Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Herald Interview] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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Road traffic slows over Lunar New Year migration despite COVID-19
Major highways across South Korea began to clog with heavy traffic Thursday as many people headed to hometowns despite the COVID-19 pandemic to celebrate Lunar New Year's Day. Many southbound sections of the Gyeongbu Expressway connecting Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan, including those near Osan and Cheonan, both south of Seoul, were congested due to heavy traffic as of early Thursday morning, according to Korea Expressway Corp. Cars were also crawling on several southbound se
Social AffairsFeb. 11, 2021
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New virus cases at 15-day high as extended Lunar New Year holiday kicks off
South Korea's daily virus cases bounced back above 500 Thursday, putting authorities on heightened alert over a potential surge in infections during the extended Lunar New Year holiday. The country added 504 more COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, including 467 local infections, raising the total caseload to 82,434, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It marks the biggest daily tally since Jan. 27 when the figure was 559. The Thursday tally also marks a jump from 4
Social AffairsFeb. 11, 2021
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Moon appoints new culture minister despite backlash from opposition party
President Moon Jae-in appointed Hwang Hee, a ruling Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker, as new culture minister Wednesday, a day after the National Assembly's confirmation hearing on him. Hwang's tenure starts on Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a note to reporters. Earlier in the day, a related parliamentary committee, controlled by the DP, adopted a report on the results of its confirmation hearing on Hwang, held Tuesday, amid a boycott by the main opposition People Power
PoliticsFeb. 10, 2021
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S. Korea to keep striving to improve ties with Japan: NSC
South Korea's top national security officials agreed Wednesday, during a weekly meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, to continue efforts to improve Seoul-Tokyo relations long strained by disputes over shared history. In the standing committee session of the National Security Council (NSC), they decided to continue efforts to address the problem, while strengthening "communication and cooperation with other nations to keep the security situation under stable control," according to the presidentia
Foreign AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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15% of passengers not buckled up: survey
About 15 percent of vehicle passengers do not wear seat belts, the Korea Transportation Safety Authority said Wednesday. Despite amendments to the Road Traffic Act in September 2018, mandating that all occupants of a vehicle wear seat belts, the country’s seat belt use rate recorded just 84.8 percent last year, a slight decrease from the previous year, according to the 2020 Traffic Culture Index. The Korea Transportation Safety Authority said 86.1 percent of passengers in the front seat
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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Moon administration has no personnel blacklist: Cheong Wa Dae
Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday that the current administration under President Moon Jae-in has not produced nor operated a discriminatory personnel blacklist, in reaction to the conviction of a former minister for alleged unlawful intervention in personnel decisions at state-run companies. On Tuesday, former Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung was sentenced to two years and six months in prison in the so-called Environment Ministry blacklist case, after a court found her guilty of power abuse and
PoliticsFeb. 10, 2021
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Foreign ministry vows stern measures after embassy officials implicated in assault of staff
The foreign ministry said Wednesday it will thoroughly look into an assault case involving officials at the South Korean Embassy in China and will take stern measures. The ministry confirmed that an internal probe has been launched after it received a complaint accusing two embassy officials of beating an administrative staff member working at the same diplomatic mission while drinking at a bar in Beijing last week. "We will take stern measures in accordance with principles and regulation
Foreign AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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Paternity leave increases 23% in 2020: govt. data
The number of men going on paternity leave jumped 23 percent last year from the previous year, reflecting cultural and policy changes, the labor ministry said Wednesday. The total number of private sector workers requesting paternity leave stood at 27,423 last year, more than double the number in 2017 (12,042), the ministry said. The increase can be attributed to more couples raising their children together and policies encouraging men to take leave, it said. The coronavirus pandemic likely c
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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SoCar under fire over lack of cooperation in sexual assault case
South Korean car-sharing app operator SoCar is facing a public outcry over a sexual assault case involving one of its users. A local news report suggests that the company slowed down the police investigation when it failed to promptly turn over the suspect’s information. The accused man, who is in his 30s, reportedly rented a car from SoCar on Saturday and allegedly used it to pick up the teenage girl who later accused him of sexual assault. The two had met in an online chat room, the r
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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Police to crack down on traffic violations during Lunar New Year holiday
The police will crack down on traffic violations during the Lunar New Year holiday – when the country’s traffic volume usually surges as people visit their hometowns for family gatherings. The National Police Agency (NPA) said Tuesday that the most frequent violations of traffic laws on highways during the Lunar New Year holiday over the past three years were driving on shoulders, the paved space on the side of the road for emergency use. It took up 41.8 percent of all reports, fol
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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Discrimination, hatred against trans people 'serious' in S. Korea: watchdog
Many transgender people in South Korea have experienced discrimination and hatred in everyday life, a survey by the state human rights watchdog showed Wednesday. A total of 591 transgender aged 19 or above took part in the survey on the discrimination they have experienced under nine criteria, including daily life, education and employment, conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea over six months from May of last year. The survey is the largest of its kind conducted here. Am
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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USFK to ease antivirus restrictions except in greater Seoul area next week
The US Forces Korea (USFK) said Wednesday it will ease antivirus restrictions for most areas except for Seoul and some surrounding regions, starting Monday, allowing its members to dine at restaurants and conduct off-base activities. The Health Protection Condition (HPCON) level will be adjusted by one notch to the second-lowest level of "Bravo" from "Charlie" for USFK areas I and III and the Seongnam district, effective Monday at 7 a.m., according to the US military. Those
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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S. Korean top nuke envoy holds phone talks with senior US diplomat on NK policy
South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, and a senior US diplomat agreed to have close consultations on Washington's review of North Korea policy during their phone talks Wednesday, the foreign ministry said. The talks between Noh and Sung Kim, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, came as Seoul seeks to ensure policy coordination with the administration of US President Joe Biden to reengage with Pyongyang. "In the phone call, the two sides exchanged
North KoreaFeb. 10, 2021
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N. Korea launches rare committee to tackle economic challenges
North Korea has recently launched a temporary committee to rev up its economic development drive, state media said Wednesday, as the communist country pushes ahead to achieve goals set forth at last month's rare party congress amid crippling sanctions and antivirus efforts. On the second day of the plenary meeting of the party's eighth Central Committee on Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reported on domestic economic issues and other external matters, the Korean Central News Agency (KC
North KoreaFeb. 10, 2021
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Ultrafine dust density falls in S. Korea, China due to bilateral cooperation
The density of ultrafine dust particles has markedly fallen in both South Korea and China last year due mainly to close bilateral cooperation, their governments said in a joint press release Wednesday. According to the release by Seoul's Ministry of Environment and Beijing's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, concentrations of ultrafine dust particles declined about 27 percent in South Korea and slightly over 28 percent in China in 2020, compared with the 2015 levels. In South Korea, last ye
PoliticsFeb. 10, 2021
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Public transit agencies under financial pressure as pandemic cuts passenger numbers
Seoul’s public transportation operators are in serious financial trouble as the number of bus and subway users sharply dropped last year due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that 1.45 billion passengers used regular city and local “maeul” buses last year, down 23.6 percent from 1.95 billion a year earlier. The number of airport bus users dropped 85.4 percent on-year to 2.12 million passengers. The sharp decline in passengers caused
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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Virus dampens homebound travel on Lunar New Year
The coronavirus pandemic put a damper on travel this Lunar New Year, with fewer people flocking to train stations and airports for the annual visit home. At 8:30 a.m., people dressed in long padded coats waited for their trains at Seoul Station, some carrying traditional gifts such as fruits and beef, and others sipping on coffee or looking at their phones. In the waiting area, people on benches left the middle seats empty to comply with social distancing protocols, while sanitation workers wa
Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021
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Moon, first lady visit traditional fish market ahead of Lunar New Year
President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook visited a traditional fish market in a western port city Wednesday to hear out the hardships of small merchants going through tough times due to the new coronavirus and encourage them ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Moon and Kim visited the Soraepo-gu Fish Market in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, to speak directly with merchants and buy local goods, according to Cheong Wa Dae. The two purchased fresh fish and salted and dried fish p
PoliticsFeb. 10, 2021
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DP’s Park ahead in Seoul mayoral race: poll
Park Young-sun, one of the two ruling Democratic Party preliminary candidates, was ahead of all other Seoul mayoral hopefuls in poll results released by Realmeter on Wednesday. In a survey of 1,016 Seoul citizens aged 18 and above, conducted by the pollster on Sunday and Monday, and commissioned by YTN and TBS, 38.9 percent said they would vote for Park against Ahn Cheol-soo, if the two were in a two-way race. Some 36.3 percent said they would vote for Ahn, a centrist tech entrepreneur-turne
PoliticsFeb. 10, 2021
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Lunar New Year to be critical juncture for third pandemic wave: PM
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Wednesday that how the nation deals with the pandemic during this week's Lunar New Year holiday will be crucial in the outcome of South Korea's grueling battle against the third COVID-19 wave. "The Lunar New Year holiday which begins tomorrow is an important crossroad for the trajectory of the COVID-19 (pandemic). The most critical-to-date third wave could either end, or its dying embers could flare up again," Chung said during an interagency meeting
PoliticsFeb. 10, 2021