Yoon govt. likely to hold first Cabinet meeting Thursday

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is likely to hold its first Cabinet session this week to approve an extra budget proposal aimed at compensating pandemic-hit small merchants, officials said Monday. The meeting will likely be held at the new presidential office in Yongsan in Seoul with the participation of a mix of outgoing and incoming Cabinet members due to delays in the parliamentary confirmation process. "We're working to make a Cabinet meeting possible on Thursday in order to pass

PoliticsMay 9, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases down amid lifting of outdoor mask mandate

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell Monday, a week after the government lifted the outdoor mask mandate in the latest attempt to return to pre-pandemic normalcy amid a downward trend in COVID-19 cases. The country added 20,601 new COVID-19 infections, including 19 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,564,999, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally is down from 40,064 on Sunday and 39,600 on Saturday. The daily count tends to fal

Social AffairsMay 9, 2022

Parliament adopts confirmation hearing report for defense minister nominee

The National Assembly on Monday adopted a confirmation hearing report on Defense Minister nominee Lee Jong-sup, a day before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol takes office. The parliamentary defense committee unanimously approved Lee's nomination following last week's hearing, saying he has leadership and plenty of experience and expertise on national defense policies and military operations. Lee, a former three-star Army general, graduated from the Korea Military Academy and served as the Joint Chi

PoliticsMay 9, 2022

N. Korea urges tighter steps against coronavirus amid speculation on possible outbreak

North Korea again called Monday for stepped-up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid growing cases of fever patients there, while the secretive nation has claimed to be coronavirus free. South Korea's spy agency said earlier that a temporary lockdown imposed in the North last Wednesday is suspected to have been related to COVID-19, though it also raised the possibility of an outbreak of waterborne diseases, such as typhoid. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party, urged

North KoreaMay 9, 2022

Yoon to meet with inauguration delegates from Britain, Uzbekistan, Japan

Incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold meetings Monday with foreign delegates visiting South Korea to attend his inauguration this week, his office said. Yoon will meet separately with British Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East Amanda Milling; Sodiq Safoyev, first deputy chairperson of Uzbekistan's Senate; and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. The meetings will come a day before Yoon is set to be sworn in as South Korea's new president. Other high-level guests attend

PoliticsMay 9, 2022

Over half of 20-somethings don't plan to have children after marriage: poll

More than half of single 20-somethings in South Korea do not want to have babies after marriage due apparently to concerns over high child-rearing costs in the country, a poll showed Monday. According to a survey reported in a monthly economic journal by the state-run Korea Development Institute, 52.4 percent of unmarried Koreans in their 20s think it is OK not to have children after tying the knot. The percentage is sharply up from 23.3 percent in the same survey conducted five years earlier. I

Social AffairsMay 9, 2022

Yoon to begin term at midnight with military briefing

Incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol will begin his term at midnight Monday at an underground bunker set up at his office building by receiving a briefing from the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the commander-in-chief, an official said. Yoon will be briefed by phone in the underground bunker of the new presidential office in Yongsan, which will serve as the situation room of the national crisis management center. "He will receive his first phone briefing from the JCS command and control center upon t

PoliticsMay 9, 2022

S. Korea‘s daily COVID-19 cases increase week-on-week for the first time in 6 weeks

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases for Saturday rebounded week-on-week for the first time in around six weeks, government data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 40,064 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Saturday. The total caseload came to 17,544,398. The daily figure on Saturday was up from 37,771 cases on Saturday a week ago. It was the first time in 46 days that the daily COVID-19 infections increased week-on-we

Social AffairsMay 8, 2022

African activist Cecile Ndjebet wins 2022 Global Forest Championship Award

Cecile Ndjebet, an international women’s rights advocate from Cameroon, has won the 2022 Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award, the Korea Forest Service said Sunday. The award ceremony was held on Thursday, as part of the 15th World Forestry Congress in Seoul. This year’s award was given to Ndjebet in recognition of her decadeslong efforts in promoting women’s participation in forest preservation, as well as their rights to land and forests, said Maria Helena Semedo, the Foo

Foreign AffairsMay 8, 2022

Moon leaves behind mixed results despite high hopes that fueled his win 5 years ago

President Moon Jae-in will serve his last day as president Monday, leaving behind a mixed batch of results contrary to the high hopes South Koreans had when he took office five years after the country impeached its president for the first time in history. Moon and members of his Cabinet will spend their final day in office paying respects at the Seoul National Cemetery and the burial site of independence activists at Hyochang Park. He will also give his final address in the morning and leave

PoliticsMay 8, 2022

Political heavyweights stage comeback in parliamentary by-elections

Two former presidential candidates on Sunday declared their bids for parliamentary seats in the by-elections, raising the stakes for the rival blocs in the June 1 polls. On the sidelines of the local elections, the country will be electing seven new legislators as some incumbents have resigned in order to run for the metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial elections. Lee Jae-myung, former presidential nominee of the Democratic Party of Korea, on Sunday declared his bid to run for a constituenc

PoliticsMay 8, 2022

Pyongyang ramps up provocations in run-up to Yoon’s inauguration

North Korea is ramping up provocations in the run-up to the inauguration of Yoon Suk-yeol, who is more hawkish towards North Korea than the outgoing president, on Tuesday. On Saturday, the North fired an apparent submarine-launched ballistic missile in the waters off its east coast, three days after launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. According to the South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the suspected SLBM was launched at 2:07 p.m. on Saturday into the waters off the North

North KoreaMay 8, 2022

[Subway Stories] Jongno 3-ga is where old meets new

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories -- a newly launched Korea Herald series exploring subway stations and their surrounding areas across the city. – Ed. Jongno 3-ga has 16 exits with three subway lines running through the station. The sheer number speaks volumes for the significance of Jongno-gu, which is central to the lives of people in Seoul. Meaning Bell Street, with the bell in the name referring to Bosingak that sits at Jonggak intersection, Jongno is one of the busiest

Social AffairsMay 8, 2022

'Little LA' planned near new presidential office

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is planning to convert part of a US Forces Korea base adjacent to the new presidential office in Yongsan into a cultural space reminiscent of a "Little LA" and open it to the public in September, officials said Sunday. The 500,000-square-meter space is just outside the defense ministry headquarters, which is being converted into the new presidential office. The USFK plans to return the land to the South Korean government at the end of this month as

PoliticsMay 8, 2022

New COVID-19 cases rebound to 40,000s amid relaxed virus curbs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to the 40,000s on Sunday, but daily COVID-19 cases are widely on a downward trend even after the lifting of almost all antivirus curbs. The country added 40,064 new COVID-19 infections, including 16 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,544,398, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally is up from 26,714 on Friday and 39,600 on Saturday. Daily infections have been on the downward trend in recen

Social AffairsMay 8, 2022

NK state media outlets remain silent about SLBM launch

North Korea's official news agency and other state media outlets remained silent Sunday about a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that the country fired the previous day in its latest saber-rattling ahead of the inauguration of South Korea's incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, usually begins its morning news cycle with reports on major events that happened the previous day, such as leader Kim Jong-un's activity or ma

North KoreaMay 8, 2022

N. Korea fires apparent SLBM off east coast: S. Korean military

North Korea fired an apparent submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in waters off its east coast Saturday, South Korea‘s military said, in the recalcitrant regime’s latest saber-rattling that comes three days before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol‘s inauguration. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch in waters off the North’s eastern coastal city of Sinpo at 2:07 p.m. Other details were not immediately known. The latest launch marks the North

DefenseMay 7, 2022

[Weekender] All washed up: Beach trash holds truths about North Korea

Kang Dong-wan, a 48-year-old South Korean professor at Dong-A University in Busan, has become a trash-to-treasure hunter after he realized the genuine value of trash that drifted in from North Korea along the eastern and western seaboards. The professor views the washed-up trash as a window into the reality of North Korea and the people’s daily lives. Kang has so far collected around 3,000 wrappers and packages of North Korea-produced items from the beaches on the West and East coasts

Social AffairsMay 7, 2022

N. Korea fires unidentified projectile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, in the recalcitrant regime’s latest saber-rattling that comes just days before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol‘s inauguration. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced the launch, the North’s 15th show of force this year. Details were not immediately known. Military authorities here presume the launch involves a ballistic missile, a source said. The latest launch

DefenseMay 7, 2022

Yoon says any meetings with NK leader should be for ‘tangible’ results

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has said he is willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but any talks should be made only when they would produce tangible results on the North‘s denuclearization or cross-border exchanges. “There is no reason to shun meetings (with Kim). But if such meetings are only for show and fail to make practical results on the denuclearization and our economic assistance to the North, they will not be helpful for denuclearizing the Nor

PoliticsMay 7, 2022