DP's presidential hopefuls float policy ideas aimed at reclaiming confidence from younger voters

Presidential hopefuls of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) are competing to woo support from young voters in the run-up to next year's election, as the party tries to recover lost confidence from 20- and 30-something voters as seen in its crushing defeat in last month's by-elections. Rep. Lee Nak-yon, former prime minister and the DP's previous chairman, on Thursday proposed funneling state tax money procured from owners of high-priced homes, commonly referred to as the comprehensive real estate

PoliticsMay 9, 2021

Former PM Lee Han-dong dies at 87

Former Prime Minister Lee Han-dong died of a chronic disease Saturday at the age of 87, his close aide said. "The former prime minister died at his home at around noon," the aide told Yonhap News Agency. Lee served six terms as a lawmaker from 1981-2000 and as the prime minister from 2000-2002 under then President Kim Dae-jung. In 2002, he made an unsuccessful presidential bid with a pledge to eradicate regionalism and corruption. In 2004, he was indicted without detention on charg

Social AffairsMay 8, 2021

[Photo News] Spring rice-planting season begins in Korea

Students at the College of Agriculture and Life sciences at Kangwon National University practice rice planting at Kangwon National University’s subsidiary farm in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.  A farmer plants rice seedlings using a rice transplanter machine in a field in Taean, Chungnam, for the first rice-planting in Taean this year. (Photos: Yonhap) By Yoon Chae-won (choenayoon@heraldcorp.com)

Social AffairsMay 8, 2021

[Photo News] Red carnations bloom to welcome Parents’ Day

Children make paper carnations at a kindergarten attached to Hanil Elementary School in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Namdaemun Flower Market is crowded with people purchasing flowers for Parents’ Day.  Park Sung-soo, the mayor of Songpa-gu, and staff from the Songpa-gu Saemaeul Women’s Society deliver carnations and kimchi to a senior citizen living alone in southeastern Seoul.  (Photos: Yonhap) By Yoon Chae-won (choenayoon@heraldcorp.com)

Social AffairsMay 8, 2021

Two S. Korean scientists elected foreign members of Britain's Royal Society

Two prominent biological scientists in South Korea have been named as foreign members of the Royal Society of Britain, the scientific academy said. Professors Kim V. Narry of Seoul National University and Lee Sang-yup of KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) became first South Koreans to join the Royal Society, according to its announcement Thursday (local time). Founded in 1660, the society is one of the most prestigious and oldest institutes in the field of science. It h

Social AffairsMay 8, 2021

New virus cases rise back to 700s amid variant concerns

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose back to the 700s for the first time in 10 days Saturday as the country remains on alert for a potential upsurge in variant cases. The country reported 701 more COVID-19 cases, including 672 local infections, raising the total caseload to 126,745, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a statement. The daily caseload reached 488 on Monday on fewer tests over the weekend and stayed under 700 from Tuesday to Friday. There wer

Social AffairsMay 8, 2021

Yellow dust covers most of Korea; fine dust warnings issued for over half of country

A yellow dust storm that originated in the Gobi Desert in northern China and Mongolia on Friday blanketed most of South Korea, including the greater Seoul area, the state weather agency said. A fine dust advisory, issued for Seoul at 1 p.m., was upgraded to a fine dust warning one hour later, as the average hourly concentration of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 10, surged to 610 micrograms per cubic meter in the capital Friday afternoon. A fine dust wa

Social AffairsMay 7, 2021

Presidential secretary offers to resign over graft allegations

A presidential secretary on Friday offered to resign over allegations that he awarded public projects worth millions to his private firm while serving as a senior official at the Seoul city government. The resignation offer by Jun Hyo-kwan, a presidential secretary for cultural affairs, came amid the allegations, raised by an opposition lawmaker, that his private company received a total of 12 orders worth 5.1 billion won ($4.5 million) from the Seoul city government from 2014-2018. During the

PoliticsMay 7, 2021

'Quad is neither security alliance nor Asian NATO': White House official

The evolving US-led Quad forum is neither a security alliance nor an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a US White House official said Friday, stressing it is an open framework designed to tackle shared challenges. Edgard Kagan, senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, made the remarks in a virtual seminar, amid a sense that the Quad, which consists of the United States, Australia, India and Japan, aims to counter the rise of Chin

Foreign AffairsMay 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] DP presidential hopefuls talk of throwing out taxpayer money

The ruling party’s presidential hopefuls have begun talking about giving money to young people who completed their military duties, young people who do not own homes and even newborns. The opposition has decried them as populist pledges. Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon proposed on Thursday, “let’s spend the comprehensive real estate holding tax revenue collected from owners of multiple homes for residential stability of young people without homes and one-person hou

PoliticsMay 7, 2021

Seoul Mayor hires ultra-right YouTuber as ‘message secretary’

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon hired a conservative YouTuber in his 20s as his new secretary for press affairs, a move concerning to some as a sign that the mayoral office could be swayed into certain political stance under Oh’s rule. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that the YouTuber was hired as a “message secretary” under the mayor’s office. The new hire is in charge of drafting speeches and other press materials to be released from Oh’s office until his

PoliticsMay 7, 2021

Delivery workers vote to strike over ‘gapjil’ from apartment residents

Unionized parcel delivery workers in South Korea have voted to launch a strike later this month as they ask logistics firms to step in and resolve an ongoing conflict with an apartment complex and its residents over a ban on ground-floor parking. The delivery workers’ union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said Friday that 77 percent of 6,000 workers voted to approve the walkout. The strike will consist of some 2,000 workers from the union, details of which will be announced

Social AffairsMay 7, 2021

Ex-prosecutor gets three years in prison for taking bribes over Lime fraud scandal

A former senior prosecutor was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for taking bribes in connection with a financial fraud scandal involving Lime Asset Management. The Seoul Southern District Court convicted Yun Gap-geun, former chief of the Daegu High Prosecutors Office, of accepting bribes through good offices. He was indicted for accepting about 220 million won ($196,250) in kickbacks from Lee Jong-pil, former vice president of the hedge fund, and the chairman of Metropolitan Group, a

Social AffairsMay 7, 2021

Top envoys of S. Korea, UK agree to tackle climate change, COVID-19 vaccines

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, and the two sides agreed to tackle climate change and cooperate on the fair distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.  The two envoys held a strategic dialogue Thursday at Chevening House near London, a day after the Group of Seven ministerial meeting ended in the British capital.  Both sides agreed that the strengthening of international cooperation bey

Foreign AffairsMay 7, 2021

NK tightens antivirus efforts in border area within range of anti-Pyongyang leaflets

North Korea has tightened antivirus efforts in an eastern inter-Korean border region, the country's main newspaper said Friday, a day after the paper issued a warning about coronavirus infections through anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent from South Korea. The Rodong Sinmun said the North is stepping up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the border county of Kosong in Kangwon Province, especially in the sea and forest areas. "We are putting all-out efforts to educate the public to str

North KoreaMay 7, 2021

N. Korea unlikely to carry out provocations ahead of S. Korea-US summit: minister

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Friday that North Korea is not likely to carry out major provocations ahead of summit talks between the United States and South Korea slated for later this month. "We cannot rule out all possibilities of North Korea raising tensions but many experts say that the chances of the North heightening military tensions ahead of the South Korea-US summit remain relatively low," Lee told a local radio show. "I think it is because North Korea must al

North KoreaMay 7, 2021

As universities remain online amid pandemic, rebellion against high tuition continues

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, the country's university students are fighting not only against the virus but also with their schools over tuition refunds. And that fight entered a new phase Thursday, as the Seoul Central District Court held a first hearing on a class action suit filed in July by nearly 3,000 students. A student association demanding tuition refunds called on the court to make a "rightful" ruling on the case, and criticized the schools for dragging th

Social AffairsMay 7, 2021

NK leader holds photo session with families of army after attending performance

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a photo session with families of the army, a day after attending their art performance, state media reported Friday. Earlier on Wednesday, Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, attended the performance of the art groups of servicemen's families from large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA), according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim highly appreciated the performers' devoted efforts for being "reliable assistants to their husbands&quo

North KoreaMay 7, 2021

Military to improve soldier meal quality following criticism

The military will try to raise the average daily meal cost for service members to 10,500 won ($9) next year, the defense ministry said Friday, after coming under criticism that soldiers are poorly fed. Defense Minister Suh Wook discussed the raise and other measures during a meeting with military commanders, according to the ministry. The current cost per meal for troops is 2,930 won, lower than the average for high school students at 3,625 won, it said. The military came under fire after a s

DefenseMay 7, 2021

Five more Navy sailors from same vessel test positive for COVID-19

Five Navy sailors tested positive for the new coronavirus while on the same naval ship, bringing the total caseload from the vessel to 38, the defense ministry said Friday. Last month, the Navy reported 33 COVID-19 cases among members of the Gojunbong landing ship in the first mass infection on a military vessel. Of 84 sailors aboard the ship, 51 tested negative and have been in isolation, but five of them were found to have contracted the virus in a test required to exit quarantine, the min

DefenseMay 7, 2021