Search under way for fishing boat off eastern coast

POHANG -- The South Korean Coast Guard was searching for a fishing boat with six crew members aboard Friday after it made a distress call in choppy seas off the southeastern coast. The Pohang Coast Guard said it received a report at 6:49 p.m. that the 9.77-ton crab fishing boat was flooding in waters some 42 kilometers east of Gyeongju. Six crew members -- three South Koreans, two Vietnamese and one Korean-Chinese -- were aboard, officials said.   The Coast Guard and the Navy dispat

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

200 old Japanese maps define Dokdo as Korean territory

As many as 200 ancient Japanese maps have been confirmed to mark Dokdo in the East Sea as Korean territory, a government-funded foundation here said Friday. 　 The Dokdo Foundation said it has secured the undisputed evidence to deny Tokyo‘s territorial claim to Dokdo after examining some 1,000 old maps owned by various local institutions, including the National Assembly Library, the Northeast Asian History Foundation and the National Map Museum run by the National Geographic Information Ins

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Coronavirus field inspections due at foreigner-dense workplaces

Quarantine authorities are to conduct intensive coronavirus field inspections at foreigner-dense areas and workplaces and other places deemed highly vulnerable to the pandemic, a government agency said Friday, after recent outbreaks of virus clusters at factories. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, about 1,000 places nationwide, including industrial plants, large-scale workplaces and construction sites, will be subject to such field inspections from Monday

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Hundreds of cafe, restaurant owners sue govt. over COVID-19 losses

More than 200 owners of cafes and restaurants sued the government on Friday over losses caused by COVID-19 business restrictions. The plaintiffs -- 170 cafe owners and 70 restaurant owners -- said they are seeking 1.2 billion won ($1.08 million) in compensation from the government. The lawsuit, which was filed with the Seoul Central District Court, is the second of its kind. The first one was lodged last month by a group of 358 coffee shop owners seeking 5 million won each. "Ever since t

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Supreme Court chief justice apologizes, but refuses to quit

Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su apologized again Friday for lying about his alleged role in the recent impeachment of a senior judge as he faces growing heat from opposition lawmakers to step down. "I give my deep apology for causing grave disappointment and concerns with my uncareful reply," the chief justice said in a post uploaded in the intranet for judges and court employees. This marks his second apology over the controversy after the first one issued early this mont

PoliticsFeb. 19, 2021

N. Korea appoints former trade minister as ambassador to China

North Korea has appointed a former trade minister as the new ambassador to China, the country's foreign ministry said Friday, in what appears to be aimed at strengthening economic ties with its closest ally. Ri Ryong-nam, 61, replaced Ji Jae-ryong, who has served as top envoy in Beijing since 2010, according to a posting on the official website of the ministry. Ri is known for his expertise on trade and the economy as he worked as trade minister in 2008 and as external economic affairs ministe

North KoreaFeb. 19, 2021

Gay couple sues state health insurer over canceled coverage

A gay couple has sued the state health insurer for canceling its coverage of one of the partners as a dependent, an activist group said Friday. So Seong-wook and his partner Kim Yong-min filed the administrative lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) with the Seoul Administrative Court on Thursday, according to the Korean Network for Partnership and Marriage Rights of LGBT. The NHIS first granted So coverage under Kim's employer-based health insurance program in February

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Kolon Life executives acquitted of falsifying data of gene therapy drug

Two Kolon Life Science executives were acquitted Friday of involvement in the company's allegedly fraudulent report on a key ingredient in its gene therapy drug. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the ruling to the drugmaker's two executives, surnamed Cho and Kim, who were indicted on charges that included fraud related to the company's suspected illegalities in the development and sales of Invossa, a cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis. But the court separately ordered Cho, a s

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

S. Korea makes final check on vaccine deployment plan in mock drill

South Korea carried out a final government-wide mock drill Friday for the planned transport of COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the beginning of the inoculation program next week, the defense ministry said. Earlier this month, health authorities and related agencies conducted the first mock drill at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, for the transport of the foreign-made Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Friday's second and final rehearsal focused on transporting the AstraZeneca's vaccine, to be p

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Sejong University cleared of corruption allegations

Sejong University has been cleared of corruption charges, the institution said Friday. “All charges the Ministry of Education requested investigation on were dropped in December 2020,” the university said in a statement. “There were no violations of laws nor fall in profitability resulting from negligence by Daeyang Foundation board members,” it said, referring to the education institution that operates Sejong University. The university had been under investigation

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Two court officials arrested over attempt to rape, assault

Two court officials have recently been arrested in separate incidents this month on suspicion of attempting to rape a woman, and assaulting a karaoke owner in Seoul, police said. A drunk official in his 30s chased a woman into a restroom in a building in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where he then beat and attempted to rape the victim on Thursday, police said on Friday. The man, surnamed Kim, fled as the victim resisted and later was arrested by police. The police are investigating him on charges of at

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Moon says govt. open to special 'consolatory money' for Korean people over coronavirus damages

President Moon Jae-in floated the idea Friday of providing South Korean people with special "consolatory money" once the COVID-19 pandemic is overcome, according to his office. It was unveiled during his meeting with leaders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) at Cheong Wa Dae. The president was responding to the proposal of offering another batch of emergency cash handouts to support people and businesses against the fallout of the pandemic, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok sai

PoliticsFeb. 19, 2021

S. Korea exploring ways to help ease food shortage in N. Korea

South Korea is exploring various ways to provide food and fertilizer to North Korea in humanitarian assistance as Pyongyang is believed to be faced with worsening food shortages, the unification ministry said Friday. On Thursday, Unification Minister Lee In-young told lawmakers that the North appears to be faced with a food shortage of about 1.2 million to 1.3 million tons this year mainly due to damage from last year's heavy downpours. "Our position remains the same that humanitarian iss

North KoreaFeb. 19, 2021

Diplomats of S. Korea, US, Japan agree to closely cooperate on peninsula denuclearization, peace

Diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to closely cooperate to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula in video talks Friday, the foreign ministry said. Seoul's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, Sung Kim, acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Tokyo's foreign ministry, held the conversation to discuss North Korea-related issues.

Foreign AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

2 Army soldiers, Marine test positive for COVID-19

Two Army soldiers and a Marine have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Friday. The Marine was confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 in a test required before returning to his unit in the city of Gimpo, west of Seoul, after vacationing in the central city of Boryeong, according to the ministry. In Boryeong, a full-time reservist soldier tested positive following direct contact with another person who contracted the virus. An Army officer based in Hwaseon

DefenseFeb. 19, 2021

PM points to severity of pandemic, vows all-out response for swift containment

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday that authorities saw the current state of the pandemic in the nation as being severe and pledged to swiftly deal with the crisis with the government's full capabilities. "Experts are warning that the worst may arrive if the latest growth trend cannot be quickly contained," Chung said during an interagency meeting on the COVID-19 response held at the government complex in Seoul. Chung added, "The government confronts the current situation

PoliticsFeb. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] Funeral of activist Paek Ki-wan draws thousands of mourners

A funeral ceremony took place early Friday for activist Paek Ki-wan, who devoted his life to the reunification of the two Koreas and many labor and social issues. Paek died at Seoul National University Hospital on Monday at age 88. He had battled complications of pneumonia for a year. Hundreds of mourners had been waiting outside the hospital, holding signs with the lyrics of "March for the Beloved," a famous pro-democracy movement anthem Paek wrote. They watched the vehicle carryin

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

Highly pathogenic bird flu cases in S. Korea nearing 100

The number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases in South Korea is nearing 100, with the prolonged battle against the animal disease set to further push up the price of poultry products. Two new cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza (AI) were reported from a duck farm in Goesan, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, and an egg farm in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Friday. On Friday, yet another suspected cas

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

New COVID-19 cases fall back in 500s; infections at workplaces on rise

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back to below 600 on Friday, while authorities are stepping up monitoring of manufacturing plants and hospitals to slow the rapid pace of virus transmission. The country reported 561 more COVID-19 cases, including 533 local infections, raising the total caseload to 86,128, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added six more deaths, raising the total to 1,550. Friday's caseload was down from the previous two day

Social AffairsFeb. 19, 2021

State Department says Japan's wartime sexual slavery an egregious violation of human rights

The US State Department said on Thursday that Japan's trafficking of women for sexual services during World War II was a serious violation of human rights, flatly contradicting a controversial claim by a Harvard professor that such women were rather voluntary prostitutes. "As the United States has stated many times, the trafficking of women for sexual purposes by the Japanese military during World War II was an egregious violation of human rights," a department spokesperson told Yonha

Foreign AffairsFeb. 19, 2021