2 Army officers test positive for COVID-19

Two Army officers have tested positive for the new coronavirus after infections were reported at their bases, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The officers serving in the southwestern county of Jangseong and the northeastern county of Inje, respectively, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after they came into contact with soldiers at their units who tested positive earlier, according to the ministry. The latest cases raised the total number of infections reported among military peopl

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2021

NK economic officials blame themselves for lack of progress in development plans

North Korea's official newspaper on Tuesday carried contribution pieces by officials in the Cabinet and economic sectors holding themselves accountable for the lack of progress in economic development. The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, carried a contribution piece in a newly added section written by Jo Yong-dok, department director of the Cabinet, criticizing the lack of cooperation between industries. "Production was hindered by the lack of cooperati

North KoreaMarch 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police raid LH headquarters over land speculation scandal

Police on Tuesday launched a raid on the headquarters of the state housing corporation over allegations of land speculation by more than a dozen of its employees. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency sent investigators to the Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) headquarters in Jinju, 434 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to seize material on the transactions based allegedly on insider information. The police agency also dispatched investigators to LH offices in Gwacheon and Incheon, both located near S

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2021

Clusters, rising travel drag on virus battle; new infections over 400 again

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 400 on Tuesday as continued cluster infections and increased outdoor activity are feared to ignite another surge in virus infections. The country reported 446 more COVID-19 cases, including 427 local infections, raising the total caseload to 93,263, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections stayed below 400 on Monday apparently due to less testing over the weekend after exceeding the threshold f

Social AffairsMarch 9, 2021

S. Korea considers joining Quad Plus to steer US toward talks with N. Korea: policy adviser

WASHINGTON -- South Korea may be considering joining a US-led regional forum that it had previously shunned, in an effort to influence US policy toward North Korea, a member of South Korea's presidential policy advisory group said. Hwang Ji-hwan, a member of the president's commission on policy planning, said the Seoul government, just like the US government, does not aim for a sudden or complete removal of sanctions on North Korea but to do so gradually through a process of diplomacy and negot

Foreign AffairsMarch 9, 2021

S. Korea, US reached 'fair' agreement on defense cost-sharing: S. Korean negotiator

South Korea and the United States have reached a "fair" agreement on the sharing of the cost to maintain US troops on the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean diplomat said Monday. Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul's top negotiator in cost-sharing talks, said specific details of the new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) are still subject to internal reviews. "We did our utmost. I wish to say we have reached an agreement between South Korea and the United States that is reasonable and fair and is a

Foreign AffairsMarch 9, 2021

US reaches consensus on new 'six-year' SMA with S. Korea: State Dept. spokesman

The new defense cost-sharing agreement between South Korea and the United States will be effective for six years if signed, a spokesman for the US State Department said Monday. The first detail of the agreement came one day after the countries said they have reached a consensus on the agreement that will set South Korea's share of the burden in maintaining US troops on the Korean Peninsula. "The United States and Republic of Korea negotiators did reach a consensus on a proposed text of a

Foreign AffairsMarch 9, 2021

S. Korea, EU vow cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine supplies

South Korea and the European Union (EU) on Monday agreed to step up cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine supplies, with the EU pledging to smoothly supply vaccines to Seoul. The agreement was made in a telephone conversation between South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement. South Korea and the EU agreed to maintain their partnership in trade, investment, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, according t

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2021

New virus cases under 400 on less testing; potential resurgence still worrisome

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 400 on Monday apparently due to less testing over the weekend, but health authorities remained wary of a potential resurgence as outdoor activity increases due to warmer weather. The country reported 346 more COVID-19 cases, including 335 local infections, raising the total caseload to 92,817, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections had been above 400 for two consecutive days, with 418 cases Satur

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2021

Moon urges prosecution-police cooperation in probe of land speculation scandal

President Moon Jae-in called Monday for systemic cooperation between the prosecution service and the police in looking into the current land speculation scandal involving employees at the state housing corporation, Cheong Wa Dae said. "All administrative and investigative power that the country has should be mobilized. We must not let the people down," he was quoted as saying in his closing statement during a session to receive policy briefings from the Ministry of Justice and the Min

PoliticsMarch 8, 2021

[#WeFACE] S. Korea’s ambitious climate goals need ‘road map’: EU ambassador to Korea

Last year South Korea pledged to invest more in clean energy and green infrastructure, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 -- ambitious climate goals for one of the world’s key emitters. It is time for Korea to turn its words into action by devising a concrete road map and bringing an end to financing for overseas coal plants, according to the top representative of the European Union here. “In less than a year, Korea politically committed to doing a lot of things for climate,

Diplomatic CircuitMarch 8, 2021

No link found yet between COVID-19 vaccines and deaths: KDCA

South Korean public health authorities said Monday that they had yet to find any evidence that COVID-19 vaccines played a role in eight deaths that had occurred among newly vaccinated people. Jung Eun-kyeong, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency commissioner, told a news briefing that its investigations so far had found no link between the vaccines and the deaths. For three more vaccinated people who died in the past day, investigations will proceed swiftly, she said. Jung said th

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2021

PM orders creation of police-led team over LH scandal

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Monday ordered the creation of a police-led investigative team to get to the bottom of a massive land speculation scandal involving public officials. Chung gave the order to Nam Gu-jun, the inaugural chief of the National Office of Investigation (NOI) under the National Police Agency, during a meeting in which Nam briefed the prime minister on the police's own investigation plans regarding the issue. The scandal centers on allegations that more than a dozen emp

PoliticsMarch 8, 2021

7 Thais nabbed for allegedly trafficking meth disguised as vitamins

JEONJU -- A group of Thai nationals has been apprehended for allegedly smuggling narcotics worth tens of millions of dollars into South Korea, local police said Monday. The Jeonbuk Police Agency said they were investigating seven illegal immigrants from Thailand on charges of trafficking some 5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 10,000 tablets of "ya ba," a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, and selling them to fellow Thais working in South Korea from September. The drugs we

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2021

Constitutional Court dismisses motion by embattled former judge to veto justice in impeachment trial

The Constitutional Court on Monday rejected a request by retired judge Lim Seong-geun to exclude a particular justice from his impeachment trial. Lim filed the motion that the court should except Justice Lee Suk-tae from the upcoming trial, questioning Lee's capability to render a fair and impartial verdict, given his former legal activities. The eight justices of the court unanimously decided that there were not "objective circumstances" to accept the request. Lim was impeached las

PoliticsMarch 8, 2021

Moon says state prosecutors have yet to gain public trust

President Moon Jae-in called on the state prosecution service Monday to earn public trust, saying the separation of its rights to investigate crimes and indict suspects is necessary to reform the prosecution. The prosecution should be able to assure the public that the exercise of its rights is fair, not arbitrary or selective, he stressed. There has been no improvement, however, in public confidence in the prosecution's impartiality despite efforts by most prosecutors, he added. The presiden

PoliticsMarch 8, 2021

Lawmaker eyes tougher penalties for public officials' land speculation based on inside info

A progressive lawmaker said Monday she will push for a law revision in collaboration with two civic groups to toughen punishment of public officials who use inside information to speculate on land that is under review or chosen for a state housing project. Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, former head of the minor opposition Justice Party, and two civic groups -- People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Lawyers for a Democratic Society -- announced the plan to revise the Special Act on Public Ho

PoliticsMarch 8, 2021

S. Korea tipped to OK AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s

South Korea's health authorities are likely to approve AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and older this week following the publication of new data overseas showing effectiveness. An independent panel under the health ministry has concluded that the AstraZeneca vaccine is OK for older people, following in the footsteps of several European countries that reversed decisions on the two-dose regimen developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University f

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2021

Korea, US reach accord on troop cost sharing

South Korea and the US have reached an agreement on how much Seoul should shoulder for hosting US troops here, both countries announced Monday, ending years of standoff over the thorny issue.   　 A major breakthrough to the talks on renewing the Special Measures Agreement, the pact that governs the upkeep of US Forces Korea, came amid three days of face-to-face meetings on Sunday in Washington, led by Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul’s chief negotiator, and his US counterpart, Donna Welton. &nb

Foreign AffairsMarch 8, 2021

S. Korea confirms 20 more cases of COVID-19 variants, total now at 182

South Korea has confirmed 20 more cases of contagious variants of the new coronavirus, bringing the total to 182, according to health authorities Monday amid concerns that the variants may worsen the country's virus battle. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the 20 people were confirmed to have been infected with three kinds of variants that are known to be more transmissible over the past week. Of them, nine people were local infections, all South Korean nationals, an

Social AffairsMarch 8, 2021