20 N. Korean defectors have migrated overseas over past 5 years: ministry

A total of 20 North Koreans who defected to the South have migrated to other countries over the past five years, the Ministry of Unification said Monday. The living conditions of North Korean defectors here have drawn keen attention, especially since a defector who fled the North in late 2020 reportedly crossed the heavily-fortified inter-Korean border again earlier this month to return home. "The number of North Korean defectors who have emigrated over the recent five years (from 2016-20

North KoreaJan. 10, 2022

S.Korea ranks 9th in defense tech, but needs ‘intensive’ R&D in space weapons

South Korea ranks ninth in the world in defense technology, but the country needs “intensive” and “strategic” investments in the research and development of space weapons, where it lags far behind other military powers, the government-run military technology agency said Monday. The Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT) released the “Defense Science & Technology Level Assessment by Country“ triennial report on Mon

DefenseJan. 10, 2022

Facing omicron wave, Korea begins weighing who to test first

To deal with a possible testing crisis driven by an omicron surge, South Korea says it would give people at higher risk PCR tests first, while lower priority people take at-home rapid antigen tests. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the country’s COVID-19 diagnosis system, which so far has only used the highly accurate PCR tests, may start using the rapid antigen tests for less urgent cases. At the moment omicron accounts for 8 percent of all sequenced cases in Korea. But given i

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2022

Ahn’s rise splits presidential race three ways

People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has rapidly gained on his ruling and main opposition rivals in recent weeks, as he is appearing to absorb voters peeling away from People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol. Ahn came out on top in a Realmeter poll of 3,042 people released Monday in a hypothetical alliance with the main opposition party. The poll, requested by local media outlet Oh My News, was held from Jan. 2 to Friday. Some 35.9 percent answered they would vote for hi

PoliticsJan. 10, 2022

Omicron cases in Seoul more than double to 456 from week ago

The omicron caseload in Seoul has more than doubled to 456 on Monday from last week's 183 cases, the city government said. Omicron marks 0.2 percent of the total COVID-19 cases confirmed in Seoul so far. Omicron is highly likely to become the most prevalent COVID-19 variant in the city by late this month or February, Park Yoo-mi, a disease control official of the city government said. The city, meanwhile, saw the average number of daily new coronavirus cases decline from 1,533 in the final

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2022

Seoul monitoring possible change in N. Korea's COVID-19 policy, lockdown

South Korea's unification ministry said Monday it's closely watching a possible change in North Korea's anti-coronavirus policy, such as the lifting of its strict border closure, after Pyongyang's main newspaper said the country will shift to more "advanced" antivirus measures from the current control-focused approach. "We need to move to a better advanced, people-oriented epidemic work from one that focused on control measures," the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said. It did not

North KoreaJan. 10, 2022

Over 1,900 police detectives lose qualification for investigation

 Over 1,900 police detectives lost their qualification this year to lead investigations after refusing field assignments too long, the National Police Agency said Monday. Detectives are reviewed yearly for renewal of their qualifications under a system introduced in 2005. This year’s number of investigators losing their status is the highest since the system was introduced, the NPA said. The total number of qualified special investigative officers now stands at 31,659, down from 3

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2022

Yoon says coding should be given priority in children's education

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that computer programming should be dealt with as a school subject that's more important than mathematics, English and Korean in order to meet a need for digital-savvy human resources. "I think it will only be possible to supply ample digital-savvy human capital to the market by allotting a greater weight to coding than those to the subjects of the Korean language, mathematics and English in evaluation for school admissions,

PoliticsJan. 10, 2022

Fine dust blankets much of S. Korea again

Fine dust plagued most parts of South Korea on Monday due to air stagnation caused by the high atmospheric pressure in the west, weather authorities said. As of 8 a.m., the density of ultrafine dust, called PM 2.5, had hit the "very bad" level for the greater Seoul area, North Chuncheong Province and the central city of Sejong, and the southeastern city of Daegu, according to the Comprehensive Air-quality Index. The level for other parts of the country was "bad," except for

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2022

Military reports 4 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Monday reported four additional COVID-19 cases, all of which are breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,444. Of the new cases, three are from the Army and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 191 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,631 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

DefenseJan. 10, 2022

Daily infections below 4,000 for 4th day amid tightened distancing rules

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the fourth straight day Monday amid tightened distancing rules to curb the spread of COVID-19. The country added 3,007 new COVID-19 infections, including 2,768 local infections, raising the total caseload to 667,390, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea reported 34 more COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 6,071, the KDCA added. The fatality rate was 0.91 percent. The number of crit

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2022

Lee leads Yoon by 6 percentage points: poll

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading his main opposition rival Yoon Suk-yeol by 6 percentage points with the election less than two months away, a survey showed Monday. Lee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) garnered 40.1 percent, while Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) gained 34.1 percent, according to the Realmeter survey of 3,042 adults conducted last week. Lee's support edged down 0.8 percentage point from a week earlier, and Yoon's support fel

PoliticsJan. 10, 2022

[Contribution] No first use for all

Nuclear weapons are one of today’s most critical international issues. We face rising tension between nuclear-armed states such as the United States, the Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of China. From the border between Russia and Ukraine to the Taiwan Strait, growing military activity in those regions concerns the global community. Hence the recent joint statement by the five nuclear-armed states -- China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States -- gave u

PoliticsJan. 9, 2022

In highly vaccinated Korea, mandates are fueling a backlash

Korea’s new policy requiring people to be completely vaccinated or cleared in tests to enter public places is stirring up a wave of protests and court challenges. On Saturday civic groups and local community organizations marched from Seoul Station to Gwanghwamun Square demanding that the compulsory vaccine-or-testing policy be scrapped. The Saturday rally, among the firsts of many that is being planned, follows a series of legal battles facing the government over the mandate, wit

Social AffairsJan. 9, 2022

Ahn tops presidential nominees in hypothetical alliance with Yoon: poll

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the minor opposition People's Party, came out on top in a poll released Sunday in a hypothetical alliance with the major opposition nominee Yoon Suk-yeol. In a survey by Southern Post, Ahn earned 42.3 percent of support as the main opposition candidate in case of a unified presidential bid with Yoon, the People Power Party (PPP) nominee. Lee Jae-myung, representing the ruling Democratic Party, had 28.9 percent support in that scenario. The survey wa

PoliticsJan. 9, 2022

[Newsmaker] UN Security Council expected to meet Monday on NK’s missile launch

  The UN Security Council is expected to meet behind closed doors on Monday to discuss North Korea’s missile launch, but a joint statement after the session appears to be less likely. 　 Diplomatic sources say the US, France and the UK -– three of the five permanent members on the council –- as well as Ireland and Albania, requested an emergency meeting to be held on Monday in the US to discuss the launch of what Pyongyang claims to be a hypersonic missile. 　 “We ca

North KoreaJan. 9, 2022

Vaccination rate of 18-year-olds hits 90%

As of Saturday, 90.1 percent of 18-year-olds have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, passing the 90 percent threshold. More than 79.6 percent have received a second shot. However, following the suspension of the vaccine pass enforcement at cram schools, the increase of the overall vaccination rate in minors above 13 has slowed down. According to the Education Ministry, some 76.2 percent of those aged between 13 and 18 who were born between 2004 and 2009, have received the first sho

Social AffairsJan. 9, 2022

Gender war revisited in presidential race

Presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party has revisited the option of abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, a move deemed controversial by many amid aggravating gender conflict in South Korea. Yoon is explicitly appealing to male voters in their 20s as recommended by People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok after the two came to a truce days earlier following a period of damaging internal strife. On Friday, the presidential nominee posted a s

PoliticsJan. 9, 2022

Korea covered by fine dust; special measures enforced

Korea on Sunday was blanketed by dangerous levels of ultrafine dust expected to persist until at least Monday, which prompted the government to issue emergency reduction measures for the first time this year. According to the Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office under the Ministry of Environment, the ultrafine dust density levels in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and South Chuncheong Province were projected to be “very bad“ with over 76 micrograms per cubic meter.  The MAMO i

Social AffairsJan. 9, 2022

Lotto winnings a honeypot, but not as sweet as it seems

Earlier this week, the Internet was abuzz with news that 2,203 cases of scams concerning websites that claim to be able to predict Lotto numbers were reported to the Korea Consumer Agency. This marked a rapid spike from 903 in 2019, and offered proof to what many already know at heart: Most -- if not all -- of these businesses claiming to have cracked the code on the state-run lottery system could not be true. Korea’s most popular lottery, Lotto, debuted in 2002 under the supervision of

Social AffairsJan. 9, 2022