Assembly speaker calls for solidarity and cooperation in Asia Pacific to tackle COVID-19, climate crisis

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug on Tuesday called on countries in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to tackle various global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate crisis.   　 His remarks came during the inaugural ceremony of the 29th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum that kicked off for a three-day run from Monday to Wednesday. Under the theme of “The Role of Parliaments in Strengthening Re

Foreign AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Education ministry to improve vaccine pass application measures at cram schools

The education ministry on Tuesday promised to come up with measures to improve its plan to place cram schools under the government vaccine pass system amid strong opposition from students and parents, officials said. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae held a meeting with representatives of the Korea Association of Hakwon (KAOH), a cram school industry trade group, and agreed to present measures related to the vaccine pass expansion by the end of the year. Starting February, the government plans

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Mental Health -– a challenge for Korea and Denmark

Globally, more than 970 million people live with a mental health disorder, corresponding to more than 1 in 10 people. Mental health is a challenge that concerns all nations and a large part of the population in our modern society.  The 2021 World Happiness Report by the United Nations saw Denmark ranked second. However, in Denmark, which has a population of about one-tenth the size of Korea, with 5.8 million people, it is estimated that 8 percent of the population has depression and 25 per

Diplomatic CircuitDec. 14, 2021

Kazakhstan celebrates 30th anniversary of Independence

Kazakhstan marked the 30th anniversary of its independence Monday commemorating the development, peace and prosperity it has achieved since then. Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union on Dec. 16 1991. Kazakhstan Ambassador Bakyt Dyussenbayev declared 2021 as significant year for Kazakhstan-Korean relations due to the state visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the first visit by a foreign head of state since beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The state visit

Diplomatic CircuitDec. 14, 2021

Seoul police to reinvestigate all ongoing stalking cases to bolster victim protection

Police in Seoul were ordered to look into all pending stalking and sexual offense cases again to see if the victims are under sufficient protection, officials said Tuesday, after recent two deaths were blamed on failures to provide due police protection. The order, issued by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, came after criticism of police rose after a 26-year-old man, surnamed Lee, killed his former girlfriend's mother and seriously injured her younger brother at their home in southern Seou

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Senior US diplomat due in Seoul for talks on economic ties, supply chain

A senior US diplomat in charge of economic and trade policy is scheduled to visit Seoul this week to discuss cooperation on supply chain, technology, healthcare and other sectors, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Jose W. Fernandez, US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, plans to arrive here on Wednesday for a three-day visit after travelling to Tokyo. It is his first regional trip since taking office in August. During his stay in South Korea, Fernande

Foreign AffairsDec. 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Student vaccine pass mandate may be adjusted

Though South Korea is to go ahead with its controversial “vaccine pass” plans for teenagers, details of the scheme may be adjusted. The government’s decision to expand the vaccine certification system to those aged 12 to 18 from Feb. 1 has been met with criticism from many students and parents. Faced with opposition, the Ministry of Education is considering making some adjustments regarding the expansion of the vaccine pass system. “Though we have announced that t

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife fights accusations of lying on resume

The People Power Party presidential nominee’s wife is under fire for possibly exaggerating her career history on top of allegations of her involvement in academic plagiarism and stock manipulation. Kim Keon-hee, wife of presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, partly acknowledged in an interview with news broadcaster YTN released Tuesday that she exaggerated her credentials in successfully applying for a professor position at Suwon Women’s University in 2007. She served in the teaching

PoliticsDec. 14, 2021

Opposition camp reaches out to non-party figures for wider appeal

The main opposition People Power Party is looking beyond its own ranks as it builds a support team for Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential campaign. In most campaigns, parties have let political allegiances govern directions and appointments, but the main opposition bloc is emphasizing unity and inclusivity in its battle against the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. "Our election campaign committee will be a pragmatic team only for the people, not just for the conservatives nor the liberal

PoliticsDec. 14, 2021

Korea, Australia adopt joint statement on South China Sea

In the wake of Monday’s summit between South Korea and Australia, President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Scott Morrison adopted a joint statement on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. “As major maritime trading nations, Australia and South Korea recognize that the stability of the Indo-Pacific depends on adherence to international law in the maritime domain, including in the South China Sea,” said the joint statement signed by the two leaders. The South China

Foreign AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Vaccine pass system malfunctions for 2nd day despite addition of emergency servers

The government's digital vaccine pass system malfunctioned for the second day on Tuesday, leading to a number of access failures during lunch time despite the addition of emergency servers to deal with heavy user traffic. COOV, a government smartphone application that authenticates users' vaccination status by QR codes, along with affiliated third party programs, such as Naver and Kakao talk, has been plagued with major connection issues since Monday, the first day of the government's vaccine p

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Moon seeks support for Korean community in Australia

Moon Jae-in met with Australia's opposition leader on Tuesday and asked for his support for the Korean community in the country. Moon and Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party met in Sydney during the president's ongoing four-day state visit to the country. Moon noted that he and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed the previous day to elevate the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and expressed hope for strengthened cooperation in future high-t

PoliticsDec. 14, 2021

Double murder suspect says 'sorry' for fatal robbery crime

INCHEON -- A 52-year-old double murder suspect made a feeble apology on Tuesday as he appeared in public for the first time after his arrest for allegedly killing a woman for money and murdering an accomplice. Kwon Jae-chan stood in front of reporters as he was transferred from Incheon Michuhol Police Station in Incheon, west of Seoul, to a local prosecutors office for further investigation of his double murder, robbery and corpse abandonment charges. "I'm sorry," Kwon said feebly wh

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Ex-civil servant sentenced to 12 yrs in prison for blackmailing, raping coworker for 20 months

JEONJU -- An appeals court has raised the prison sentence to 12 years for a former civil servant convicted of raping a coworker and using a video of the crime to blackmail her into having sex with him against her will for 20 months, officials said Tuesday. The 27-year-old had been sentenced to nine years in prison, but the Gwangju High Court upped the sentence by three years, saying he "maliciously made the victim suffer to fulfill his sadistic and perverted sexual desires." Accordin

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

S. Korea extends overseas travel advisory through Jan. 13

South Korea has extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month due to the global spread of the new omicron variant of COVID-19, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. In the advisory, the ministry recommended citizens to cancel or postpone non-essential trips abroad until Jan. 13, while asking those overseas to take measures to prevent exposure to the virus, such as refraining from going to large-scale events. The travel advisory was first issued in March and has been exte

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

PM apologizes for inconveniences from vaccine pass system outage

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for inconveniences caused by an outage of the government's digital COVID-19 vaccine pass system after authorities began enforcing the system in restaurants and other multiuse facilities across the country. In a Cabinet meeting held at the government office complex in Seoul, Kim said he "sincerely apologized for causing inconvenience to the public" with the vaccine pass system outage on Monday. "Yesterday was the launch day in enforc

PoliticsDec. 14, 2021

Military reports 40 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Tuesday reported 40 additional COVID-19 cases, including 35 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,777. Of the new cases, 15 people are from the Army, 13 from the Air Force, four from the Navy, and seven from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, officials said. An officer from the ministry was also infected. Currently, 308 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,016 are breakthr

DefenseDec. 14, 2021

New COVID-19 cases below 6,000 for 2nd day; critical cases and deaths at record highs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 6,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but critical cases and deaths hit record highs amid concerns over the spread of the new omicron variant. The country added 5,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 5,525 local cases, raising the total caseload to 528,652, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.  Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two

Social AffairsDec. 14, 2021

Recent N. Korean missile tests aimed at defeating missile defense programs: CRS report

WASHINGTON -- North Korea appears to be aiming to counter or cripple US missile defense programs deployed in the Northeast Asian region, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released Monday. The report follows a series of short and medium-range missile tests conducted by the North this year. "The recent advances in North Korea's ballistic missile test program appear to be directed at developing capabilities to defeat or degrade the effectiveness of missile defenses

Foreign AffairsDec. 14, 2021

US holds no hostility, awaits positive response for dialogue from N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States has no hostile policy toward North Korea while it continues to wait for a positive response from the reclusive state to its outreach, a state department spokesperson said Monday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, also reiterated the US remains ready to meet with North Korea any time without any preconditions. "We remain committed to achieving a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy with the

Foreign AffairsDec. 14, 2021