S. Korea ships 539,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Philippines

South Korea has shipped 539,000 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines to help the Southeast Asian nation address its vaccine shortages, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. An airplane carrying the jabs departed from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, earlier in the day and will arrive in the Philippines on the same day, the ministry said. South Korea has already shared coronavirus vaccine shots with three other countries -- Vietnam, Thailand and Iran -- as it

Foreign AffairsNov. 30, 2021

Schools to remain open despite danger signals

Schools are to remain open and hold in-person classes despite the surge in COVID-19 cases related to schools. A total of 1,185 people, including students and staff at schools in Seoul, have been confirmed with COVID-19 since schools fully reopened last week, marking an increase from the 1,018 confirmed cases in the previous week, according to the data provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. From Nov. 22 through Sunday, 1,090 students in Seoul tested positive for COVID-19. Mor

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2021

Consideration of Cho Min’s university admission to take more time

Korea University’s deliberation on the admission of the ex-justice minister’s daughter is to take more time, after her high school was barred from providing her school transcript record to the university. On Monday, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it ordered the Hanyoung Foreign Language High School to withhold their transcript of ex-Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s daughter, Cho Min. Though Rep. Hwangbo Seung-hee of the main opposition People Power Party claimed

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2021

Yoon’s leadership put to test as interim conflict deepens

The leadership of the presidential candidate of the main opposition party is being put to the test, as strife appears to deepen between the election committee and party chief. On Tuesday, main opposition People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok canceled all scheduled activities for the day without explanation, amid a growing gap between him and the party’s presidential nominee Yoon Seok-youl. A day earlier, Lee uploaded a Facebook post, reading “If that is the case, this is it,&r

PoliticsNov. 30, 2021

Culinary would unite minds and hearts of Indonesians and Koreans: Indonesian charge d’affaires

The Indonesian Embassy has cohosted the Kriuk Cooking Competition to give South Koreans and local Indonesians a chance to demonstrate their skills with noodles. The competition is an example of how cooking can unite the minds and hearts of both Indonesians and South Koreans, the Indonesian Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires Zelda Wulan Kartika said. The participants used instant noodles, a popular food among students in Indonesia and Korea, as the main ingredient. ASEAN Culture House Di

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 30, 2021

Bulgaria honors ex-Korean ambassador

HONORING SERVICE The Bulgaria Embassy in Seoul honors Jeong Jin-kyu, former ambassador of Korea to Bulgaria, with the Order of the Madara Horseman of the First Degree, the highest Bulgarian award conferred to foreign diplomats, at a reception at the embassy on Nov. 24. Bulgarian Ambassador to Korea Petko Draganov applauded Ambassador Jeong’s outstanding contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Korea on behalf of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. (Bulgari

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 30, 2021

[What’s your say] Murderers’ attorney

An attorney-turned-presidential candidate is under attack for having represented in court heinous murderers, including his nephew. What does a lawyer’s case history tell you about the person? Before entering politics, Lee Jae-myung was a lawyer – a human rights lawyer according to his own words. Now he is South Korean liberal faction’s presidential candidate. To reach the top office, he must beat conservative standard-bearer Yoon Seok-youl, who was until this March the count

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2021

Queensland-Korea relationship strengthens over decades

The Australian state of Queensland marked the 20th anniversary of the establishment of its office in Seoul with an official reception on Nov. 24. The reception was attended by Australian Ambassador to Korea Catherine Raper, the Gyeonggi provincial government ambassador, Kim Young-jun, and over 50 dignitaries and members of the local business community, at the Millennium Hilton Seoul.  Cameron Dick, Queensland’s treasurer and minister for trade and investment, said Korea and Queensla

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 30, 2021

One-fifth of Seoul youths experienced digital sex crime risks: poll

Approximately one-fifth of Seoul youths have been exposed to digital sex crime risks, according to a Seoul city government survey Tuesday. In the survey on 4,012 students in Seoul aged between 12 and 19 conducted in July, 21.3 percent said they have been exposed to the risks of digital sex crimes through online chat applications or social media. Of those, 56.4 percent said they were sent sexual messages or images, and 27.2 percent said they were constantly heckled online for in-person meetings

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2021

Korea, Costa Rica only grasping ‘tip of the iceberg’ of potential, Costa Rican president says

Intel, Bayer and others have established and increased operations in Costa Rica, trusting its political, social and economic stability, but Korean companies are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the possibilities in Costa Rica, the country’s President Carlos Alvarado Quesada said in an interview with The Korea Herald on Nov. 24. Alvarado encouraged Korean companies to make the most of key opportunities in aerospace, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, transnational servic

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 30, 2021

COVAX allocates 4.7 million more COVID-19 vaccines to N. Korea

The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has assigned 4.7 million doses of additional COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea in its latest distribution plan, its report showed Tuesday. According to the program's 12th vaccine allocation decision, AstraZeneca's vaccines will be provided to North Korea, though Pyongyang remains unresponsive to the proposed vaccine assistance. When added to the 2 million doses of vaccines COVAX earlier allocated to the North, the amount is enough to i

North KoreaNov. 30, 2021

Education ministry project builds ICT-powered experimental classroom in Cambodia

The education ministry has launched an assistance project to build a smart classroom in Cambodia to help the country experiment with teaching and learning through up-to-date information and communications technology (ICT) devices, officials said Tuesday. Under the joint project launched with the Busan city education office and the APEC Learning Community Builders, the Ministry of Education installed an ICT-equipped experimental classroom in Wat Bo Primary School in Cambodia's Siem Reap, accordi

Foreign AffairsNov. 30, 2021

Main opposition leader cancels schedule amid speculation of possible resignation

The leader of the main opposition People Power Party canceled part of his official schedule Tuesday, adding weight to speculation he could resign over disagreements with the party's presidential nominee Yoon Seok-youl. The party informed reporters at short notice that Chairman Lee Jun-seok had canceled his attendance at a forum Tuesday morning, without providing a reason. The notice added to speculation Lee could be considering resigning from at least one of his official titles, including co-c

PoliticsNov. 30, 2021

Korea's near-century-old 1st western restaurant to shut down due to pandemic

A near-century-old restaurant in Seoul, believed to be the first to serve western-style cuisine in Korea, has announced it will shut down due to the pandemic after nearly a century of business. Seoul Station Grill, which opened on Oct. 15, 1925, on the second floor of the old Seoul Station building, is known for introducing pork cutlet and hamburger steak to Koreans for the first time during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. "Our business has suffered greatly fro

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2021

Military reports 23 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported 23 additional COVID-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,328. Among the new cases, five Army officers and a conscript stationed in the central city of Sejong tested positive after a fellow was infected at their base. A civilian employee of the Army based in Seoul tested positive after working at a COVID-19 testing center. Another Army conscript from Jincheon, 91 kilometers south of Seoul, also contracted the virus after working

DefenseNov. 30, 2021

Defense minister thanks ex-USFK chief Brooks for contribution to alliance

Defense Minister Suh Wook expressed appreciation to a visiting former US Forces Korea (USFK) commander for his contributions to the bilateral alliance during a meeting earlier this week, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Suh and Vincent Brooks, who led the USFK from 2016-18, met Monday, as the latter was in Seoul to attend a set of alliance-related events ahead of the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), the annual defense ministerial talks between the two countries slated for Thursday. Suh e

DefenseNov. 30, 2021

Heat waves, tropical nights increase in N. Korea due to global warming: weather agency

North Korea has seen an increase in heat waves and tropical nights and a decline in cold spells over the past three decades as global warming has driven up temperatures, South Korea's state weather agency said Tuesday. The average annual temperature in North Korea rose by 0.4 degree Celsius to 8.9 C for the 1991-2020 period in comparison with the 1981-2010 period, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The agency used temperature and precipitation data collected from 27 ob

North KoreaNov. 30, 2021

Daily virus cases below 4,000 for 3rd day; critical cases hit record high amid new variant woes

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the third straight day Tuesday, but the number of critically ill patients hit a fresh high amid concerns over the global spread of the new virus variant. The country reported 3,032 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,003 local infections, raising the total caseload to 447,230, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country reported the highest daily cases of 4,115 to date on Nov. 24. South Korea added 44 m

Social AffairsNov. 30, 2021

N. Korea slams AUKUS as US 'tool for war' threatening world security

North Korea has criticized a new trilateral security partnership among Australia, Britain and the United States as an American "tool for war" that poses "serious threats" to world peace. In a commentary posted on the North's foreign ministry website Monday, the Korea-Asia Association said the international community should be wary of the initiative, called AUKUS, that "brings dark clouds of a nuclear war to the world." "(The concerns) come from the fact that

Foreign AffairsNov. 30, 2021

US global posture review calls for allies' cooperation to counter NK, China threats

The US Department of Defense has concluded its review of the global defense posture, calling for cooperation with allies and partner countries to deter North Korean threats and potential Chinese aggression. Following months of analysis, the Pentagon released the results of the 2021 Global Posture Review (GPR) on Monday (US time) at a time when Washington has been striving to reinforce cooperation with friendly nations against an increasingly assertive China and a nuclear-ambitious North Korea.

Foreign AffairsNov. 30, 2021