[Video] Inside Asia’s first underground seed vault

Six hundred meters up a mountain in the southern part of the country’s longest range, Baekdu-daegan, stands a building in a clearing with a seed-shaped roof. But the above-ground structure of the Baekdu-daegan Seed Vault belies the true size of this sprawling underground structure. The idea of building a Seed Vault in South Korea initially began with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in 2010. Officially launched in 2016 and designated a national security facility since

Social AffairsMay 10, 2021

Defense ministry to look into 21 officials over suspected real estate speculation

The defense ministry said Monday it will look into 21 officials over suspected real estate speculation amid public fury in the wake of massive speculation cases involving employees of the state land developing firm. The ministry has been looking into thousands of employees since late March after some of its officials were suspected of exploiting undisclosed information related to the relocation or development plans of military bases for their personal real estate transactions. After looking i

DefenseMay 10, 2021

Moon's approval rating rebounds from record low as presidential

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating has seen a slight rebound from last week's record-low figure according to a poll released Monday, the fourth anniversary of his inauguration. In a four-day weekday poll by Realmeter on 2,015 voters nationwide conducted last week except on the Children's Day holiday, Moon gained support from 36 percent of respondents, up 3 percentage points from the all-time low of 33 percent recorded the previous week. Moon's disapproval rating fell 2.3 percentage point

PoliticsMay 10, 2021

Moon says real estate policy is key reason for by-election rout

President Moon Jae-in on Monday agreed to modify some of his real estate policies, calling them a main reason for voters' "severe punishment" for his party in recent local by-elections. "(My government) has failed to achieve the aim of stabilizing property prices and (the party) received a severe punishment for that," Moon said during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae held to mark the fourth anniversary of his inauguration. He picked the real estate problem when asked by

PoliticsMay 10, 2021

S. Korea seeks to develop advanced robot for ground surveillance

South Korea is seeking to develop an advanced robot to conduct surveillance missions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and other risky regions, the arms procurement agency said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Administration (DAPA) began receiving applications from companies and research institutes for advanced technologies and ideas to build a small surveillance robot, agency officials said. The new platform will be designed to be capable of conducting surveillance missions in areas where troops

DefenseMay 10, 2021

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shows 94% efficacy, eligible for approval: panel

A South Korean panel of experts said Monday that the vaccine for the novel coronavirus by US pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc. showed more than a 94 percent efficacy rate and is eligible for use. The advisory board consisting of outside experts announced its review on the efficacy and safety of the Moderna vaccine, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The panel's review is the first step of three separate independent evaluations before the ministry gives final approval. The p

Social AffairsMay 10, 2021

Military reports 2 more virus cases

Two more Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 837, the defense ministry said Monday. A soldier based in the central city of Sejong was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after virus cases were reported at his unit, while another soldier in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, was found to be infected after coming into contact with a civilian patient while away from his base, according to the ministry. As of

DefenseMay 10, 2021

New cases under 500 on fewer tests, potential surge still worrisome

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose by the smallest number in a week on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but health authorities remained worried over a potential spike amid spreading variant cases. The country reported 463 more COVID-19 cases, including 436 local infections, raising the total caseload to 127,772, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure fell from 564 Sunday and 701 Saturday as fewer people took virus tests over the week

Social AffairsMay 10, 2021

[Graphic News] Survey finds Seoul heads of household getting older, family size shrinking

　The average age of heads of household in Seoul was 51.8 last year, up 2.9 years from five years ago, a survey by the city government showed. 　The annual survey of citizens‘ lives conducted from September-October also showed the average size of households shrank to 2.33 members from 2.64 in 2015. 　One-person households accounted for 33.4 percent of the total, followed by two persons with 25.8 percent, three persons with 20.6 percent and four persons with 15.8 percent. (Yonhap)

NationalMay 10, 2021

Cases of ‘worrisome’ COVID-19 variants soar in Ulsan

Korean health authorities said Sunday variants of the virus causing COVID-19 -- namely, the variants first identified in the UK and California -- are behind the recent surge in Ulsan, and now possibly neighboring Busan. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s spokesperson Son Young-rae told reporters Sunday that although case rates have declined over the past week by 5.4 percent compared to the week before, variants accounted for as many as 15 percent of all newly diagnosed cases. Korea

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021

[News Focus] Discouraged workers up 100,000 on-year

SEJONG -- Labor-related indexes suggest that the pandemic is still dealing a severe blow to a large portion of jobseekers in South Korea, with the hiring market showing little signs of recovery this year. According to Statistics Korea, the number of people who abandoned looking for jobs reached 582,000 in March 2020, when the tally for COVID-19 infections was growing sharply after the first case was reported two months earlier. These are dubbed “discouraged workers,” those who did

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021

[Herald Interview] Anyang’s ‘Iron Man’ mayor charts ground-breaking path

Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, is a city with 222,632 households and a population of 551,136. It is developing as a global city with nine sister cities in six countries, including Hampton, Virgina, and Garden Grove, California, in the United States, Tokorozawa and Komaki in Japan, Weifang and Anyang in China, Ulan-Ude in Russia, Sorocaba in Brazil and Naucalpan, Mexico. Anyang Mayor Choi Dae-ho has been called the “Iron Man mayor.” Nineteen of his policies have been national firsts. The

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021

Man arrested for abusing 2-year-old adopted daughter

A man in his 30s was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of abusing his 2-year-old adopted daughter to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain, police said. According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency, the girl was already unconscious when her adoptive father brought her to a hospital near Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday evening. After determining she was in a serious state, hospital workers sent her to a larger hospital in Incheon, 40 km west of Se

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Migrants’ voting rights in firing line

Amid growing anti-China sentiment in the nation, some South Koreans are calling for foreign permanent residents’ right to vote to be abolished because a majority of them are Chinese. On April 28, a petition was posted on the website of presidential Blue House with the title of “Foreigners’ voting rights (location election) are unconstitutional. It has to be abolished.” The writer of the post said, “(We) respect and don’t discriminate against foreigners.

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021

Israeli foreign, economy ministers visit Seoul

Israel’s foreign and economy ministers are visiting Seoul this week to hold talks with their Korean counterparts, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. From Monday to Thursday, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Economy Minister Amir Peretz will sit down with the Korean foreign and trade ministers to discuss deepening senior-level exchanges and expanding ties ahead of marking 60 years of diplomatic relations next year. Israel will also sign a free trade agreement with Korea,

Foreign AffairsMay 9, 2021

Ruling party lawmaker declares bid for president

Park Yong-jin, a two-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, announced Sunday he will run for president in next year's election, becoming the first person to officially declare his candidacy. "I will achieve a change of era in the Republic of Korea through a generational change in politics," the 50-year-old said during a press conference held on the National Assembly compounds. "I will create a happy nation and become a courageous and young president who stands up against

PoliticsMay 9, 2021

67% of S. Koreans say vaccination passports will help economy: poll

Nearly 70 percent of South Koreans believe that the use of a vaccination passport, which proves that a person has been fully vaccinated against the virus, will help the economy, a poll showed Sunday. The poll from the Federation of Korean Industries, a major business lobbying group here, showed 67.4 percent expect the adoption of the passport will vitalize the economy. With the passport, 36.4 percent said they would like to take trips overseas, with 41.2 percent of them pointing to Europe as t

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Chinese rocket debris falls into Indian Ocean

Debris from a Chinese space rocket fell into the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the science ministry said. Remnants of the Long March 5B rocket landed in waters southeast of India around 11:30 a.m., the ministry said, citing data from the US-based Combined Space Operations Center. The rocket was launched last week carrying a module of China's first permanent space station into orbit. But a large piece of debris plunged back in an uncontrolled reentry. (Yonhap)

DefenseMay 9, 2021

Third plane carrying S. Koreans arrives from India

A third plane carrying South Koreans arrived from India on Sunday, transporting 164 business officials out of the virus-ravaged country. The special flight operated by Asiana Airlines arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from New Delhi, mostly carrying officials who had been sent to oversee the construction of a new Samsung Display plant. South Korea has flown two special flights out of India in recent days -- one from Chennai carrying 172 Korean residents and another from

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021

New virus cases fall below 600 on fewer tests; vaccinations to gather pace

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 600 on Sunday mainly due to fewer tests as health authorities try to boost the nationwide vaccination drive to contain the spread. The country reported 564 more COVID-19 cases, including 522 local infections, raising the total caseload to 127,309, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Sunday's figure was sharply down from 701 from the previous day. The daily caseload usually spikes after weekends as more people g

Social AffairsMay 9, 2021