Moon replaces Cheong Wa Dae policy chief amid property-related controversy

President Moon Jae-in replaced Kim Sang-jo, his top Cheong Wa Dae aide on policy, Monday, Moon's office announced amid a controversy over the leasing of his apartment in southern Seoul. Moon promoted Lee Ho-seung, senior secretary for economic affairs, to the post of handling policy at the presidential office, according to You Young-min, presidential chief of staff. Moon's decision came "in consideration of the very grave situation connected with real estate," a senior Cheong Wa Dae

PoliticsMarch 29, 2021

Law banning leaflets into N. Korea to take effect this week

A law banning the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea will take effect this week, the unification ministry said Monday. The amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, set to go into effect Tuesday, has raised concerns that it could hurt freedom of expression and undercut efforts to send information into the reclusive North. "In the process of enforcing the ban, we will strive to do so in a way in line with the government's goal of improving the human right

North KoreaMarch 29, 2021

Veteran actor Park Joong-hoon caught drunk driving

A veteran South Korean actor Park Joong-hoon has been caught driving under the influence of alcohol, police said Monday. The Seoul Gangnam Police Station has booked the 55-year-old actor on charges of drunk driving for about 100 meters near his acquaintance's apartment building in the southern Gangnam Ward about 9:30 p.m. on Friday. His blood alcohol content was over 0.08 percent at the time, a level that calls for his driver's license to be revoked, the police said. He had his license suspe

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2021

Janssen COVID-19 vaccine shows 67% efficacy, eligible for approval: panel

A South Korean panel of experts said Monday that vaccines for the novel coronavirus by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen showed 66.9 percent efficacy, paving the way for the authorization of the country's third COVID-19 vaccine. The advisory board consisting of outside experts announced its review on the efficacy and safety of the Janssen vaccines, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The panel's review is the first step of three separate independent evaluations before the ministry

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Approval rating for conservative main opposition party tops 40% in Seoul: poll

The approval rating for the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has topped 40 percent in Seoul, expanding its lead over the liberal ruling Democratic Party (DP) in the runup to next week's Seoul mayoral by-election, an opinion poll showed Monday. According to the Realmeter survey conducted on 2,516 voters nationwide from last Monday through Friday, the approval rating for the PPP came to 41.2 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from a week ago. This marks the first approval rat

PoliticsMarch 29, 2021

New virus cases again back below 400 on fewer tests, virus curbs extended for 2 weeks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 400 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but health authorities warned of the continued emergence of cluster infections at religious facilities and workplaces. The country reported 384 more COVID-19 cases, including 370 local infections, raising the total caseload to 102,141, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added four more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,726. In South K

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2021

S. Korea suffocated by extremely powerful yellow dust storm

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. The density of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 10, surged to the "very bad" level in the greater Seoul area and all other regions, authorities said. As of 10 a.m., the hourly average concentration

Social AffairsMarch 29, 2021

N. Korea to hold large sports competition to mark birth anniv. of state founder

North Korea will hold a large sports competition next month to mark the birth anniversary of state founder Kim Il-sung, state media reported Monday. The sports competition among athletes, students and workers from each province will kick off April 5 in Pyongyang and run through April 15, the birth anniversary of the late grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The founder's birthday, referred to in the North as the Day of the Sun, is the country'

North KoreaMarch 29, 2021

US put pressure on S. Korea to contribute to 1990 Gulf War: dossier

US officials put diplomatic pressure on South Korea to contribute to a US-led military coalition to fight in the 1990-91 Gulf War, suggesting that its role might affect the future course of bilateral ties, a declassified diplomatic dossier showed Monday. The pressure came when Ban Ki-moon, then director general for American affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, met with Carl Ford, then deputy assistant secretary of defense, during his visit to Washington in December in 1990, shortly before the c

Foreign AffairsMarch 29, 2021

N. Korea accuses UN of 'double standard' for criticizing recent missile test

North Korea on Monday accused the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) of violating its sovereignty and applying a "double standard" as it is set to hold a meeting this week to discuss Pyongyang's recent missile launches. Jo Chol-su, director-general of the Department of International Organizations of North Korea's foreign ministry, made the criticism in a statement, as the UNSC is to hold a closed-door meeting Tuesday after the North test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles la

North KoreaMarch 29, 2021

NK paper stresses local economy as 'cornerstone' of national development

North Korea's official newspaper on Sunday called for local economic development to achieve self-reliance in securing food and other key necessities, saying cities and counties are a "cornerstone" of the national economy. "Development of cities and counties are a major requirement for an improvement in livelihood of people," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party, said. "To significantly improve the livelihoods of people, resolving the food problem, a

North KoreaMarch 28, 2021

[News Focus] Korea sees discouraged workers increase 58% in 5 years

SEJONG -- The number of people who have given up on looking for jobs has shown a steady increase in South Korea since the nation started compiling the data in January 2014. They are dubbed “discouraged workers.” The tally for discouraged workers counts people who did not carry out job-seeking activities during the prior four weeks or longer, though they had looked for jobs within the past 12 months. Alongside sagging performances in the job creation sector in recent years, the COV

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2021

Fresh COVID-19 projections portend spring surge

South Korea may be heading for another surge in COVID-19 cases, according to expert projections, just about a month since vaccines began rolling out in the country. The number of daily new cases is hovering near 500, the same range seen immediately before the start of the third wave. Government statistics posted 482 new cases on Sunday for the day prior, despite tests roughly halving compared with the weekday average. Preventive medicine specialist Dr. Ki Mo-ran, who is advising the governme

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2021

Govt. to push for legislation binding public officials to mandatory registration of property

The government and the ruling party decided to push for new legislation obligating all public officials to declare their assets, a lawmaker said Sunday, amid a public uproar over a land speculation scandal involving employees of the state housing developer. Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, acting chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, also said after a meeting with officials of the government and the presidential office that the government will make sure to confiscate all illegal gains made from real esta

PoliticsMarch 28, 2021

Seas around S. Korea get warmer over past 5 years: report

Seas around South Korea have become warmer over the past five years, causing the habitats of marine life on the seabed to move northward, a report by the country's fishery ministry said Sunday. According to the research report by the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries, climate change raised the temperature of the seawater between 2015 and 2020 in the country, affecting the habitats of creatures living on the seabed, such as crabs and conchs. In 2011, conchs were found to have lived along the coun

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2021

Consultation with allies important part of N. Korea policy review: White House

WASHINGTON -- US efforts to develop a new approach toward North Korea are in their final stages that include consultations with US allies, a White House spokeswoman said Friday, calling consultations an important part of the process. "We are in the final stages of our intensive, multi-stakeholder North Korea policy review," Jen Psaki told a daily press briefing. "And we're, of course, discussing our review with national security advisers of South Korea and Japan and our trilateral

North KoreaMarch 28, 2021

Korea struggles to respond to labor shortage amid pandemic

The South Korean government and National Assembly are looking to ease regulations on employing foreign nationals and for immigration in the face of labor shortages brought on by the prolonged pandemic. On Friday, a bill to revise the act on the employment of foreign workers, which was proposed by Rep. Lee Jong-bae of the main opposition People Power Party, passed the plenary session of the National Assembly. The main focus of the bill is to increase the number of industries that can hire for

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] JCS chairmen from 12 countries issue joint statement condemning violence in Myanmar

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Won In-choul has joined his counterparts from 11 countries, including the United States, in adopting a statement condemning Myanmar's military using "lethal force against unarmed people." The 12 military chiefs also include those from Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, according to the statement that was made available on the website of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on Satur

DefenseMarch 28, 2021

Govt. to enforce 'no eating' policy at sports stadiums, libraries, museums as virus cases on rise

The government will ban eating at mass gathering establishments like sports stadiums, libraries and museums starting Monday, officials said, amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Eating will be banned at 21 types of public places, which also include karaoke bars, public saunas and movie theaters, and violators will be fined 100,000 ($88) starting April 5 after a one-week grace period, officials said. Other facilities subject to the ban include cram schools, hair dressers, gyms, casinos and exhibit

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2021

New virus cases fall back below 500 on fewer tests

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 500 on Sunday, a day after reaching a 36-day high of 505, as fewer people took the virus tests due to rain and the weekend amid lingering woes over a rise in new infections. The country reported 482 more COVID-19 cases, including 462 local infections, raising the total caseload to 101,757, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added one more death from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,722. After hi

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2021