Moon urges govt. support for credit rehabilitation of delinquent borrowers during COVID-19

President Moon Jae-in instructed his Cheong Wa Dae team Tuesday to map out measures to support the credit rehabilitation of people with delinquent debts attributable to the COVID-19 crisis. He made the call during a meeting with his Cheong Wa Dae aides, according to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Moon told them to explore ways to help delinquent borrowers restore their credit if they have faithfully repaid debts linked with damage from the pandemic, she said. The move is intended t

PoliticsJuly 20, 2021

[Diplomatic Circuit] Multiculture Museum to showcase Bangladesh pavilion

The Multiculture Museum in Seoul will showcase a Bangladesh pavilion. The Embassy of Bangladesh in Seoul unveiled the Bangladesh pavilion at the Multiculture Museum on Friday. The pavilion was inaugurated by Bangladeshi Ambassador Abida Islam and Multiculture Museum director Kim Yun-tae. It houses handicraft items such as rickshaws, jute handicraft, ceramic items, traditional dolls, traditional cloth, hand fans, quilts, earthen handicraft and brass boats. The pavilion has a collection of bo

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 20, 2021

N. Korea highlights friendly ties with Russia on summit anniversary

North Korea on Tuesday vowed efforts to advance friendly relations with Russia on the occasion of the anniversary of a joint declaration adopted when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang in 2000. The North's foreign ministry also said that the declaration adopted after the summit between then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Putin has served as a "driving force" in their bilateral ties against "complicated international conditions of the 21st century." &quo

North KoreaJuly 20, 2021

[Diplomatic Circuit] France celebrates national day in Seoul

The French Embassy in Seoul and French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry celebrated France’s national day here on July 14. In a YouTube video released on the day, also known as Bastille Day, French Ambassador Philippe Lefort stressed on the important role youths play in boosting bilateral relations. Lefort said the young people of France are ambitious, enterprising, generous and curious, and have expressed an increasing interest in exploring the opportunities Korea has to offer.

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 20, 2021

Record number of young Koreans prepare for job exams amid pandemic

The number of young South Koreans preparing to take exams for public jobs and professional licenses hit a record high in May as the job market remained sluggish amid the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The data released by Statistics Korea showed that 859,000, or 19.1 percent of 4.49 million economically inactive people aged 15-29, prepared for exams to land jobs in May, up 55,000 from a year earlier. The proportion was also up from 17.1 percentage points last year. It marked the largest number

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2021

Moon calls for thorough preparations for changing trade conditions

President Moon Jae-in stressed the urgency Tuesday of taking government-private measures to respond to changes in the international trade conditions, especially in line with efforts to tackle climate change. For example, he said, the European Union plans to implement a carbon border tax in 2026 on certain goods imported from third countries with lower environmental standards. It also announced a plan to start banning the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles in 2035. "Changes i

PoliticsJuly 20, 2021

Defense chief apologizes over mass COVID-19 outbreak among Cheonghae unit members

Defense Minister Suh Wook apologized Tuesday for the military's failure to prevent cluster COVID-19 infections among sailors of the Cheonghae naval unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. The apology came a day after virus tests showed that 247, or 82 percent, of the 301-member unit were infected, the worst-ever infection cluster among service members blamed on poor initial responses, such as giving only cold medicine to a sailor who first developed symptoms. The defense ministry

DefenseJuly 20, 2021

Vice FM Choi says Soma's remarks affected Moon's decision not to visit Japan

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said Tuesday that the recent remarks by a senior Japanese diplomat disparaging President Moon Jae-in's efforts to improve ties with Tokyo acted as a "significant obstacle" to Moon's potential trip to Tokyo. Choi made the remark before departing for Tokyo to attend bilateral and trilateral talks with his Japanese and US counterparts, renewing the call for Tokyo to take appropriate action about the remarks by Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of miss

PoliticsJuly 20, 2021

Scorching heat wave begins this week

A scorching heat wave is to hit the Korean Peninsula beginning this week, the state weather agency said Tuesday, without ruling out the possibility of extremely hot weather due to stagnant high-pressure air masses. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that the seasonal monsoon period is to virtually end on the peninsula after some scattered rain showers nationwide in the day and full-scale sweltering heat will take over. Daytime highs will rise by up to 3 C to above 35 C in many

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2021

[Diplomatic Circuit] Kenya is gateway to African market: cabinet secretary

Korean companies will archive market access through regional integration in Africa and East African region if Kenya is made base, according to Betty Maina, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for industrialization, trade and enterprise development. “Setting up Kenya as base will access 50 million Kenyan people, 500 million people in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and a billion people in the whole of Africa,” Maina said. “Kenya has a market-based econo

Diplomatic CircuitJuly 20, 2021

2 more newly enlisted soldiers at boot camp test positive for virus

Two more newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total caseload at the base to 119, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The enlistees at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have been infected while in isolation, following the mass COVID-19 outbreak at the base earlier this month, according to the ministry. In addition, one officer stationed in the central city of Sejong also tested positive fo

DefenseJuly 20, 2021

4 teenagers killed, 1 injured in car accident in Jeonju

JEONJU -- Four teenagers were killed and one injured in a car accident in the southwestern city of Jeonju on Tuesday, local authorities said. According to Deokjin Police Station and Jeonbuk Fire Safety Headquarters, a car driven by a 19-year-old crashed into a 14-ton truck that was making an illegal left turn around 4:05 a.m. on a road in Jeonju, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul. The truck was found to have made the left turn on the third lane of the road where such an act is prohibited.

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2021

PM apologizes for failure to prevent mass virus outbreak within Cheonghae unit

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for the government's failure to prevent a mass COVID-19 outbreak among sailors of South Korea's Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. A total of 247 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, confirming a widely feared mass infection. The military sent two KC-330 multirole aerial tankers to Africa to bring back all the members. "The governm

PoliticsJuly 20, 2021

New daily cases over 1,200 for 2nd day, spreading delta variant worrisome

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 1,200s for the second consecutive day Tuesday due to fewer tests amid scorching hot weather, as authorities are tightening their guard against the fast spread of the highly contagious delta variant across the nation. The country added 1,278 COVID-19 cases, including 1,242 local infections, raising the total caseload to 180,481, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure was up from 1,252 on Mon

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2021

[Newsmaker] Fingerless Korean goes missing after climbing all 14 Himalayan peaks

A fingerless South Korean mountaineer went missing after achieving the record-breaking feat of climbing all of the world's 14 highest peaks in the Himalayas, officials here said Monday. "I received a call that Kim Hong-bin went missing on his way down from the peak," Lee In-jeong, president of the Union of Asian Alpine Associations (UAAA), said. "I heard that climbers there tried to rescue him, but failed." Kim reached the summit of the 8,047-meter-high Broad Peak, located

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2021

Govt. goes all out to ensure stable power supply amid heat wave

South Korea is making concerted efforts to ensure a stable supply of electricity as the country's power reserves are feared to plumb their lowest level this week amid a heat wave, officials said Tuesday. The country remains gripped by the scorching heat wave in the wake of the annual rainy season, stoking concerns that a surge in electricity consumption could result in a power shortage. To fend off such a scenario, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will likely resume operation

Social AffairsJuly 20, 2021

23 USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for virus

Twenty-three people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including 18 service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military has said, amid the fourth wave of the pandemic across the country. Of them, 11 service members were from Kunsan Air Base in the western city of Gunsan. They were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after showing symptoms or coming into contact with the infected individuals, according to USFK in a release Monday. At Camp Casey in Dongducheon,

DefenseJuly 20, 2021

US possesses capabilities to counter cyber attacks: Pentagon

WASHINGTON -- The United States maintains and continues to advance its capabilities to counter any cyber attacks from countries such as China and North Korea, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. John Kirby made the remarks as the US, along with a long list of its allies including the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, called out China as a state sponsor of malicious cyber activities. accusing China's Ministry of State Security of hiring contract criminal hackers to carry o

Foreign AffairsJuly 20, 2021

Aerial tanker carrying virus-hit Cheonghae unit heads home from Africa

A South Korean aerial tanker carrying members of the virus-hit Cheonghae unit departed Africa on Monday to bring the troops home from an overseas anti-piracy mission, the defense ministry said, after 247 of them tested positive for the new coronavirus in the worst-ever mass infection among service members. The military sent two KC-330 multirole aerial tankers to Africa the previous day to bring back all the members of the 301-strong unit under an operation codenamed "Mission Oasis,"

Social AffairsJuly 19, 2021

Moon not visiting Japan for summit with Suga

President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan for a summit with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga timed with the Summer Olympics this week, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday, after lewd remarks by a Japanese diplomat regarding Moon sparked fresh tension amid already strained diplomatic ties between the two countries.  The last-minute announcement comes as the two countries have been discussing Moon’s possible visit to the Japanese capital to attend the Olympics that kicks off on Friday.&

Foreign AffairsJuly 19, 2021