South Korea, Uzbekistan agree to begin free trade talks

President Moon Jae-in and his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, declared the kickoff of free trade talks between the two countries to further strengthen their strategic partnership during an online summit Thursday. Uzbekistan is one of the key partners in the South Korean government’s New Northern Policy, which aims to explore ways to step up economic cooperation with Central Asian countries under a vision of peace and prosperity in Eurasia. If the pact, called the Agreement for Su

Foreign AffairsJan. 28, 2021

Korea unveils plans to raise healthy life expectancy by 2030

South Korea has unveiled plans to promote healthy lifestyles in order to help extend one’s period of prime health by three years, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. The ministry said it has earmarked a 2.5 trillion-won budget to carry out a comprehensive blueprint to promote public health, which will be implemented from this year through 2030. Korea’s life expectancy recorded 82.7 years in 2018, exceeding the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s ave

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

South confident of missile defense against North

South Korea stands fully capable of countering the latest short-range missiles that North Korea has test-fired, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday. Speaking at a New Year’s press conference, Suh highlighted Seoul’s missile defense, saying it could bring down even some of Pyongyang’s untested new missiles. The military is seeking a foolproof shield against the remaining missiles, Suh said. “Our defense is airtight and we’re superior. We hav

DefenseJan. 28, 2021

Restaurants, internet cafes demand longer opening hours, compensation

Owners of restaurants, internet cafes and other small businesses called on the government Thursday to extend their opening hours and compensate their losses amid ongoing restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. At a press conference outside the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, leaders of small business groups said the government's social distancing rules have pushed many shops to the brink of closure, as most are required to close at 9 p.m. and bars and nightclubs are subject to an as

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

Moon vows no let-up in fight against corruption

President Moon Jae-in pointed out Thursday that South Korea's yearslong campaign to root out corruption has won a positive assessment from the international community, citing an annual survey of Transparency International. In its updated report on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the country ranked 33rd, up from 39th last year. "The international community's assessment of the transparency and integrity of our society has greatly improved," Moon wrote on his social messaging ac

PoliticsJan. 28, 2021

Ministry busts misleading cosmetics ads

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has found hundreds of advertisements falsely promoting certain cosmetics as the answer to skin troubles caused by wearing a face mask everywhere during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Altogether, 413 websites have been found to be in violation of the Cosmetics Act because of misleading or exaggerated advertisements, the Drug Ministry said Thursday. The pages have been shut down. According to the ministry, 318 of the sites advertised their cosmetics as if t

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

Minor party leader found guilty of forging internship certificate for ex-justice minister's son

The chief of a minor opposition party was convicted Thursday of forging an internship certificate for the son of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Rep. Choe Kang-wook of the Open Democratic Party to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of obstruction of business. If the ruling is finalized, Choe would lose his parliamentary seat. "The defendant's criminal act cannot be taken lightly as it undermines the fairness of the schoo

PoliticsJan. 28, 2021

7 US service members, one dependent test positive for COVID-19

Seven American service members and one dependent have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea this month, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday. Six of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights while the other service member and the dependent arrived on commercial flights via Incheon International airport, west of the capital, according to the US military. Five of them tested pos

DefenseJan. 28, 2021

What is cheapest option for Lunar New Year grocery shopping?

Traditional markets are the cheapest option for grocery shopping for the upcoming Lunar New Year’s holiday, recent data showed, with food prices skyrocketing due to unusual weather patterns and the spread of bird flu. An average four-member household in South Korea can expect to spend about 240,700 won ($215) on groceries for the “charye” table at a traditional market, up 16.4 percent from last year, according to data collected by Korea Price Information. At a big supermarke

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

Gyeonggi Province plan to offer 100,000 won in cash relief, explained

Gyeonggi Provincial Government said Thursday that it will offer 100,000 won ($89) in emergency cash payouts to all registered residents, including foreigners, starting on Feb. 1, as part of efforts to help cope with the COVID-19 economic fallout. Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung said at an online press briefing that now is “the right time” to distribute relief funds given the devastating economic situation and the slowing infection rate.  Q. Who is eligible for the

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

[News Focus] South Korea No. 5 in relative income poverty: OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea has placed No. 5 in an indicator for relative income poverty among 33 countries, according to report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the French-based organization’s analysis of 2019 figures or the latest available data, it put the poverty rate at 16.7 percent for Korea. The OECD defines the poverty rate as the ratio of the number of people whose income falls below half of the national’s median household income. It made Korea t

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

Politics gets uglier as lawmakers on all sides face harassment claims

It has been harassment after harassment this week, with an opposition lawmaker using a “royal concubine” reference as she disparaged another female legislator, just a day after a progressive party leader was sacked for sexual misconduct against a fellow lawmaker. Adding to the series of disclosures, criminal actions, apologies and ensuing uproar was the accusation that the main opposition party leader made inappropriate physical contact on a reporter’s body as he pushed her ou

PoliticsJan. 28, 2021

High-profile N. Korean defector leaves for US for congressional hearing on anti-leaflet law

A vocal North Korean defector activist has left for the United States for a congressional hearing on a controversial bill South Korea recently passed to ban the sending of anti-North Korea leaflets, his lawyer said Thursday. Park Sang-hak, a North Korean defector who runs Fighters for a Free North Korea, flew to Washington on Wednesday to attend the hearing that Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is seeking to convene to discuss the anti-leafleting law. "Park left for the US yesterday for the purpos

North KoreaJan. 28, 2021

Here’s how S. Korea plans to get to herd immunity by November

The South Korean government on Thursday unveiled its long-awaited plan for vaccinating the public, with the rollout set to kick off in a few weeks. The first doses will be offered to front-line health care workers in the Seoul area, where the active outbreaks have been concentrated, starting next month. From March, older adults and workers at long-term care homes and other congregate settings and first responders, including contact tracers, will be getting the jabs. Next in line are adults ag

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

Coronavirus cluster from missionary group spreading nationwide

A coronavirus cluster originating from a local Christian missionary group called the International Mission (IM) appears to be spreading nationwide, as officials said Thursday as many as 340 people have been infected so far. According to local governments, 41 IM-related educational and research facilities in 13 metropolitan cities and provinces reported 269 COVID-19 cases out of their combined membership of 866 as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, marking an infection rate of 31.1 percent. The Internationa

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

ASEAN-Korea Centre recognizes 10 winners of 2020 essay contest

The ASEAN-Korea Centre presented awards on Wednesday to 10 winners of the 2020 ASEAN-Korea Academic Essay Contest. The contest, jointly organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre, the Korea National Diplomatic Academy’s Center for ASEAN-India Studies and the Center for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia, received 112 entries from students throughout the ASEAN region and South Korea from August to November last year. The topic was promoting digital partnership between ASEAN countries

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

Man seeks compensation for spending 20 yrs in prison on wrongful murder conviction

A man has asked a court to compensate him for serving a prison term after he was wrongfully convicted of raping and killing a girl more than two decades ago, judicial sources said Thursday. According to the sources, Yoon Seong-yeo filed the claim on Monday with the Suwon District Court, south of Seoul, seeking more than 2.5 billion won ($2.25 million) in compensation for spending 20 years in prison on the wrongful murder conviction of a 13-year-old girl in 1989. The 54-year-old was arrested on

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

S. Korea to expand in-person classes and care programs at schools

South Korea will expand the proportion of in-person classes and improve the quality of online learning and child care programs so that the new academic year can proceed without delays, the Ministry of Education announced Thursday. The Education Ministry said the country’s new school year will kick off as scheduled in March and provide more than 190 class days for elementary, middle and high school students and over 180 days for those in kindergarten. The move will also allow Korea to car

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021

New justice minister begins term with visit to detention center

New Justice Minister Park Beom-kye began his term Thursday by visiting a correctional facility at the center of a recent COVID-19 outbreak. During the visit to Dongbu Detention Center in southeastern Seoul, Park told reporters that he chose the facility as his first stop because the public's welfare depends on controlling the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm worried that the virus situation is getting worse again after getting better," he said. "I plan to focus judicial administration

PoliticsJan. 28, 2021

Parking not fine: Abandoned cars cause Incheon Airport headache

On top of the crisis posed by the pandemic, Incheon Airport has another headache: A growing number of apparently abandoned vehicles in the airport parking lot, with one such car there for seven years. The number of such cars has doubled in the past year. Because long-term parking is not illegal in most airports, the process of disposing abandoned vehicles is not simple. According to the Incheon International Airport Corp. on Wednesday, some 48 vehicles have been in the airport parking lot fo

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2021