New COVID-19 cases rise above 700 amid sporadic infections across nation

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 700 on Saturday, as cluster infections continued to sprout up across the country despite a stepped-up vaccination campaign. The country reported 744 more COVID-19 cases, including 725 local infections, raising the total caseload to 143,596, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally marked the highest since May 26 when 706 new cases were reported. There were two additional fatalities, raising th

Social AffairsJune 5, 2021

Activists call for reducing non-recyclable cosmetic containers

Fewer than two out of 10 cosmetic containers distributed in South Korea are recyclable, an environmental group said Saturday, urging cosmetics companies to raise the recycling rate of their cosmetic packaging. The group, which calls itself "Cosmetic Attack Citizens Action," said it examined 6,617 brand-name cosmetic containers, and only 18.7 percent, or 1,238 containers, turned out to be recyclable. It said 68.5 percent (4,531 containers), mostly made of colored or translucent plast

Social AffairsJune 5, 2021

NK leader presides over politburo meeting in first public appearance in a month

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo session of the Workers' Party in his first public appearance in a month and discussed convening a key party meeting and organizational matters, state media said Saturday. During the session, the North decided to hold a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Party in early June to take "additional state measures for solving pending problems urgent for the economic work and people's living," the official Korean Central N

North KoreaJune 5, 2021

Air Force officer dead after taking 2nd dose of AstraZeneca vaccine

An Air Force non-commissioned officer has died after receiving a second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, military officials said Friday. According to the officials, the senior master sergeant based in Gimhae, 450 kilometers south of Seoul, got the second jab of the vaccine on May 24, and became brain dead a week later. The officer died Thursday. This is the first death of a soldier following vaccination. It wasn't immediately clear if the death is directly related to the vaccine. The surviving f

Social AffairsJune 5, 2021

Over 1m doses of J&J vaccine from US arrive in S. Korea

More than 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine arrived in South Korea from the United States on Saturday in what Seoul and Washington officials touted as a sign of the two countries' robust alliance. The KC-330 military aircraft carrying the vaccine for 1.01 million people arrived at 12:40 a.m. at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, after it departed from an air base on the US west coast Thursday (US time), officials said. The shipment came after US

Social AffairsJune 5, 2021

Key figure behind sex abuse ring appeals sentence to Supreme Court

Cho Ju-bin, the mastermind behind a notorious online sex blackmail ring, has appealed his 42-year sentence to the Supreme Court, legal sources said Friday. Cho's legal representative submitted the appeal earlier Friday, three days after the Seoul High Court sentenced the online sexual predator to 42 years imprisonment, according to the sources. This week's ruling reduced Cho's sentence by three years, after he was convicted on charges of violating laws on protecting minors from sexual abuse,

NationalJune 4, 2021

Arrest warrant issued for ex-LH executive over alleged property speculation

A court issued an arrest warrant for a former executive of a state-run state housing developer on Friday over alleged real estate speculation. The man, whose identity was not made public, became the highest-ranking official of the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) to be arrested in a massive land speculation scandal over the state developer. The Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Court in Gyeonggi Province issued the arrest warrant, saying that the former official is a flight risk and could

Social AffairsJune 4, 2021

Samsung scion fined over illegal use of anesthetic

Lee Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto head of Samsung Group, was fined on Friday on charges of illegally taking propofol shots. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office slapped Lee with a 50 million won ($44,800) fine in a summary indictment, which doesn't require a formal trial. Lee was accused of having excessively and illegally taken the anesthetic at a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul in 2017-2018. A complaint was filed against him with the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission

Social AffairsJune 4, 2021

Couriers threaten work delay to pressure firms in negotiations on conditions

Unionized parcel delivery workers threatened Friday to delay work and refuse to sort packages starting next week, in a bid to press logistics firms in ongoing negotiations on measures to prevent overwork and improve conditions. The country's leading logistics companies agreed in January to take responsibility for sorting parcels, blamed for couriers' long work hours, promising additional workers, extra payment and automatization of the job. The agreement involving the workers' union, companies

Social AffairsJune 4, 2021

Moon visits S. Korea's spy agency for briefing on its reform steps

President Moon Jae-in visited the headquarters of South Korea's state spy agency in southern Seoul and received a briefing on its reform measures Friday. It was Moon's second visit to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) since he took office in May 2017. Reforming the powerful body is one of his major campaign pledges. The NIS was accused of having been a hotbed of deep-rooted evils, including operations to oppress political dissidents. Under a revision to the NIS-related law in late 2020,

PoliticsJune 4, 2021

Moon accepts Air Force chief's resignation over sex assault case

President Moon Jae-in accepted the resignation of South Korea's Air Force chief Friday over a recent sexual assault case that led to the death of a female victim. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Seong-yong offered to step down to take responsibility for his organization's handling of the incident. The victim, a master sergeant, was found dead in an apparent suicide at her official residence in late May, about three months after suffering unwanted physical touching by a male colleague of the

PoliticsJune 4, 2021

FM meets US senators, discusses alliance issues

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Friday met with three visiting US senators and discussed bilateral and alliance issues, the foreign ministry said. During the meeting at Chung's official residence, the senators -- Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Dan Sullivan (R-AL) -- said that last month's summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden demonstrated the alliance and global cooperation partnership between the two countries, according to the ministry. They als

Foreign AffairsJune 4, 2021

Kim Jong-un’s disappearance from public view stokes speculation

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s monthlong disappearance from state media has fueled speculation over his whereabouts, as it marked his longest absence this year.  The last time Kim appeared in a public setting was on May 6 when he held a photo session with military family members, according to state media.  Since then, there have been reports of him sending letters to foreign leaders and his people, but he was not seen in any official events.  When asked whether the S

North KoreaJune 4, 2021

Indian Chamber of Commerce, Korea Nonferrous Metal Association to explore new markets

The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the Korea Nonferrous Metal Association on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to support its member companies on exploring new business opportunities. The signing ceremony was attended by some 60 industry people, including Park Jin-kyu, vice minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Sachin Satpute, head of the chamber, and Lee Je-joong, chairman of the association. “The Make in India Initiative is a great opportunity f

Foreign AffairsJune 4, 2021

Woman sentenced to 20 yrs in prison in child abandonment-death case

GIMCHEON -- A local court on Friday sentenced a woman to 20 years in prison for abandoning a 3-year-old girl and causing her death. The Daegu District Court's branch in Gimcheon delivered the sentence to the 22-year-old sister of the baby, surnamed Kim, and ordered her to complete 160 hours of a child abuse treatment program. The accused was arrested in February after the body of the 3-year-old was discovered at an empty house in Gumi, 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Kim was found to have

Social AffairsJune 4, 2021

Janssen vaccines to arrive tomorrow, raising hopes for accelerated vaccination

Hopes are high that a US-supplied shipment of COVID-19 vaccines will give a much-needed push to South Korea’s vaccination campaign as the first batches are slated to arrive Saturday morning. One million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine are scheduled to arrive at Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province at 00:50 a.m. Saturday, health officials said Friday, following an announcement from the White House a day earlier. “The animating purpose behind t

Social AffairsJune 4, 2021

Lee Jun-seok’s lead in main opposition leadership race cements

Lee Jun-seok’s lead seems to have become cemented in the main opposition People Power Party’s election for its new leader, with chances becoming greater for the conservative party to undergo a huge generational shift ahead of the presidential race next year. A poll of 1,044 adults conducted this week showed Friday that Lee was the most favored among five candidates for the top party post with 46.7 percent support, far surpassing the other four candidates in the race. Lee’s le

PoliticsJune 4, 2021

S. Korea to raise guard against fire blight amid looming nationwide spread

South Korea's agricultural agency said Friday it plans to expand surveillance on fire blight amid growing concerns over the nationwide spread of the deadly disease for apple and pear trees. The move came as an apple farm in Andong, 268 kilometers south of Seoul, confirmed another case of fire blight, which marked the first infection to be reported from North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Rural Development Administration. North Gyeongsang Province accounts for around 60 percent of South

Social AffairsJune 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] Baby girl remains in coma a month after adoptive father's abuse

A 2-year-old girl has been in a coma for nearly a month since her adoptive father abused her to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain. Doctors say she is unlikely to wake up given the extent of the trauma she suffered when her father, 36, allegedly slapped her face and knocked her down a total of four times at their home in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 8. An investigation revealed that the adoptive father had abused the girl multiple times prior to M

Social AffairsJune 4, 2021

Air Force chief offers to resign over suicide of sexually abused noncommissioned officer

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Seong-yong offered to step down Friday, holding himself responsible for the suicide of a sexually harassed female noncommissioned officer and the military's mishandling of the case. President Moon Jae-in was quick to accept the resignation, as he ordered a thorough investigation and stern punishment of those responsible a day earlier, saying his heart aches to think of the despair the victim must have felt. Presidential aides said whoever is responsible will b

DefenseJune 4, 2021