Eating at cinemas, indoor sports facilities to be allowed from next week: PM

Eating inside movie theaters, indoor gyms and religious facilities will be permitted starting next week, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, following the government's lifting of social distancing restrictions earlier this week. Eating on trains and express buses will also be allowed as the government further eased COVID-19 curbs comes as part of efforts to return to normal life. "The average daily number of virus cases has declined about 40 percent from a week ago, while the downward

PoliticsApril 22, 2022

Yoon asks biz sector to make efforts to host World Expo 2030 in Busan

BUSAN/SEOUL -- President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday asked South Korean business leaders to work together to ensure the country's port city of Busan can win the bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Yoon made the call in a meeting with senior executives of major South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung, Hyundai and SK, at the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Yoon asked the business sector to play an "active role" in helping Busan win the bid. The participants agreed to work to

PoliticsApril 22, 2022

Japan's foreign ministry keeps Dokdo claim in annual policy report

TOKYO -- Japan's foreign ministry reiterated its assertion that Dokdo, a set of rocky islets in the East Sea, belong to the country in its first annual report on foreign policy and activities under the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The claim, strongly disputed by South Korea that has long maintained effective control of Dokdo with the permanent stationing of security personnel there, was included in the 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook that was reported to the Cabinet by Foreign Minist

Foreign AffairsApril 22, 2022

Military to resume reserve forces' field training on eased COVID-19 rules

South Korea's military will partially resume a field training program for the country's reserve forces in June, the defense ministry said Friday, in line with eased COVID-19 social distancing rules. The annual field training for the 2.75 million-strong local reserve forces was called off for the first time in 52 years in 2020 due to the pandemic. Reservists had been required to undergo a training session every year for one to three days. Effective June 2, they will be called to participate in fi

DefenseApril 22, 2022

New virus cases below 100,000 for 2nd day amid slowdown of omicron spread

South Korea reported fewer than 100,000 coronavirus cases for two days in a row on Friday as the omicron variant apparently is receding. The country added 81,058 new COVID-19 infections, including 15 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,755,055, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The new tally is down more than 44,000 cases, or around 36 percent, from a week ago and marks the lowest number for Friday since Feb. 18, as the highly contagious omicron vari

Social AffairsApril 22, 2022

Transition team emphasizes denuclearization as Moon, Kim exchange letters

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team called Friday for "peace and prosperity through denuclearization" after revelations that President Moon Jae-in exchanged letters with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "I believe it is a great cause of people to achieve peace and prosperity through denuclearization," a transition team official said, commenting on the exchange of letters between Moon and Kim. According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim

PoliticsApril 22, 2022

Cheong Wa Dae confirms exchange of letters with NK leader

The office of President Moon Jae-in on Friday confirmed an exchange of letters between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said Cheong Wa Dae plans to brief the media on the letters. According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim received a letter from Moon on Wednesday and sent a reply letter the next day. The KCNA said Moon and Kim held the same view that inter-Korean relations would "improve and develop" if the

PoliticsApril 22, 2022

US only seeks 'peaceful' denuclearization of Korean Peninsula: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is seeking to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula but only through dialogue and diplomacy, a Department of State spokesperson said Thursday. Ned Price, however, reiterated that the US will continue to hold the North to account over its recent missile provocations. "Our goal is to achieve that ultimate objective -- the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula -- through diplomacy and dialogue. That is what we have consistently put forward,&qu

Foreign AffairsApril 22, 2022

Reducing military exercises for dialogue with N. Korea a proven path to failure: Harris

WASHINGTON -- The United States and South Korea must not reduce their joint military drills just to bring North Korea back to the dialogue table, former US ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Thursday, calling it a "proven path to failure." He also dismissed the call for an end of Korean War declaration long advocated by the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration. "I think the current administration in South Korea took us down a wrong path. So far this year, North Korea has

Foreign AffairsApril 22, 2022

[News Focus] Plans for new presidential residence raise concerns

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is reviewing the foreign minister’s residence as a new candidate to use as the presidential residence, after finding that the initial choice, the residence of the Army chief of staff, would cost too much to renovate. But with the change in decision coming less than three weeks before the presidential inauguration, it has been met with public criticisms for being “helter-skelter” in handling the relocation. As the official residence of the forei

PoliticsApril 21, 2022

Internal feud erupts within Democratic Party over prosecution reform bill

Facing immense opposition from almost all sides, cracks are emerging within the Democratic Party of Korea among its legislators over the controversial prosecution reform bill. Rep. Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, on Thursday requested a plenary session of the National Assembly to be held Friday to pass proposed revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act and the Prosecutors’ Office Act. The request comes as the party seeks to pass the bill that would strip the prosecutio

PoliticsApril 21, 2022

Morning rush hour interrupted by subway mayhem

Protests by disabled activists, together with a train breakdown, caused massive subway disruptions during morning rush hour on Thursday. The rallies began at around 7 a.m. at the Gyeongbokgung Station on subway line No.3. and City Hall Station on line No. 2. Seoul Metro, which operates the affected lines, said the protests caused delays of up to one hour and 12 minutes to subway operations. Police said Thursday they will hold the protestors accountable for the illegal protests and hindering

Social AffairsApril 21, 2022

Moon administration, Yoon transition team at odds over ending COVID-19 rules

The outgoing Moon Jae-in administration and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team are at odds over the future of South Korea’s COVID-19 policy. The Moon administration’s COVID-19 response headquarters announced last week that starting April 25, COVID-19 will cease to be the most high-consequence infectious disease under Korea’s classification. The headquarters said as the disease’s legal status changes, all pandemic-related restrictions will be terminate

Social AffairsApril 21, 2022

Return to school greeted with excitement, hesitation

Plans to bring pre-pandemic normalcy to schools across the country in May are being met with both excitement and worry. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education announced the “back to normal” guidelines that will see schools in Korea resume normal operations beginning May 1. Under the new guidelines, kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools will reintroduce both academic and extracurricular activities, halting online classes, dropping self-testing routines and arrangin

Social AffairsApril 21, 2022

Crypto theft becomes ‘fundamental’ to N.Korea’s illicit financing activities: UN expert

North Korean state-sponsored cryptocurrency theft has become a “fundamental part” of the country’s illicit financing activities to fund its nuclear and missile programs, a United Nations independent expert said on Wednesday, urging the international community to reinforce its sanctions framework and regulations to block cyber financial crime. Eric Penton-Voak, a coordinator at the UN Security Council’s Panel of Experts (PoE) which monitors enforcement of sanctions on No

North KoreaApril 21, 2022

Shinzo Abe visits controversial shrine, sparks fury in Seoul

Japanese former and current prime ministers showing respect to a shrine housing a number of war criminals is fanning controversy in Korea as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s delegation to Tokyo is set to depart Sunday. On Thursday, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Yasukuni Shrine, which includes the enshrinement of Class A war criminals. This is his sixth visit since resigning from office. At Yasukuni Shrine, 14 Class A war criminals of the Pacific War, including Hideki T

PoliticsApril 21, 2022

Moon formally appoints new BOK chief

President Moon Jae-in formally appointed a former veteran International Monetary Fund official, Rhee Chang-yong, as new head of the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday after the National Assembly adopted a report on his confirmation hearing. Rhee, former director of the Asia and Pacific department at the IMF, was nominated last month to succeed former BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, whose term ended on March 31. During a parliamentary hearing, Rhee said the BOK will continue to tighten its monetary policy to

PoliticsApril 21, 2022

[Feature] Not feeling yourself yet after infection?

For some people, full recovery from COVID-19 is frustratingly elusive. Many suffer with lingering symptoms, ranging from dry cough, muscle weakness to depression, weeks or even months after the infection.  Dubbed as Long COVID, or post-COVID-19 syndrome, this is a growing concern as South Korea breathes a sigh of relief, past the omicron surge. According to a survey conducted between March 21 and April 11 on 748 patients infected with the virus by Myongji Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Pr

Social AffairsApril 21, 2022

NK propaganda organs slam ongoing S. Korea-US military drills

North Korean propaganda organs on Thursday slammed the annual combined military training between South Korea and the United States, labeling it as preparation for war, while the Kim Jong-un regime has made no formal response yet. Earlier this week, South Korea and the United States kicked off their combined springtime military training that does not include any field troop maneuvers. It is to run through next Thursday. "This is a reckless, dangerous play with fires of war and a clear exerci

North KoreaApril 21, 2022

[Graphic News] Number of male victims of digital sex crimes doubles last year

　The number of male victims of digital sex crimes compiled by a state support agency doubled last year from the previous year, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said. 　The Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center extended assistance to 1,843 male victims in 2021, marking a near twofold increase from 926 in the previous year, the ministry said. 　The spike in the number of male victims of digital sex crimes is attributed to the rising prevalence of illegal photographing and filming,

NationalApril 21, 2022