International Youth Fellowship invites students from 90 countries for online world camp

Under the theme “The World Connected,” the International Youth Fellowship’s 2021 online world camp kicked off its five-day journey on Monday evening. Back for its 24th edition, the IYF world camp invited university students from 90 countries across the world for the online event. Before moving online due to the coronavirus pandemic, the camp used to be held across the country every year. As this year’s event is streamed live via the IYF’s YouTube channel in six d

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

FM Chung calls for overseas mission chiefs to prioritize citizens' safety

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has ordered chiefs of South Korea's overseas diplomatic missions to prioritize the protection of citizens in South Africa and other countries struggling with political unrest and COVID-19 outbreaks, his office said Thursday. Chung made the call during Wednesday's virtual meeting with the diplomats, during which they discussed a range of issues, including the deepening unrest in South Africa sparked by the recent incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. The

PoliticsJuly 15, 2021

S. Korean PM to join virtual APEC summit on pandemic

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will participate in a virtual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on COVID-19 this week, his office announced Thursday. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to chair the emergency summit of APEC member states on Friday. In the session, Kim is expected to speak about South Korea's role in regional efforts to overcome the coronavirus crisis. Other participants will reportedly include US President Joe Biden, Chinese Presid

PoliticsJuly 15, 2021

Boryeong Mud Festival scaled back amid COVID-19 spikes

BORYEONG -- This year's Boryeong Mud Festival, one of the nation's most celebrated summer events, will scale down in-person programs due to recent spikes in COVID-19 cases, organizers said Thursday. The 24th annual mud extravaganza is scheduled to be held from July 23 to Aug. 1 on Daecheon Beach in the central city of Boryeong, 190 kilometers south of Seoul. It will take place in a hybrid format with 11 online and eight offline programs. The organizing committee under the municipal government

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

Influx of vacationers to beaches, mountains feared to fuel spread of COVID-19

Local governments in charge of antivirus measures at popular summer vacation destinations are on high alert for a massive influx of vacationers from the greater Seoul area and other regions hit by a surge of COVID-19 cases. South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases have been in excess of 1,500 in recent days, with the capital area accounting for approximately three-fourths of the total. Fearing that increased tourist arrivals at famous beaches and mountains nationwide will further fuel the spr

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Overseas anti-piracy unit suffers COVID outbreak

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday instructed the military to dispatch medical staff and supplies to forces abroad with members who have tested positive for the coronavirus and to take stronger steps to avoid infections in overseas missions. Moon asked the military to bring home the patients if necessary. Six service members aboard the anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit operating off the coast of Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, the military said. None of the 301-strong crew aboard th

DefenseJuly 15, 2021

[News Focus] Hard-hit small-business owners take to the streets over COVID rules

Hundreds of small-business owners took to the streets Wednesday night, denouncing the government for once again putting their livelihoods at risk in its drive to contain COVID-19 with strict social distancing rules. With limits on private gatherings that continued since last year, coupled with the most recent minimum wage increase, small-business owners are asking the government for monetary support and to relax restrictions on business operations to boost consumption. To make their demands he

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

Moon orders dispatch of medical staff, goods to treat Korean troops abroad infected with coronavirus

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered the mobilization of an aerial refueling and transport aircraft to provide swift medical support for the South Korean troop members abroad infected with COVID-19, his office said. The president issued the message in connection with the report that six crew members in a mission aboard the country's naval destroyer operating off the coast of Africa have tested positive for the virus. They belong to the anti-piracy and counterterrorism Cheonghae Unit, of wh

PoliticsJuly 15, 2021

Biz body vows to challenge next year's minimum wage

A South Korean business lobby said Thursday it will file a complaint with the government against next year's minimum wage, which it says is too high. The move comes days after a national commission composed of nine members each from labor, business and the general public set the new minimum wage at 9,160 won ($7.99) for 2022, up 5.1 percent from this year. "A formal objection will be lodged with the labor ministry," said the Korea Enterprises Federation, which speaks for the business

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

No. of int'l migrants falls at fastest-ever pace in 2020 amid pandemic

The number of South Korean and foreign migrants declined at the sharpest-ever pace last year as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people's cross-border movements, data showed Thursday. The number of international migrants, referring to those who stay for more than 90 days here, declined 15.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year decline since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 2000. The data is calculate

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Support rating for ex-top prosecutor Yoon dips below 30% for 1st time in 4 months: poll

The support rating for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the front-running presidential contender, dived below the 30 percent level for the first time in four months over a series of allegations raised against his wife and mother-in-law, the latest poll on major hopefuls showed Thursday. The fall diminished Yoon's opinion poll lead over runner-up Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung to within the poll's margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. According to the poll by Realmeter, the support ra

PoliticsJuly 15, 2021

Ex-chief state auditor joins main opposition party in apparent bid to run for presidency

A former head of the state audit agency joined the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday in a move widely seen as a step toward running for the presidency. Choe Jae-hyeong, the former chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), expressed his intention to join the biggest conservative party during his meeting with party Chairman Lee Jun-seok earlier in the day and officially became a member in a following ceremony. The move came less than one month after Choe stepped dow

PoliticsJuly 15, 2021

Hundreds of merchants hold late night drive-through rally against COVID-19 restrictions

More than 750 small business owners held a drive-through rally late Wednesday night to protest the government's strengthened COVID-19 restrictions in light of a recent flare-up of infections, organizers said. The merchants, who united under the banner of a national emergency committee for small business owners, drove around 11 kilometers from Yeouido Park in western Seoul to Daehangno near the city center flashing their hazard lights as a sign of protest. Police stood at checkpoints along the

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

[Graphic News] Parcel shipments rise 27% in Seoul in 2020 due to COVID-19

　Parcel shipments in Seoul increased 26.9 percent last year from the previous year, a study showed, as an increasing number of people have preferred ordering food and daily necessities online amid the spread of COVID-19. 　According to the artificial intelligence-based study by the University of Seoul, parcel deliveries of food, household items and health products in the capital surged by around 50 percent in 2020, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 　In contrast, the study said

NationalJuly 15, 2021

Smuggled drugs more than double in H1 amid pandemic

Drug smuggling caught by South Korea's customs agency more than doubled in the first half of the year as trafficking via non-contact delivery means rose amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. A total of 214.2 kilograms of drugs were confiscated in the January-June period, up 153 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Drug smuggling via international mail and cargo sharply increased amid the protracted pandemic, according to the customs office. By

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

Nationwide spread of virus feared as cases continue to spiral

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases continued to spike to just shy of a record high Thursday as the country implements stronger virus curbs in regions outside of the broader Seoul area to slow down the nationwide spread of the virus. The country added 1,600 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,555 local infections, raising the total caseload to 173,511, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure is the second-highest daily tally after a record 1,615 cas

Social AffairsJuly 15, 2021

Cheonghae anti-piracy unit off Africa reports 6 COVID-19 cases

Six service members aboard a South Korean destroyer on anti-piracy missions off the coast of Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday, sparking fears of collective infections among some 300 people living on the same vessel. The infections appeared to have begun after the 4,400-ton Munmu the Great carrying the Cheonghae Unit was docked at a nearby port from June 28-July 1 to load supplies, and poor initial response to suspicious symptoms could have spre

DefenseJuly 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yoon jittery over falling poll ratings

A weekly presidential preference poll that showed higher support ratings for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl compared with other surveys was stopped this week, prompting Yoon to blame political pressure from other candidates and their supporters. PNR Research, the pollster that had conducted the survey every week since April, said its clients told it last week that they would no longer commission it for the poll. Yoon said in a statement on Tuesday that the PNR poll was stopped becaus

PoliticsJuly 14, 2021

Korea pushes back COVID-19 vaccinations for 50-somethings amid shortages

South Korea said Wednesday COVID-19 vaccinations for people in their 50s will be pushed back to accommodate uncertain vaccine deliveries. The first-dose vaccinations of over 7 million people in their 50s, which were supposed to be completed by Aug. 7 under the initial plan, have been delayed by around two weeks to Aug. 25, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said in an emergency briefing. Wednesday’s announcement comes after Moderna va

Social AffairsJuly 14, 2021

Young S. Koreans turn to leftover Pfizer vaccine doses amid COVID-19 resurgence

As South Korea is grappling with the fourth wave of the new coronavirus pandemic, those in their 20s and 30s, most of whom are not yet eligible for vaccinations, are rushing to sign up for leftover Pfizer vaccine doses made available this month. The young adults have been pushed to the back of the line in the country's COVID-19 vaccination scheme, which kicked off in February. Starting July 5, they were allowed to apply for leftover COVID-19 vaccine doses made by Pfizer. A company worker, surn

Social AffairsJuly 14, 2021