S. Korea, US arranging meeting between Moon, Biden during Biden's visit to Seoul

Discussions have been under way between South Korea and the United States to arrange a meeting between outgoing President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden when Biden visits Seoul next month for summit talks with incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol, an official said Thursday. Yoon, who is set to take office on May 10, and Biden will hold their first summit in Seoul on May 21, Yoon's officials said. Biden plans to visit South Korea from May 20-22. South Korea and the US have been discussing a m

PoliticsApril 28, 2022

Woori Bank employee turns himself in after embezzling W50b of company funds: police

An employee of Woori Bank, one of South Korea's largest domestic banks, has been taken into custody after he turned himself in for embezzling about 50 billion won ($39.5 million) from the company, police said Thursday. The employee, whose identity was withheld, confessed to his actions at Namdaemun Police Station in central Seoul at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to officials. The confession was made while police were taking measures to issue a travel ban on the employee after they recei

Social AffairsApril 28, 2022

S. Korea reports 57,464 new cases amid slowdown of omicron wave

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases went down to fewer than 60,000 on Thursday as most of the country's virus restrictions have been lifted amid the slowdown of the omicron wave. The country added 57,464 new COVID-19 infections, including 21 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,144,065, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Thursday's tally is slightly down from 76,787 cases reported Wednesday and sharply down from 90,867 a week earlier, the

Social AffairsApril 28, 2022

Biden to visit South Korea, Japan from May 20-24: White House

WASHINGTON -- US President Joe Biden will visit South Korea and Japan in late May for summit talks with his counterparts, the White House announced Wednesday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president will visit South Korea and Japan from May 20-24, without providing further details of his planned trip. An official in Seoul said the US president is scheduled to visit Seoul from May 20-May 22. "President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will visit the Republic of Korea and Japan from May

Foreign AffairsApril 28, 2022

S. Korea ‘one step closer toward a return to normal’

The South Korean government expects that the country will be able to return to normal soon, given the recent downward trend in the pandemic. “(The country) is one step closer toward a return to normal,” said Lee Seung-woo, vice minister for disaster and safety management, during the Central Disaster Management Headquarters meeting Wednesday. According to Lee, the COVID-19 pandemic here has settled down, with the country’s health care capacity sufficient to handle daily infe

Social AffairsApril 27, 2022

[Newsmaker] Transition team denies report of first lady leading Cheong Wa Dae exhibition

The presidential transition team’s vice spokesperson on Wednesday denied a report that President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, might lead an art exhibition at Cheong Wa Dae. It refuted a Yonhap report on Wednesday which quoted an aide to Kim saying that the incoming first lady could categorize artworks owned by Cheong Wa Dae and introduce them to the public. “It’s only a natural idea that Kim, who has expertise in art curation, helps open the art collection

PoliticsApril 27, 2022

Nominee denies scholarship interference amid snowballing accusations

Kim In-chul, the nominee for deputy prime minister and education minister, denied allegations that his family unfairly received Fulbright scholarships from an association he was closely related to, arguing all procedures were fair. On Wednesday, the parliamentary confirmation hearing team for the Education Ministry representing Kim released a statement denying the allegations brought against his family over the scholarship. “Suggesting Kim’s family was selected as recipients becau

Social AffairsApril 27, 2022

COVID-19 response: What Yoon plans to do differently

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol comes into office as South Korea’s huge omicron wave is subsiding. Daily cases have been falling for six consecutive weeks, now down by nearly 80 percent from the peak in mid-March. The presidential transition team’s COVID-19 task force on Wednesday unveiled a plan illustrating how the new administration would handle the recovery phase of the pandemic. Last week incumbent President Moon Jae-in celebrated “the return of normal” before the

Social AffairsApril 27, 2022

N. Korea plays up Kim Jong-un’s leadership in building ‘absolute power’ against threats

A North Korean newspaper claimed Wednesday that Kim Jong-un’s leadership enabled the country to develop “absolute” military power and protect the North Korean people from external threats and danger of invasion. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, highlighted the North Korean leader’s purported achievement in bolstering military strength two days after the massive military parade held in Pyongyang to commemorate the 90th anniversary

North KoreaApril 27, 2022

S. Korea excluded from Ukraine’s thank-you list of 31 countries

South Korea was excluded from the list of countries that Ukraine thanked for support in its ongoing defense against Russia’s invasion, drawing mixed response from the public after the East Asian country publicly provided humanitarian aid, but declined to supply arms. A video posted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official Twitter account on Monday showed a list of 31 countries it declared as Ukraine’s “partners,” with Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-c

Foreign AffairsApril 27, 2022

Prosecution reform bill awaits final vote for official enactment

South Korea’s liberal Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to put the controversial prosecution bill up for a final vote, having arbitrarily passed the bill through a parliamentary committee by early Wednesday morning. The National Assembly started a plenary session at 5 p.m. where the Democratic Party was targeting to present proposed revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors’ Office Act for a final vote. It is likely the bill is passed within this week no matter

PoliticsApril 27, 2022

Yoon to meet with WEF chief, Heritage Foundation founder

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will meet separately with World Economic Forum (WEF) Chairman Klaus Schwab and US think tank Heritage Foundation founder Edwin Feulner on Wednesday to discuss cooperation in economic and security issues, his spokesperson said. With Schwab, Yoon is expected to exchange views on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and plans regarding the upcoming WEF Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to Yoon's spokesperson Bae Hyun-jin. "As the Yoon government pledged to make t

PoliticsApril 27, 2022

Yoon's spokesperson hits back after Moon criticizes presidential office relocation plan

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's spokesperson hit back at President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday for criticizing Yoon's plan to relocate the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, saying the outgoing president should focus on his duties in the little time he has left in office. Moon voiced his concern during an interview with JTBC that aired Tuesday, saying he personally did not think it was "appropriate" to move the presidential office without thoroughly collecting the public's opinions

PoliticsApril 27, 2022

Fine dust levels to soar to 'very bad' in central S. Korea due to yellow dust

Fine dust will rise to "very bad" levels in South Korea's central region, including the greater Seoul area, on Wednesday morning due to the influx of yellow dust originating from deserts in northern China and Mongolia, the state weather agency said. The density of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 10, will reach "bad" levels in the eastern Gangwon Province and most of the southern region, including Jeju Island, according to the Korea Met

Social AffairsApril 27, 2022

Outgoing politicians-turned-ministers likely to step down on May 9

Seven politician-turned-ministers in the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration are likely to step down on May 9, a day before incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol is inaugurated, a political source said Wednesday. The seven ministers, including Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, Justice Minister Park Beom-kye and Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol, have agreed to resign on the day that Moon's term ends, according to the source. Four other ministers are Unification Minister Lee In-young, Environment Ministe

PoliticsApril 27, 2022

US objective remains complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States' objective remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, despite North Korea's pledge to further strengthen its nuclear capabilities. Ned Price also reiterated the US holds no hostility toward the North, urging the reclusive country to return to dialogue. "Our goal remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,:" the department press secretary said in a press briefing. The rem

North KoreaApril 27, 2022

N.Korean leader pledges to strengthen nuclear forces at ‘fastest possible speed’

The North Korean leader pledged to further reinforce and develop nuclear-armed forces “at the fastest possible speed,” suggesting that North Korea can launch a preemptive nuclear strike if adversaries violate the country’s “fundamental interests.” General Secretary Kim Jong-un on Monday delivered a speech during a nighttime massive military parade held at the Kim Il-sung Square in the capital Pyongyang, North Korea state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Tues

North KoreaApril 26, 2022

S. Korea, US agree on first joint research to develop defense space strategy

South Korea and the United States agreed to conduct joint research on space policy for the first time, in a bid to reinforce the alliance’s capabilities against mounting security threats in space. South Korea’s Defense Ministry and the US Defense Department held the 18th session of the Space Cooperation Working Group on Monday in Washington, the South Korean military announced Tuesday. Cho Yong-geun, the South Korean director general of the North Korea Policy Bureau at the Defense

DefenseApril 26, 2022

S. Korea logs over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases

South Korea added over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases during the 24 hours of Monday, bringing the total caseload to 17 million, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country’s daily COVID-19 infections on Monday reached 80,361, while the total caseload came to 17,009,865. The daily tally increased from the previous day’s 34,370 as they tend to fall on Mondays due to fewer tests over the weekend. But, the daily count reported

Social AffairsApril 26, 2022

Bus drivers withdraw strike in Seoul, buses continue to operate normally

The Seoul Bus Union’s planned general strike on Tuesday has been called off as the union and bus companies reached a deal on a wage hike at the last minute before the suspension of city bus services. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday, the bus union and bus companies came to a compromise at 1:25 a.m., around 2 1/2 hours before 18,600 unionized drivers were set to go on strike. The two sides agreed on a 5 percent wage increase after a 10-hour long bargain that star

Social AffairsApril 26, 2022