[Graphic News] Number of marriages hits new low in 2020

　The number of South Koreans getting married fell at a double-digit rate to an all-time low in 2020, amid young people’s changing attitude toward marriage and the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed. 　The number of couples tying the knot in Asia’s fourth-largest economy reached 214,000 last year, down 10.7 percent from the previous year, according to data from Statistics Korea. 　The figure is the lowest since 1970, when the statistical agency b

NationalMarch 31, 2021

New COVID-19 cases back above 500 as virus spread accelerates

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back above 500 on Wednesday, in a sign that virus infections are accelerating across the country as people's movement increases amid spring weather. The country reported 506 more COVID-19 cases, including 491 local infections, raising the total caseload to 103,088, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It marked the highest daily tally in four days. The country added two more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2021

N. Korea's paper urges better water management to prevent flooding

North Korea's official newspaper on Wednesday urged stepped-up efforts for effective water management to prevent the recurrence of flooding that caused heavy damage to the country last summer. "Without well organizing rivers and streams, we could be faced with tremendous damage as our homes, public buildings, roads and railways could be inundated or destructed and our farmland could be lost," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party, said. "Natural disasters w

North KoreaMarch 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Poll shows opposition Seoul mayoral candidate has commanding lead over his ruling rival

The conservative main opposition People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon is leading his rival from the ruling Democratic Party Park Young-sun by an overwhelming margin of nearly 30 percentage points, an opinion poll showed Wednesday, a week ahead of the election day. According to the survey conducted on 842 voters in Seoul from Sunday-Monday by Hangil Research, 60.1 percent of the respondents said they will vote for Oh in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. Only 32.5 percent

PoliticsMarch 31, 2021

S. Korea to roll out vaccine against FMD by May

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it plans to roll out vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) by May as the country raises its guard against the potential outbreak of the acute infectious viral disease. Under the plan, all cattle and goats from 117,000 farms across the nation, estimated at 4.25 million units, will be required to receive the jabs, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The inoculation program will be carried out through mid-May

Social AffairsMarch 31, 2021

FM Chung to visit China for talks with Wang this week

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will visit China later this week for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss bilateral ties, the Korean Peninsula situation and regional and global issues, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Chung and Wang are set to hold their first in-person meeting in their current capacities in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen on Saturday, amid renewed regional tensions caused by North Korea's recent missile launches and an escalating Sino-US rivalry.

Foreign AffairsMarch 31, 2021

UN Security Council meets on NK missile launches, but no action

The UN Security Council convened a closed-door session Tuesday to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches but took no immediate action, a report said. On Thursday, the North test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the first such provocative move in about a year. The launches came just days after it fired two cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea. The Security Council held the half-hour meeting, but it released no statement, according to AFP. A diplomat was quoted a

North KoreaMarch 31, 2021

US will hold N. Korea accountable for 'egregious' human rights violations: official

The United States will hold North Korea accountable for its "egregious" human rights violations, a State Department official said Tuesday, as it released an annual human rights report. Lisa Peterson, acting assistant secretary of state in the bureau of democracy, human rights and labor, made the remarks, reaffirming human rights will be an "indispensable" element of the Joe Biden administration's policy toward Pyongyang. The State Department published the 2020 Country Repor

North KoreaMarch 31, 2021

Korea’s goal of November herd immunity getting more elusive

Supply shortages and waning vaccine confidence are posing a growing risk to Korea’s hope of reaching herd immunity by November. “High uptake is anticipated in Korea, which has always been a quite well-vaccinated country,” said Dr. Jung Ki-suck, onetime director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But I worry that the latest developments surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine could hurt public perceptions of its safety,” he said, referring

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

S. Korea 'strongly condemns' Japan's approval of school texts

South Korea "strongly condemns" Japan's approval of high school textbooks renewing territorial claims to the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. A textbook screening committee under Japan's education ministry approved 296 textbooks for first-year high school students, including 30 kinds for social studies subjects, such as history and geography. The books will be used from next year. All of the 30 textbooks contain details about the rocky outcro

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2021

UNC conducts training with S. Korea against illegal Chinese fishing boats

The US-led United Nations Command (UNC) said Tuesday it held a training exercise with South Korean law enforcement authorities last week to cope with Chinese fishing boats operating "in record numbers" near the neutral waters of a Han River estuary. "With Chinese fishing boats operating in record numbers near the #NorthwestIslands, the risk of encroachment into the #HanRiverEstuary remains ever-present," the command said in a Facebook post, adding that it is "ready to r

DefenseMarch 30, 2021

Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan named as senior presidential secretary for economic affairs

President Moon Jae-in tapped Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan as his new senior secretary for economic affairs, Cheong Wa Dae announced Tuesday. An is succeeding Lee Ho-seung, who was promoted to the post of presidential chief of staff for policy the previous day. Moon also picked two new vice finance ministers, Lee Eog-weon and Ahn Do-geol, both of whom are career officials at the ministry as well. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has two vice ministers. An has been serving as second vic

PoliticsMarch 30, 2021

20 LH employees under probe by police over alleged property speculation

Police have added two more people to the list of the state housing developer's employees suspected of speculative land purchases in a widening probe into alleged real estate speculation by public officials. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency said Tuesday it booked two workers of the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) on suspicion of property speculation and corruption, raising the total number of former and current LH employees under investigation to 20. Eighteen of them are current employees. Th

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

KOICA to focus on green, digital initiatives

The Korea International Cooperation Agency on Tuesday vowed to focus on digitization, expanding eco-friendly projects in its official development assistance programs, in line with the government’s push for green growth. 　 At the press conference marking KOICA’s 30th anniversary, Sohn Hyuk-sang, president of the state-run overseas aid agency, reflected on the past 30 years of aid history and pointed to three areas the agency would emphasize in order to become a leading global agency

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2021

Migrant workers report more claims of sexual assault on farms

Amid a growing shortage of migrant workers in South Korea, reported cases of sexual violence, assault and overdue wages among foreign workers have continued to emerge as they accuse their employers for exploiting their vulnerable status. Police said on Monday it is investigating a case of sexual assault after receiving a complaint that a Cambodian worker was sexually assaulted by a farm owner. The complaint, filed by a migrant worker rights protection civic group, alleges that the farm owne

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

Biden doesn’t intend to meet with NK leader: White House

The White House said it is not the intention of US President Joe Biden to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as part of the diplomacy that Biden has said he was prepared for. In response to the question, “Now that the president said he’s ‘prepared for some form of diplomacy,’ does this include sitting with President Kim Jong-un?” at the White House daily press briefing Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I think his approach would be quite differe

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2021

Over half of single S. Koreans in 30s living with parents: report

More than half of unmarried South Koreans in their 30s are living with their parents, a report showed Tuesday, as young people are delaying marriages amid an economic slowdown. A total of 54.8 percent of single Koreans in their 30s are living with their parents without moving out on their own, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The report showed 62.3 percent of unmarried people aged between 20 and 44 are living with their parents. Of the surveyed, 42.1 percent have no jobs, indicati

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

US starts joint anti-missile drill in Indo-Pacific

The US military held its first joint missile defense drill in the Indo-Pacific region involving four US bases in South Korea, Japan, Guam and Hawaii, the US Army said. The Korean military confirmed Tuesday that the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Osan, Gyeonggi Province -- a subunit of the Eighth US Army that commands 28,500 US troops here -- joined the 38th ADA Brigade in Japan, the E-3 ADA THAAD unit in Guam and the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Hawaii. The tw

DefenseMarch 30, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Green economy common priority for Bulgaria, Korea’

South Korea’s drive to achieve carbon neutrality is an opportunity to create deeper and wider ties between Seoul and Sofia, the Bulgarian ambassador to Korea says. “The shift to a sustainable green economy based on clean energy is a common priority for Bulgaria and Korea,” Petko Draganov, Bulgarian ambassador to Korea, said during an interview with The Korea Herald at his office in Yongsan, Seoul. “Our country promotes the European Green Deal,” he said, referrin

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2021

S. Korea capable of intercepting NK short-range missiles: defense ministry

South Korea has the ability to intercept North Korea's short-range ballistic missiles, the defense ministry said Tuesday, after the North conducted a series of missile tests in recent weeks. On Thursday, the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the first in about a year, just days after the country fired two cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea. "South Korea has the ability and the posture to fully intercept North Korea's short-range missiles, including ballist

DefenseMarch 30, 2021