Moon appoints prime minister, science, land ministers

President Moon Jae-in appointed Kim Boo-kyum as new prime minister and two others to lead the science and land ministries Friday. They were picked in last month's Cabinet shake-up coming on the heels of the ruling party's rout in major by-elections. The president conferred the certificates of appointment on Prime Minister Kim, Science Minister Lim Hye-sook and Land Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk as well as two other minister nominees -- Commerce Minister Moon Sung-wook and Labor Minister An Kyung-duk

PoliticsMay 14, 2021

New PM Kim Boo-kyum pledges to seek national unity on first day on job

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday that he will work toward pursuing national unity in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, as he began his official term as the administration's third prime minister. "I will become a prime minister who thoroughly aims for national unity," Kim said while arriving at the government complex in Seoul on his first day as prime minister. "The current struggle can be overcome only if we work together," Kim added, referring to the ongoing

PoliticsMay 14, 2021

Blinken says US, Australia share commitment to UNSC resolutions on N. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed his country's commitment to UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea on Thursday, amid US outreach for engagement with the reclusive North. The top US diplomat said he and his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, discussed a range of challenges, including North Korea, in their bilateral meeting in Washington. "The (Australian) foreign minister and I touched on a number of key challenges that we face together," he sa

Foreign AffairsMay 14, 2021

S. Korea expresses concerns over Israel-Palestine conflict

The South Korean government on Thursday expressed concerns over escalating violence and civilian deaths amid military conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. "We express grave concern over massive civilian casualties, including children, caused by indiscriminate rocket attacks in the Gaza Strip and counterattacks against them," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We call on the both sides to refrain from raising tensions and stop using armed forces, as violence can

Foreign AffairsMay 13, 2021

AstraZeneca vaccines for 417,500 people arrive in S. Korea

South Korea brought in another 835,000 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccines, enough for 417,500 people on Thursday amid concerns over a tight vaccine supply. The vaccines developed by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant and Oxford University are shipped in under the World Health Organization's global vaccine COVAX Facility project. So far, AstraZeneca vaccines, under COVAX, for 1.26 million people have already been brought in, with another shipment of the products for 835,000 people s

Social AffairsMay 13, 2021

National Assembly confirms Moon's nominee for prime minister

The National Assembly dominated by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday gave its nod to President Moon Jae-in's pick for prime minister. Parliament passed the confirmation bill on Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum, clearing the way for Moon to appoint the ex-interior minister as his third prime minister. The bill was approved in a 168-5 vote, with one abstention and two votes invalidated. The DP commands 174 of the 300 parliamentary seats. The confirmation bill ran into resistance

PoliticsMay 13, 2021

S. Korea, US hold talks on ASEAN cooperation

South Korea and the United States held talks Thursday to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation with Southeast Asian countries based on Seoul's New Southern Policy and Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy, the foreign ministry said. During the video talks, the two sides discussed how they can work with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for substantive cooperation in seven areas, including health, infrastructure, smart city, green growth and digital innovation, the minis

Foreign AffairsMay 13, 2021

Moon’s reconciliatory message delivered to Suga

South Korean spy chief Park Jie-won relayed a reconciliatory message from President Moon Jae-in to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, diplomatic sources said Thursday. Park, the head of the National Intelligence Service, paid a courtesy call to Suga on Wednesday during a visit to Tokyo for a trilateral meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts. The message is believed to have conveyed Moon’s wishes to normalize the tense relations between the two countries, but no details wer

Foreign AffairsMay 13, 2021

Unification Minister says Korea-US summit could be ‘watershed’ moment on the peninsula

Unification Minister Lee In-young on Thursday pinned his hopes on the upcoming South Korea-US summit as a “watershed” moment that could make progress in the stalled diplomacy with North Korea, and urged Pyongyang to return to the dialogue.  Speaking at a seminar organized by the state-run think tanks, the minister “positively” assessed the Biden administration’s recently completed North Korea policy, which he said was a result of close coordination and consul

North KoreaMay 13, 2021

US report mentions conflict over worship limitations in South Korea related to COVID-19 pandemic

The US State Department detailed the South Korean government’s limitations on in-person worship to contain COVID-19, and conflicts that arose in the process in its annual International Religious Freedom report released Wednesday. The report mentioned that the South Korean government placed restrictions on the number of persons who could gather together for any purpose, including for religious worship, to minimize exposure to the virus since February last year, following a COVID-19 outbrea

PoliticsMay 13, 2021

Swedish firms join forces to aid Korea’s green growth

Thirteen Swedish companies based in South Korea pledged to support Seoul’s initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, at a ceremony at the Swedish Embassy in Seoul on Thursday. “Our own Swedish experience shows that green growth and innovation is a winning strategy, both the climate and for our wallets. It has simply become common sense to future-proof industries across the world and first movers are amply rewarded,” said Jakob Hallgren, Swedish ambassador to Korea. The

Foreign AffairsMay 13, 2021

Education Ministry plans to bring all students back to school in fall

The Ministry of Education is hoping to bring all students back to school for in-person classes in the fall semester, a ministry official said Thursday. Schools currently follow the government’s anti-virus guidelines to decide how many students can physically come to classes while others stay at home for remote learning courses. Under the highest level of social distancing, for instance, no students are allowed to come to school and have to take online classes from home. On the other ha

Social AffairsMay 13, 2021

Global Together donates face masks and COVID-19 test kits to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Korea

Global Together donated 3,000 face masks and 10,000 COVID-19 diagnostic kits to Afghanistan last month as a means to extend help to developing countries and express support for global health. The non-governmental organization announced Thursday it donated the face masks and diagnostic kits to the Afghanistan Embassy in South Korea on April 20 in a ceremony attended by four Korea International School students and Ambassador of Afghanistan to South Korea Abdul Hakim Atarud. The COVID-19 diagnost

Foreign AffairsMay 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul mulls drinking ban along Han River

Fried chicken and beer by the Han River could become a thing of the past as early as this summer as Seoul officials are weighing a ban on outdoor drinking within riverside parks. Park Yoo-mi, a disease control official at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said in a daily press briefing Wednesday that the city government is considering a ban on outdoor drinking at all of its 11 riverside parks, some of the most populous leisure areas found within the city for residents and tourists. “Rel

Social AffairsMay 13, 2021

Abrams says solid combined defense posture is 'single greatest' deterrent against NK threats

Outgoing US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams said Thursday that a "rock solid" combined defense posture between South Korea and the United States is the "single greatest deterrent" against any potential adversaries, including North Korea.     Abrams made the remark at a farewell event in Seoul, saying the US will continue to work with its allies "to address the threats posed by North Korea through diplomacy and credible deterrence.&q

DefenseMay 13, 2021

Military reports 4 new COVID-19 cases

Two Marines and two Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. The Marines were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 upon arrival in South Korea after completing their overseas education programs, according to the ministry. One soldier in the border town of Cheorwon also tested positive following his recent vacation and an Army officer in the border city of Paju was believed to have been infected after coming into close contact with a civil

DefenseMay 13, 2021

S. Korea to join US, Japan for Red Flag Alaska air drills

South Korea is expected to take part in an annual US-led multinational air force exercise for the first time in three years next month, with Japan also set to participate, officials said Thursday. The Red Flag-Alaska 21-2 exercise is scheduled to take place in Alaska from June 10-25 involving around 1,500 service members and 100 aircraft, according to the US Seventh Air Force. In addition to the US troops, the South Korean Air Force and the Japanese self-defense air force are scheduled to part

Foreign AffairsMay 13, 2021

Early summer weather grips South Korea

South Korea is to experience early summer-like weather this week, with temperatures in Seoul and most other parts of the country soaring to the season's highest of around 30 C, the state weather agency said Thursday. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the daytime highs in most regions of the country are to rise about 4 to 7 C above the past 30-year average of 15 C to 27 C on Thursday and Friday. In particular, the mercury is to surge up to 30 C in the capital area and many part

Social AffairsMay 13, 2021

NK paper warns against inflow of capitalistic culture into country

North Korea's official newspaper called Thursday for efforts to prevent capitalistic culture from seeping into the country, warning that otherwise, the country could fall "like a damp wall" The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North's ruling Worker's Party, made the appeal, saying that attempts to establish socialism in other countries failed due to the "invasion of capitalistic lifestyle." "History teaches us a crucial lesson that a country can become vulnerable and eve

North KoreaMay 13, 2021

New cases rebound to over 700 amid little progress in vaccinations

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rebounded to over 700 Thursday as the country's vaccination campaign nearly stalled over tight vaccine supply amid spreading variant cases. The country reported 715 more COVID-19 cases, including 692 local infections, raising the total caseload to 129,633, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's daily caseload jumped from 635 cases Wednesday, 511 Tuesday, 463 Monday and 564 Sunday, and marks the highest since April 28 wh

Social AffairsMay 13, 2021