Opposition party seeks veteran politician's help with presidential campaign

Both the leader and the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) met with a veteran politician Monday and publicly asked for his help in the 2022 presidential campaign. The request was made by PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok and presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl during a book event for Kim Chong-in, a former five-term lawmaker credited with steering both the ruling and opposition parties to key election victories as their interim chief. Kim is reportedly being conside

PoliticsNov. 15, 2021

Moon sends orchids of congratulations to main opposition presidential candidate

President Moon Jae-in on Monday sent a pot of orchids to the main opposition People Power Party's presidential candidate, Yoon Seok-youl, to congratulate him on his nomination and pledged to remain politically neutral during the presidential race, a lawmaker said. Lee Cheol-hee, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, paid a visit to Yoon to deliver the orchids with a message from Moon that he hopes Yoon will stay healthy during the election campaign. In response, Yoon sent his g

PoliticsNov. 15, 2021

SIS students host fundraising event for young North Korean defectors

South Korean students at Seoul International School on Nov. 6 hosted a flea market to raise funds for young and teenage North Korean defectors suffering from economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. High school students at the school community club the Peace by Piece, which has continued its activities to support North Korean teen defectors for five years, held the flea market fundraising event in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. The flea market was co-organized by SIS and the Youth Forum of North

Social AffairsNov. 15, 2021

Progressive presidential candidate pledges full volunteer military system from 2030

Sim Sang-jeung, the presidential candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party, said Monday she will make the military switch to a full volunteer system from 2030 and reduce the number of standing troops if elected president. Currently, all able-bodied South Korean men are mandated to serve about two years in the military. Sim vowed to change the country's compulsory military draft system if she wins the presidential election in March next year. "Under the current compulsory system, t

PoliticsNov. 15, 2021

Wider Seoul passes threshold for rollback into social distancing

Hospitals in Greater Seoul are seeing their intensive care rooms fill up again, just 14 days since South Korea began its phased return to normal. By Sunday afternoon, 76 percent of the capital city’s beds for the sickest patients with COVID-19 were full, crossing the threshold of 75 percent for triggering an emergency response. 　 Despite the figures, the government is not activating the emergency action plan, which involves restoring social distancing requirements and other curbs that h

Social AffairsNov. 15, 2021

Yoon leads Lee by some 13 percentage points in presidential race: survey

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), is leading his opponent Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) by some 13 percentage points in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Monday. Yoon garnered 45.6 percent support against Lee's 32.4 percent in the survey conducted on 1,009 adults nationwide on Friday and Saturday, according to the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI). Yoon's rating rose 2.6 percentage points from th

PoliticsNov. 15, 2021

Lee Jae-myung accused of trying to buy votes after call for more handouts

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s proposal for another round of emergency relief funds looks set to ignite another fierce battle between rival parties as lawmakers work to prepare plans for next year’s budget. The presidential nominee for the ruling Democratic Party has proposed handing out more relief funds to all South Korean citizens, as he believes additional compensation is needed for those who have undergone economic struggles from the COVID-19 pandemic a

PoliticsNov. 15, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae says trilateral summit with China, Japan still under discussion

Cheong Wa Dae on Monday said that discussions are still underway to hold a trilateral summit between South Korea, China and Japan this year, denying a recent Japanese news report that Seoul has asked to postpone the meeting again. The three neighboring countries have held a summit every year under a rotation system, but last year’s Seoul meeting was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. With less than two months left in the year, expectations are low that a meeting will take place

Foreign AffairsNov. 15, 2021

S. Korea cuts Indonesia's payment for joint fighter development: arms agency

South Korea has lowered Indonesia's planned payment for its share of the cost for a joint fighter development project, as the warplane has been designated as "defense goods" eligible for a tax exemption, the state arms procurement agency said Monday. Accordingly, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Indonesia is to pay 1.6 trillion won ($1.35 billion) in total, down 100 billion won, for the 8.1 trillion-won project, called KF-X. DAPA announced the change after i

DefenseNov. 15, 2021

Seoul official optimistic over deal to end Korean War, rules out rift with Washington

There will be “good results” in the Seoul-Washington discussions on declaring the end of the Korean War, First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said Sunday in the US, ruling out a potential rift between the allies in regards to the matter. 　 Speaking in Washington, Choi said he expects to see a “good result soon,” in regards to the ongoing discussions with the US on Seoul’s proposal for an end-of-war declaration. 　 Choi is in Washington to hold series of talks

Foreign AffairsNov. 15, 2021

Customs office to conduct special crackdown on marijuana smuggling during Black Friday season

INCHEON -- The customs office at Incheon International Airport will launch a special crackdown on drug smuggling ahead of Black Friday and other seasonal sales in the United States, officials said Monday. The seven-week crackdown will last for seven weeks through the end of the year, officials said. Smuggling of marijuana could jump during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which fall after Thanksgiving in the fourth week of November, as discounts are offered during the holiday shopping period in

Social AffairsNov. 15, 2021

[Us and Them] Korea’s division runs deeper than South and North

"When I met a new friend in Busan, he asked me where I was from. I said Gwangju and he called me a ‘Jeolladian.’ I did not know what it meant at first." A 20-something cellphone seller in Busan, S has lied about his hometown to his customers, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble. "My customers would ask me where I was from," he said. "I did not say that I was from Gwangju because I thought it would not benefit me in any way if I told them the truth

Social AffairsNov. 15, 2021

Seoul increases nighttime taxi services amid 'living with COVID-19'-driven growth in demand

The Seoul city government will temporarily lift operating day restrictions on privately-owned taxis in an effort to increase nighttime taxi services, as eased anti-virus restrictions are jacking up demand for nocturnal transportation, officials said Monday. The city will temporarily remove the restrictions under which privately-owned cabs were required to take every third day off, allowing them to run services in the nighttime period from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. on the otherwise off day, the city gove

Social AffairsNov. 15, 2021

Police to deploy over 10,000 officers for college exam-related security

About 10,000 police officers will be deployed for security and safety activities related to this week's College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), the National Police Agency (NPA) said Monday. On Thursday, about 509,800 high school seniors and graduates are set to take this year's CSAT, seen as one of the nation's most important annual academic events. The NPA said 10,506 officers will be mobilized to safeguard the delivery of exam papers and answer sheets from Monday to Thursday and guard the te

Social AffairsNov. 15, 2021

Moon attends christening ceremony of floating LNG platform

President Moon Jae-in on Monday attended a christening ceremony for a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility set to head to Mozambique, saying the platform will expand energy cooperation between the two nations. The christening ceremony of the Coral-Sul floating facility came about four years after Samsung Heavy Industries Co., a major Korean shipyard, won a $2.5 billion deal to build the offshore facility. Moon said the floating LNG facility will become a symbol of friendly cooperati

PoliticsNov. 15, 2021

DAPA unveils CG video of KF-21 jet, stealth drones in joint sortie

South Korea's military has unveiled a computer-generated video of a homegrown fighter and radar-evading drones in a joint sortie, offering a glimpse into a future battle concept mixing the manned and unmanned assets currently under development. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) recently posted the short video on its YouTube channel, depicting the KF-21 fighter flanked by three stealth drones in joint air operations over South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. The KF-21 f

DefenseNov. 15, 2021

Military reports 3 additional COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported three additional COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,126, the defense ministry said. Among the new cases were an Army officer stationed in Hwacheon, 118 kilometers northeast of Seoul, and another Army officer based in Yeoncheon, also north of the capital city. The two tested positive following their vacations. An Army officer based in Cheorwon, 88 kilometers north of Seoul, contracted the virus after staying at the same sp

DefenseNov. 15, 2021

New cases over 2,000 for 6th straight day amid eased virus rules

South Korea on Monday reported more than 2,000 daily coronavirus cases for six days in a row, fueling worries of a surge in COVID-19 infections after the country relaxed its virus-related restrictions early this month. The country reported 2,006 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,986 local infections, raising the total caseload to 397,466, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The number of daily cases has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7, with the tally peaking

Social AffairsNov. 15, 2021

N. Korea to hold conference on 'three revolutions' to boost internal unity

North Korea was to hold a conference on the country's "three-revolution movement" aimed at developing its ideology, technology and culture, state media reported Monday, in an apparent effort to bolster internal unity. Participants for the 5th Conference of Frontrunners of the Three Revolutions "who set practical examples in carrying out the revolutions" arrived in Pyongyang the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The three-revolution movement i

North KoreaNov. 15, 2021

[News Focus] Seoul, Busan take lead in slashing Korea’s gender ratio

SEJONG -- The number of men and boys in South Korea has continued to decline since August 2019 on a monthly basis, which has led the gender ratio -- the number of men per 100 women – to fall to an all-time low, government data showed. It has been found that Seoul and Busan -- the nation’s top two populous cities -- have taken the initiative in widening the gender disparity in demographic figures. According to the data held by the Ministry Interior and Safety, the male population p

Social AffairsNov. 14, 2021