Govt. to push back curfew on cafes, restaurants to 10 p.m., keep gathering size limit at 6

The government decided to push back the curfew on cafes and restaurants by one hour to 10 p.m. while keeping the private gathering size limit at six starting this weekend, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. The easing of the social distancing rules comes despite a massive surge in new COVID-19 cases, with the country's daily virus cases exceeding the 100,000 mark for the first time Friday since the pandemic began two years ago. The updated antivirus curbs will be in place from Saturday to

Social AffairsFeb. 18, 2022

Three weeks before election, Yoon still leads Lee in polls

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is leading his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung by 9 percentage points and 4 percentage points, two polls respectively showed Thursday. Yoon of the conservative People Power Party earned 40 percent support against Lee of the liberal Democratic Party's 31 percent, according to a poll conducted on 1,012 adults from Monday to Wednesday by Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research and Hankook Research. Yoon gained 5 percentage points from

PoliticsFeb. 17, 2022

Critical cases spike as COVID-19 continues record spread

The number of critically ill patients in Korea rose to 389 on daily figures released Thursday, up 76 from the previous day. COVID-19 cases reported during the 24 hours of Wednesday increased to hit another high of over 93,000, health authorities said. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Thursday that the country’s daily COVID-19 cases reached a fresh high of 93,135, which raised the total caseload to 1,645,978. The figure was up from the previous day’s 90,443. Th

Social AffairsFeb. 17, 2022

Yoon once again haunted by ‘kkondae’ image

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party came under fire earlier this week after a picture of him putting his feet on a train seat went viral. The photo, uploaded on social media by his aide Lee Sang-il, showed Yoon’s legs all stretched out with his feet on the seat opposite of him with his shoes on. The train was chartered by his party as part of his presidential campaign. The social media post has been deleted following criticism. His show of poor

PoliticsFeb. 17, 2022

[Election 2022] How do Lee and Yoon view Japan?

Despite its importance, Korea-Japan relations do not usually stand out as a major issue during the Korean presidential election, with low voter interest and candidates‘ reluctance to speak on sensitive topics. Two frontrunner presidential candidates, the Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and the People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol, have not made concrete promises on mending Korea’s strained relations with Japan. But at times, they revealed how they view the nei

PoliticsFeb. 17, 2022

Korea a ‘stable’ investment destination with little COVID-19 impact: Moon

President Moon Jae-in invited a number of foreign investor companies to Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday to express his gratitude for making hefty investments in the Korean market and encouraged them to invest further. Last year, South Korea attracted $29.5 billion in investments, the largest ever. A foreign investor company -- usually a multinational company headquartered overseas -- is defined as one with more than 50 million won ($47,700) in foreign investment capital and a 10 percent stake in sto

PoliticsFeb. 17, 2022

N. Korea’s ‘massive scale’ crypto theft jumps 40% in 2021: report

North Korean state-sponsored cryptocurrency theft and money laundering have continued on a “massive scale” to generate illicit funds, while the total amount of stolen cryptocurrency jumped 40 percent just last year. North Korea-affiliated hackers launched “at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms that extracted nearly $400 million worth of digital assets last year,” Blockchain data platform Chainalysis Inc. said on Wednesday in its 2022 Crypto Crime Report. Th

North KoreaFeb. 17, 2022

Top court confirms suspended prison term for ex-lawmaker in daughter's hiring scandal

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed the suspended prison sentence for a former opposition lawmaker, convicting him of illegally asking a former chief of South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. to hire his daughter as a regular worker in exchange for favors. Kim Sung-tae, a former floor leader of what is now the main opposition People Power Party, was indicted on charges of intervening in parliamentary affairs to help prevent former KT chief Lee Suk-chae from being selected as a witness for a par

PoliticsFeb. 17, 2022

N. Korea focuses on internal unity on late leader's birth anniversary: Seoul official

North Korea appears to have focused on boosting internal unity on the occasion of the 80th birth anniversary of the country's late leader Kim Jong-il, instead of using it as a chance to send a new major message to the outside world, a Seoul official said Thursday. North Korea has been holding various events to mark the anniversary, which falls on Feb. 16, with leader Kim Jong-un attending a national meeting held in the northwestern city of Samjiyon on Tuesday to pay tribute to his late father, a

North KoreaFeb. 17, 2022

Navy aircraft unit reaches 40-year accident-free milestone

South Korea's Navy said Thursday a local air patrol unit has reached a milestone of mishap-free flights over the past 40 years since its establishment. The Patrol Squadron 615, based on the southern resort island of Jeju, achieved the record, having logged a total flight distance of 15.3 million kilometers, equivalent to traveling around the Earth 380 times, according to the Navy. Launched in February 1982, the squadron currently operates 16 P-3 maritime patrol planes to cover the southwestern p

DefenseFeb. 17, 2022

[From the Scene] Mudslinging shows no sign of slowdown despite vows

In the biting cold morning of Feb. 16, dozens of officials, campaign workers and volunteers were running left and right preparing a stage for the Democratic Party of Korea to launch its campaign event near Gangnam Station. Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling party was scheduled to take the stage at noon, but plans were already in place to gather crowds to the area and have his senior campaign officials make supportive speeches hours beforehand. Most supporters gradually flocked to

PoliticsFeb. 17, 2022

S. Korea to reinforce Air Force's anti-missile unit amid growing N. Korean threats

South Korea's military will reinforce the Air Force's missile defense unit by deploying additional equipment, including advanced radars, and broadening its missions, the defense ministry said Thursday, in response to evolving threats from North Korea highlighted by its various types of missile tests of late. The ministry issued a public notice on its push for legislation to restructure the existing Air Defense Missile Command as part of efforts to enhance the military's anti-missile capabilities

DefenseFeb. 17, 2022

[Graphic News] Smuggled drugs hit record high in 2021 amid pandemic

　Drug smuggling caught by South Korea‘s customs agency hit a record high last year as trafficking via non-contact delivery means shot up amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The Korea Customs Service said it confiscated a total of 1,272 kilograms of drugs in 2021, up 757 percent from the previous year. 　Drug smuggling via international mail and cargo sharply increased as drug delivery by international travelers declined due to the pandemic, according to the customs agency. 　The co

NationalFeb. 17, 2022

Cold snap remains unabated

Temperatures in Seoul fell to below minus 10 degrees Celsius Thursday as a cold snap continued to grip the country, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) has issued cold wave alerts in the central inland area, most parts of the eastern Gangwon Province and the southeastern North Gyeongsang Province. As of 8 a.m, temperatures were minus 10.7 C in Seoul, minus 9.7 C in Incheon, minus 10.1 C in Daejeon, minus 7 C in Gwangju and minus 6.6 C in Busan, due to col

Social AffairsFeb. 17, 2022

S. Korea's daily COVID-19 cases rise closer to 100,000 over raging omicron

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases hit another high Thursday, exceeding 90,000 for the second consecutive day, amid few signs that the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant will subside. The country reported 93,135 new COVID-19 infections, including 93,045 local cases, raising the total caseload to 1,645,978, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of daily cases rose sharply Wednesday to surpass the 90,000 level for the first time ever, coming

Social AffairsFeb. 17, 2022

Moon congratulates short tracker Choi on winning gold in women's 1,500m

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday congratulated Choi Min-jeong on winning a gold medal in the women's 1,500m short track speed skating race in Beijing. Moon sent a message to Choi after she successfully defended her gold medal in the women's 1,500m at the Beijing Games, praising her as a "living legend," the presidential office said in a statement. "I give loud applause to Choi Min-jeong, who gave it her all up to the last race," Moon said. Choi had earlier won silver medals

PoliticsFeb. 17, 2022

38 Southeast Asians busted for alleged distribution, use of illegal drugs

UIJEONGBU -- A total of 38 Southeast Asians have been apprehended on charges of distributing and using illegal drugs smuggled from overseas, police said Thursday. The suspects, 36 Thais and two Cambodians, are alleged to have either resold methamphetamines purchased from overseas or used them from January 2019 to this month, according to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency. Of those, 19 have been formally arrested. Many of them were illegal aliens, according to police. Authorities have a

Social AffairsFeb. 17, 2022

Firefighters battling wildfire in coastal county of Yeongdeok for 2nd day

YEONGDEOK -- About 40 firefighting helicopters and more than 1,100 personnel resumed operations to extinguish a wildfire in the southern coastal county of Yeongdeok on Thursday as the blaze remains uncontained for the second consecutive day. The fire started on a mountain in Yeongdeok, about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday. It was extinguished but reignited overnight and spread to nearby residential areas the previous day, according to firefighters and local officials. The fire is

Social AffairsFeb. 17, 2022

Former US ambassador to S. Korea Lippert joins Samsung Electronics America

WASHINGTON -- Former US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert will begin working for Samsung Electronics America next month, the company said Wednesday. Lippert will head the company's Washington office as executive vice president and head of North America public affairs, starting from March 1. "Mark brings decades of public policy experience to Samsung Electronics America, as well as a deep understanding of how geopolitics impacts business in the US," K.S. Choi, president and chief e

Foreign AffairsFeb. 17, 2022

Dead campaign workers’ bus illegally modified: ministry

SEOUL/CHEONAN -- The election campaign bus involved in the deaths of two campaign workers for presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo turned out to be illegally modified without the authorities’ approval, transportation ministry officials said Wednesday. The workers, a local campaign chief and a bus driver, were found unconscious inside a campaign bus in Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, Tuesday afternoon and later pronounced dead at hospitals. The candidate of the minor oppos

PoliticsFeb. 16, 2022