Complaints filed against election authorities over poor management of virus patients' early voting

Civic groups have filed complaints against top officials of the National Election Commission (NEC) over their alleged mishandling of the early voting for the March 9 presidential election among COVID-19 patients last week. The election watchdog came under fire over the weekend following revelations that virus patients were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes, and election officials instead collected them in plastic bags and other unofficial containers during the early voting for inf

PoliticsMarch 7, 2022

Biden's mentioning of S. Korea shows gratitude for joining sanctions on Russia: Cheong Wa Dae

US President Joe Biden's mentioning of South Korea in his State of the Union address showed his gratitude for Seoul's joining of sanctions on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said Monday. In his first State of the Union address last week, Biden thanked South Korea, along with dozens of other countries, for condemning what he called Russia's "unjustified" and "totally unprovoked" aggression on Ukraine. US officials have since informed the South

PoliticsMarch 7, 2022

Women workers take up some 25% of major firms' workforce

Female workers account for nearly a quarter of all employees with major South Korean companies, with their pay amounting to nearly 70 percent of that for male counterparts, data showed Monday. The country's 150 key companies hired about 199,700 women workers as of end-2020, or 24 percent of their combined workforce at 831,100, according to corporate tracker Korea CXO Institute. The data is based on their 2020 business reports, and the companies cover top 10 companies in 15 industries in Asia's f

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2022

Police to beef up security to highest level for presidential election

Police will deploy a total of 68,786 personnel to provide security at polling and counting stations across the nation during Wednesday's presidential election, officials said Monday. The personnel will be deployed to 14,464 polling stations and 251 ballot counting stations as police will go on higher alert on the election day for possible emergencies, officials said. Police also plan to set up hotlines between polling places and police stations to respond to possible contingencies, and patrol th

PoliticsMarch 7, 2022

NK leadership to decide time for satellite launch: pro-NK paper

North Korea will launch a rocket carrying satellite at a "time and place" as determined by its leadership, a pro-North Korea newspaper said Monday with regard to the secretive nation's stated development of a "reconnaissance satellite." On Saturday, the North fired an apparent ballistic missile into the East Sea, which its state media described as "another important test" for the satellite program. "(The satellite) will fly toward space at a time and place deci

North KoreaMarch 7, 2022

Education ministry hires 61,000 workers for anti-virus measures at schools

The education ministry has hired about 61,000 people to take care of anti-virus measures at schools in the first semester, officials said Monday. The number represents 87.3 percent of a total of 76,696 anti-virus workers the ministry plans to hire for temperature-taking, visitor control, disinfecting work and rapid test kit handling at schools across the nation. The ministry also plans to hire an additional 1,800 temporary school nurses and supporting workers. Schools across the country reopened

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2022

Military to offer chopper fuel to help contain east coast wildfires

South Korea's military plans to provide aviation fuel from its oil reserves, and mobilize 2,390 troops and 26 choppers Monday to help contain wildfires in eastern coastal areas, the defense ministry said. The military will offer fuel enough for the single-day operation of 10 helicopters, as firefighting authorities are struggling to put out the blaze that began Friday in Uljin, 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and spread to nearby areas. The move came a day after Defense Minister Suh Wook call

DefenseMarch 7, 2022

UN set to hold meeting on N. Korea's latest missile launch: Seoul official

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) plans to convene a session this week in response to North Korea's latest projectile launch, a South Korean government official said Monday. It would be the second meeting of the council in about a week in connection with such a move by the recalcitrant regime. Regarding the North's test-launch of an apparent ballistic missile on Saturday, some members of the influential panel have requested closed-door discussions, and the meeting is scheduled to open

Foreign AffairsMarch 7, 2022

All-out battle under way to extinguish east coast wildfires

Firefighting authorities on Monday mobilized all available manpower and equipment to contain the main fires in the eastern coastal areas hit by massive wildfires for the fourth day, as strong winds there showed signs of fading. The wildfires spurred by high winds amid dry conditions have burned an estimated 16,755 hectares of woodland, the size of 23,466 soccer fields, in Uljin, 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and neighboring coastal areas as of 6 a.m. Monday, according to the Central Disaste

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2022

Navy SEAL-turned-YouTuber claims he left for Ukraine to participate in war as volunteer

Rhee Keun, a former Navy special warfare officer who recently gained huge popularity through the reality show "Fake Men" on YouTube, has said he left for Ukraine to take part in the war against Russia as a volunteer soldier. "When the Ukrainian president called for help from across the world, ROKSEAL immediately began preparing to join the war as a volunteer," he said on Instagram and his YouTube channel ROKSEAL on Sunday. "We drew up plans and prepared coordination and

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2022

S. Korea's daily COVID-19 cases exceed 200,000 for 4th day

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed above 200,000 for the fourth consecutive day Monday as the highly contagious omicron variant continued to fuel a surge in infections. The country reported 210,716 new COVID-19 infections, including 210,628 local cases, raising the total caseload to 4,666,977, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily tally has been declining since peaking at a record-high of 266,850 cases Friday. The daily caseload surpassed 200,

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2022

Election watchdog to allow COVID-19 patients to put votes directly into ballot boxes

The National Election Commission (NEC) decided Monday to allow COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine to put their votes into ballot boxes themselves after an earlier decision to collect their votes in unofficial containers first sparked widespread complaints of foul play. The election watchdog came under fire following revelations virus-infected voters and people under self-isolation were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes and election officials instead collected them in plast

PoliticsMarch 7, 2022

[Subway Stories] Seoul’s once-thriving red-light district fades into history

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a newly launched Korea Herald series exploring the subway stations and surrounding areas across the city. -- Ed.  Outside exit No. 5 of Seoul’s Cheongnyangni subway station is a giant construction site.  Dump trucks and heavy duty vehicles come and go, carrying building materials and occasionally making backup warning beeps. Pedestrians hasten their way through a walkway lined with safety fences to escape the intimidating sound

Social AffairsMarch 7, 2022

S. Korea to impose export controls against Belarus

South Korea on Sunday decided to impose export controls against Belarus for “effectively supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” joining the US and other countries in implementing tough restrictions against Moscow’s strong ally.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it would notify the US and related countries of its decision.  “The Korean government decided today to implement export controls against Belarus, based on the judgment that Belarus is

Foreign AffairsMarch 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] Zelenskyy's 'desperate' plea to Congress: Send more planes

WASHINGTON -- Fighting for his country's survival, Ukraine's leader made a "desperate" plea Saturday to American lawmakers for the United States to help get more warplanes to his military and cut off Russian oil imports as Kyiv tries to stave off the Russian invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy opened the private video call with US lawmakers by telling them this may be the last time they see him alive. He has remained in Kyiv, the capital, which has a vast Russian armored column thr

Foreign AffairsMarch 6, 2022

Schools in confusion as figures spike

Schools in Korea are scrambling in confusion as the country’s COVID-19 cases continue to rapidly increase. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, 15,337 students in Seoul were newly confirmed to have COVID-19 between Feb. 28 and Thursday, while 1,417 school faculty members in Seoul were also confirmed. The tally has been on a steep rise. Though there were 2,883 new confirmed cases in students in Seoul on Tuesday, the number rose to 6,240 on Wednesday and 6,214 on Thu

Social AffairsMarch 6, 2022

NK says it conducted test for reconnaissance satellite

North Korea has conducted “another important test” for a reconnaissance satellite, its state media said Sunday, a day after South Korea’s military described the test as a probable ballistic missile launch. 　 The North’s National Aerospace Development Administration and the Academy of Defense Science conducted “another important test on Saturday under the plan of developing a reconnaissance satellite,” the official Korea Central News Agency reported. 　 &ldqu

North KoreaMarch 6, 2022

Record high early voting turnout marred by lackluster management

South Korea saw an unprecedented turnout in early voting for the 20th presidential election, but immense discomfort and suspicions of electoral fraud arose with election watchdog's lack of preparation in running voting booths for COVID-19 patients. During the two-day early voting period for the March 9 election, more than 16.3 million, or 36.93 percent, of 44.2 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the National Election Commission on Saturday. The highest turnout was in South

PoliticsMarch 6, 2022

How Lee, Yoon each plan to take care of welfare

In their last-ditch efforts to woo voters, the two prominent presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung of the ruling party and Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition party are each shouting out, separately, how they are the best person to make real improvements to the lives of the people. As their canvassing efforts echo each other, their welfare pledges also appear to be similar, though they come from different political backgrounds -- Lee from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon from th

PoliticsMarch 6, 2022

Moon OKs special support for wildfire-hit Uljin, Samcheok

President Moon Jae-in opened the way for emergency financial support for the wildfire-hit areas of Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, and Samcheok, Gangwon Province, by declaring them a special disaster zone Sunday. Accompanied by Minister of the Interior Jeon Hae-cheol and Lee Jin-seok, presidential secretary for state affairs, Moon visited the Uljin National Sports Center shelter where about 500 Uljin residents were staying after being urgently evacuated. Moon told residents at the site tha

Social AffairsMarch 6, 2022