Prime minister nominee faces controversy ahead of hearing

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo denied allegations that he is unfit to serve again in the prime minister post for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration due to his alleged involvement in a problematic legal case. Spec Watch Korea claimed after Han was nominated for the post that he should not be appointed as the prime minister for receiving 150 million won ($124,000) while working as an adviser for local law firm Kim & Chang from November 2002 to July 2003. He is accused of helping the firm r

PoliticsApril 5, 2022

US agrees to upgrade strategic alliance with Korea: Yoon’s delegation

Washington agreed to raise the level of strategic alliance with South Korea and agreed on the need for complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of North Korea, the chief of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s policy consultation delegation said during his trip to the United States on Monday (US time). Rep. Park Jin of the People Power Party, who is leading Yoon’s delegation, said he had also discussed the importance of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consulta

PoliticsApril 5, 2022

Convenience stores, internet cafes placed under plastic ban

The Ministry of Environment on Tuesday issued specific guidelines for the restriction on the use of plastic products, specifying that all types of food service businesses, including convenience stores and internet cafes, come under the ban. The government has banned restaurants, cafes, food stalls and bars from giving out single-use products for customers dining in. Single-use products are only available for takeout or delivery services. The latest guideline says that all types of food serv

Social AffairsApril 5, 2022

Budget for relocating presidential office to be decided Wednesday

Cheong Wa Dae will hold an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to decide on the funds for the relocation of the presidential office, a top official said Tuesday. The move would tap into the reserve budget, which is earmarked for unpredicted expenditures, and cost around 36 billion won ($29.7 million). It excludes the funding needed for relocating the Joint Chiefs of Staff offices. “President Moon Jae-in received a report on the government’s review of the reserve fund for

PoliticsApril 5, 2022

[Newsmaker] UN warns Earth 'firmly on track toward an unlivable world'

BERLIN (AP) -- Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world's top body of climate scientists said Monday, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed "a litany of broken climate promises" by governments and corporations, accusing them of stok

Social AffairsApril 5, 2022

[Reporter’s Notebook] Disgruntled young men and their adulation for billionaires

Working class heroes or underdog stories are a beloved topic in pop culture. Take John Lennon’s 1975 song “Working Class Hero” in which he sings “There’s room at the top they are telling you still.” The next line goes, “But first you must learn how to smile as you kill.” In the 2017 single “Mic Drop,“ BTS sings, “Who says my spoon is dirty” ”I don’t care, when I grab the mic, I have several gold spoons.”

Social AffairsApril 5, 2022

Yoon administration's agenda items narrowed down to 110: spokesperson

The transition team of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has sorted out about 110 items that the incoming government plans to pursue, Yoon's spokesperson said Tuesday. "Currently items for the state agenda have been narrowed down 110, while action items have been reduced to 580, but we will further encapsulate to keep our promises with the people," Kim Eun-hye, Yoon's spokesperson, said during a press briefing. Earlier, the presidential transition committee said it will review and select i

PoliticsApril 5, 2022

S. Korean FM to attend NATO meeting in Brussels

South Korea's top diplomat will participate in a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers to be held in Belgium, his office said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will head to Brussels later in the day for the session to open Thursday, which will be presided by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and attended by 30 nations, it said. The upcoming gathering is expected to focus on the coordinated international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ot

Foreign AffairsApril 5, 2022

Seoul to expand late night bus service later this month

The Seoul city government will expand late night bus routes later this month in line with the country's gradual return to normalcy from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Tuesday. The routes for night buses operating from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be increased to 14 from nine, with 100 buses to run on the lines, up 28 from now, according to the city government. The N65 route, currently running from Gaehwa-dong in western Seoul to Siheung-dong in southern Seoul, will also become

Social AffairsApril 5, 2022

Anchor-turned-lawmaker Bae named new spokesperson for Yoon

A first-term lawmaker has been named a new spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday after Yoon's current spokesperson decided to run for governor of Gyeonggi Province in the June local elections. Outgoing spokesperson Rep. Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing that Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the People Power Party (PPP) will succeed her as spokesperson. "This is my last briefing as the president-elect's spokesperson," said Kim, who has been Yoon's spokesperson since March

PoliticsApril 5, 2022

N. Korea has large arsenal of 'theater-class' missiles: US commander

North Korea has a large number of "theater-class" missiles with a desire to develop a "credible" missile threat, a US commander has said, casting the recalcitrant regime as a strategic security challenge. Adm. Charles Richard, head of the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), made the assessment in a written statement to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense prior to a closed-door hearing on Tuesday (US time). "The DPRK previously tested ICBM class missiles desig

North KoreaApril 5, 2022

Cabinet to approve initial budget for presidential office relocation

The Cabinet will hold an extraordinary session this week to approve reserve government funds for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to relocate the presidential office, Yoon's spokesperson said Tuesday. Yoon has been pushing to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae and into the defense ministry compound in Yongsan, central Seoul, before his May 10 inauguration, saying the relocation would help him connect better with people. In order for the project to move forward, the outgoing ad

PoliticsApril 5, 2022

S. Korea's daily infections jump to over 260,000

South Korea's new coronavirus cases jumped to over 260,000 on Tuesday as the spread of the omicron variant slowed down after peaking out last month. The country reported 266,135 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 14,267,401, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's tally marked a sharp climb from 127,190 reported Monday. The number of new daily cases usually shrinks at the beginning of the week due to less testing over the weekend. The number

Social AffairsApril 5, 2022

US to cultivate options in waters near Korea over Pyongyang's provocation: Pacific commander

The United States has more room to maneuver in waters around the Korean Peninsula to help deter further provocations by North Korea and will continue to cultivate such options, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet said Monday. Adm. Samuel Paparo also said North Korea's recent missiles launches are "deeply, deeply concerning." "We are cultivating some options for a demonstration of our bilateral commitment to the security, the stability and the well being of the Republic of Korea,

North KoreaApril 5, 2022

S. Korea aims to master tech to launch military, civilian microsatellites by 2025

South Korea aims to master technology for solid-propellant rocket vehicles by 2025, enabling the country to launch a constellation of military and civilian microsatellites at lower costs, South Korean military officials said Monday. Seoul “successfully” test-launched an indigenous solid-fuel space rocket for the first time last Wednesday at the initiative of the state-run Agency for Defense Development. The initial test was conducted to verify core technologies for space launch v

DefenseApril 4, 2022

Transition committee collects reports on priority state tasks: spokesperson

The presidential transition committee for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has collected reports on current affairs that need to be handled by the incoming government, and will use them to develop tangible policies, the committee spokesperson said Monday. “In the general meeting, each of the subcommittees at the transition committee submitted the first rough draft of reports on current affairs to designate the priority state tasks. The committee will now review the reports to further develo

PoliticsApril 4, 2022

Yoon’s transition team says ending COVID-19 restrictions in two weeks ‘hasty’

Ending social distancing in two weeks may be “hasty,” a COVID-19 adviser on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee said Monday, raising concerns over the government’s intention to dial back protocols. Dr. Jung Ki-suck, one of the COVID-19 experts on the presidential transition committee, said during an interview with a public broadcaster that “lifting restrictions completely two weeks from now seems a bit hasty.” On keeping mask mandates indo

Social AffairsApril 4, 2022

[Newsmaker] Former vice ministers considered likely members of Yoon’s Cabinet

In shaping his Cabinet, the president-elect office is considering several former vice ministers and seasoned politicians as likely members, including Rep. Park Jin for Foreign Ministry and Rep. Choo Kyung-ho for the economy, according to sources Monday. 　 Kim Eun-hye, the spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that Yoon would be spending much time reviewing the potential candidates for his Cabinet this week. “We are making efforts so that we can release the formatio

PoliticsApril 4, 2022

Yoon faces familiar dilemma over restoring Japan relations

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s pledge to restore relations with Tokyo appears likely to experience difficulties, with the issue of distorting history in Japanese textbooks reemerging. Yoon stressed Seoul-Tokyo relations as a priority during his campaign, and expectations have risen since his election win. Yoon is reportedly considering sending a delegation to Japan for policy coordination and to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida around May. Before Yoon could put his word

Foreign AffairsApril 4, 2022

[Feature] Our personal takeaways from the COVID experience

Past the omicron peak, South Korea now has over 14 million accumulated coronavirus cases, which means in this country of 52 million, more than 1 in every 4 have gotten COVID-19 at least once.  A vast number of them must have had that experience in the past several weeks, as the country’s virus curve hit over 620,000 daily cases on March 17.  But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. People who have recently recovered shared with The Korea Herald some of the positive t

Social AffairsApril 4, 2022