Cargo truckers launch 3-day strike to demand freight rate hike

Unionized truck drivers launched a three-day general strike Thursday to protest rising transport costs and demand a hike in freight rates, raising fears of a nationwide logistics crisis. The Cargo Truckers Solidarity (CTS), composed of self-employed truck drivers and those working for companies, said its members across the country commenced the general strike at the beginning of the day to demand an extension of the "Safe Trucking Freight Rates System" designed to prevent dangerous dr

Social AffairsNov. 25, 2021

Seoul reports new daily record high of 1,760 COVID-19 infections

The city of Seoul reported 1,760 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the most the capital has reported since the onset of the pandemic, health officials said. The total, which tallied all new cases confirmed in Seoul a day earlier, is 25 cases more than the previous record high of 1,735 posted just a day ago. It also marks a steep rise from the daily tally of 1,429 from a week earlier. Of the total, only three were imported cases. The capital city has been constantly renewing its daily COVID-19 infe

Social AffairsNov. 25, 2021

Satellite imagery indicates continued operation of NK nuke reactor: 38 North

North Korea appears to be continuing the operation of a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at its mainstay Yongbyon complex, a US monitoring website has said, citing satellite imagery. 38 North reported Wednesday recent commercial satellite imagery of the complex north of Pyongyang provided further evidence of activity at the 5-megawatt reactor, which can produce up to 6 kilograms of plutonium -- a fissile material used for a bomb -- a year. "Steam is emanating from the reactor's generat

North KoreaNov. 25, 2021

Moon says violence against women must be prevented

President Moon Jae-in called Thusday for greater efforts to protect women from violence and abuse as he marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women days after a woman was killed by her ex-boyfriend despite being under police protection. "My heart aches, as there are still women falling victim to violence," Moon said in a Facebook posting marking the UN-designated day. "I will keep improving the system ... and do my best to root out violence against

PoliticsNov. 25, 2021

Police to adopt new weapons to cope better with violence amid criticism over botched violence response

Police will introduce a multiple-shot stun gun, a less lethal pistol and other new weapons to cope better with violence, officials said Thursday, amid heavy criticism over a bungled police response to a recent knife attack. The new stun gun allows three consecutive shots and logs records of time and location of the use, while the less lethal gun uses special bullets with one-tenth of the killing power of ordinary pistols, according to the officials. The current police stun guns, all imported f

Social AffairsNov. 25, 2021

Daily cases fall below 4,000; critical cases, deaths at record highs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 4,000 on Thursday, a day after hitting an all time-high of 4,115. But critical cases and deaths climbed to fresh highs, fueling worries about the virus spread ahead of another pandemic winter. The country reported 3,938 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,917 local infections, raising the total caseload to 429,002, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Critically ill patients hit an all-time high of 612, up 26 from the p

Social AffairsNov. 25, 2021

[Graphic News] No. of multicultural marriages hits record low in 2020

　The number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign spouses fell to a record low last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people’s cross-border movements, data showed. 　The number of multicultural marriages came to 16,177 last year, down 34.6 percent, or 8,544, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　It marked the lowest reading since 2008 when the statistics agency started to compile the related data. 　The number of international marriages sharply

NationalNov. 25, 2021

S. Korea to honor fallen heroes of 'Battle of Chosin Reservoir'

South Korea plans to hold an annual ceremony later this week to honor the sacrifices of the troops killed in a major battle of the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. The event to commemorate the Battle of Chosin Reservoir will take place in the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul on Friday with the attendance of some 400 people, according to the ministry. Key participants will include Veterans Affairs Minister Hwang Ki-chul and Christopher Del Corso, charge d'affaires

DefenseNov. 25, 2021

Police disclose identity of stalking murder suspect

Police on Wednesday disclosed the identity of a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend with a knife at her studio apartment in central Seoul last week. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency identified the suspect as 35-year-old Kim Byung-chan and disclosed a photo of his face and other personal information following a police committee's decision in the afternoon. Kim was arrested Saturday in the southeastern city of Daegu, a day after the murder. The case sparked public fury, as it was known

Social AffairsNov. 24, 2021

KLES program helps city-run business to resolve conflicts among labor unions

Ansan Urban Corp., a corporation run by the local government of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, is resolving labor-management conflicts and improving workplace culture with the aid of the Korea Labor and Employment Service. The service, a state-run organization under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, offers a wide range of services to help local firms solve a range of labor-involved issues. Ansan Urban Corp. is one of several companies that have successfully improved their labor-management relat

Social AffairsNov. 24, 2021

KLES helps local baby food firm to solve workforce issue

In South Korea, many firms located outside of Greater Seoul suffer difficulties in recruiting young employees, as they continue to move to the capital and nearby areas to find jobs. Ercohs, a baby food company based in Daejeon, faced the same problem in the past. The company had to deal with problems caused by its aging workforce as well as a high turnover rate for young workers. Due to the high turnover rate for young workers, employees who stayed at the company were burdened with additio

Social AffairsNov. 24, 2021

Assembly speaker meets WHO chief to discuss vaccines, N. Korea aid

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug met with the World Health Organization (WHO) chief to discuss cooperation on vaccines and humanitarian aid to North Korea, his office said Wednesday. During the meeting with WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Park also emphasized that South Korea is the "optimal location" for a bio and vaccine workforce development hub planned by the WHO, the office said. "Korea is equipped with the educational infrastructure and global v

PoliticsNov. 24, 2021

S. Korea reports first COVID-19 fetal death

A Korean woman had a stillbirth after being confirmed with COVID-19 and the deceased fetus tested positive, officials said Wednesday. It is the first COVID-19 death in Korea in a child under the age of 19. “The route of infection has not been confirmed,” authorities said. “It was a stillbirth case before birth registration, so we decided to separate it from the confirmed cases.” The mother’s gestation period was 24 weeks and she was not vaccinated against COVID-

Social AffairsNov. 24, 2021

GGGI to open office in Costa Rica to support green agenda

Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) will open an office in Costa Rica, as part of an agreement reached Monday.  The agreement was signed following a meeting between Costa Rican delegation led by President Carlos Alvarado Quesada and GGGI President Chair Ban Ki-moon and GGGI Director-General Frank Rijsberman. “With the host country agreement and a new country office in San Jose, I hope GGGI can help Costa Rica to do more in-country and share Costa Rica’s experience with other

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 24, 2021

Lee hopes to turn crisis into opportunity with ‘government-led investment’ for SMEs

The Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday pledged to increase support for small and medium-sized businesses, vowing to boost the pandemic-hit economy with “government-led investment” should he be elected president. On Wednesday, Lee announced his vision for small and medium-sized businesses at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, western Seoul. As a factory worker-turned-politician, Lee has positioned himself as a labor-friendly figu

PoliticsNov. 24, 2021

Ruling party officials offer to resign en masse to shake up presidential campaign

Senior officials of the ruling Democratic Party offered to resign en masse on Wednesday, saying they hope to inject fresh vigor into the flailing campaign of its presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung. Rep. Youn Kwan-suk, the party's secretary-general, said the decision involved himself and four other lawmakers in political posts who wished to "put the party before self." The others are chief policymaker Park Wan-joo, deputy chief policymaker You Dong-soo, chief spokesperson Koh Yong-jin

PoliticsNov. 24, 2021

[KH Explains] Undoing Moon’s policies, or going beyond them?

The presidential race is heating up, with contenders from the two largest parties -- Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party -- dominating the news. However, there are four candidates backed by parties with a presence in the National Assembly. In addition to the two leading candidates, Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party are in the running. Following is a close look at the four party-backed candi

PoliticsNov. 24, 2021

Ex-chief aide of DP presidential candidate Lee questioned over development scandal

Prosecutors questioned a former chief secretary to Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, on Wednesday in connection with a far-reaching corruption scandal surrounding a development project undertaken in the city of Seongnam when Lee was mayor. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office summoned Lim Seong-min, who served as Lee's chief of staff while he was serving as Seongnam mayor, for questioning as a witness earlier in the day, according to officials.

PoliticsNov. 24, 2021

Victims of Chun's 1980 Gwangju crackdown file damage suit against govt.

Victims of the brutal crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju have launched a damage suit against the government, a lawyer's group announced Wednesday, a day after the death of former President Chun Doo-hwan accused of ordering the crackdown. Lawyers for a Democratic Society said it has filed the suit on behalf of 70 people who were subject to brutal violence by soldiers during the democracy protests in May 1980 in Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul, a

Social AffairsNov. 24, 2021

Pandemic accelerated power shift in China’s favor: expert

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus brought life in China to a halt. As the epicenter of the first coronavirus outbreak, China imposed unprecedented lockdown measures that caused its economy to contract by a historic amount. But in a stark turnabout, the country has seen an economic rebound and the lives of people have largely returned to normal -- despite the recent resurgence of the delta variant of the coronavirus. 　 With China expected to become the only major economy to

Foreign AffairsNov. 24, 2021