Yoon to start presidency at Defense Ministry, confident about no ‘security gap’

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s new government is taking shape, with the transition committee saying Yoon would start work at the Yongsan Defense Ministry building immediately after taking office and the Cabinet will be formed based on the current government organization. “President Yoon Suk-yeol will begin his presidency without a security gap on the day the new government is inaugurated on May 10,” a transition committee official said Thursday. The committee said the reloc

PoliticsApril 7, 2022

COVID cases remain in 200,000s, authorities to reexamine reinfection rate

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections stayed in the 220,000s for the 24 hours of Wednesday, the government reported Thursday. Authorities are looking at the reinfection rate, which stands at 0.0018 percent amid the omicron wave, relatively lower than that of other countries. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country’s daily COVID-19 cases came to 224,820, down 61,474 from the previous day’s 286,294. It is a significant drop from the 320,699

Social AffairsApril 7, 2022

People Power Party looks to run in new direction

South Korea’s conservative People Power Party is set to elect a new floor leader Friday, as it readies for a party merger and the launch of the Yoon administration. On Friday, the party will elect a new floor leader to succeed Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon for a full year, and the election is seen as a battle between those who have connections to President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and those who do not. Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, one of the closest figures to Yoon, is up against Rep. Cho Hae-jin, who essent

PoliticsApril 7, 2022

Fans upset about politicians using BTS

The presidential transition committee is facing rising criticism from BTS fans over reports that it is considering including the band in President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration ceremony. More than 1,000 comments were posted on the presidential transition committee’s website protesting the plan. Most comments were like “the inauguration ceremony is not a festival,” “BTS is not politicians’ plaything,” or “Don‘t use BTS politically.&rd

PoliticsApril 7, 2022

SK Innovation employees referred to prosecution in EV battery secret case with LG

Police have referred about 30 employees of the battery maker SK Innovation Co. to the prosecution on charges of stealing electric vehicle technology secrets from rival firm LG Energy Solution Ltd., officials said Thursday. They were among about 100 former LG employees, who moved to SK between 2017 and 2019 and sparked a trade secrets dispute between the two companies. LG claimed SK scouted its employees to gain trade secrets on EV batteries after coming late to the market. LG took the case to th

Social AffairsApril 7, 2022

Yoon en route to US military base Camp Humphreys

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol was en route to the US military base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek on Thursday, his spokesperson said, as tensions have been running high over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. The base, located some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, serves as the headquarters of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea. His visit comes as North Korea has ratcheted up tensions by conducting an intercontinental ballistic missile test last month. (Yonhap)

PoliticsApril 7, 2022

State spy agency offers cyberthreat info to crypto exchanges

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Thursday it has started providing real-time information on hacking attempts to the country's major cryptocurrency exchanges amid growing cyberthreats. The country's major crypto exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone -- now have access to the agency's information on online security threats, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the hacking attempts, according to the National Intelligence Service. It stressed the importance of tackli

Foreign AffairsApril 7, 2022

Yoon administration to keep current govt. structure, including gender ministry, for now: Ahn

The incoming administration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will maintain the current government structure, including the gender ministry, as it seeks to focus on addressing pending state affairs, transition team Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo said Thursday. Ahn said the transition team will announce a nominee for gender minister when it unveils a list of candidates for ministers. "It was judged that it would be better to focus on current state affairs rather than making an early decision and push

PoliticsApril 7, 2022

S. Korea's daily infections stay in 200,000s for 3rd day

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained in the 200,000s for the third consecutive day on Thursday as the government is considering lifting social distancing rules in a step toward people's return to normalcy. The country reported 224,820 new COVID-19 infections, including 40 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 14,778,405, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The public health agency reported 348 new COVID-19 deaths, raising the total death toll to 1

Social AffairsApril 7, 2022

S. Korea holds FM talks with Sweden, Finland

South Korea's top diplomat had one-on-one talks with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts in Brussels on bilateral ties, the war in Ukraine and Korean Peninsula affairs, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is on a visit there to attend a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers. He is the first South Korean foreign minister to join such a high-profile NATO session, as the country has been invited as an Asia-Pacific partner of the

Foreign AffairsApril 7, 2022

Brunei voices support for S. Korea's push to join CPTPP

Brunei on Thursday expressed support for South Korea's push to join a mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's trade ministry said. Brunei's second finance minister, Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, voiced the support during a virtual meeting with South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo. The meeting came as South Korea is working to submit an application this month for membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to the Minis

Foreign AffairsApril 7, 2022

[Graphic News] Quality of life deteriorates due to pandemic

　The global pandemic has deepened social isolation to an all-time high in South Korea, according to a “2021 National Quality of Life Report” released by Statistics Korea.  　The social isolation level last year was 34.1 percent, up 6.4 percentage points from 2019 (27.7 percent) before the spread of the coronavirus. This is the highest level since statistics began being compiled in 2009. 　Attendance at cultural and arts events decreased from 8.4 times in 2019 to 4.5 in 2020. L

NationalApril 7, 2022

US will continue to maintain appropriate defense capabilities on Korean Peninsula: Kirby

WASHINGTON -- The United States is in constant consultation with South Korea to ensure the allies have adequate capabilities to counter any aggression from North Korea and will continue to do so, Department of Defense spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday. The Pentagon press secretary, however, declined to comment on whether the US may consider deploying strategic military assets to South Korea to help prevent further provocations by the North. "We are going to continue to work with our So

Foreign AffairsApril 7, 2022

US prepared to deal with any N. Korean provocation, including nuclear test: Sung Kim

WASHINGTON -- The United States and its allies are prepared to deal with any further provocations by North Korea, US special envoy for North Korea said Wednesday, noting the recalcitrant state may conduct a nuclear test in the future. Sung Kim also urged the North to return to dialogue, saying the US is prepared to discuss "any concerns" it may have. "I don't want to speculate too much, but I think it could be another missile launch. It could be a nuclear test," Kim said when

Foreign AffairsApril 7, 2022

US reinvigorating trilateral cooperation with S. Korea, Japan to promote security: Sherman

WASHINGTON -- The United States seeks to ensure peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region partly by reinvigorating its trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday. Sherman also highlighted the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, noting it is home to more than half of the global population and over 60 percent of the global economy. "The United States is a proud Indo-Pacific nation. Our future is entwined more closely wit

Foreign AffairsApril 7, 2022

BTS show not being planned for Yoon‘s inauguration ceremony: transition committee

A performance by K-pop sensation BTS is not being planned for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration ceremony next month, the presidential transition committee said Wednesday, denying an earlier remark by an ex-lawmaker involved in the ceremony preparation. “We have made no proposal or contact with BTS’ agency in relation to the inaugural ceremony,” the public relations office of the transition committee said in a message to the media. It added the remarks from

PoliticsApril 6, 2022

Transition team chief seeks China‘s cooperation for stability on Korean Peninsula

Transition team Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo on Wednesday called for China‘s cooperation for stability on the Korean Peninsula, as he met with Beijing’s top envoy to Seoul. Ahn and Ambassador Xing Haiming met at the transition team‘s office and discussed bilateral relations at a time of heightened tension surrounding North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. “One of my concerns is that North Korea (recently) test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile and sig

PoliticsApril 6, 2022

High-ranking prosecutor close to Yoon cleared of charges in blackmail case

Han Dong-hoon, a senior prosecutor considered a close associate of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, was cleared Wednesday of attempted coercion charges in a highly-watched blackmail case involving a liberal television commentator, officials said. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office cleared the charges for Han, vice head of the Judicial Research & Training Institute, on the grounds of insufficient evidence, about two years after the probe was launched. Han was accused of b

Social AffairsApril 6, 2022

S. Korea views N. Korea’s warning to use nuclear weapons as ‘existential threat’

South Korea’s Unification Ministry views North Korea’s recent warning that it would strike South Korean conventional forces with nuclear weapons as an “existential threat,” while keeping close tabs on potential accidental conflicts between the two Koreas. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful younger sister, on Tuesday warned that the country will inevitably use nuclear weapons to “annihilate” South Korean conventional forces if South

North KoreaApril 6, 2022

Yoon delegation discuss possible deployment of US strategic assets with US

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s delegation discussed the possible deployment of US strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as they agreed on the need for extended deterrence against Pyongyang’s nuclear threats, the chief delegate said Tuesday. In their 40-minute meeting in Washington, the delegation and the US side recognized North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons as threats, and agreed on strengthening the bilateral all

PoliticsApril 6, 2022