N. Korea criticizes Japan's move to revise security documents

North Korea's foreign ministry on Sunday criticized Japan's moves to revise a set of key security documents as "extremely dangerous" steps away from its long-held defense-oriented policy. Japan has reportedly been moving to revise its national security strategy and other key defense documents this year as it confronts an increasingly assertive China and a nuclear-ambitious North Korea. "What is extremely dangerous is that Japan is poised to include in these documents capabilitie

North KoreaJan. 23, 2022

Minor opposition candidates level criticism at Lee, Yoon

As the presidential election draws nearer, minor opposition candidates Ahn Cheol-soo and Sim Sang-jung are dishing out criticism against major candidates Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol, in apparent efforts to bring up their own support ratings. In a meeting with his supporters Saturday, Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate for the People’s Party, criticized the phone call scandals related to Lee and Yoon in an effort to stress his lack of a “family risk.” “(This election) i

PoliticsJan. 23, 2022

With omicron nearly dominant, Korea prepares new measures

As the omicron variant spreads rapidly and daily caseloads exceeded 7,000 for a second consecutive day, the government plans to operate a new quarantine system nationwide. As of Saturday midnight, the number of COVID-19 confirmed patients in Korea increased by 7,630 from the previous day, recording the second-largest figure to date. Of the newly confirmed cases, 7,343 were locally transmitted and 287 were imported. The number of critically ill patients was 431, down two from the previous day

Social AffairsJan. 23, 2022

Can Yoon Suk-yeol win on his own?

There is growing opinion that presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party should go it alone in the ongoing race as some consider it unnecessary for him to unite forces with others when his ratings have already recovered lost ground. They believe there is no need for Yoon to merge forces with other opposition heavyweights for the election so it would become a two-way race between him and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Such views come at

PoliticsJan. 23, 2022

Iran pays delinquent UN membership fee with funds frozen in S. Korea

Iran has paid its dues to the United Nations with the country's funds frozen in South Korea in a move to immediately restore its voting power, Seoul's finance ministry said Sunday. Iran made an emergency request to South Korea on Jan. 13 for the use of Tehran's funds in Seoul to pay its dues after being informed by the UN it would immediately lose its voting rights for the arrears. Iran has more than $7 billion in funds for oil shipments frozen at two South Korean banks -- the Industrial Bank

Foreign AffairsJan. 23, 2022

New COVID-19 cases spike to second-largest figure amid omicron woes

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases on Sunday spiked to the second-largest figure since the pandemic outbreak, putting health authorities on alert amid the fast spread of the omicron variant. The country added 7,630 new COVID-19 infections, including 7,343 local infections, raising the total caseload to 733,902, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Sunday's figure marks the second-largest tally since the daily record high of 7,848 on Dec. 15. The daily tally

Social AffairsJan. 23, 2022

Moon returns home after trip to Middle East

President Moon Jae-in returned home Saturday from a three-nation trip to the Middle East, where bolstering economic and defense cooperation was high on the agenda. 　 In the United Arab Emirates, South Korea signed a preliminary deal to sell Seoul‘s midrange surface-to-air missiles to the Persian Gulf nation, in the latest sign of deepening defense cooperation between the two nations. 　 The deal was signed after Moon held talks with UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum i

PoliticsJan. 22, 2022

Daily cases bounce to over 7,000 for 1st time in month amid omicron woes

South Korea‘s daily coronavirus cases jumped to over 7,000 for the first time in a month on Saturday amid the fast spread of the omicron variant. 　 The country added 7,009 new COVID-19 infections, including 6,729 local infections, raising the total caseload to 726,274, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 　 It is the first time since mid-December that the number of daily infections stayed above 7,000. 　 The daily tally has surged at a fast pace this week fro

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2022

Ministry of Justice opens third visa application center in Europe

The Ministry of Justice has opened another third-party visa application center in London earlier this week, the latest in a series of moves to reduce the workload of embassy staff. “Starting from January 17, 2022, the Government of the Republic of Korea will open the Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC) in London, operated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), to manage Korean visa applications submitted by UK nationals and third country nationals regularly residing in th

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

Court allows YouTube outlet to broadcast most of Yoon's wife's taped conversations

A court on Friday allowed a YouTube-based media outlet to broadcast most of its recordings of phone conversations between one of its staffers and the wife of main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. In an injunction suit launched by Kim Keon-hee, Yoon's wife, the Seoul Southern District Court allowed Voice of Seoul to disclose the recordings, except for parts that delve into private matters of Kim's family and conversations between Kim and third party entities. The existence of th

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

Thousands of Buddhist monks hold rally to demand apology from president for 'anti-Buddhist bias'

Thousands of Buddhist monks held a rally in Seoul on Friday, demanding President Moon Jae-in apologize for what they called the government's anti-Buddhist bias after a ruling party lawmaker accused temples of collecting admission fees from visitors to national parks. The lawmaker, Rep. Jung Chung-rai of the Democratic Party, has been under a firestorm of criticism from South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, since he compared temples collecting "cultural asset viewing fees&qu

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

Assembly speaker seeks support for Korean businesses in Sri Lanka

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug met with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka on Thursday to discuss expanding economic cooperation and minerals investment. Park made the two-day trip to Sri Lanka to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations. In the meeting with the Sri Lankan president, Park stressed how the economic structures of South Korea and Sri Lanka “complement” each other

PoliticsJan. 21, 2022

S. Korea to lower age minimum for COVID-19 pills to 60

The South Korean government will lower the age minimum for COVID-19 treatment pills from 65 to 60 to better counter the spread of the omicron variant, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. Kim announced the measure during the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, along with other changes that the government will bring into the country’s COVID-19 response system. “(The government) will make several changes in the country’s response system to mor

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

S. Korea's daily cases near 7,000, county braces of omicron impact

South Korea‘s daily COVID-19 cases stayed above 6,000 for a second consecutive day as of midnight Thursday, largely as the spread of the omicron variant picks up pace. As of midnight Thursday, the country added 6,769 new COVID-19 cases, which raised the total caseload to 719,269, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The country‘s daily caseload surpassed 6,000 on Wednesday for the first time in 27 days, after staying below the mark since Dec. 24, when the figure re

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

Korea to limit PCR testing as omicron rises

Korea is limiting the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests -- which have long remained the gold standard of COVID-19 diagnosis -- in parts of country where omicron is dominant, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare Friday. Coming into effect from Jan. 26 in three cities of Gwangju, Pyeongtaek, Anseong and the entire South Jeolla Province, the new testing protocol will be expanded to the rest of Korea once omicron officially becomes dominant nationwide. Omicron showed up in 47 p

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

1 person remains trapped inside burning battery factory in Cheongju: firefighters

CHEONGJU -- A battery factory in the southern city of Cheongju caught fire Friday, leaving one person trapped inside, firefighters said. The fire broke out at the auto battery factory at around 3 p.m. in the city, 140 kilometers south of Seoul. Two people were immediately rescued, but one other is believed to be trapped inside the building, firefighting authorities said. Police initially said four people were inside the burning building with one having been rescued, but firefighters later co

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

S. Korea not mulling lifting import ban on Japanese seafood to join CPTPP

South Korea is not considering lifting a ban on imports of Japanese seafood to win Japan's support for joining a mega free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's oceans minister has said. South Korea is working to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which involves 11 nations, including Australia and Japan. Japan has long been reluctant to South Korea's joining due mainly to Seoul's ban on Fukushima seafood. Since 2013, South Kor

Foreign AffairsJan. 21, 2022

World Forestry Congress due in Seoul in May

South Korea plans to host the World Forestry Congress (WFC), the world's largest gathering of foresters, in May this year, government officials said Friday. The 15th WFC is scheduled to take place at Seoul's COEX from May 2-6, according to the Korea Forest Service (KFS). The WFC is the largest and most influential gathering of the world's forestry sector, and it has been held every six years under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It also provides a

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

Jeju mulls increasing minimum resident visa investment to W1.5b

JEJU -- The provincial government of Jeju said Friday it will push to raise the minimum investment required of foreigners under its real-estate investment immigration policy to 1.5 billion won. Under the current property investment immigration system, foreigners who invest 500 million won (about $419,000) or more in condominiums or other resort facilities on the southern resort island are eligible to receive a resident visa. The visa can be upgraded to a permanent residence visa after five year

Social AffairsJan. 21, 2022

Lee proposes meeting with other candidates to discuss increasing extra budget to W35tr

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Friday proposed an emergency meeting between all presidential candidates to discuss increasing an extra government budget under consideration to 35 trillion won ($29.3 billion) to support pandemic-hit merchants. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) made the proposal only hours after the Cabinet endorsed a 14 trillion won extra budget for the same purpose to be submitted to the National Assembly for approval. The amount of 35 trillion won

PoliticsJan. 21, 2022