USFK, was confirmed Wednesday to have contracted COVID-19 in a virus test conducted prior to his return to his permanent duty station off the Korean Peninsula, it said. On the same day, a South Korean contractor who works at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, was

DefenseApril 9, 2021

US still in final stage of 'careful' N. Korea policy: State Dept.

The United States is taking all necessary steps to carefully review its North Korea policy, a State Department spokesman said Thursday. Ned Price reiterated the review is in is final stages, but said such careful consideration requires time. "We were talking earlier in this briefing about the careful consideration of major decisions in a completely different context, and I think that would also apply to this case," he said when asked if the review process was being held up. "No

North KoreaApril 9, 2021

Korea not considering Chinese vaccines: minister

SEJONG -- South Korea is not considering using Chinese COVID-19 vaccines, according to the minister of health and welfare on Thursday. Kwon Deok-cheol, who assumed the ministerial post at the peak of the winter wave in mid-December, told a socially distanced press conference that while the country is striving to secure more vaccines, those made by Chinese companies Sinovac and Sinopharm are not among the options being considered. “We’re working to ensure our goal of herd immunit

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

Gyeonggi governor Lee back at No. 1 in poll of presidential hopefuls

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung was back at No. 1 in a poll of potential presidential candidates released Thursday, with the previous front runner having fallen far behind compared with a week ago. In the survey conducted jointly by four polling agencies on 1,004 people over the age of 18 from Monday to Wednesday, 24 percent picked Gov. Lee as their favored candidate in next year's presidential election, pushing him into the lead after finishing in second place last week. The poll was con

PoliticsApril 8, 2021

More than 80% of Koreans call for recalibration of Moon's policy direction

More than 80 percent of South Koreans share the view that the Moon Jae-in government needs to recalibrate the direction of its key state administration policies, a poll showed Thursday. According to the poll of 1,004 people earlier this week, 86 percent said the Moon government's policy direction should be partially or entirely changed after Wednesday's mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan. Fifty-one percent said the Moon government can maintain the basic direction of its major state polici

PoliticsApril 8, 2021

Main opposition interim leader steps down after steering party to election victory

Kim Chong-in, the interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), resigned Thursday after steering the biggest conservative party to a landslide victory in the latest by-elections. Kim took office as the caretaker leader of the biggest conservative party in June last year, following the party's crushing parliamentary election defeat in April. Under Kim's leadership, the party renamed itself from the United Future Party to the current moniker and took other face-lifting measures

PoliticsApril 8, 2021

Defense chiefs of S. Korea, Indonesia affirm fighter deal cooperation

The South Korean and Indonesian defense chiefs said that their deal to build Korea’s first homegrown fighter jets together represents a relationship based on trust, and that they should build on the legacy to expand exchanges, at a face-to-face meeting in Seoul on Thursday. The KF-X program, in which Indonesia seeks a 20 percent share and technology know-how while Korea holds the rest, is set to reveal its prototype jet early this month, but Indonesia has so far paid just $22 million

DefenseApril 8, 2021

S. Korea replaces Marine Corps chief

Maj. Gen. Kim Tae-sung, the first Marine division commander, was tapped as the top commandant of the armed service in a regular reshuffle, the defense ministry said Thursday. He will replace Lt. Gen. Lee Seung-do, who led the Marine Corps since April 2019. The 54-year-old officer has served various positions in the service branch after his graduation from the Republic of Korea Naval Academy. "As an expert in Marine operations and strategy fields, the nominee has a strategic insight and c

DefenseApril 8, 2021

Delivery union threatens to stop door-to-door service in protest of ban on ground-floor parking

Delivery workers threatened Thursday to end doorstep delivery for customers living at a massive apartment complex in eastern Seoul, in protest against a rule that requires delivery trucks to use only underground parking spaces. In a press conference held in front of the complex that houses 5,000 apartment units, the workers' union, associated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country's second-largest labor group, denounced the measure, calling it "unilateral" and inco

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

[News Focus] Nonregular jobs grow fastest among female 20-somethings

SEJONG -- The percentage of nonregular workers in South Korea was found to have climbed steepest among women aged 20-29, state data shows. In the figures for nonregular jobs, held by Statistics Korea, The Korea Herald compared the eight “core” working-age groups -- men and women in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. The other four, men and women aged 15-19 and those in their 60s or over, were excluded. As of August 2020, the number of nonregular workers, including those in temporary or

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

3 US service members, dependent test positive for virus

Three American service members and a dependent have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here in the past two weeks, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Two of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights, while the others traveled via commercial flights, according to the US military. "Thorough cleaning of all transportation assets and quarantine rooms has been completed," USF

DefenseApril 8, 2021

Key member of sexual blackmail ring get 34 years in prison

A court on Thursday sentenced a key member of an online sexual blackmail ring to 34 years in prison for coercing dozens of women and girls into sharing sexually explicit videos of themselves. A district court in the southeastern city of Andong convicted Moon Hyung-wook, 24, of operating the sexual exploitation chatrooms on Telegram and producing and distributing thousands of obscene videos of female victims. "The defendant caused irreparable damage to the victims and his antisocial crime

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

Oh Se-hoon returns as Seoul mayor after 10 years

Oh Se-hoon, the new mayor of Seoul, who returned to the post Thursday 10 years after stepping down, has vowed to take care of citizens suffering as a result of the prolonged pandemic and to push for deregulation to increase the supply of housing. After arriving at Seoul City Hall on Thursday at 8:50 a.m., Oh met with reporters and expressed his feelings about his first day of work, saying that as mayor he would take care of Seoul citizens suffering the effects of the novel coronavirus outbreak

PoliticsApril 8, 2021

Tests on 5,002 people find only 26 have coronavirus antibodies: KDCA

Only 26 of 5,002 people in the greater Seoul area have antibodies against the novel coronavirus, a test showed Thursday, reinforcing views that the nation's aggressive containment efforts might have curbed the prevalence of the virus. However, the antibody rate of 0.52 percent among those in the wider Seoul area, which includes Gyeonggi Province and Incheon City, was higher than a rate of 0.15 percent in last year's antibody test, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KD

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

S. Korea set to resume AstraZeneca jabs amid lingering safety woes

South Korea's health authorities on Thursday said they will resume administering AstraZeneca vaccines one day after suspending the vaccination program for certain groups over its safety, saying they will officially decide the issue over the weekend. On Wednesday, the country suspended the use of vaccines by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant and Oxford University for people under age 60, special education instructors and school nurses. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDC

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

South Korea, US sign deal on shared defense costs

South Korea and the US on Thursday signed the recently concluded agreement on how to share the cost of the US military presence here, resolving an impasse in negotiations that lasted more than a year and put a strain on the decadeslong alliance. 　 Under the new deal that was reached last month, Seoul agreed to pay 1.183 trillion won ($1.06 billion) this year for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. That is a 13.9 percent hike from the previous 2019 deal, the biggest annual rise for

Foreign AffairsApril 8, 2021

KAIST targets global top 10 with new talent, research programs

South Korea’s top science and technology institution is seeking to strengthen its globalization efforts and provide unique research opportunities in hopes of becoming one of the top 10 universities in the world within the next 20 years. Lee Kwang-hyung, president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, said in a press briefing Thursday that the school will focus on nurturing creative scholars, have them engage in novel research fields and thereby improve the competitive

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

Ruling party leaders resign en masse for election defeat

The leaders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) resigned en masse Thursday to take responsibility for the shocking rout in this week's by-elections. "Taking responsibility for the results of the elections, all (members of) the DP leadership are stepping down," Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, the party's acting chairman and floor leader, said in a press conference at the National Assembly. The party will hold a convention to pick a new chairman on May 2, a week earlier than initially planned, and

PoliticsApril 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police raid LH in probe into alleged business irregularities

Police raided the headquarters of Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) and five other locations Thursday as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities involving business contracts. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said its officers searched the state housing developer in Jinju, about 435 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as well as the offices of its suppliers and the homes of three suspects in Gyeonggi Province near the capital. The company is suspected to have given favors to supplie

Social AffairsApril 8, 2021

PM orders full review of EMA's findings before resuming use of AstraZeneca's vaccine

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday ordered health authorities to thoroughly and swiftly review the latest findings by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on the safety of AstraZeneca's vaccine. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency should "swiftly reach a scientific conclusion on the findings and share the results with the public in a transparent manner," he said. While rare blood clots have been reported among people administered with the vaccine, the EMA said "

PoliticsApril 8, 2021