Will forestry cooperation speed up inter-Korean talks?

President Moon Jae-in made another overture toward North Korea at a UN climate summit Monday, suggesting planting trees together to reduce carbon emissions on the Korean Peninsula and pledging to make good on a 3-year-old promise in an apparent bid to reengage Pyongyang. “The Republic of Korea will take a leading role in cooperation for reforestation,” Moon said in his keynote speech at the 26th Conference of the Parties or COP26 held in Glasgow, Scotland, calling tree planting one

North KoreaNov. 2, 2021

Ruling party launches largest-ever presidential election committee

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) launched its presidential election committee on Tuesday to help steer its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung to victory in the upcoming election in March. The committee is the liberal party's largest ever and includes all 169 of its National Assembly lawmakers with party chairman Song Young-gil as its standing chief and 12 others as co-chiefs. The party held a massive launching ceremony that was expected to be attended by up to 499 people under the government

PoliticsNov. 2, 2021

Nearly half of Seoul's recent COVID-19 cases breakthrough infections: city govt.

Nearly half of all recent COVID-19 cases in Seoul were breakthrough infections, a Seoul city official said Tuesday. "Of the 646 new cases confirmed in Seoul on Sunday, 49.4 percent, or 319 cases, were breakthrough cases," Park Yoo-mi, a disease control official at the Seoul metropolitan government, said in a briefing. "The rate of breakthrough infections in Seoul is higher than the nationwide average," she noted. According to the city government, Seoul has recorded 12,663

Social AffairsNov. 2, 2021

[Seoul Struggles 13] Motorcyclists ignore laws, endanger pedestrians

A delivery worker suddenly drives a motorcycle onto the sidewalk, honking at pedestrians to make way before heading to an apartment complex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Several more motorcyclists drive onto the sidewalk, which is already half-filled with parked motorcycles, all in a span of a few minutes. And a few feet away, several motorcyclists use the crosswalk to cross the street. Many drive without helmets, and one stares at his phone while speeding through. This dangerous scene is com

Social AffairsNov. 2, 2021

Prosecutor Son summoned for Yoon Seok-youl’s alleged political meddling

Public prosecutor Son Jun-sung was summoned for questioning Tuesday in the probe into alleged political meddling involving presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl, two months into the investigation. Son, the former chief of investigative information policy at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, is accused of ordering subordinate prosecutors and Rep. Kim Woong of the main opposition People Power Party to write complaints and collect evidence against ruling party figures and some journalists ahea

PoliticsNov. 2, 2021

Global Green Growth week 2021 discusses Road to COP 26

Global Green Growth week 2021 discusses success standards for developed and developing countries The Global Green Growth Institute and the British Embassy in Seoul co-organized a hybrid session to discuss standards for developed and developing countries, at GGGI headquarters on Oct. 27 Experts and decision-makers from developing and developed nations attended the session, part of GGGI week 2021, titled “Road to COP 26: what does success look like for developed and developing countries?&

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 2, 2021

Norway hails Munch gallery as museum built for future

The Royal Norwegian Embassy marked last month’s opening of the Munch Museum -- the home of to the world’s largest collection of works by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch – with a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. Discussing the Munch Museum during opening remarks, Norwegian Ambassador to South Korea Frode Solberg said Munch’s works were iconic images of world art. “Visitors now have access to some of Munch’s great pieces of art,” Solberg said, descr

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 2, 2021

ASEAN- Korea Centre holds webinar on trade facilitation

  The ASEAN Korea Centre last week held a webinar on trade facilitation for the food and beverage industry at Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, highlighting the importance of trade and cooperation for Korea and ASEAN. The webinar facilitated information exchange with new business opportunities for food and beverage sector companies operating in ASEAN and Korea and explored effective ways to utilize the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 2, 2021

Seoul vows efforts to implement inter-Korean deal on forestry cooperation

The unification ministry on Tuesday vowed efforts to push for inter-Korean cooperation in the forestry sector as agreed to in an earlier deal, after President Moon Jae-in again stated on the global stage that Seoul will seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the peninsula in cooperation with Pyongyang. Moon was addressing an annual UN climate conference in Glasgow on Monday (local time) that brought together more than 100 world leaders, including US President Joe Biden. Chinese President Xi

PoliticsNov. 2, 2021

299 caught drunk driving on 1st day of 'living with COVID-19' scheme: police

A total of 299 people were caught drunk driving on the first night after business hour restrictions were lifted and gathering size limits were raised Monday under the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme, police said. Of them, 89 were caught with blood alcohol levels high enough to have their license suspended and another 200 with levels warranting license revocation, according to the National Police Agency. The remaining 10 were caught for refusing to take a breathalyzer test.

Social AffairsNov. 2, 2021

Ruling party chief meets with sexual slavery victim

The leader of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) met with a victim of Japan's wartime sexual slavery on Tuesday and discussed her calls for bringing the issue to a United Nations committee. Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the DP, said he met with Lee Yong-soo, one of the 13 registered surviving South Korean victims of sexual slavery, and discussed ways to bring Japan's wartime sexual slavery case to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT). The UN body, comprising 10 experts, monitors

PoliticsNov. 2, 2021

Prosecutor linked to opposition's political meddling scandal questioned

A sitting prosecutor was questioned Tuesday over allegations of conspiring with the main opposition party to investigate key ruling camp officials last year when Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, now a leading opposition presidential contender, was in office. Prosecutor Son Jun-sung appeared for questioning at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) for allegedly asking Kim Woong, a prosecutor-turned-lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), to lodg

PoliticsNov. 2, 2021

Unification minister, WHO chief agree to boost cooperation on N. Korea

Unification Minister Lee In-young has held talks with the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva and agreed to strengthen cooperation on North Korea's public health issues, his office said Tuesday. Lee's meeting with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took place Monday (local time) after the minister accompanied President Moon Jae-in on his latest Vatican visit. "(The two sides) exchanged opinions on North Korea's COVID-19 situation and ways to cooperate in its

North KoreaNov. 2, 2021

Top S. Korean, British discuss bilateral cooperation, peninsula issue

The chief diplomats of South Korea and Britain discussed bolstering bilateral cooperation in various areas, such as tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, as they met on the sidelines of a major UN climate conference, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong sat down for talks with his British counterpart, Liz Truss, in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday (local time) on visits there for the 26th Conference of the Parties, according to the ministry. During their meeting, the tw

Foreign AffairsNov. 2, 2021

New infections fall below 2,000 for 2nd day amid 'living with COVID-19'

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 for the second day in a row on Tuesday amid its "living with COVID-19" scheme meant to bring the country gradually back to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 1,589 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 367,974, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload fell below the 2,000 level on Monday after reporting more than 2,000 cases for four days in a row. Of the total, 1,578 wer

Social AffairsNov. 2, 2021

S. Korea, US hold deputy-level talks on N. Korea

Senior officials from South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington on Monday on ways to restart dialogue with North Korea, the State Department said. US Deputy Special Representative for the DPRK Jung Pak hosted a "deputy-level consultation meeting" with her South Korean counterpart, Rim Kap-soo, according to the department. "The two sides discussed the current situation on the Korean Peninsula; prospects for humanitarian cooperation; and the potential for dialogue

North KoreaNov. 2, 2021

Shavkat Mirziyoyev reelected as Uzbek President in landslide victory

Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been reelected as the president of Uzbekistan for a second consecutive five-year term, winning the presidential election on Oct. 24. According to the Central Election Commission, the final results of the presidential elections in Uzbekistan were announced with the participation of over 16 million voters. Mirziyoyev, nominated candidate of the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businesspeople, or the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, received 13 million, or over 80 perc

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 1, 2021

Moon to report Seoul’s emissions goal at UN climate summit

President Moon Jae-in plans to report South Korea’s raised goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at U.N. climate talks on Monday, as the COP26 talks opened with a sense of urgency regarding the need to limit global warming.  More than 100 heads of state, including Moon, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, gathered in Glasgow, Scotland‘s biggest city, for the U.N. climate summit, which came a day after leaders of G-20 major economies stopped s

Foreign AffairsNov. 1, 2021

S. Korea to develop homegrown lightweight torpedoes by 2028

South Korea approved a plan Monday to develop homegrown lightweight torpedoes by 2028 to enhance the Navy's anti-submarine capabilities, the state arms procurement agency said. Presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, the Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the project worth 160 billion won ($135 million), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. The move came after North Korea test-fired a new submarine-launched ballistic missile last month, in a development tha

DefenseNov. 1, 2021

S. Korea to ease entry restrictions on migrant workers later this month: labor minister

South Korea plans to gradually lift restrictions on arrivals of migrant workers prompted by the pandemic starting later this month as the country has begun to take steps to return to normalcy, the labor minister said Monday. "In light of the shift to 'living with COVID-19' scheme, we're going to push for a measure to gradually ease entry restrictions on foreign workers," labor minister An Kyung-duk said during a visit to a workplace that employs migrant workers. All foreign workers w

Social AffairsNov. 1, 2021