[Newsmaker] New law strengthens punishment for stalkers, expands reach

A new law came into effect Thursday in South Korea imposing stiffer penalties for stalkers, amid growing calls for tougher penalties for offenders. Under the new legislation, stalkers can face up to three years in prison or 30 million won ($25,500) in fines. Up to five years in prison or a fine of 50 million won is possible if a weapon or other physically threatening means are used. Before the law came, stalking was categorized as a misdemeanor, meaning a fine not exceeding 100,000 won or 29 d

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

Measures eyed to prevent 'unusually excessive' gains from land development: finance chief

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday that the government will come up with measures to prevent and redeem what are deemed to be "unusually excessive" gains from land development projects in the wake of the escalating scandal over a corruption-laden urban development project near Seoul. A prosecution probe is under way into how a little-known asset management firm, Hwacheon Daeyu, and its seven affiliates reaped profits worth 1,000 times its investment in an apartment development

PoliticsOct. 21, 2021

N. Korea's SLBM in early development stage, likely can be intercepted: defense minister

North Korea's recently tested submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) appears to be in an early stage of development and can be intercepted, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday. Suh Wook made the remarks during a parliamentary audit session, as his ministry vowed to deploy more missile detection assets and reinforce cooperation with the United States to deal with the North's continued missile research activities. Tensions flared up anew Tuesday, when Pyongyang launched a new type

DefenseOct. 21, 2021

Thief of Korean abstract master's painting gets six-year prison sentence

A man who was sentenced by a district court to four years in prison for stealing a painting by South Korean abstract master Kim Whan-ki has been given a heavier sentence by an appellate court after he was found to have stolen other paintings, judicial officials said Thursday. The Seoul High Court handed out a six-year prison sentence to the man surnamed Kim, who was indicted for stealing the late painter Kim's painting titled "10-Ⅴ-73 #314," also known as "Sanulrim" (Echo am

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

Yoon expresses regret over controversial remarks on ex-President Chun

Yoon Seok-youl, a leading presidential contender of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), expressed regret Thursday after coming under intense criticism for his remarks seeming to praise former authoritarian President Chun Doo-hwan. Yoon said Tuesday that many people think Chun did well in politics, except for his bloody suppression of a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju and his seizing power through a coup. The comments sparked a backlash especially becau

PoliticsOct. 21, 2021

Govt. committed to increase support for police: PM

  The government is committed to expanding support for police to beef up public safety, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Thursday, as it vowed to increase the law enforcement agency's workforce and budget. Kim expressed his respect and gratitude to some 150,000 police officers in the country for their services at the 76th Police Day ceremony at the Korean Police Investigation Academy in Asan, 90 kilometers south of Seoul. He called on police to win people's trust with responsible and scie

PoliticsOct. 21, 2021

One found dead, two sailors rescued from capsized ship near Dokdo

One of nine crew members of a fishing boat that capsized in the East Sea on Wednesday has been found dead, and two have been rescued, police said Thursday. From 6:30 a.m. Thursday, the Coast Guard dispatched 14 divers to search the overturned ship. In the process, one of the crew was found dead in the wheelhouse. By collating the scene photo with his driver‘s license, the deceased found in the wheelhouse was identified as the captain, surnamed Park, 62, police said in the afternoon bri

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

S. Korea, Kazakhstan vow active push for economic cooperation projects

South Korean Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook met with Kazakhstani Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar on Thursday and discussed ways to push forward various joint economic projects, Moon's office said. The meeting came two months after the two nations signed a set of memorandums of understanding in various industry fields, such as automobiles, natural resources and healthcare, during Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to  South Korea. During the talks, Moon "expressed

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2021

S. Korea prepares to launch 1st homegrown space rocket

South Korea was preparing Thursday to launch its first homegrown space launch vehicle in the latest attempt to foster its space program and join the elite global space club. The KSLV-II -- also known as Nuri -- is set to blast off from the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung at around 4 p.m., the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said. The 200-ton Nuri is intended to put a 1.5-ton dummy satellite into orbit, a space launch vehicle technology that Sout

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

New virus cases slightly dip amid speedy vaccination campaign

South Korea reported fewer than 1,500 daily cases Thursday, continuing a downward trend since the fourth wave of the pandemic peaked in late September, due to the accelerating rate of vaccinations. The country reported 1,441 new cases, including 1,430 local infections, raising the total caseload to 347,529, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.  Thursday's tally is down by 130 from the 1,571 counted the previous day. It is also down by 498 from the number reported a week

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

1 found dead, 2 rescued after boat capsizes near Dokdo

One crew member was found dead and two others were rescued Thursday after a fishing boat capsized in waters near South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo a day earlier, the Coast Guard said. Six people remained unaccounted for after the 72-ton vessel capsized in waters 168 kilometers northeast of Dokdo at 2:24 p.m. on Wednesday, as officials stepped up search and rescue operations, including sending 14 divers into the capsized boat. The nine-member crew consisted of three South Koreans, four

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2021

N. Korea says its recent SLBM test-launch not targeting US

North Korea said Thursday its recent test-firing of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was not targeted toward the United States, adding there is no need for Washington to "worry or agonize" over it. A spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry expressed concerns over "nonsensical" reactions from the US and the UN Security Council over its "rightful exercise of right to defense" in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KC

North KoreaOct. 21, 2021

US remains consistently open to dialogue with N. Korea: Psaki

The United States remains open to dialogue with North Korea, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. Her remarks come after North Korea announced a successful test launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that some believe may be a "game changer." "(It has) consistently been our view. So we've stated our openness to having those discussions with North Korea for months now," Psaki said in a press briefing onboard the Air Force One en route to Pen

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2021

US alliances with S. Korea, others key to countering China, N. Korea: ambassador nominees

The United States' alliances with South Korea and others are key to dealing with many challenges facing the US, including Chinese aggression and North Korean threats, nominees for US ambassadors to Japan and China said Wednesday. Richard Nicholas Burns, nominee for US ambassador to China, said US alliances provided a "comparative advantage" over China. "The comparative advantage that we have versus China is that we have treaty allies. We have partners who deeply believe in us an

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2021

Prosecutors resummon key figures in land development scandal all on same day

Prosecutors on Wednesday continued their questionings into a corruption-laden urban development scandal engulfing South Korean politics, summoning the four key suspects of the high profile case again all on the same day for possible cross-examinations. Prosecutors are looking into suspicions over how a previously unheard-of asset management firm, Hwacheon Daeyu, and its seven affiliates reaped astronomical profits from a 2015 project to develop the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Se

PoliticsOct. 20, 2021

Military to appeal court order to cancel discharge of deceased transgender soldier

The military will seek to appeal a recent court ruling in favor of a deceased transgender soldier who had filed a suit over its decision to discharge her against her will, a defense ministry official said Wednesday. In a landmark ruling earlier this month, the Daejeon District Court judged it was unfair for the military to discharge Byun Hee-soo, formerly a staff sergeant in her 20s, over her gender reassignment surgery in 2019. Byun underwent the surgery in Thailand in 2019, two years after v

Social AffairsOct. 20, 2021

Incheon’s Yeonsu-gu to host UNESCO’s Learning Cities conference next week

Incheon’s Yeonsu-gu will host the fifth International Conference on Learning Cities, which kicks off next week with an aim to reinforce the capacity of city authorities and relevant stakeholders to create, adapt and improve their lifelong learning policies for health education and resilience.  The international event will take place Oct. 27-30 at Songdo Convensia under the theme “From emergency to resilience: Building healthy and resilient cities through learning.” Some

NationalOct. 20, 2021

Ship carrying nine capsizes near Dokdo

A fishing boat carrying nine crew members capsized in waters off the nation’s easternmost islets of Dokdo on Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard, with rescue workers struggling due to high waves of up to 3 to 4 meters. As of 6 p.m., no survivors had been found. The Coast Guard said it received a report from Japan at around 2:24 p.m that a 72-ton ship carrying nine crew members had overturned in the sea about 168 kilometers from Dokdo. The overturned ship was a fishing vessel built

Social AffairsOct. 20, 2021

Why aren’t COVID-19 deaths falling?

Ahead of South Korea’s highly anticipated return to normal early next month, COVID-19 deaths are stagnating just as cases are declining throughout the country. In June, by which time vaccinations of people in their 70s and older had been more or less completed, the case fatality rate had fallen to 0.35 percent from 1.56 percent in February, when the national vaccine campaign against COVID-19 kicked off. The case fatality was 0.36 percent and 0.34 percent for August and September, res

Social AffairsOct. 20, 2021

Ship carrying 9 capsizes in waters northeast of Dokdo

DONGHAE -- A ship carring nine crewmen capsized in waters off the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo Wednesday, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard has been informed by Japanese authorities that the 72-ton vessel capsized at 2:24 p.m. in waters 168 kilometers northeast of Dokdo. The Donghae regional office of the Coast Guard dispatched a pair of patrol ships and a helicopter to conduct a search, according to officials. The exact damage from the sinking was not immediately known. (Yonhap

Social AffairsOct. 20, 2021