Digital sex crimes against children increased nearly 20% in 2019

Digital sex crimes against underage people rose nearly 20 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, a government report showed Sunday. The number of criminals convicted of digital sex crimes reached 266 in 2019, up 19.3 percent from 223 previous year, according to the report published by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Digital sex crimes refer to the sending of online sexual online messages to children, filming and producing sexual videos and photos of minors, or threatening to disclose

Social AffairsApril 18, 2021

Civic groups decry Japan's plan to discharge Fukushima nuke plant water

South Korean civic groups held a press conference Saturday to denounce Japan's recent decision to discharge into the ocean contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Eight groups, including the Global Econet, lambasted the plan to release the radioactive water as an "irresponsible" act and demanded the cancellation of the decision, during the conference at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. On Tuesday, Japan finalized the decision to start discharging the t

Social AffairsApril 18, 2021

FM Chung, US envoy hold dinner talks on climate change cooperation

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Saturday hosted a dinner meeting with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in Seoul to discuss bilateral cooperation to fight climate change. The meeting came hours after Kerry arrived in Seoul following his four-day stay in Shanghai where he discussed cooperation with Chinese officials on the climate issue ahead of the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate to be hosted by US President Joe Biden next week. Chung and Kerry agreed to co

Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2021

[Photo News] Remembering the Sewol ferry tragedy, seven years later

Seven years ago, more than 300 lives were lost as the Sewol ferry sank deep into the sea. Most were teenagers attending high school. Seven years after the disaster, the nation still mourns that day as if it were yesterday. People all over the nation observed a moment of silence to remember the victims. At a memorial space in Gwanghwamun Square, a citizen can be seen paying his respects.  The bereaved families grieve their loss as they throw flowers into the sea at a ceremony commemorating

Social AffairsApril 17, 2021

US, Japan committed to complete denuclearization of N. Korea: leaders

US President Joe Biden said Friday he and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reaffirmed their commitment to jointly face challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, including China and nuclear-armed North Korea. Suga said they are also committed to the complete, irreversible and verifiable dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction in North Korea. "We committed to working together to take on the challenges from China and on issues like the East China Sea, the South China Sea, as well

North KoreaApril 17, 2021

40 percent of deaths from industrial accidents among people 60 or older: ministry

Four out of 10 people who died last year from industrial accidents were aged 60 or older, according to the labor ministry. A total of 882 people died in industrial accidents last year, marking an increase of 27, or 3.2 percent, from 2019, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Of the total, people aged 60 or above accounted for 347 (39.3 percent), followed by those in their 50s (292), 40s (137), 30s (64) and between 18-29 (42). "Deaths from industri

Social AffairsApril 17, 2021

Return of Chung Sye-kyun to set off race to win DP's ticket for presidential election

The imminent return of Chung Sye-kyun to the political realm, following his resignation as prime minister earlier this week, is expected to set off in earnest a high-stakes race to win the ruling Democratic Party's (DP) ticket to run in next year's presidential election.  Chung stepped down from the public office Friday after serving a 15-month stint, mainly preoccupied with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  The 71-year-old former six-term lawmaker has yet to officially decla

PoliticsApril 17, 2021

New virus cases in 600s for 3rd day amid rising concerns over new virus wave

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 600s for the third consecutive day Saturday as health authorities ramp up their vigilance amid growing concerns over a looming fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country reported 658 more COVID-19 cases, including 630 local infections, raising the total caseload to 113,444, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It added four more deaths, raising the total to 1,794. Saturday's daily caseload was down from 673

Social AffairsApril 17, 2021

Korea gives 500,000 AstraZeneca shots with potentially faulty syringes

At least 500,000 people in South Korea were given AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine with potentially faulty syringes, a Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official told The Korea Herald Friday. The official said the agency had ordered a recall of some 700,000 special syringes -- designed to squeeze extra doses out of a vaccine vial -- after reports of contamination and erroneous scale markings.  These so-called low dead space syringes for AstraZeneca vac

Social AffairsApril 16, 2021

[Video] Memorial institute commemorates Sewol ferry sinking

April 16, 2014, left an unforgettable scar in the hearts of many South Koreans. On that day the Sewol ferry sank off the country’s southwestern coast, taking the lives of more than 300 people. Most were teenage students from Danwon High School on a field trip. It was one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the country’s history. As the nation commemorates the seventh anniversary of the tragedy on Friday, the April 16 Institute of Democratic Citizenship Education has opened in

Social AffairsApril 16, 2021

7 years after Sewol ferry disaster, harrowing losses still remembered

Families of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster returned Friday to the unforgiving sea that swallowed their loved ones seven years ago, a disaster that overturned their lives and left a lasting scar for the nation. Onboard a ship rocking in choppy waters off the southwestern tip of the country, they cried as they mourned the victims, with the painful memories still fresh. Seven years ago on the day, the 6,825-ton ferry, carrying 476 passengers en route to the resort island of Jeju, capsized of

Social AffairsApril 16, 2021

Climate groups urge S. Korea to declare coal phaseout at US-led climate summit

A coalition of South Korean environmental groups urged the government to declare its intention to go coal-free by 2030 at the upcoming US-led climate summit of world leaders, with a two-day campaign featuring a blue-spotted giraffe mascot. President Moon Jae-in is among the 40 world leaders invited by US President Joe Biden to the Leaders Summit on Climate to be held online Thursday, where the leaders are expected to discuss how to limit global warming. Seeking to reestablish his country&rsq

Social AffairsApril 16, 2021

UN experts ‘deeply disappointed’ by Japan’s plan to dump contaminated water into ocean

United Nations experts said Japan’s plans to discharge contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean were “very concerning” as this action could impact millions of lives and livelihoods in the Pacific region. “The release of one million tonnes of contaminated water into the marine environment imposes considerable risks to the full enjoyment of human rights of concerned populations in and beyond the borders of Japan,” independent exper

Foreign AffairsApril 16, 2021

Yellow dust storm from China, Mongolia heading towards Korea

The density of fine dust particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 10, will rise to "very bad" levels in Seoul and many other parts of South Korea, beginning Friday evening, due to the influx of yellow dust originating from deserts in northern China and Mongolia, a state forecasting agency said. The PM 10 reading is to soar above the government-designated "very bad" level in the greater Seoul area and central and southern provinces, including Gangwon and

Social AffairsApril 16, 2021

Govt. to mobilize full capacity to overcome COVID-19 as soon as possible: Chung

South Korea's outgoing prime minister said Friday the government will mobilize its full capacity to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 and ultimately overcome the pandemic. "COVID-19 can never win against South Korea. The government will do everything it can to win this intense war against the virus as soon as possible," Chung Sye-kyun said while chairing his final daily interagency meeting on the coronavirus response held at the government complex in Seoul. Chung resigned from h

PoliticsApril 16, 2021

Moon replaces senior secretaries for political affairs, social policy, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson

President Moon Jae-in replaced some of his senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday, a move coupled with a major Cabinet shake-up to name a prime minister. Former lawmaker Lee Cheol-hee was tapped as senior presidential secretary for political affairs, and Lee Tae-han, an audit official at the National Health Insurance Service, as senior secretary for social policy, Moon's office announced. The president also named Park Kyung-mee, secretary for education policy, as new Cheong Wa Dae spoke

PoliticsApril 16, 2021

Military chiefs get AstraZeneca shots for overseas trips

Defense Minister Suh Wook and Gen. Won In-choul, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received their first doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday as they prepared to travel overseas. Suh is taking part in the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 4-5, while Won will attend a change-of-command ceremony for the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii later this month. There Won will meet with his US and Japanese counterparts to discuss expanding military ties. South Korea’s

DefenseApril 16, 2021

S. Korea, Indonesia to bring fighter jet project back on track

South Korea and Indonesia will soon resume work on their joint fighter jet project, as Indonesia works to catch up on its already late payments and return engineers to production lines here, Korea’s arms procurement agency said Thursday. The Indonesian defense minister, who took part in the rollout ceremony here on April 9, when Korea revealed a prototype jet, agreed to work out a plan for the resumption of the project, saying Indonesia remains committed to the joint work, a senior agency

DefenseApril 16, 2021

Govt. team probes former LH executive over alleged speculation

A government probe team has been looking into allegations of real estate speculation by a former executive of the state housing developer, the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), an official said Friday. The former executive was vice president of LH until his retirement in 2016 and is suspected of using insider information to purchase land and a four-story building in Seongnam, south of Seoul, in 2017, before the land was designated for redevelopment, according to the probe team. The suspect sol

PoliticsApril 16, 2021

Moon nominates new prime minister in Cabinet shake-up

President Moon Jae-in has nominated former Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum as his third prime minister and is replacing five other ministers as part of a major Cabinet shake-up, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. The ministers in charge of industry, land, labor, science and oceans are set to be replaced in the reshuffle, and key Cheong Wa Dae staff are to be reorganized. The reshuffle is seen as an attempt to stabilize state affairs at the end of Moon’s term after the ruling party lost mayoral

PoliticsApril 16, 2021