Moon calls for speedy relief money handouts, vaccination

President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Tuesday to accelerate the emergency relief money payment that has just begun and the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, describing the two elements as crucial in efforts for "inclusive" economic recovery. Earlier this week, his left-leaning administration started handing out the fourth batch of direct financial support for the vulnerable in a tailored program based on a 14.9 trillion-won ($13.1 billion) extra budget. Millions of small mercha

PoliticsMarch 30, 2021

S. Korea issues official guideline on animal experiments

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Tuesday it has issued a new standardized guideline on animal experiments in line with the country's efforts to improve the welfare of test subjects. The booklets are designed for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC) under around 450 different organizations nationwide, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Organizations conducting animal experiments are required to install a committee under the local law to

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

Prison term of up to 10 1/2 yrs recommended for fatal industrial accidents

The top court has toughened the sentencing guidelines for fatal industrial accidents that result from violations of safety measures amid mounting criticism that the punishment for those who caused the accidents is too lenient. The Sentencing Commission of the Supreme Court confirmed Monday that the basic sentence range is between one year and 2 1/2 years for business owners or contractors accused of breaching the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and failing to prevent an industrial disaster

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

10 Uzbek roommates test positive for coronavirus in central county

JEUNGPYEONG -- Ten Uzbek nationals have tested positive for the new coronavirus while living together in the central county of Jeungpyeong, officials here said Tuesday. According to government officials of North Chungcheong Province and Jeungpyeong County, the first case of the cluster infection involved a 20-something-year-old college student of Uzbek nationality who tested positive for COVID-19 Monday morning. The student was sharing a house with 10 other roommates from the central Asian co

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yellow dust blankets S. Korea for 2nd day

Harmful yellow dust originating mostly from northern China continued to blanket South Korea for a second day Tuesday, prompting authorities to take emergency emissions reduction measures against spikes in fine dust levels. Hit by the powerful dust storm from the island deserts in northern China and Mongolia, South Korea issued yellow dust warnings for almost all parts of the country for the first time in a decade on Monday. According to weather authorities, the density of fine dust particles

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

Military reports 3 new COVID-19 cases

Two soldiers and an Army officer tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday. One soldier stationed in the city of Yangju, north of Seoul, and the other one in the border city of Paju were confirmed to have been infected after showing symptoms during a vacation, according to the ministry. The officer also stationed in Paju has been in isolation following the infection of one of his family members, and also tested positive, it added. The latest cases raised the

DefenseMarch 30, 2021

Blinken says NK missile launches can't shake shared resolve with S. Korea, Japan against threats

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that North Korea's recent missile launches cannot affect the firm determination shared with South Korea and Japan to reduce regional threats. Blinken made the remark at an online press conference organized by the New York Foreign Press Center, after Pyongyang test-fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast last week in the first such launches since the Joe Biden administration took office in January. "What we're seeing

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2021

New virus cases back above 400 as cluster infections continue

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose above 400 again on Tuesday as a string of cluster infections continued to emerge at various facilities and workplaces nationwide. The country reported 447 more COVID-19 cases, including 429 local infections, raising the total caseload to 102,582, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added three more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,729. In South Korea, a third wave of infections, which began in m

Social AffairsMarch 30, 2021

Biden does not intend to meet with NK leader: White House

US President Joe Biden does not intend to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as his approach to Pyongyang will be "quite different," the White House said Monday. During a press conference on Thursday, Biden said that the United States would respond accordingly if the North escalates tensions in the wake of its recent missile tests and that he is also prepared for some form of diplomacy. "I think his approach would be quite different, and that is not his intention," W

North KoreaMarch 30, 2021

World leaders call for global treaty for pandemic preparedness, response

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other world leaders called for a new international treaty to galvanize concerted efforts to prepare against future pandemics. In an op-ed piece provided exclusively to Yonhap News Agency among South Korean media, the 25 leaders also said that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for a "more robust international health architecture" that will protect future genera

Foreign AffairsMarch 30, 2021

NK leader's sister slams Moon as 'parrot' repeating

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday criticized South Korean President Moon Jae-in for his speech on the North's recent missile launches, mocking him as a "parrot" that repeats the United States' "gangster-like logic." Kim Yo-jong made the criticism in a statement after Moon said on Friday in a speech that any action that could undercut the mood for dialogue is "undesirable," hours after Pyongyang confirmed its test-firing of short-range ballist

North KoreaMarch 30, 2021

S. Korea suffocated by worst yellow dust storm in a decade

An extraordinarily strong yellow dust storm originating from the inland deserts in northern China and Mongolia blanketed all of South Korea on Monday, prompting authorities to issue a yellow dust warning for Seoul and almost all parts of the country for the first time in a decade. The density of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 10, soared to 1,174 micrograms per cubic meter in Daegu on Monday morning, the worst level since Nov. 12, 2010, when the corres

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2021

S. Korea sends naval destroyer to Suez Canal amid ship salvage work

South Korea sent a naval destroyer to the Suez Canal to ensure the safety of its nationals using the waterway, as operations to rescue a stranded giant vessel are under way, the defense ministry said Monday. Last week, the 200,000-ton container vessel got stuck sideways in the canal in northeastern Egypt, blocking off the crucial international waterway. On Monday, it was partly refloated after rescue work, according to foreign media outlets. "The defense ministry moved the Cheonghae Uni

Foreign AffairsMarch 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul mayor election campaign descends to mud slinging

With the April 7 by-election to choose Seoul’s next mayor just around the corner, the election campaigns are becoming marred by mudslinging and personal insults between candidates, which may lead to political distrust and apathy among voters. About a week to go before the election, both the ruling and opposition parties appear to be focusing more on raising personal negative issues about rival candidates than discussion of policies and pledges. Although there are several candidates, the

PoliticsMarch 29, 2021

Moon calls for all-out efforts to fight real estate corruption

President Moon Jae-in on Monday pledged all-out efforts to fight real estate corruption, especially among public officials, as he chaired an emergency session of the government’s Anti-Corruption Policy Consultative Council for Fair Society. The meeting was attended by the ministers of finance, justice and interior, as well as the head of the Financial Services Commission and the acting prosecutor general. The last meeting was convened in June last year to discuss ways to root out corrupt

PoliticsMarch 29, 2021

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon leads in new poll of prospective presidential candidates

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl is leading presidential hopefuls from rival parties by a large margin in the latest popularity poll on potential candidates to succeed President Moon Jae-in next year, a pollster said Monday. Public support for Yoon as South Korea's next leader surged to a record high of 34.4 percent in a Realmeter survey conducted on 2,547 adults nationwide from last Monday to Friday, according to the Seoul-based pollster. It is the first time that Yoon's support rate

PoliticsMarch 29, 2021

Minister urges N. Korea to respond to calls for humanitarian cooperation

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Monday that inter-Korean cooperation in the humanitarian area can be a good starting point for the resumption of talks between the two sides, urging North Korea to show a "flexible" response to offers for exchanges. Lee made the remarks at a seminar in Seoul to discuss the possibility of running trains to send cheering squads of the two Koreas to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, adding that Seoul will do its best to create the momentum needed to

North KoreaMarch 29, 2021

S. Korea calls for Russia's support to bring peace to Korean Peninsula

South Korea on Monday called for Russia's active support and cooperation for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the defense ministry said Monday, days after the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min made the call during strategic dialogue with his Russian counterpart Alexander Fomin in Seoul, expressing concerns over the North's missile launches Thursday. "Deputy Defense Minister Fomin

DefenseMarch 29, 2021

Mom-and-pop businesses demand state support for pandemic-induced business collapse

More than 95 percent of the self-employed and mom-and-pop businesses have suffered a drop in sales since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey by an association of the self-employed showed Monday. The association held a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall to release the survey results, which was conducted on 1,545 self-employed workers nationwide from Feb. 5 to March 25 to see how badly the pandemic affected their businesses. Compared to pre-pandemic days, 1,477 or 95.6

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2021

S. Korea reports 40 more cases of COVID-19 variants, total now at 289

South Korea on Monday reported 40 more new cases of COVID-19 variants, including 22 local infections, amid growing woes over the spread of more transmissible strains. Of the additional cases, 38 people were confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus variant believed to have originated in Britain, followed by the South Africa variant with two cases, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korean nationals accounted for 29 of the newly added variant c

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2021