Capital relocation plan gains steam with National Assembly opening a branch in Sejong

After the National Assembly passed a bill last week to open a regional branch of the legislature in Sejong, eyes are watching to see how the plan will unfold and whether the long-debated capital relocation plan will finally get a boost. Lawmakers on Tuesday passed a revision to the National Assembly Act approving the establishment of a regional branch of the parliament in Sejong, the special self-governing city that serves as a second administrative capital for South Korea. Its passage comes n

PoliticsOct. 3, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee wins primary in southeastern region, cements lead in election race

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung scored a landslide victory in the ruling Democratic Party (DP)'s presidential primary in the southeast region Saturday, further consolidating his lead in the race to pick the party's flag bearer for the 2022 election. Lee won 55.3 percent of all 35,832 ballots cast by registered party members in the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Province region, the eighth round of the party's 11-leg primary race, the party announced. Lee Nak-yon, formerly a prime minister a

PoliticsOct. 3, 2021

46 soldiers at border unit infected with coronavirus: ministry

Forty-six soldiers at an Army unit located just south of the inter-Korean border have tested positive for COVID-19, the defense ministry said Saturday. Of the cases, 41, or 89 percent, were vaccine breakthrough infections. The report of the cluster infections in the border county of Yeoncheon came a day after one noncommissioned officer there tested positive upon returning from a vacation, according to the ministry. Subsequent tests on 184 other members of the unit confirmed 45 additional cas

DefenseOct. 3, 2021

New virus cases in 2,000s for 8th day; holiday-tied virus surge concerning

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 2,000s for the eighth straight day Sunday, with health authorities remaining on alert over the spread of the virus after an extended weekend. The country added 2,086 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,058 local infections, raising the total caseload to 318,105, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Sunday's tally was down from 2,248 on Saturday and 2,486 on Friday. The decline was largely attributable to less

Social AffairsOct. 3, 2021

Civic group calls for lifting anti-N. Korea sanctions, resuming Kaesong complex

A civic group advocating for national reunification called Saturday for the lifting of South Korea's standalone sanctions against North Korea and the resumption of a now-shuttered joint industrial complex to pave the way for a thaw in cross-border ties. The South Korean Committee for Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration made the call, as Seoul is struggling to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to advance its stalled peace agenda despite the regime's recent missile tests. The committee

North KoreaOct. 2, 2021

Incheon airport's daily passenger number drops below 10,000 in Sept.

The number of daily passengers at Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway, dropped below 10,000 last month, data showed Saturday, apparently due to fewer-than-usual travelers during the Chuseok holiday, the Korean autumn harvest celebration. A daily average of 9,583 passengers used the Incheon airport last month, the airport said, compared with the daily average of 10,927 passengers in August -- the first time the number had surpassed the 10,000 mark since March last year. Th

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2021

S. Korea’s hope for normalization boosted with positive trial results from Merck

South Korea’s plan to step into a phased recovery back to normal life in November is gaining support with positive clinical test results of an experimental COVID-19 oral medication overseas. Leading global drugmaker Merck & Co announced Friday that its experimental antiviral pill dubbed molnupiravir was shown to halve the chances of hospitalization or death for those infected with COVID-19. Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics reported that 7.3 percent of patients who rece

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2021

Seoul mayor grilled by prosecutors over allegations of election law violation

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was summoned by prosecutors on Saturday for questioning about allegations that he spread false information during his mayoral by-election campaign in April. Oh arrived at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office around 10 a.m. before being grilled as a suspect about his remarks on a scandal-plagued development project called Pi-City in southern Seoul. "I'm very sorry to the people for being investigated like this. I'll make statements confidently and wait for t

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2021

Scandal-tainted lawmaker offers to resign from National Assembly

Rep. Kwak Sang-do, an independent lawmaker who defected from the main opposition People Power Party a week ago, offered to resign from his parliamentary seat on Saturday amid mounting suspicions over his son receiving an unreasonably huge sum of severance pay from a firm at the center of a massive land development scandal. "I can no longer work as a member of parliament amid widespread misunderstanding and distrust toward me," Kwak said in a news conference at the National Assembly.

PoliticsOct. 2, 2021

New virus cases remain in 2,000s despite beefed-up vigilance

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed in the 2,000s Saturday, though authorities kept tight vigilance with the extension of stringent virus curbs ahead of back-to-back extended weekends later this month. The country reported 2,248 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,221 local infections, bringing the total caseload to 316,020, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. There were seven more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,504. The latest tally was down f

Social AffairsOct. 2, 2021

North Korea says it tested anti-aircraft missile

North Korea test-fired a new anti-aircraft missile Thursday, its official Korean Central News Agency said amid an impasse over nuclear negotiations with the US and frayed ties with South Korea. The launch is the latest weapons test Pyongyang has conducted since test-firing a hypersonic missile Tuesday and ballistic missiles and a cruise missile earlier in September. It is considered a follow-up on Pyongyang’s plan to bolster its defense capabilities made public at its January congress. &

North KoreaOct. 1, 2021

Unification minister calls for Europe's role in peace process, humanitarian assistance to N. Korea

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Friday asked Europe to support South Korea's efforts in advancing the peace process on the peninsula, his office said Friday. Lee met with Jutta Urpilainen and Janez Lenarcic of the European Commission in Belgium on Thursday and requested Europe play a "more active role" in providing humanitarian assistance to the North and in building trust among the two Koreas and the United States. The two sides discussed "creative ways" to cooperate an

North KoreaOct. 1, 2021

DP leader congratulates PM Kishida on election victory, urges against Yasukuni Shrine visit

The chairman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Friday congratulated Fumio Kishida on his recent victory in the Japanese ruling party's leadership race and urged the incoming prime minister to avoid making a diplomatic faux pas, such as visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. "In order to resolve the strained South Korea-Japan relationship, (Kishida) should abstain from conduct that hampers the national sentiment of neighboring countries like South Korea and China, such as a visit t

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 1, 2021

Air Force sets up crime unit after sex abuse case

The Air Force on Friday set up a unit of investigators at its headquarters following accusations that cover-ups led to the suicide of a master sergeant who claimed to have been sexually assaulted. The unit will take away military police power to investigate crimes, as they have been accused of looking the other way when the master sergeant filed a complaint. The sergeant’s death sparked a public outcry that led the military to form an independent investigation arm. Military police will n

DefenseOct. 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors arrest key suspect in Seongnam land development scandal

A key figure in the snowballing land development scandal in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, was arrested Friday for questioning over allegations that Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party's leading presidential contender, gave business favors to certain developers. Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., was apprehended by prosecutors at a hospital Friday morning and was taken to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. He was asked to appear

PoliticsOct. 1, 2021

Moon voices strong confidence in defense posture after N. Koera missile test

President Moon Jae-in voiced strong confidence in South Korea's defense posture Friday, saying he proposed an end-of-war declaration with North Korea based on such readiness and vowing to deal sternly with any threats to the country. His Armed Forces Day speech came hours after North Korea test-fired an anti-aircraft missile in the third missile launch in about two weeks. Earlier this week, the North tested what it claimed was a "hypersonic" missile. "I have pride in our solid sec

PoliticsOct. 1, 2021

Top nuke envoy returns from Indonesia after N. Korea talks with US

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, returned home from Indonesia Friday after holding talks with his US counterpart, Sung Kim, on efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea. "We've discussed various ways for humanitarian cooperation projects with North Korea, and we did again this time, on (the provision) either jointly by the South and the US, or through international organizations," Noh told reporters at the airport upon arrival. "We also explained our position on t

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 1, 2021

N. Korea remains unresponsive to Seoul's calls after Kim's offer to restore hotlines

North Korea remained unresponsive to South Korea's regular calls via military and liaison hotlines Friday morning after leader Kim Jong-un offered to restore severed cross-border communication lines in early October. "North Korea did not answer the opening call through the inter-Korean liaison office at 9 a.m.," a unification ministry official said. The calls through military hotlines also went unanswered, another official said. Leader Kim told a session of the rubber-stamp parliament

North KoreaOct. 1, 2021

Foreign ministry reaffirms continued efforts with US to reengage with N. Korea

South Korea remains committed to working closely with the United States on measures that would bring North Korea back to dialogue, including envisioned humanitarian cooperation with Pyongyang, the foreign ministry said Friday. The ministry made the point in a policy report for the parliamentary audit, as Seoul seeks to resume the stalled nuclear diplomacy with the North despite the regime's renewed saber-rattling with a series of weapons tests, including the latest reported test of a new anti-ai

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 1, 2021

South Korea to maintain current distancing rules for another 2 weeks: PM

South Korea has decided to maintain the current social distancing rules for two weeks from Monday. “Considering risk factors for quarantine, such as the stronger spread of coronavirus after the Chuseok holiday, and the two holidays starting this weekend, the government has decided to maintain the current distancing stage for the next two weeks,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. “The limit on the number of people at private gatherings will be the same as now.”&n

Social AffairsOct. 1, 2021