Yoon appoints Han as prime minister after parliamentary confirmation

President Yoon Suk-yeol officially appointed Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Saturday after an opposition-controlled National Assembly confirmed him the previous day following nearly 50 days of partisan wrangling over his suitability. Yoon conferred an appointment certificate on Han in the morning at the presidential office in Seoul. Han took the country's No. 2 government post for the second time. The 72-year-old previously served as prime minister during the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administrati

PoliticsMay 21, 2022

Yoon, Biden set to hold first summit on N. Korea, economy

President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden are set to hold their first summit in Seoul on Saturday on a range of issues, including North Korea's nuclear program and supply chain risks. Biden arrived the previous day on his first visit to the country as president and only 10 days after Yoon took office, as both countries claimed a North Korean nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile test was imminent. On the first stop of his three-day visit, Biden visited a Samsung semiconductor

Foreign AffairsMay 21, 2022

Biden, Yoon commit to enhancing economic, technology cooperation against supply chain challenges

The leaders of South Korea and the United States on Friday committed to enhancing economic and technology cooperation to build secure and resilient global supply chains and surmount challenges. 　 US President Joe Biden kicked off his three-day trip to South Korea with a tour of Samsung Electronics’ chip-manufacturing complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul. President Yoon Suk-yeol accompanied him as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong guide

Foreign AffairsMay 20, 2022

National Assembly approves Han Duck-soo as prime minister

The National Assembly on Friday approved the appointment of Han Duck-soo as the new prime minister, with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea deciding to vote for the appointment at a meeting held late in the afternoon. The president can appoint ministers without parliamentary approval with the exception of the prime minister. The Democratic Party had expressed discontent with Han as a prime minister pick citing the unusually high salary he drew while working in the private sector,

PoliticsMay 20, 2022

‘Omicron could infect nearly all North Koreans’

If the pace of omicron spread keeps up in North Korea, nearly the entire population could end up becoming infected, experts in South Korea say. North Korea’s cumulative number of “fever” cases stands at 2,251,610 as of 6 p.m. Thursday, according to Workers’ Party of Korea newspaper Rodong Sinmun -- which means roughly 8 percent of its 26 million population have likely been infected. The true figure, however, could be up to four to five times the official estimate, ac

North KoreaMay 20, 2022

N.Korea scrambles to distribute reserve medical supplies as suspected COVID-19 cases top 2 million

North Korea’s total cases of fever have surpassed 2 million since late April, amid what is widely believed to be a COVID-19 outbreak. With the rising number of cases, the North Korean regime is scrambling to equally distribute emergency medical supplies across the country. The state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters reported approximately 263,370 cases of fever in the 24 hours up to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday. The total n

North KoreaMay 20, 2022

Biden begins three-day visit to Korea, starting with Samsung tour

US President Joe Biden will arrive in South Korea on Friday afternoon to begin his three-day visit focused on strengthening the Korea-US alliance. After President Biden arrives at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, he will move to the Pyeongtaek campus of Samsung Electronics to tour the world’s largest semiconductor production base. President Yoon Suk-yeol will accompany him and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong will guide them through the facility. It is the

Foreign AffairsMay 20, 2022

South Korea pushes back planned lifting of COVID-19 isolation order

South Korea said Friday the seven-day isolation requirement for people with COVID-19 will remain in place for the next four weeks, until June 20. Expiring on Sunday is the four-week “probation period” for downgrading COVID-19’s threat status. Last month, the Moon Jae-in administration changed the classification of COVID-19 so that it would no longer be considered an infectious disease with the “highest level of public health hazard.” The downgrade relieves people

Social AffairsMay 20, 2022

N. Korea apparently on 'cusp of potentially another ICBM test': US general

North Korea appears to be on the "cusp of potentially another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test," a top US military officer in South Korea has said, stressing the allied troops are "standing ready" to deal with it. During a security forum in Hawaii on Wednesday (local time), Lt. Gen. Willard M. Burleson, the head of the Eighth US Army, made the remarks amid rising concerns about the possibilities of an ICBM or nuclear test by Pyongyang. "We think we are on t

North KoreaMay 20, 2022

N. Korea to hold state funeral for military official known for ties with Kim Jong-un

A top North Korean military official, who was a close aide to the late leader Kim Jong-il and known to have helped groom the current leader Kim Jong-un, has died, Pyongyang's state media reported Friday. Hyon Chol-hae, marshal of the Korean People's Army and general adviser to the Ministry of National Defence, died of multiple organ failure at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the age of 87, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The North has organized a state funeral committee chai

North KoreaMay 20, 2022

GCF board approves $330m for green energy projects

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), an international organization on fighting climate change, has approved $330 million in funding for five green energy projects, South Korea's finance ministry said Friday. The board of the GCF endorsed the funding plan for projects to support six emerging countries' efforts to battle climate change, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. A combined $301.5 million will be spent to support four new projects, including $200 million for India's

Social AffairsMay 20, 2022

New COVID-19 cases drop for 3rd day; govt. puts off plan to ease virus curbs

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell for a third consecutive day to stay below 30,000 on Friday, as the government pushed back the plan to relax more virus restrictions, citing the continuing omicron wave and possible spread of other variants. The country added 25,125 new COVID-19 infections, including 22 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,914,957, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily counts have steadily declined this week, from 35,113 on T

Social AffairsMay 20, 2022

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors looking into whether to bring Ponzi fraud charges against Terraform CEO Kwon

Prosecutors are looking into whether to bring Ponzi fraud charges against CEO Do Kwon of Terraform Labs, sources said Friday, a day after investors sued him over the shocking crash of the firm's two cryptocurrencies. In a crash starting last week, Terraform's two main tokens, TerraUSD and sister coin Luna, had registered more than 99.99 percent falls from their highs, wiping out more than $38 billion of investors' money in a week, according to data by CoinMarketCap. Financial authorities said ab

Social AffairsMay 20, 2022

Biden set to arrive in S. Korea for first summit with Yoon

US President Joe Biden is set to arrive in South Korea on Friday for his first summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol on a range of issues, including North Korea's nuclear program and supply chain risks. Biden's visit, his first since taking office, comes as both Seoul and Washington believe a North Korean nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile test is imminent and could happen while he is in South Korea or Japan, the second leg of his tour. The visit also comes only 10 days after

Foreign AffairsMay 20, 2022

1 killed, 9 injured in S-Oil refinery explosion

One person has been killed and nine others injured in an explosion at a refinery run by South Korean oil refiner S-Oil Corp. in the country's southwest, firefighters said Friday. The deceased was a subcontractor who was among the 10 others doing repair work at the alkylation processing line in the refinery in Ulsan, about 415 kilometers southwest of Seoul, when the blast occurred at 8:52 p.m. Thursday. The nine others sustained injuries, mostly severe or minor burns. They were all sent to a

Social AffairsMay 20, 2022

US willing to take action-for-action toward denuclearization of Korean Peninsula: Sullivan

The United States is committed to engaging with North Korea in serious dialogue and is willing to take "action for action" with North Korea toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday. It marks a rare occasion a ranking US official has confirmed US willingness to reciprocate North Korea's denuclearization measures. "(We) made no bones about the fact that since the very beginning of this administration, we

Foreign AffairsMay 20, 2022

North Korea’s omicron surge: Kim Jong-un’s ‘double-masking’ and other peculiarities

Lacking vaccines and treatments, North Korea is deploying unconventional methods to fight its growing COVID-19 crisis. In a mere week since “first” cases were acknowledged on May 12, the number of suspected cases there climbed to nearly 2 million. Outside experts say these estimates are likely a vast undercount of the true scale of the outbreak. Kim Jong-un’s double-masking act North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was spotted wearing two masks while visiting pharmacies in

North KoreaMay 19, 2022

Ministry to work on new deposit system for single-use cups

The Ministry of Environment said Thursday it will announce more details on the new deposit refund scheme for single-use cups to ease the burden on small-business owners. From June 10, franchise cafes, bakeries and fast-food franchises with more than 100 branches have to charge a 300 won (24 cent) deposit per single-use cup to customers. The ministry said it would help businesses adapt to the new rules, after some franchisees complained about it being a burden. “We empathize with th

Social AffairsMay 19, 2022

US ready to adjust short, longer-term military posture to handle N. Korean provocations

The White House said Wednesday that the US is ready to adjust its “short and longer-term military posture” regarding North Korea and handle “all contingencies,” including major weapons tests during the US president’s trip to South Korea and Japan. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan reaffirmed the US defense commitment to the regional key allies and warned that North Korea could conduct long-range missile and nuclear tests on the occasion of President Joe B

Foreign AffairsMay 19, 2022

[H.Eco Forum] ‘Rising sea levels can bring biggest displacement of mankind’

In the past decades, global warming has gained much awareness, prompting the international society to look for solutions, but rising sea levels, one of the consequences, has often been overlooked, renowned photojournalist Kadir van Lohuizen said. People should understand the seriousness of rising sea levels around the world and act fast, as it could bring “the biggest displacement of mankind in history,” van Lohuizen said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “(Rising sea l

Social AffairsMay 19, 2022