Moon to hold video call with 8 citizens on Lunar New Year holiday

President Moon Jae-in will talk with eight South Korean citizens via a popular mobile messenger app on the occasion of the Lunar New Year holiday this week, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. The video call scheduled for Thursday is part of Moon's stated efforts to rev up "direct public communication," as the people are going through difficulties from the COVID-19 crisis. Moon has set "recovery, inclusiveness and resurgence" as key policy goals of 2021. The eight, selected to repr

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

Couple arrested for inflicting fatal abuse on live-in niece

A couple from Yongin, just south of Seoul, has been put under emergency arrest for allegedly having maltreated their live-in niece to death, police said Tuesday. The man and his wife, both in their 40s, are accused of having beaten their 10-year-old niece with a plastic broom and other objects and repeatedly throwing her into their home bathtub until she stopped breathing Monday. According to the Yongin Dongbu Police Station, the girl lost consciousness after being forcibly put in and out of b

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

Caution remains high as new cases jumps back above 300

Local authorities remain cautious over a potential uptick in virus cases as South Korea approaches its second Lunar New Year holiday under COVID-19 pandemic. While the daily addition of new cases has been staying comparatively low for the past week, officials are keen on preventing people from traveling across regions this week as possibilities still remain high for the virus to stay strong during and after the holiday weekend. The government has also remained vigilant on maintaining its antiv

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

Moon strives to win back public support in polls

President Moon Jae-in, whose job approval rating fell again this week, is striving to win back public support, making more frequent on-site contact with the public ahead of the Lunar New Year’s holiday that starts Thursday. According to a recent poll by Realmeter on Monday, his approval rating marked 39.3 percent, down 3.2 percentage points from a week ago. The fall came after his approval bounced back starting this year to remain in the 40 percent range for weeks. Realmeter said polit

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

26 more cases of COVID-19 variants confirmed, total now at 80

South Korea's health authorities said Tuesday they have identified 26 more cases of COVID-19 variants, vowing to step up monitoring on foreign arrivals to better detect potential cases. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 24 people were confirmed to have been infected with the variant from Britain, while one person was infected with the South African variant and another with the one from Brazil. Among them, four were domestically infected cases after coming in contact w

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

Negotiations under way with Indonesia over fighter jet project: official

South Korea is in talks with Indonesia about a joint project to develop a next-generation fighter jet, the head of the arms procurement agency said Tuesday, amid speculation that the Southeast Asian nation wants to quit the project. Indonesia agreed to partner in South Korea's KF-X project aimed at developing a new fighter jet by 2026, and promised to shoulder 20 percent of the total development cost of 8.8 trillion won ($7.3 billion), or about 1.7 trillion won. But Indonesia stopped making pa

DefenseFeb. 9, 2021

Ruling party speeds up efforts to weaken prosecution’s power

The ruling Democratic Party is speeding up the process of weakening the power of the prosecution. Now it is moving to create a new investigative agency, on the heels of the establishment of an agency to investigate corruption. On Tuesday, 14 lawmakers led by Rep. Hwang Woon-ha of the ruling party proposed a bill to create an investigative agency tentatively called the serious criminal investigation agency, which would be dedicated to investigating serious crimes -- currently the purview of the

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

Over 60% of S. Korean youth say unification with NK necessary: survey

Over six out of 10 South Korean youth think that unification with North Korea is necessary, a survey showed Tuesday. In a survey conducted by the education and unification ministries on 68,750 students enrolled in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide from Nov. 2-30 of last year, 62.4 percent said that the two Koreas need to reunify. The finding marks a 6.9 percentage point jump from a similar poll conducted a year ago. Among students who saw the need for unification, 28.4 percent cit

North KoreaFeb. 9, 2021

Culture minister nominee vows efforts to recover COVID-19-hit culture, sports, tourism sectors

Culture Minister nominee Hwang Hee pledged efforts Tuesday to help recover the culture, sports and tourism sectors hit particularly hard by the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Those who work in the culture, sports and tourism fields have been under bigger and graver pain from the COVID-19 pandemic," the nominee said in his speech to the parliamentary culture committee during a confirmation hearing. "I will pour my utmost efforts to helping them recover rapidly if I am appointed

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

Prosecutors drop charge against top prosecutor over illegal surveillance of judges

Prosecutors dropped a charge on Tuesday against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl that he ordered the illegal surveillance of judges hearing politically sensitive cases. The Seoul High Prosecutors Office said it concluded that the abuse of power accusation against Yoon was unfounded, after questioning multiple people involved in the case and going over similar cases. The Ministry of Justice in February ordered the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) to investigate the allegation. The SPO later re

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

NK leader blasts self-protectionism in assembly

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chastised self-protectionism and the passiveness of state agencies during a full session of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party on Monday, Pyongyang’s state media said Tuesday. The meeting was convened to discuss economic projects for this year, the first of its five-year national development plan presented at the eighth party congress held early last month, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said. Kim presided over the meeting, dur

North KoreaFeb. 9, 2021

USFK live-fire exercise suspended amid residents' complaints

A planned live-fire exercise involving Apache attack helicopters of the US Forces Korea has been suspended following noise and other complaints from residents near the firing range in the southeastern city of Pohang, officials said. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said the drill, which had been scheduled to begin on Tuesday and continue until next month, will be suspended while a mediation procedure is under way with residents near the Suseong firing range in Pohang. "As t

DefenseFeb. 9, 2021

[Newsmaker] Arrest warrant denied for ex-energy minister on nuclear reactor closure

A local court on Tuesday rejected an arrest warrant for former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Un-gyu for his role in the controversial closure of South Korea’s second-oldest nuclear reactor. The Daejeon District Court on Tuesday denied the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant made Thursday against Paik on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of business. The court said the prosecution’s arguments are insufficient to prove Paik’s criminal involve

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

Ministry hopes for early resumption of Kaesong complex as it marks anniversary of shutdown

The unification ministry on Tuesday expressed hope for the early reopening of a now-shuttered industrial complex in North Korea's border town of Kaesong as it marks the fifth anniversary of its closure amid chilled inter-Korean relations. South Korea closed the Kaesong Industrial Complex in February 2016 in retaliation against the North's nuclear and missile provocations. The Kaesong complex had been considered one of the most tangible symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation. "The governme

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

N. Korea continues wintertime drills, no unusual moves ahead of late leader's birthday: JCS

North Korea has been conducting regular wintertime military drills without showing any unusual moves ahead of the birthday of late leader Kim Jong-il, the South Korean military said Tuesday. North Korea celebrated the 73rd anniversary Monday of the foundation of its army and has another key national holiday coming up, which is the Feb. 16 birthday of its late leader, the father of current leader Kim Jong-un. "North Korea's military is continuing wintertime exercises and has not shown any

North KoreaFeb. 9, 2021

S. Korea implements tougher rules on animal abuse, pet owners

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to implement revised rules on animal abuse this week that center on tougher punishment and more regulations on pet owners. Starting Friday, those who slaughter animals cruelly will face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of 30 million won ($26,840), according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It compares with the previous ceiling of two years. Owners of fierce dogs are obligated to purchase insurance packages, and violators will

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

PM calls for virus rules cooperation amid backlash from small merchants

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday asked for the public's cooperation with the government's antivirus measures amid a backlash from small business owners in the greater Seoul area over stricter rules imposed on them than those in other regions. "We ask for your participation in the spirit of the greater good and cooperation. We understand the underlying emotions, but it is a decision reached under comprehensive consideration of the transmission risk and social receptiveness," Ch

PoliticsFeb. 9, 2021

[Graphic News] Number of cattle in S. Korea grows 3.9% in Q4

　The number of cattle in South Korea rose nearly 4 percent in the fourth quarter of the year on increased beef consumption, government data showed. 　Asia‘s fourth-largest economy had 3.36 million cattle, including Korean-breed cattle known as “hanwoo,“ as of Dec. 1, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　It represents the largest-ever fourth-quarter tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1983. 　The fou

NationalFeb. 9, 2021

S. Korea to start COVID-19 vaccinations on Feb. 26

South Korea will start vaccinating its population against COVID-19 on Feb. 26 if final approval for the use of AstraZeneca's vaccine for elderly people is made this week, health authorities said Tuesday. The announcement by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency came as the nation reported a slight rise in daily coronavirus cases, with authorities still on high alert ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. It was the first time that the KDCA set a start date for the vaccinations, rais

Social AffairsFeb. 9, 2021

Seoul's calls for concessions to N. Korea may create tension with US: CRS

WASHINGTON -- South Korea's push for concessions to North Korea may continue to create tension in US-South Korea relations, a US congressional report said. The updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on South Korea noted policy coordination between Seoul and Washington had been "inconsistent" under former US President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden, on the other hand, is "reinvigorating the alliance, suggesting he would abandon President Trump's repeated use of pu

North KoreaFeb. 9, 2021