Prosecutors raid Samsung Electronics on suspected unfair biz practice

Prosecutors on Monday raided Samsung Electronics Co. and a Samsung food service subsidiary over suspicions of unfair business practice involving in-house cafeteria services, officials said. Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office searched the headquarters of Samsung Electronics in Suwon and Samsung Welstory in Bundang, both south of Seoul, for materials related with business deals on meal services for employees. Monday's raids came after the national antitrust regulator

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2022

Yoon's US delegation expected to visit Washington in early April

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's delegation to the United States is expected to visit Washington early next month before the US Congress breaks for recess. Yoon's spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said the aim is to select the remaining five or so delegates early this week as Congress begins recess on April 11. Rep. Park Jin of Yoon's People Power Party has been chosen to head the team. "The delegation is being sent to meet with officials in the US government and Congress, as well as policymakers wit

PoliticsMarch 28, 2022

Army holds this year's first major high-tech training

South Korea's Army has been carrying out this year's first brigade-level field training involving a high-tech combat simulation system, its officials said Monday. The 10-day training involving some 4,500 troops began at the Army's Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC) in Inje, 165 kilometers east of Seoul, last Monday as the country seeks to reinforce military drills amid persistent North Korean threats. The training center harnesses the "multiple integrated laser engagement system" that

DefenseMarch 28, 2022

N. Korea opens photo exhibition marking decade of leader's rule

North Korea has kicked off a photo exhibition commemorating a decade of its leader Kim Jong-un's rule, state media reported Monday, working up a festive mood ahead of major political anniversaries next month. An opening ceremony for the exhibition marking 10 years since Kim took the helm of the nation opened in Pyongyang the previous day, according to the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun. Kim was named "first secretary" of the ruling Workers' Party on April 11, 2012, and the first

North KoreaMarch 28, 2022

Over 130,000 migrant workers to get stay extension in S. Korea: govt.

The government has decided to grant stay extensions to over 130,000 migrant workers in the country to relieve labor shortage at farms and small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Monday. Of some 132,000 workers whose stay permits end between April 13 and Dec. 31, those who receive stay extensions for the first time will be able to stay in South Korea for another year, according to the labor and justice ministries. A 50-day extension will be given to those whose permit expires

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2022

National police chief tests positive for COVID-19

The head of the National Police Agency, Kim Chang-yong, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, officials said. The commissioner general got a positive result in a polymerase chain reaction test, the police officials said, adding that Kim will undergo seven-day quarantine and treatment till Sunday. (Yonhap)

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2022

Yoon to meet Japanese ambassador Monday

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will meet with the Japanese ambassador to South Korea on Monday, his spokesperson said. Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi will pay a courtesy call on Yoon in the morning, Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing. The meeting was initially scheduled for March 17 but postponed after Aiboshi tested positive for COVID-19. Yoon spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 11, two days after his election. During the call, he stressed the importance of resolving pendi

PoliticsMarch 28, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases in downward trend amid 'stealth' omicron spread

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases fell below 200,000 for the first time in 25 days Monday, as the omicron-driven virus peak appears to have passed amid growing concerns over the spread of the even more transmissible "stealth omicron" subvariant. The country added 187,213 new coronavirus infections, including 25 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 12,003,054, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It is the first time since March 2 that the d

Social AffairsMarch 28, 2022

Yoon to begin reviewing PM candidates

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will soon begin reviewing candidates for prime minister, with economics and business experts cited as some of the leading contenders for the job, sources said Monday. Chief of Staff Chang Je-won plans to recommend around five candidates to Yoon after receiving their profiles from the president-elect's human resources team, and the formal vetting process is expected to begin this week, the sources said. "Considering the time required for the parliamentary confir

PoliticsMarch 28, 2022

[From the Scene] Uzbekistan vows to become middle-income country by 2030 at Tashkent Investment Forum

   Tashkent, Uzbekistan -- Uzbekistan vowed to become a middle-income country by 2030 at the Tashkent International Investment Forum at Tashkent City Congress Hall in Tashkent on Thursday. Addressing the plenary session of the forum, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev outlined important measures to attract investment and practical proposals open up the country’s business environment as of this year. “We aim to make Uzbekistan one of the world’s middle-income countrie

Diplomatic CircuitMarch 28, 2022

Why some renters voted in line with rich homeowners

The night of March 9 marked the closet election in modern South Korean history as exit polls had predicted, defying expectations that it was a clear win for now President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. But when results of ballot counting in the richest areas in southeastern Seoul -- Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa -- started to come in, the balance began to tip in favor of Yoon. In Gangnam and Secoho, he carried over 67 and 65 percent of the vote, respectively. In the end, Seoul turned red, which is the color

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2022

Several options being discussed on how to restructure Gender Equality Ministry

The presidential transition committee is reviewing several ways for governmental reorganization, including abolishing the Gender Equality Ministry without eliminating its essential functions. Yoon has pledged to abolish the Gender Equality and Family Ministry, which is the Ministry of Women and Family in Korean. Yoon considers the ministry as obsolete, and has questioned the existence of systematic gender discrimination in Korea. A committee official reportedly said they will bring out a ro

PoliticsMarch 27, 2022

N.Korea’s ICBM launch crystallizes conflict among US, China, Russia

The US has continued clashing with China and Russia on how to stop North Korea from developing missile and nuclear programs and jump-start dialogue, notwithstanding Pyongyang’s launch of the purported largest intercontinental ballistic missile in four years. The UN Security Council urgently held an open meeting on North Korea for the first time since 2017 on Friday afternoon at the request of the US, Albania, France, Ireland, Norway and the UK. North Korea on Friday announced that it t

North KoreaMarch 27, 2022

Yoon to send delegation to US to discuss global affairs

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will send a consultation delegation to the United States to discuss issues regarding the US-South Korea alliance and current affairs before his inauguration, Yoon’s office said on Sunday. “Yoon will send a Korea-US policy consultation delegation to hold comprehensive and practical consultations with the US administration,” Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a statement. The delegation will be led by Yoon’s foreign policy advis

PoliticsMarch 27, 2022

[Newsmaker] Gilbert Houngbo to be first African to head UN labour agency

GENEVA (AFP) -- Gilbert Houngbo, the former prime minister of Togo, was on Friday elected the next head of the International Labour Organization, and will become the first African to lead the UN agency. After two rounds of voting, the ILO's governing body elected the 61-year-old to succeed British trade unionist Guy Ryder, who steps down at the end of September, after 10 years in the job. "You have made history," Houngbo told the governing body after the election. "I am deeply

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2022

S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases down for four straight days

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases have decreased for four straight days, according to data reported by the country’s health authorities, Sunday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country recorded 318,130 COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Saturday, staying below 400,000 for the fourth consecutive day. The total caseload reached 11,815,841. The country’s daily COVID-19 cases have been decreasing since Tuesday, when the figure surpassed

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2022

S. Korea, Arab nations to resume free trade talks after 13 years

South Korea and a group of Arab countries will resume talks for their free trade deal this week after a 13-year hiatus in a move to forge deeper economic ties, Seoul's industry ministry said Sunday. South Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will began the fourth round of official talks for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on Monday for a four-day run, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The GCC involves six countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain

Foreign AffairsMarch 27, 2022

Moon, Yoon to hold first meeting. Are they ready to cooperate?

President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol are to hold their first meeting on Monday evening, 19 days after the presidential election, the two sides confirmed Sunday. Monday’s meeting will be their first in 21 months since Yoon visited Cheong Wa Dae to attend the Anti-Corruption Policy Council in 2020, when he was prosecutor general. They were supposed to meet on March 16, but the meeting was postponed, saying more working-level consultations were needed. This is the longes

PoliticsMarch 27, 2022

70 earthquakes detected on Korean Peninsula in 2021: data

A total of 70 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or stronger were detected on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters last year, a level similar to the yearly average over the past 20 years, the state weather agency said Sunday. The 2021 figure is up from 68 logged the previous year and is similar to the yearly average of 70.6 since the country began tracking related data with a digital system in 1999, according to the data by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Of the total,

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2022

Veterans minister to visit Thailand, Turkey, South Africa

South Korea's Veterans Affairs Minister Hwang Ki-chul will embark on a trip to Thailand, Turkey and South Africa this week for talks on bilateral cooperation and meet Korean War veterans, his office said Sunday. On Tuesday, Hwang is set to meet Thai officials in Bangkok, visit a Thai military unit that participated in the 1950-53 conflict and attend a dinner session with Thai veterans who fought for the South during the war. During his stay in Turkey from Wednesday to Friday, the minister plans

Social AffairsMarch 27, 2022