Captain of bulk carrier missing in Indian Ocean

The captain of a South Korean-flagged bulk carrier went missing early this month while sailing in the Indian Ocean, Coast Guard officials said Friday. A local shipping company reported to the Coast Guard in the southern port city of Busan at 12:24 a.m. on Jan. 4 the disappearance of the chief of its 400,000-ton vessel that was traveling from Brazil to China. A sailor went to the captain's room to call him for dinner but he was not seen anywhere on the ship, the company told the authorities. N

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Moon orders KDCA chief to lead COVID-19 vaccination program with 'full authority'

President Moon Jae-in on Friday instructed the chief of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) to lead the country's COVID-19 vaccination program with "full authority." Moon gave the instruction while receiving a briefing from KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong on her plans to administer the vaccinations through a pan-government program, according to presidential spokesman, Kang Min-seok. "The most important thing in vaccination is maintaining a high level of tru

PoliticsJan. 15, 2021

COVID-19 patients suffer hair loss most after 3 months

Coronavirus patients in South Korea experienced side effects such as hair loss, fatigue and decreased breathing capacity months after they recovered from the infection, according to a survey of health authorities. Three months after they recovered from COVID-19, the most common side effects survivors had was hair loss and shortness of breath during exercise, according to a survey on 40 recovered coronavirus patients by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Six months after the reco

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Moon’s New Year’s live press conference goes virtual on Jan. 18

President Moon Jae-in’s New Year’s press conference is going virtual for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cheong Wa Dae on Friday. The live event will be held Monday at the Chunchugwan press center of Cheong Wa Dae from 10 a.m. for one hour and 40 minutes. A total of 120 journalists will be in attendance for the press conference, with 100 of them joining via video link. Just 20 journalists who were picked by lottery will meet face-to-face with the preside

PoliticsJan. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Court acknowledges sexual harassment by late Seoul mayor

A local court acknowledged that former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who was found dead in July in an apparent suicide, had sexually harassed his former secretary in a separate trial involving the victim and a former city employee. The Seoul Central District Court said the victim suffered considerable mental distress due to Park’s unwanted sexual advances while handing down a ruling in a case where another employee of the Seoul city government was accused of sexually assaulting the same vic

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Police, taxi drivers join forces to find missing people

South Korea’s taxi drivers and the police are joining forces to find missing people, the National Police Agency said Thursday. In the event of a missing persons report, depending on the details and circumstances of the case, the police will first determine whether to dispatch a message to KaKao Mobility, the operator of Korea’s biggest taxi-hailing app Kakao T. Once the police decide to do so, they will set the scope of the targeted search area and send a description of the missi

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Diplomats of S. Korea, Japan hold video talks amid tensions on wartime sexual slavery ruling

Diplomats of South Korea and Japan held video talks Friday to discuss a recent Seoul court ruling ordering Tokyo to compensate victims of its wartime sexual slavery and other pending issues, the foreign ministry said. The talks between Kim Jung-han, the ministry's director-general for Asia and Pacific affairs, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, came a week after the Seoul Central District Court ordered Tokyo to make reparations of 100 million won ($91,066) each to 12 Korean victi

Foreign AffairsJan. 15, 2021

S. Korea may extend current social distancing rules with more exemptions

Authorities are in discussion to potentially adjust social distancing rules for next week, as the country looks to address demands from small merchants while controlling the ongoing third COVID-19 wave. South Korea on Friday saw 513 new COVID-19 cases -- 484 locally transmitted and 29 from overseas -- raising the total number of cases recorded here to 71,241, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. By Thursday’s end, Korea had also reported a total of 1,217 deaths f

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Ex-BIGBANG member Seungri additionally indicted for inciting assault

YONGIN -- Seungri, the disgraced former member of K-pop boy band BIGBANG, has been additionally indicted for allegedly mobilizing gang members to threaten people he got into a fight with at a bar. Prosecutors on Thursday added the charge for the 31-year-old, according to the general military court under the Ground Operations Command in Yongin, about 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Seungri, whose legal name is Lee Seung-hyun, was at the center of a major sex and drug scandal that roiled the c

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Delivery workers threaten strike ahead of Lunar New Year

Unionized delivery workers on Friday threatened to launch a general strike unless measures are put in place to prevent their overwork before next month's Lunar New Year. Parcel deliveries are expected to increase around the holiday, which falls on Feb. 12 this year, as people travel to their hometowns and exchange gifts with family and friends. Couriers have complained for months that their workloads are unbearable, especially after a surge in online orders caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

S. Korea's highly pathogenic bird flu caseload reaches 62

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Friday the total number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases traced to farms reached 62 amid the growing concerns over the spread of the disease across the country. The latest confirmed case of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from an egg farm in Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea saw its first farm-traced case in nearly three years in November 2020. Later on Friday

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Ministry replaces top envoy to Nigeria amid probe into alleged unfair hiring

The foreign ministry appointed a new ambassador to Nigeria on Friday, replacing the former envoy under a probe over alleged misconduct in the hiring of an ex-embassy employee. Kim Young-chae, who previously served as the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, will head the mission in the African country, according to a ministry release. Kim, a career diplomat, also served as the head of the South Korean missions to the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and in Libya be

Foreign AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Seoul's top nuke envoy holds phone talks with Biegun after NK party congress

Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, spoke by phone with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun on Friday and discussed North Korea issues following a key party congress in the communist state, the foreign ministry said. The North wrapped up its eight-day gathering of the Workers' Party on Tuesday, in which it called the United States the North's "foremost principal enemy" and pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal. During a military parade that followed the part

Foreign AffairsJan. 15, 2021

S. Korea extends pandemic-driven advisory against overseas travel until Feb. 15

South Korea on Friday extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The measure, which will be effective until Feb. 15, calls for citizens to cancel or postpone their planned trips abroad. The current monthlong advisory is set to expire Saturday. The ministry said that it extended the advisory, as many countries around the world continue to restrict entries of people arriving from overseas an

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

New virus cases in 500s for 4th day in sign of downturn in infections

The number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea stayed in the 500s for the fourth consecutive day Friday, in a sign that the third wave of the pandemic has slowed down following a peak on the back of monthlong tougher virus curbs. The country added 513 more COVID-19 cases, including 484 local infections, raising the total caseload to 71,241, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Friday's daily number marked a slight drop from 524 posted a day earlier, the KDCA

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2021

Military postpones reserve forces' training to second half due to COVID-19

The military has decided not to hold regular training sessions for reserve forces in the first half of this year due to the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Friday. The training for the country's 2.75 million-strong forces was slated to kick off in March across the nation, but it will be held in the second half in consideration of the COVID-19 situation, according to the ministry. South Korean reservists are required to go through one training session of one to three days per year. I

DefenseJan. 15, 2021

N. Korea displays new submarine-launched ballistic missile during parade

North Korea showcased yet another new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in just three months during a recent military parade, experts said Friday. During the parade held on Thursday night at Kim Il-sung square in Pyongyang, the North rolled out SLBMs on transporter erector launchers (TEL), which it labeled as the Pukguksong-5ㅅ, along with a new short-range ballistic missile and various other kinds of weaponry. The Korean letter "ㅅ" appears to indicate that it is a sea-based

North KoreaJan. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] N. Korea holds military parade, showcases new SLBM

North Korea held a military parade Thursday evening in central Pyongyang to celebrate the recently concluded party congress, showing off its state-of-the-art weapons, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), state media reported Friday. The parade held in Kim Il-sung square came after Pyongyang wrapped up its eight-day congress of the ruling Workers' Party on Tuesday, at which leader Kim Jong-un pledged to bolster the nuclear arsenal of the country. North Korea appears to aim a

North KoreaJan. 15, 2021

No new COVID-19 cases reported at correctional facilities for 2nd day

Correctional facilities in South Korea reported no new coronavirus cases on Thursday for the second day in a row, after an alarming surge in a cluster infection at a Seoul prison. A total of 1,249 COVID-19 cases linked to prisons across the countryb had been reported as of Thursday, unchanged from Tuesday, the Ministry of Justice said. The government has announced a set of enhanced COVID-19 measures for prisons following the outbreak at the Seoul detention center that has emerged as a hotbed

Social AffairsJan. 14, 2021

N. Korea seen staging military parade: source

North Korea appeared to have staged a military parade on Thursday, a South Korean government source said, after Pyongyang wrapped up a rare party congress with calls to bolster its nuclear arsenal. The military parade began at around 6:00 p.m. and was in progress as of 8:00 p.m., the source said on condition of anonymity. Asked whether North Korea staged a military parade, a South Korean military official replied that the military was keeping a close watch on North Korea. Earlier in the da

North KoreaJan. 14, 2021