[Photo News] Spring, the season of flowers, blooms in Korea

Cherry blossoms begin to form pink clouds of flowers near Yeojwacheon Romance Bridge in Jinhae-gu, Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province.   Against a clear sky without fine dust, Magnolia Kobus are in full bloom on the campus of Chonnam National University, located in Gwangju. Fully-bloomed plum blossoms attract honey bees to the campus of Chonnam National University in Gwangju. (Photos: Yonhap) By Yoon Chae-won (choenayoon@heraldcorp.com)

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2021

Seongnam university reports coronavirus infections of 11 foreign students

Thirteen foreign students enrolled in a university in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, have been diagnosed with COVID-19, municipal officials said Saturday. The first coronavirus case of a foreign student occurred at the unnamed university in the city's Sujeong district on Wednesday, and two more expat students who lived together with the first patient tested positive for the virus the following day, the officials said. On Friday, eight other foreign students were confirmed to be infected with t

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2021

Biden says too many Asian Americans are living in fear

President Joe Biden strongly denounced violence against Asian Americans on Friday, saying too many of them have been forced to worry about their very safety amid a rise in hate crimes targeting Asian American communities in the US. He and Vice President Kamala Harris blamed the former administration for scapegoating Asian Americans for the COVID-19 pandemic. "They've been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed. They've been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed. Documented

PoliticsMarch 20, 2021

Russian FM Lavrov to visit Seoul next week for talks on bilateral ties, peninsula issues

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Seoul next week for talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on bilateral ties, Korean Peninsula issues and other matters, the foreign ministry said Thursday.  Lavrov will arrive here on Tuesday for a three-day visit. His talks with Chung are set to take place on Thursday after the ministers attend a ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the two countries. 

PoliticsMarch 20, 2021

New virus cases in 400s for 4th day, concerns over resurgence during weekend

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for a fourth day on Saturday, with continued sporadic clusters in the greater Seoul area adding to concerns over a resurgence in cases as more people go out during the weekend. The country reported 452 more COVID-19 cases, including 440 local infections, raising the total caseload to 98,209, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added three more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,693.

Social AffairsMarch 20, 2021

After N. Korea cuts ties, Malaysia orders its diplomats out

Malaysia said Friday it'll order all North Korean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, in an escalation of diplomat brawl over Malaysia's decision to extradite a North Korean criminal suspect to the United States. Malaysia's announcement came hours after North Korea said it was terminating diplomatic ties with Malaysia because it committed a "super-large hostile act ... in subservience to the US pressure.'' North Korea called the money laundering charges an "absurd fabric

North KoreaMarch 19, 2021

Korea pushes back announcement on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as EU regulator adds warning

Korean health authorities on Friday have postponed an announcement of their response to the European medical regulator’s verdict on the safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, after it once again vouched for jab, but without fully dispelling concerns surrounding the side effects. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency had said earlier that it would be giving its official opinion on the European Medicines Agency’s announcement at 2 p.m. Friday, but pushed it back t

Social AffairsMarch 19, 2021

Seoul withdraws testing mandate for all foreign workers

The Seoul city government on Friday withdrew an order requiring mandatory coronavirus testing for all foreign workers after facing criticism from foreigners, medical workers and the human rights commission. The Seoul Metropolitan Government released a statement on Friday afternoon, saying, “We changed the administrative order issued on March 17 after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters requested the withdrawal of the order.” “We changed from the man

Social AffairsMarch 19, 2021

Gaps to fill in ‘ironclad’ alliance between Korea, US

South Korea and the US have held the first foreign policy talks since US President Joe Biden came to power, but the two allies fell far short of reaching consensus on the reason the US secretaries of state and defense flew to Asia in their first overseas travel: China and North Korea. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken labeled China authoritarian and a challenge that a democratic coalition should try pushing back, referring to its key allies in the region such as Korea and Japan. The two US s

Foreign AffairsMarch 19, 2021

Assembly speaker discusses S. Korea-US alliance, NK issues with Nancy Pelosi

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug held a videoconference with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday to discuss pending issues such as the South Korea-US alliance and North Korea’s nuclear weapons. During the meeting Park said that “the Korea-US alliance is a starting point and a crucial point of reference for Korea’s diplomacy and security and, as the US’ most successful alliance, serves as a bedrock for peace and stability in the region.” He went on t

PoliticsMarch 19, 2021

S. Korea, US launch working-level policy dialogue

South Korea and the United States launched a new regular working-level dialogue Friday, aiming to deal with bilateral diplomatic and security issues in a "systematic and speedy" manner, the foreign ministry said. Koh Yun-ju, the ministry's director general for North American affairs, and Marc Knapper, deputy US assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, held the inaugural session of the Bilateral Policy Dialogue in Seoul. The launch came just a day after the allies held their

Foreign AffairsMarch 19, 2021

FM Chung holds talks with Costa Rican, Guatemalan counterparts on bilateral cooperation

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held separate talks with his Costa Rican and Guatemalan counterparts in Seoul on Friday to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation, the foreign ministry said. Costa Rican Foreign Minister Rodolfo Solano Quiros and Guatemalan Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo Vila were in Seoul to attend the Korea-LAC Digital Cooperation Forum held earlier this week. LAC stands for Latin American and Caribbean countries. In the talks with the Costa Rican minister, Chung voiced hop

Foreign AffairsMarch 19, 2021

Human rights commission to probe Seoul’s testing mandate for all foreign workers

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Friday launched an investigation into the Seoul city government’s decision to mandate coronavirus tests for all foreign workers, after some foreigners filed a petition against the administrative order. “Foreigners have filed a petition with the NHRC, saying that they feel hatred and racism,” NHRC Chairperson Choi Young-ae said in a statement. “In response, the NHRC will quickly determine whether discrimination and human

Social AffairsMarch 19, 2021

Washington stresses Seoul’s ‘input’ in NK policy review

A senior US diplomat on Friday stressed South Korea’s “input” in Washington’s ongoing policy review on North Korea, reiterating the importance of close consultations and coordination between the allies in dealing with the reclusive regime.  The remarks were made by Sung Kim, acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, during his meeting with Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea’s top nuclear envoy, at the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day

North KoreaMarch 19, 2021

Govt. identifies 28 more public sector employees in probe into LH scandal

The government has identified 28 more public sector employees who bought land at "new town" development sites, including 23 suspected of engaging in speculative transactions, an official said Friday. Choi Chang-won, vice minister of government policy coordination at the Prime Minister's Office, said the 28 public servants and public corporation employees were uncovered during the second stage of an inquiry into a massive land speculation scandal centered on the state housing developer

Social AffairsMarch 19, 2021

Ahn Cheol-soo accepts PPP's terms in picking unified opposition Seoul mayor candidate

Ahn Cheol-soo, the Seoul mayoral candidate of the minor conservative People's Party (PP), said Friday he will accept the terms proposed by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) in conducting public opinion surveys to determine a unified single opposition candidate in the April by-election. "I am accepting the (candidacy) unification methods demanded by interim PPP chairman Kim Chong-in and candidate Oh Se-hoon," Ahn said in a press conference held at the National Assembly. Ahn

PoliticsMarch 19, 2021

US Embassy flies flag at half-staff to honor victims of Atlanta shootings

Rob Rapson, charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Seoul, said Friday that his embassy has flown the US flag at half-staff to honor the victims of this week's deadly shootings in Atlanta, including several women of Korean descent. The move came after US President Joe Biden on Thursday instructed all public facilities, including the White House and military installations, to honor the victims of deadly shootings by flying the flag at half-staff over the next five days. "The @USEmbassySeoul

Foreign AffairsMarch 19, 2021

Pentagon chief leaves S. Korea after three-day stay for security talks

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin left South Korea on Friday after a three-day visit for a series of meetings on alliance and North Korea issues, officials said. Austin arrived here Wednesday from Japan as part of his first Asia swing since taking office in January as President Joe Biden administration's first defense chief. "The last faces I'll see on this trip to the Republic of Korea are those of the service members here at Osan AB," Austin tweeted. The US Forces Korea's Osan

Foreign AffairsMarch 19, 2021

FM holds phone talks with US climate envoy on cooperation for carbon neutrality goal

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke by phone Friday with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to discuss cooperation on their countries' joint efforts toward carbon neutrality, the foreign ministry said. Chung and Kerry agreed to strengthen cooperation in their countries' efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades and run communication channels in a "multilayered" manner to strengthen collaboration against climate change. "Minister Chung an

Foreign AffairsMarch 19, 2021

LH officials summoned by police in widening probe on land speculation cases

Employees of a state housing development corporation at the center of an unfolding land speculation scandal were summoned by police Friday for questioning about their suspected illegalities in land purchases. A special investigation team of the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency called in employees of the state-run Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), who are accused of using insider information to buy farmland in districts southwest of Seoul ahead of their designation by the government as candidate si

Social AffairsMarch 19, 2021