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

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

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

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

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

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

S. Korea investigating new suspected cases of bird flu, total now 88

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it is currently investigating two more suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu, with the total caseload standing at 88. The latest suspected case of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from a duck farm in Buan, 280 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country is also looking into another suspected case at a duck farm in Eumseong, 131 kilometers south of the capital city. Th

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021

[Graphic News] 2020 sees surge in working days lost to strikes

　The number of working days lost due to labor disputes surged by nearly 40 percent in South Korea last year, a report said, indicating a likely deterioration in labor relations at local firms. 　According to the report from the state-funded Korea Labor Institute, the number of lost work days totaled 554,000 in 2020, soaring 37.8 percent from the previous year’s 402,000 days. 　The figure had fallen from 862,000 days in 2017, when the Moon Jae-in government took office, to 552,000 days

NationalFeb. 10, 2021

New virus cases at 6-day high ahead of long Lunar New Year holiday

South Korea reported a spike in daily coronavirus cases Wednesday as clusters of infections continued to emerge, with health authorities urging people to avoid family gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday. The country added 444 more COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, including 414 local infections, raising the total caseload to 81,930, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The figure was the highest since Feb. 4, when the nation recorded 451 new cases. It also m

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2021

US will move on N. Korea after bringing allies to same page: Price

WASHINGTON -- The United States will engage North Korea after its ongoing policy review is completed and US allies are brought up to speed, in terms of their approach and objective, a State Department official said Tuesday. Press secretary Ned Price also said the new Biden administration will not move "too soon" or alone. "I think the risk in moving too soon -- whether the issue is Iran, whether the issue is North Korea -- is that we don't bring along our allies and our partners

Foreign AffairsFeb. 10, 2021

Seoul-Tokyo relations at lowest, affecting three-way cooperation with US: CRS

WASHINGTON -- Bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan have dipped to their lowest ebb, also affecting the countries' three-way cooperation with the United States, a congressional report said. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report noted the new Biden administration may be mulling ways to rebuild trust between the two US allies. "Japan's relations with South Korea are perennially fraught due to sensitive historical issues from Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula

Foreign AffairsFeb. 10, 2021

NK leader specified policy direction for inter-Korean, external matters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un specified the direction for polices related to inter-Korean relations as he held a Workers' Party meeting to discuss follow-up measures on plans set forth at last month's party congress, state media said Wednesday. Kim attended the second day of the plenary meeting of the party's eighth Central Committee held on Tuesday and reported on domestic economic issues and other external matters, including relations with South Korea, according to the Korean Central News A

North KoreaFeb. 10, 2021

N. Korea continues wintertime drills, no unusual moves ahead of late leader's birthday: JCS

North Korea has been conducting regular wintertime military drills without showing any unusual moves ahead of the birthday of late leader Kim Jong-il, the South Korean military said Tuesday. North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary Monday of the foundation of its army and has another key national holiday coming up, which is the Feb. 16 birthday of its late leader, the father of current leader Kim Jong-un. "North Korea's military is continuing wintertime exercises and has not shown any

North KoreaFeb. 9, 2021

Two clusters in Bucheon report 53 COVID-19 cases

As many as 53 coronavirus infections were reported in a single day from two virus clusters in a city in the Seoul metropolitan area, municipal officials said Tuesday. The latest infection clusters occurred at a religious facility and a cram school in Bucheon, a Gyeonggi Province city on the southwestern outskirts of Seoul, the officials said. The religious facility, whose name was withheld, reported 20 coronavirus cases among its believers and others, while 33 students and lecturers from the s

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

S. Korea's top nuke envoy asks for Russia to play role in advancing peninsula peace efforts

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, asked Tuesday for Russia to play a role in advancing Seoul's renewed drive to lay the groundwork for a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, the Foreign Ministry said. Noh made the call during his meeting with Russian Ambassador to South Korea Andrey Kulik, as Seoul seeks to enlist international cooperation in resuming dialogue with North Korea and restart nuclear diplomacy with it. "Noh assessed Russia's will to play a constructive role on

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 9, 2021

National Medical Center preps for mass vaccinations

The National Medical Center, which will be administering South Korea’s first COVID-19 jabs, conducted a trial run of their rollout on Tuesday in Seoul, with the goal of achieving up to 600 vaccinations a day. Once prospective vaccine takers step into the hospital’s vaccination center, they will be first checked for symptoms and be required to sanitize their hands. Then they will be asked to present their IDs and be verified for eligibility at the reception. The medical staff wil

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

New FM bets on firm relations with Washington for Pyongyang’s denuclearization

New Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday voiced confidence in working together with the US on North Korea’s nuclear issue, highlighting that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a shared goal between the two allies.  “Achieving complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at an earliest date is a shared goal between the US and South Korea, Chung told reporters after taking office earlier in the day. “Therefore, I believe coordinating opinio

North KoreaFeb. 9, 2021

[News Focus] Number of foreigners in Korea declines by 440,000 in 10 months

SEJONG -- The tally of foreigners staying in South Korea -- both as long-term residents and short-term visitors -- has dropped to its lowest point in about three years amid the pandemic. Previously it climbed 116 percent in a decade, from 1.16 million in 2009 to 2.52 million in 2019. According to the Korea Immigration Service, the number of foreigners staying in Korea posted 2.07 million as of October 2020. It was 2.18 million in December 2017 and 2.04 million in December 2016. The 2020 figur

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

Ruling party accelerates legislation drive to curb fake news

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday vowed to legislate a set of bills that would increase the burden of responsibility of news media, internet portals, YouTubers and bloggers for fake or false news. "We decided to push for legislation under the principle that news media and internet portals should be included among the subjects of punitive compensation," DP spokesman Rep. Choi In-ho told reporters after a meeting of the party's task force on media reform. The party will make e

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

Moon to hold video call with 8 citizens on Lunar New Year holiday

President Moon Jae-in will talk with eight South Korean citizens via a popular mobile messenger app on the occasion of the Lunar New Year holiday this week, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. The video call scheduled for Thursday is part of Moon's stated efforts to rev up "direct public communication," as the people are going through difficulties from the COVID-19 crisis. Moon has set "recovery, inclusiveness and resurgence" as key policy goals of 2021. The eight, selected to repr

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021