S. Korea lifts all social distancing measures, except mask mandate

South Korea will lift all COVID-19 social distancing rules, except a mask mandate, starting Monday, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during a COVID-19 response meeting Friday. It is the first time in around two years for the government to lift all social distancing rules. South Korea first introduced social distancing measures in March 2020, when it recommended to operations be suspended at religious facilities and some businesses. Kim said, “the government has decided to boldly lift s

Social AffairsApril 15, 2022

Military reports 1,647 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Friday reported 1,647 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its service members to 114,656. The new cases included 1,088 from the Army, 197 from the Air Force, 139 from the Marine Corps, 137 from the Navy, and 76 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. There were also four cases each from the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and two from the ministry. Currently, 11,055 military personnel are

DefenseApril 15, 2022

Prosecution reform bill officially proposed amid fierce opposition

South Korea’s liberal Democratic Party of Korea officially submitted for review a bill that would completely strip away the prosecution’s investigative powers. Legislators with the Democratic Party told reporters Friday that they submitted a bill proposing revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors’ Office Act, which will leave the prosecution only with the power to indict and prosecute charges on given cases. The bill would need to be reviewed by parliamenta

PoliticsApril 15, 2022

US special envoy to North Korea to travel to Seoul next week

US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim will travel to Seoul on Monday for a five-day trip to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the joint response to North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile provocation, the US State Department said Thursday. 　 “During his visit, Special Representative Kim will meet with Republic of Korea (ROK) Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk and other senior ROK officials t

PoliticsApril 15, 2022

1 dead, 1 injured in arson fire in Seoul

A man was arrested on charges of setting fire to a four-story commercial building in Seoul early Friday, which left one dead and another injured, police said. The fire broke out at 3:24 a.m. at the building in Seoul's western district of Yeongdeungpo, gutting its first and second floors and charring the walls of the third and fourth floors before being extinguished around 5 a.m. A man in his 60s died on the third floor, and a woman in her 70s was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. After che

Social AffairsApril 15, 2022

Dossier reveals diplomacy behind two Koreas' simultaneous entry into UN membership in 1991

The South Korean government made public a dossier Friday offering a glimpse into dramatic Cold-War era diplomacy by the two Koreas in connection with their historic simultaneous entry into full membership in the United Nations. The set of documents highlights Seoul's brisk efforts in 1991 to court Moscow and Beijing to support its push to join the world body, which played a key role in mobilizing US-led troops to help the South fight against the invading North in their 1950-53 war. It is part of

Foreign AffairsApril 15, 2022

[Graphic News] Koreans’ average height grew about 6 cm over 40 years

　The average height of Koreans has increased for both men and women compared to 40 years ago, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy’s National Institute of Technology and Standards. 　The survey was carried out from May 2020 to December 2021 on 6,839 randomly selected Koreans aged 20 to 69. 　The average height of men stood at 172.5 cm, which was 6.4 cm taller than in the first survey conducted in 1979 (166.1 cm) while for women it increased by 5.3 cm to 159.6 cm. 

NationalApril 15, 2022

N. Korean defense minister promoted to vice marshal on late leader's anniv.

North Korea's Defense Minister Ri Yong-gil has been promoted to the country's third-highest military rank of vice marshal in a major reshuffle, its state media said Friday. The latest shakeup appears intended to boost morale and unity among top-echelon officers as the North marks the 110th birth anniversary of its late national founder Kim Il-sung. "A relevant decision was issued by the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea on April 14," the official Korean Central

North KoreaApril 15, 2022

S. Korea to lift all social distancing rules, except mask mandate: PM

South Korea will lift all COVID-19 social distancing rules, except a mask mandate, next week, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, marking the first time all restrictions have been lifted since the pandemic began two years ago. Starting Monday, restaurants, cafes and other small businesses will be able to operate freely without a curfew, while the limit on the size of private gatherings will be removed, Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting. Currently, such businesses are allowed to

Social AffairsApril 15, 2022

N. Korean provocations likely to continue for months: Jake Sullivan

WASHINGTON -- North Korea is currently in a provocation cycle that may last for weeks or even months, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday. Sullivan also said the North will continue efforts to advance its nuclear and missile programs, but that the capability to hit the US mainland has yet to be proven. "A few weeks ago, they tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, which they had not done previously, they had not done since 2017. So yes, they are in a pattern of pr

Foreign AffairsApril 15, 2022

US closely monitoring N. Korea for possible provocation: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is closely monitoring North Korea for possible provocations, a US state department spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price made the remarks as Pyongyang celebrates the 110th anniversary of the birthday of its late founding leader Kim Il-sung on Friday (Seoul time). "What I can say and what we know is that the DPRK in the past has used the occasion of holidays and other notable occasions within the DPRK to engage in provocations," the spokesperson said in a

Foreign AffairsApril 15, 2022

Yoon says will expand breadth of diplomacy based on stronger alliance with US: report

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's incoming administration will expand the country's diplomatic efforts based on a stronger US-South Korea alliance, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said in an interview published Thursday. Yoon also said he will seek to improve ties with Japan, calling current Seoul-Tokyo relations "the Achilles' heel" of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the US. "The current administration placed too much emphasis on the relationship with North Korea al

Foreign AffairsApril 15, 2022

AI robots deployed to fill void in senior care. But can they?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly cruel to older people. Digitally estranged, those living alone were virtually cut off from the world as social distancing disrupted operations of senior centers and other community services. To fill this void in senior care, authorities and institutions have deployed companion robots. These care machines with artificial intelligence have been billed as an example of the pandemic accelerating the deployment of cutting-edge technology. They are inten

Social AffairsApril 14, 2022

[Herald Interview] Helping African youth with better 'mind education'

Young people in many parts of Africa lack opportunities for more comprehensive education, and need support, says Rev. Park Ock-soo, founder of the nonprofit International Youth Fellowship. Recalling a story of a student burning down a school apparently over a trivial disagreement with a teacher, Rev. Park said that such incidents are a result of a lack of “thinking skills and self-control,” and that many young people on the continent lack access to guidance and education that woul

Social AffairsApril 14, 2022

S. Korea’s severe cases drop to three digits for the first time in six weeks

The number of severe COVID-19 cases dropped to three digits for the first time in almost six weeks, according to government data Thursday. The number of critically ill patients, as of midnight Wednesday, marked 962, down 52 from the previous day, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency figures showed. It was the first time for the figure to drop below 1,000 since March 7, when the country reported 955 severe cases. The occupancy rate of hospital beds for critically ill COVID-19 patient

Social AffairsApril 14, 2022

Yoon finalizes Cabinet nomination, taps umbrella union official as labor minister

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announced the final two minister nominees on Thursday, finishing up the first round of nominations for his incoming Cabinet. Yoon announced his choices for the other 16 ministerial posts in the past two rounds of announcements. In the press briefing, Yoon tapped Lee Jung-sik for minister of employment and labor. Lee formerly served as secretary general of the Korea Labor and Employment Service, and a top administrator for the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, an

PoliticsApril 14, 2022

Nomination adds fuel to prosecution row

The ruling and opposition parties are clashing over a plan to strip prosecutors of their investigative powers and the new administration’s nominee for justice minister. On Thursday, Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo met Park Kwang-on, head of the parliament’s legislation and judiciary committee, to express objection to the ruling party’s move to enact legislation to deprive it of its remaining investigative powers. During the meeting, held hours before the legislation committee&

PoliticsApril 14, 2022

Inter-Korean relations cannot be normalized without denuclearization efforts: nominee

The unification minister nominee said Thursday that progress toward denuclearization was essential to normalizing inter-Korean relations, but he would strive to create new momentum for dialogue to that end. Rep. Kwon Young-se, the four-term lawmaker of the People Power Party, said the denuclearization process by itself is the “same path to normalize inter-Korean relations,” reiterating that the steps should be taken simultaneously and in parallel. The unification minister nominee e

North KoreaApril 14, 2022

Gyeonggi governor hopeful takes issue with voting rights of Chinese permanent residents

Gyeonggi governor hopeful Kim Eun-hye of the People Power Party has said that voting rights of Chinese nationals with permanent residence here should be restricted on the grounds of reciprocity. “Over 120,000 foreigners, among which are nearly 100,000 Chinese people, will have voting rights in the upcoming local election,” the politician said in a Facebook post on Thursday. “If our citizens cannot vote in a certain country, it makes sense for us to restrict the same rights. I

PoliticsApril 14, 2022

[Exclusive] Korea sequenced less than 0.1% of cases over omicron outbreak

South Korea has conducted whole-genome sequencing on less than 0.1 percent of cases that occurred over its omicron outbreak to date, far below the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 5 percent. The lack of surveillance means Korea may lose sight of the next concerning variant coming its way, and let that variant spread undetected in the community, experts warn. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said in a written response to The Korea Herald on Wednesday afternoo

Social AffairsApril 14, 2022