Air Force officer, Army soldier test positive for COVID-19

An Air Force officer and an Army soldier have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,653, the defense ministry said Friday. The Air Force officer based in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after developing symptoms, while the Army soldier in the border county of Yeoncheon was found to have been infected after a vacation, according to the ministry. Nationwide, South Korea added

DefenseSept. 10, 2021

S. Korea, Mekong countries reaffirm commitment to health, economic cooperation amid pandemic

South Korea and five Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong River have reaffirmed concerted efforts for cooperation in health and economic fields to minimize COVID-19-driven impact and facilitate recovery. They made the pledge in a joint statement adopted after the 11th Mekong-South Korea foreign ministers' meeting Wednesday, stressing the importance of solidarity and multilateralism to advance shared goals, Seoul's foreign ministry said.  The meeting, held in a hybrid format, was c

Foreign AffairsSept. 10, 2021

S. Korea signs deal with Daewoo Shipbuilding to build new SLBM submarine

The arms procurement agency said Friday it has signed a 985.7 billion won ($853 million) deal with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. to build a new 3,600-ton-class submarine capable of firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed the contract Thursday for the second unit of three Changbogo-III Batch-II class submarines that South Korea plans to build by 2029. Construction of the first unit began just last month. C

DefenseSept. 10, 2021

New cases fall back under 1,900 as infections resurge in wider Seoul

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases fell back to slightly below 1,900 on Friday, while authorities are striving to curb the virus surge and raise the vaccination rate ahead of a major holiday when many people travel. The country added 1,892 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,857 local infections, raising the total caseload to 269,362, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was down from over 2,000 cases over the past two days. Daily cases hav

NationalSept. 10, 2021

[News Focus] Tally for discouraged workers up 50,000 on-year

SEJONG -- The job market of South Korea has shown few signs of improvement this year after it was severely hit by the pandemic throughout last year, data from a state agency showed. According to Statistics Korea, the number of people who abandoned looking for jobs stood at 633,000 in July, the latest month for which data is available, up 9.1 percent -- or 53,000 people -- from 580,000 posted a year earlier. These are dubbed “discouraged workers,” referring to those who did not car

Social AffairsSept. 9, 2021

BTS and Seoul say ‘Your Seoul goes on’

BTS and the Seoul city government have released a video to promote tourism for the city, as the global K-pop phenomenon continues to serve as honorary tourism ambassadors for the South Korean capital. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it has worked with the K-pop stars for a fifth year to carry out this year’s promotional campaign, including launching a promotional video titled “Your Seoul Goes On.” The promotional video seeks to deliver the message that Seoul d

Social AffairsSept. 9, 2021

NK holds parade without missiles amid nuclear standoff

North Korea held a military parade Wednesday at midnight to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of its founding, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Similar midnight parades took place in January this year and in October last year. But this time, leader Kim Jong-un did not make a speech or reveal the latest missile, amid a nuclear standoff with the US. Pyongyang has refused to reopen dialogue with Washington. The parade, attended by Kim, saw a show of force by the regime’s paramili

North KoreaSept. 9, 2021

Law unfair to foreign performers: lawmaker

South Korea’s regulations on foreign performers are unfair and may violate freedom of expression, a lawmaker said Thursday. Rep. Lee Sang-hun of the ruling Democratic Party said Korea unfairly regulates performances by foreigners, citing ambiguity in the Korea Media Rating Board’s “Foreigners’ performance recommendation system.” Under the current law, foreigners must be recommended and reviewed by the board if they want to perform in Korea. If they perform wit

Social AffairsSept. 9, 2021

IOC suspends North Korea from Beijing Olympics

North Korea has been banned from the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics as punishment for skipping the Tokyo Games this summer, thwarting Seoul’s hopes of using the occasion as an opportunity for rapprochement with the reclusive regime. 　 International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Wednesday announced that the North’s national Olympic committee would be suspended from the IOC until the end of 2022 as a result of the regime’s “unilateral decision” to not

North KoreaSept. 9, 2021

Loss-struck small-business owners stage nationwide rally

Thousands of small-business owners took to the streets late Wednesday in the first nationwide protest against COVID-19 rules they claim are jeopardizing their livelihoods. They say they’ve had enough of restrictions on private gatherings and operating hours, and that the measures are drowning small businesses in debt. From 11 p.m. Wednesday to 1:15 a.m. Thursday, small-business owners in nine regions across South Korea staged a drive-past rally under the lead of a committee of small-busi

Social AffairsSept. 9, 2021

Moon to receive W166.9m annual pension after retirement

President Moon Jae-in will receive an annual pension of 166.9 million won ($142,500) along with other benefits after his retirement in May next year, according to the government’s budget plan for 2022 on Thursday. Under the Honorable Treatment of Ex-Presidents Act, a former president is entitled to a pension worth 95 percent of presidential salary. Based on his current salary of over 175.56 million won this year, his monthly payment after retirement will be 13.9 million won. Moon is expe

PoliticsSept. 9, 2021

[Graphic News] Korea’s suicide rate dropped steadily until 2017

　South Korea’s suicide rate dropped steadily during the years 2013 to 2017, government data showed.  　The data, compiled by the Health Ministry and the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention, showed that 22.8 out of every 100,000 Koreans had taken their own lives in 2017, down from 24.4 in 2016. 　The country’s suicide rate fell gradually from 27.4 out of 100,000 in 2013 to 25.9 in 2014 and 25.4 in 2015.  　The total number of suicides also declined over the five ye

NationalSept. 9, 2021

New cases exceed 2,000 for 2nd day amid worries over further upticks

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases remained in the 2,000s for the second day Thursday as health authorities warned that new infections may further rise ahead of a major national holiday when millions travel. The country added 2,049 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,018 local infections, raising the total caseload to 267,470, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload is similar to 2,048 cases reported a day earlier, when the tally bounced back to

Social AffairsSept. 9, 2021

NSC officials stress US has no hostile intent toward N. Korea

South Korea's top security officials stressed the United States has no hostile intent toward North Korea, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday, as Seoul steps up diplomacy to resume dialogue with Pyongyang. The officials discussed efforts to reengage with the North during a standing committee session of the National Security Council led by National Security Office Director Suh Hoon, amid worrisome signs of the reclusive regime restarting a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor.

DefenseSept. 8, 2021

S. Korea, ASEAN nations agree to boost defense ties

South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Wednesday to boost exchanges and cooperation in security and defense fields, Seoul's defense ministry said. The meeting between Vice Minister Park Jae-min and his counterparts from 10 Southeast Asian nations took place via video links on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue which kicked off in the day for a three-day run. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, T

Foreign AffairsSept. 8, 2021

Hospitals ‘forced to evict’ COVID-19 patients early to free up beds

Some hospitals in Korea have come forward in recent days saying they are being forced to move patients out of COVID-19 wards earlier than they should be in order to comply with government measures intended to boost bed turnover rates. Despite the August mandate on larger hospitals to set aside some of their intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients, the current wave of the pandemic is straining Korea’s response capacities. Korea has been seeing record-high numbers of critic

Social AffairsSept. 8, 2021

Navy suicide fuels calls for civilian oversight of military

Calls are growing for increased civilian oversight of the military after a recent Navy suicide, with a military human rights group saying an independent commissioner is needed to look into recurring rights violations in the military. The Center for Military Human Rights Korea, an advocacy group, said Tuesday a seaman took his life after he had been bullied by soldiers senior to him, and accused the Navy of having done little to punish his abusers. The latest allegation comes as the military

DefenseSept. 8, 2021

Seoul downplays Pyongyang’s Yongbyon activity

South Korea appears to be downplaying renewed tensions over North Korea’s apparent restarting of its nuclear activity, possibly in an attempt to leave room for dialogue with the reclusive regime amid a flurry of diplomacy efforts among allies. Asked if the restarting of the Yongbyon complex is a violation of inter-Korean agreements made in summit talks in 2018, First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said during a parliamentary session Tuesday: “I don’t think so.” &

North KoreaSept. 8, 2021

Funeral wreaths and ‘green terrorism,’ an unsual controversy at Seoul schools

The clash over Seoul education authorities’ Green Smart Future School project is growing, with some opponents accusing the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education of “green terrorism” and putting children at risk, expressing their opposition by sending condolence wreaths or ribbons to the school. The form of sending condolence messages has been widely adopted as a form of protest in recent months, particularly during the pandemic where holding rallies are more strictly prohibi

Social AffairsSept. 8, 2021

Self-employed workers set to stage drive-thru protests against COVID-19 restrictions

Thousands of self-employed people in South Korea are set to hold drive-through protests in several cities across the country Wednesday night to call for eased COVID-19 restrictions and more compensation, the organizer said. Around 2,000 to 3,000 people are expected to stage the rallies in nine regions, including Seoul, Ulsan, and provinces of North Jeolla, South Gyeongsang and Gangwon, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to an emergency committee of the self-employed. "We do not intend to

Social AffairsSept. 8, 2021