US authorities lower COVID-19 travel alert on S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Monday shifted its travel advisory on South Korea to the lowest tier of Level 1, a sharp change from the highest warning of Level 4 that was issued in February. The announcement followed reports that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lowered its own travel recommendation on South Korea by a notch from the "Do Not Travel" level. South Korea is reportedly among around 90 nations and other regions that dropped to "Level 3:

Foreign AffairsApril 19, 2022

US will listen to N. Korea's concerns but only through dialogue: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States is willing to listen to any concerns North Korea may have but only if North Korea engages in dialogue, a Department of State spokesperson said Monday, urging Pyongyang to return to diplomacy. Ned Price also reiterated the North will continue to face consequences until it ceases its escalatory actions. "We are willing to listen to the full range of the DPRK's concerns, but this can only happen through dialogue and the DPRK has not yet given any concrete indica

Foreign AffairsApril 19, 2022

According to the law (1): Translation hiccups for foreigners in court

From international marriages, political asylum to run-ins with the law, there are a myriad of legal problems that foreign nationals can get embroiled in. The Korea Herald takes a look at some of the cases involving legal disputes of foreigners in South Korea. The following is the first installment of a three-part series. -- Ed. The Act on Citizen Participation in Criminal Trials, introduced in 2008, states that anyone, regardless of nationality, has a right to receive a jury trial. It states

Social AffairsApril 18, 2022

Nuclear envoys of South Korea, US condemn NK missile provocations

Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States condemned the series of missile tests by North Korea while urging the communist regime to return to the “path of dialogue,” in Seoul on Monday. South Korea’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk said he reaffirmed the strong alliance with the United States, with his US counterpart Sung Kim traveling to Seoul to discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula. “As North

Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2022

Two opposition parties merge. What are Ahn’s next moves?

The main opposition People Power Party and minor opposition People’s Party on Monday completed their merger, 47 days after President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and the presidential transition committee head Ahn Cheol-soo merged their campaigns during the election. The center-right People Party, which was created in February 2020 by Ahn after he left the Bareunmirae Party, was in effect absorbed by the larger People Power Party after two years and two months. The name of the party remains the

PoliticsApril 18, 2022

Cabinet nominees set to run the gauntlet as second nominee in crosshairs

The Democratic Party of Korea ratcheted up its attack on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s Cabinet nominations, raising allegations against a second nominee. Kim In-chul, the nominee for deputy prime minister and education minister, has been accused of improperly holding an additional position while he was president of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. According to Rep. Park Chan-dae from the Democratic Party, Kim worked as a nonexecutive director of Lotte Chemical, then Lotte

PoliticsApril 18, 2022

[Exclusive] No more prosecutorial investigations? Police brutality victim says more could suffer like him

A victim of police brutality, who was wrongfully convicted and served jail time in place of a serial killer, said taking the prosecution’s investigation powers away could lead more people to suffer in the same way. As a result of a false confession given in response to a coercive police interrogation, Yun Sung-yeo, 55, spent 20 years in jail on a wrongful conviction before he was released on parole in 2009. When the case was re-tried in 2020, the court overturned the conviction from 3

Social AffairsApril 18, 2022

S. Korea, US kick off military drills as N.Korea gears up for massive military parade

South Korea and the US on Monday kicked off their annual combined military exercise, while North Korea has begun its preparation for a massive military parade likely to be held during the training period “in earnest,” South Korean military officials said. Seoul and Washington decided to conduct the nine-day, springtime Combined Command Post Training in light of the overall circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining a combined defense posture. “The trainin

North KoreaApril 18, 2022

Appeasement policy for NK needs to change, foreign minister nominee says

It’s time for a new policy approach to North Korea from the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration’s Korean Peninsula Peace Process, Rep. Park Jin, the nominee for foreign minister, said Monday. Making his first trip to the preparation office for the parliamentary confirmation hearing, Park of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s People Power Party also denounced Pyongyang’s recent missile launches, calling them a threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula. “North Korea h

Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2022

Top prosecutors continue discussion on opposing prosecution reform bill

The leaders of six high prosecutors’ offices gathered on Monday morning to discuss response measures on the Democratic Party of Korea’s legislative push to strip investigative power from the prosecution, continuing the law enforcement agency’s vocal opposition to the controversial move. At 9:30 a.m. at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, the six senior prosecutors entered an undisclosed meeting held just 10 days after the last such meeting took

PoliticsApril 18, 2022

N. Korea urges tighter antivirus efforts against prolonged COVID-19 pandemic

North Korea called again for the country on Monday to step up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a message carried by a state-controlled main newspaper, stressing the need for officials to not let their guard down. It came on the day when South Korea removed all social distancing measures with the exception of the mask mandate, in a major move to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the Workers' Party of Korea, urged officials and party members to stay wary o

North KoreaApril 18, 2022

Arrest warrants to be sought for woman, boyfriend in drowning death of husband

Prosecutors sought formal arrest warrants Monday for a woman and her boyfriend who stand accused of causing the 2009 drowning death of the woman's husband for a hefty insurance payout, officials said. Lee Eun-hae, 31, and her extramarital lover, Cho Hyun-soo, 30, were detained Saturday on charges of prodding Lee's then 39-year-old husband to jump into a valley river in Gapyeong, 60 kilometers east of Seoul, even though he's unable to swim, and letting him drown. Investigators suspect they comm

Social AffairsApril 18, 2022

Malaysia drums up support for S. Korea's bid to join CPTPP

Malaysia on Monday expressed support for South Korea's bid to join a mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's trade ministry said. Malaysia's Senior Minister and International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali has voiced support for Seoul's envisioned entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) during a virtual meeting with South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo. Last week, South Korea announced its decision to join

Foreign AffairsApril 18, 2022

[Graphic News] Half of call center workers had suicidal thoughts due to poor labor conditions

　Almost half of call center workers have thought about taking their own lives due to poor labor conditions and extreme emotional labor, a state human rights watchdog survey showed. 　In the survey of 1,996 call center people conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea from August to October, 48 percent said they thought of killing themselves and 30 percent said they had the thought in the past year. 　As reasons for having suicidal thoughts, economic difficulty was cited the most

NationalApril 18, 2022

S. Korea's new cases at 10-week low; most virus restrictions lifted

South Korea's new coronavirus cases dipped to a 10-week low Monday as omicron began to recede and the country lifted most restrictions to move on from the COVID-19 pandemic. The country added 47,743 new COVID-19 infections, including 14 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 16,353,495, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The new tally is slightly fewer than the 49,546 reported Feb. 9 when the omicron variant started to rapidly spread across the country.

Social AffairsApril 18, 2022

1 dead, 1 injured in apartment fire in Seoul

A fire broke out at an apartment building in northern Seoul early Monday, leaving one dead and another injured, officials said. The fire started at 3:38 a.m. in a unit on the ninth floor of the 15-story building in Nowon Ward and was extinguished about 50 minutes later. One of the unit's residents, in her 50s, was found dead on-site, and the other resident, in his 20s, was sent to a nearby hospital after inhaling smoke and sustaining burns. About 60 other residents in the apartment evacuated on

Social AffairsApril 18, 2022

Pope urges peace for Ukraine in this 'Easter of war'

      VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Sunday called for peace in Ukraine during this "Easter of war" as he delivered the traditional Easter Sunday Urbi et Orbi address on St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.    "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged," the pontiff said.    "Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter

Foreign AffairsApril 17, 2022

Ukraine defiant as key port Mariupol teeters on brink

KYIV, Ukraine -- The battered port city of Mariupol appeared on the brink of falling to Russian forces Sunday after seven weeks under siege, a development that what would give Moscow a crucial success in Ukraine following a botched attempt to storm the capital and the loss of the Russian navy's Black Sea flagship.    The Russian military estimated that about 2,500 Ukrainian fighters holding out at a hulking steel plant with a warren of underground passageways provided the last pocket

Foreign AffairsApril 17, 2022

[From the Scene] Sewol ferry disaster lives on in memories

ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province/MOKPO, South Jeolla Province -- Saturday marked the eighth year since the Sewol ferry disaster. Sewol’s sinking left a long-lasting mark on the collective memories of Koreans. From the moment the first 119 call for help was routed, up to the ferry’s submergence into the water, the tragedy was televised as it unfolded on April 16, 2014. The ferry, which was sailing through the Jindo archipelago in the farthest southwestern corner of Korea, sank at 2:37 p.m.

Social AffairsApril 17, 2022

N.Korea tests new guided missiles to reinforce ‘tactical nuclear operation’

North Korea on Sunday said the country test-fired a “new-type tactical guided weapon system” to enhance its capabilities to effectively operate “tactical nuclear weapons,” as part of a five-year defense plan to bolster up its “war deterrent.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the test launch of the new weapons system which has been “developed under special attention of the Party Central Committee,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency

North KoreaApril 17, 2022