Seoul's new daily cases hit two-week high

Seoul on Saturday reported more than 150 new daily coronavirus cases, marking the highest figure in two weeks. According to the metropolitan government, the number of new COVID-19 cases in the capital rose by 154, the highest since Jan. 15, when 156 new cases were added. The city's daily caseload has remained in the 100s for the last 23 days after falling from 297 on Jan. 6, the government said. The figure has also fluctuated within the range of the early 100s over the past two weeks, it added

Social AffairsJan. 30, 2021

Justice ministry starts deposit program for foreigners subject to deportation

The Ministry of Justice said Saturday that it has introduced a deposit program to encourage foreigners subject to deportation to voluntarily leave the country as part of efforts to ease crowding in temporary detention centers amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under the new policy, foreigners who are ordered to leave the country following a violation of the immigration law can avoid being detained if they make a deposit of up to 20 million won ($17,800). It was introduced to reduce crowding at det

Social AffairsJan. 30, 2021

S. Korea's foreign minister urges fair supply of COVID-19 vaccines

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has urged the world to ensure a fair and equitable supply of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, voicing concerns about vaccine nationalism. Kang made the remarks at an online session of the World Economic Forum on Friday, the foreign ministry said in a statement. During the session, Kang called for the world to take a multilateral approach for a fair use of vaccines and treatments, the ministry said. Kang also hailed the World Health Organization

Foreign AffairsJan. 30, 2021

'Quad' a foundation for American policy in Indo-Pacific: Sullivan

The US-led regional forum in the Indo-Pacific, known as the Quad, may serve as the foundation of US foreign policy in the region, the top US security adviser said Friday. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also said the Joe Biden administration will continue to build on the Quad. "I think we really want to carry forward and build on that format, that mechanism which we see as a foundation upon which to build substantial American policy in the Indo-Pacific region," Sullivan said

Foreign AffairsJan. 30, 2021

Working days lost due to strikes soared in 2020: report

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

Social AffairsJan. 30, 2021

New virus cases stay in 400s for 3rd day

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for the third day in a row on Saturday, as health authorities scrambled to contain cluster infections linked to mission schools nationwide. The country added 458 more COVID-19 cases, including 423 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 77,850, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The figure was down from 469 on Friday and compared with 497 on Thursday and 559 on Wednesday. The countr

Social AffairsJan. 30, 2021

NK envoy says strengthening of defense capabilities aimed at opening peace era

North Korea‘s top diplomat to Geneva has argued that Pyongyang’s push toward strengthening its military capabilities was aimed at opening an era of peace, according to the North’s foreign ministry Friday. According to Pyongyang’s foreign ministry, Han Tae-song, North Korea‘s ambassador to Geneva, said via videoconference at the meeting of the United Nations Disarmament Conference in Geneva on Tuesday that the reason his country was building up its war deterrent ca

North KoreaJan. 29, 2021

1 missing, 2 injured as high winds sweep S. Korea

A freezing cold snap, accompanied by high winds, swept across South Korea on Friday, leaving one person missing and two others injured, authorities said. The day‘s lowest temperatures dropped below minus 10 C in Seoul and central regions and below minus 8 C in southern regions, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. Seoul’s morning low plunged to minus 11.6 C, while low temperatures fell to minus 13.9 C in Dongducheon, just north of the capital; minus 14.4 C in Cheor

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

Christian leaders apologize over clusters, urge distancing at churches

The National Council of Churches in Korea, along with Young Men’s Christian Association and Young Women’s Christian Association, apologized on Friday for Christian organizations’ frequent links coronavirus cluster infections and called on churches to follow distancing guidelines. “We look back on the reality of how Korean churches have been recognized as one of the main institutions causing harm to public health and sincerely apologize to the people of Korea,” sai

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

Key suspect in Lime fund scandal gets 15-year prison sentence

A key suspect at the center of a financial fraud scandal involving Lime Asset Management was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday. The Seoul Southern District Court handed down the prison term to Lee Jong-pil, the hedge fund's former vice president, along with a fine of 4 billion won ($3.57 million) and a forfeit of 1.4 billion won. The court found him guilty of deceiving investors by concealing the massive loss the company's fraudulent fund product was making. Lime Asset, founded in 201

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

Pro-unification group urges US Congress not to hold hearing on anti-leaflet law

A pro-unification organization on Friday urged the US Congress not to hold a hearing on a South Korean law banning the sending of anti-North Korean leaflets, calling such a move a "clear infringement" on their country's sovereignty and interference in domestic affairs. The North Korean Committee for the June 15 Joint Declaration, which was established to uphold the peace agreement from the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, made the appeal in a statement that the group said was co-sig

North KoreaJan. 29, 2021

School official sentenced to 3 yrs in prison for leaking SAT papers

A high school faculty member has been sentenced to three years in prison for leaking the US Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) papers, judicial sources said Friday. According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Court handed down a three-year prison term to the 38-year-old US citizen, surnamed Lee, on charges of obstruction of business. Lee began to work at a high school in Yongin, about 50 kilometers south of Seoul, in 2009 and became its SAT coordinator in 2013. In mid-2017, a broker appr

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

Controversy erupts over Seoul's possible push to build nuke plant in N. Korea

A political controversy appears to be brewing over the Seoul government's possible attempt years ago to help North Korea build a nuclear power plant, after a local broadcaster on Thursday disclosed the existence of relevant government documents. SBS TV, citing prosecutors investigating the destruction of government documents related to the closure of an aging nuclear reactor by some officials of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2019, reported that a number of files on inter-Korean

North KoreaJan. 29, 2021

S. Korea to publicize Japan’s distortion of history over Hashima Island

South Korea is pushing to publicize attempts to distort the history of the Japanese historical industrial sites, including Hashima Island, inscribed on the UNESCO’s world heritage list, the country’s cultural agency said Friday. As one such effort, the Cultural Heritage Administration published a report taking issue with Tokyo’s failure to deliver on its promise to address the full history of the island, also known as Battleship Island, including Koreans coerced into labor dur

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

Cigarette sales in S. Korea up 4.1% in 2020

Sales of cigarettes in South Korea rose 4.1 percent on-year last year as smokers' purchases via duty-free channels were thwarted amid the pandemic, the finance ministry said Friday. South Korean smokers purchased 3.59 billion 20-cigarette packs last year, compared with 3.45 billion packs the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The rise in domestic sales came as tobacco sales at duty-free shops sharply fell due to low overseas travel amid the pandemic, which helped

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

Gwangju to ban in-person church worship following cluster infections

GWANGJU -- The southwestern city of Gwangju has decided to temporarily ban in-person church services following spikes in coronavirus infections centered on religious facilities, including a missionary organization, its mayor said Friday. The city, located 330 kilometers south of Seoul, reported about 210 church-related cases this week mostly linked to two unauthorized schools run by a Christian group called the International Mission (IM). "In-person worship at all churches in Gwangju will

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021

N. Korea may resort to unofficial markets amid virus-hit economy: expert

North Korea's fiscal status has rapidly worsened due to the shutdown of borders over coronavirus concerns, leaving the communist country with no choice but to consider resorting to unofficial markets, a researcher said Friday. Lee Jong-kyu, a senior research at the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI), made the case in a report published by the think tank, saying the North is likely to be considering utilizing local markets known as "jangmadang." "North Korea's finance an

North KoreaJan. 29, 2021

Vice FM Choi meets new Costa Rican ambassador to discuss economic cooperation

Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with the new Costa Rican ambassador Friday to discuss cooperation on the Central American country's projects for infrastructure development and electronic governance, the foreign ministry said. In the talks with Alejandro Rodriguez Zamora, Choi asked for his cooperation in helping South Korean companies join the projects, expressing his hope that their participation will create new opportunities for bilateral economic exchanges in the post-coronavirus era

Foreign AffairsJan. 29, 2021

PM warns against discrimination in COVID-19 vaccinations, pledges transparency

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday warned against any discrimination in administrating COVID-19 vaccines, pledging the government's efforts to keep the upcoming national vaccination campaign fair and transparent. "There shouldn't be any discrimination based on the level of status, wealth disparity, nationality, sex or others when administering the vaccines," the prime minister said during an interagency meeting on COVID-19 vaccines and treatment. The remarks came as all eyes are

PoliticsJan. 29, 2021

S. Korea’s vaccination plan: Key questions answered

In a few weeks from now, South Korean will kick off its long-awaited plan for nationwide vaccination, following the steps of other countries to overcome the pandemic by obtaining herd immunity within this year. Under the government’s plan unveiled Thursday, the country will vaccinate 1.3 million people by March, 9 million by June and the rest of the 33.25 million in following months. Korea is also installing 250 vaccination centers to handle some vaccines that are harder to store and tran

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2021