[Herald Interview] Founder of Sunfull campaign proposes ‘vaccine’ of positive comments against cyberbullying

As more people stay home and get connected in cyberspace during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the volume of hateful online comments has gone up. Min Byoung-chul, who has been at the forefront of battling cyberbullying, said that it is time to recognize its root causes and take action to prevent such malicious comments on the internet. “Cyberbullying has been on the rise after the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and we should identify the underlying reason why people are engaged in such destru

Social AffairsJune 24, 2021

[News Focus] Political parties can’t agree on cameras in operating rooms

A bill to install closed-circuit TVs in operating rooms failed to win a consensus at the National Assembly as the opposition party and the medical community took a cautious stance and called for further discussion. On Thursday, the National Assembly’s welfare committee met to review a change to the medical law that would have required closed-circuit TVs in operating rooms. It was the fourth review since November last year. Both the ruling and opposition parties agreed that operating roo

Social AffairsJune 24, 2021

More households move from cities for farming in 2020: data

The number of urban households in South Korea that moved to provinces to take up farming rose last year, data showed Thursday, as more people searched for new job opportunities outside cities. The number of return-to-farm households came to 12,489 in 2020, up 9.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By age group, those in their 50s accounted for the largest portion of 35 percent among those movi

Social AffairsJune 24, 2021

Tightened traffic law brings down number of DUI cases: police

The number of drunk driving accidents in Seoul sharply dropped two years into enforcing stronger DUI laws, police data showed Thursday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, 931 DUI accidents have been reported in the capital from December last year to June, down 41.2 percent from 1,583 from December 2017 to June 2018. The number of deaths in such accidents also dropped by 33.3 percent to eight over the same period. In late 2018, the National Assembly revised DUI-related laws, in

Social AffairsJune 24, 2021

Ministry says dialogue and cooperation 'best way' for stable control of peninsula situations

Dialogue and cooperation are the best way to ensure stable and peaceful control of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, a unification ministry official said Thursday, after North Korea said that it is not interested in resuming talks with the United States. On Wednesday night, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon issued a statement, saying that his country is not considering "even the possibility of any contact with the US" A day earlier, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean

North KoreaJune 24, 2021

Seoul city OKs relocation plan of US embassy in Gwanghwamun to former USFK site

A key administrative process to relocate the US embassy building in Seoul was approved by city officials Thursday, opening the door for the beginning of the construction project that will close the embassy's half-century-old presence in the heart of the South Korean capital. The Seoul metropolitan government's city planning and construction committee approved the district units plan of the US embassy's new site in Yongsan-dong of Seoul's central Yongsan Ward. The current embassy building is lo

Foreign AffairsJune 24, 2021

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to declare presidential bid Tuesday

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl will declare his presidential bid next week, officially launching a political career three months after he stepped down from public office, according to his spokesperson Thursday.  Yoon will appear in front of the public in an event at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at the memorial hall for Yun Bong-gil, a national independence fighter, in southern Seoul, according to the spokesperson. He is set to announce his widely anticipated presidential bid there. "I wi

PoliticsJune 24, 2021

Moon stresses urgency of Korea peace in TIME interview

President Moon Jae-in has reaffirmed his commitment to doing his best during the remainder of his tenure to reinvigorate the Korea peace process, according to the TIME magazine. Speaking in a recent interview, posted on its website, Moon said, "The peace we have right now is a very fragile one; it can be shaken at any time." "I know that I don't have much time myself," he added in the story headlined "South Korean President Moon Jae-in Makes One Last Attempt to Heal Hi

North KoreaJune 24, 2021

US ITC Okays anti-dumping tariffs on Korean tire imports

WASHINGTON -- The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Wednesday decided to approve anti-dumping tariffs on car tires imported from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The final decision comes about a month after the US Department of Commerce said it will impose anti-dumping tariffs of between 14.72 percent and 27.05 percent on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from the four countries. The ITC said it has determined "that a US industry is materially injured by reason of

Foreign AffairsJune 24, 2021

US remains open to diplomacy with N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain open to diplomacy with North Korea, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday, hours after the North said it is not considering any dialogue with the US The spokesperson also reiterated US hopes that the North will respond positively to US overtures. "We are aware of these reports," the spokesperson said of a statement from North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon that Pyongyang is not considering even the possibility of any c

Foreign AffairsJune 24, 2021

US will lead with diplomacy to mitigate threats from N. Korea: Austin

WASHINGTON -- The United States will continue to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula by reducing threats from North Korea through diplomacy, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday, amid a US overture to the North for dialogue. The defense secretary also said his country will continue to remain focused on North Korea despite more pacing threats from others such as China. "Leading with diplomacy, the United States will continue to work to mitigate North Korea's destabilizing an

Foreign AffairsJune 24, 2021

Nearly 90% of troops aged under 30 receive first doses of COVID-19 vaccine

Nearly 90 percent of service members aged under 30 have received their first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine since the vaccination campaign for younger soldiers began earlier this month, the defense ministry said Thursday. A total of 365,277 troops in their 20s, or 88.1 percent of the age group, had been vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the ministry. The defense ministry began their inoculation campaign in March and has been implementing it in phases. Soldiers aged 30 and older w

DefenseJune 24, 2021

Jeju peace forum opens to discuss climate change, pandemic, sustainable peace

JEJU/SEOUL -- An annual international peace forum kicked off on the southernmost island of Jeju on Thursday to discuss climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and paths to sustainable peace. The three-day Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity brings together more than 2,000 participants from about 50 organizations and institutions in 30 countries in an online-offline hybrid format due to the pandemic situation, the Jeju Peace Institute think tank hosting the forum said. Most of the key sessions wil

Foreign AffairsJune 24, 2021

[Newsmaker] Air Force police under probe for leaving sexual abuse case out of report on soldier's death

Military prosecutors have launched an investigation into why the Air Force police left out a sexual abuse case suffered by a female noncommissioned officer when reporting her suicide to the defense ministry, officials said Thursday. The female master sergeant was found dead in May, around three months after being sexually abused by a colleague of the same rank. Her death sparked a public uproar after her family alleged that military authorities attempted to cover up the sexual abuse case rather

DefenseJune 24, 2021

New cases in 600s for 2nd day on cluster infections

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 600s for the second straight day Thursday on sporadic cluster infections amid concerns over virus variants.  The country reported 610 new cases, including 576 local infections, raising the total caseload to 153,155, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Cluster infections involving churches, restaurants, gymnasiums and hospitals continue to take place across the country, and virus variant cases stayed at 30 to

Social AffairsJune 24, 2021

North Korean FM rules out possibility of contact with US

North Korea is not considering contact with the United States, Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon said Wednesday. "We are not considering even the possibility of any contact with the US, let alone having it, which would get us nowhere, only taking up precious time," Ri said in a statement released by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)

North KoreaJune 23, 2021

Police drop assault case involving Belgian ambassador's wife

Police closed an assault case involving the wife of the Belgian ambassador to Seoul on Wednesday, without charging her due to diplomatic immunity and the victims' request of non-punishment Xiang Xueqiu, the spouse of Ambassador Peter Lescouhier, has been questioned by police over allegations that she slapped a clothing store employee in the face and another staff in the back of her head in early April. Yongsan Police Station said it decided not to charge the suspect, citing the wife's diplom

Social AffairsJune 23, 2021

US nuke envoy wraps up Seoul trip marked by renewed appeal for NK dialogue

The new US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, wrapped up his five-day trip to Seoul on Wednesday after redoubling Washington's calls for dialogue with a recalcitrant Pyongyang. Before departing for Jakarta, Kim said that he had "terrific" discussions with top Seoul officials, including President Moon Jae-in. Kim concurrently serves as ambassador to Indonesia. His first trip here since his appointment last month centered on reiterating the US' offer to meet with the Nor

Foreign AffairsJune 23, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae under fire for appointing student as senior official

Cheong Wa Dae’s recent pick of a 24-year-old college student as a senior official handling youth policy is facing backlash both from opposition party members and young job seekers. On Wednesday, Park Seong-min, a former supreme council member of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea who studies Korean language and literature at Korea University in Seoul, started her work as a secretary for the presidential political affairs office. This is the first time that anyone in their 20s has ser

PoliticsJune 23, 2021

Military trivialized sexual assault complaint, despite evidence

Military police did little in response to a sexual assault complaint from an Air Force master sergeant who later took her life, the Criminal Investigation Command said Wednesday. The victim’s family believes the military police neglected to carry out a thorough investigation when she filed the complaint at her base March 2, when it happened. She was found dead May 22. “Police initially found the perpetrator, Jang, who texted her twice after the incident, which they thought was an

DefenseJune 23, 2021