Spy agency detects 99 cases of attempted industrial spying for five years

The National Intelligence Service has detected a total of 99 cases of attempted industrial espionage over the past five years, which would have cost domestic companies about 22 trillion won ($18 billion), the agency said Saturday. Technologies and trade secrets targeted in the cases from January 2017 to February 2022 involved display devices (19 cases), semiconductors (17), electric and electronic products (17), automobiles (9), shipbuilding (8), information and communications (8) and machine

Social AffairsApril 2, 2022

N. Korea continues to develop nuclear capability while evading UN

WASHINGTON -- North Korea continued to advance its nuclear capabilities last year despite its border closure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to "historically low levels" of goods and people entering or leaving the country, a UN Security Council panel of experts said in its annual report, released Friday. The panel, however, said Pyongyang also continued to seek materials and technology for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs from overseas by evading UN Security C

North KoreaApril 2, 2022

Worker killed in explosion at Hyundai Heavy shipyard

ULSAN -- A worker was killed Saturday in an explosion at a shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in the southeastern port city of Ulsan, police said. The employee in his 50s, hired by a subcontractor, was cutting steel plates with oxy-fuel gas when the blast occurred at 7:48 a.m. at a plant of the world's largest shipbuilder in the city, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul. He fell unconscious and was sent to a hospital, but he was declared dead, according to police. Other workers at the sce

Social AffairsApril 2, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 300,000 for 2nd day

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases remained below 300,000 for the second consecutive day Saturday as the omicron variant was spreading at a slower pace after peaking out last month. The country reported 264,171 new COVID-19 infections, including 68 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,639,915, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. South Korea has seen a downward trend in new cases in recent weeks, with an all-time high of over 620,000 on March 17 dippin

Social AffairsApril 2, 2022

[Interactive] 53.7% oppose Yoon's plan to relocate presidential office

  　More than half of South Koreans are against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s plan to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, while some 44 percent support the idea, a poll showed Wednesday. 　According to the poll of 500 adults, conducted by pollster Realmeter on Tuesday, 53.7 percent said the presidential office should remain at Cheong Wa Dae, and 44.6 percent said they back the relocation plan. 　On Sunday, Yoon announced his decision to move the presidential office from

NationalApril 2, 2022

S. Korean NGOs, lawmakers push initiatives to embrace, empower youth K-diaspora

South Korea civic groups and lawmakers put their heads together to find ways to embrace and empower young ethnic Koreans residing overseas, who are as-yet-untapped but critical resources for the country. The Korea Herald on Friday co-hosted a forum to push forward the “Korean Youth Diaspora Project,” with independent lawmaker Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, the Godowon Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to youth mentoring, and the Blue Tree Foundation, a nongovernmental organizatio

Foreign AffairsApril 1, 2022

Widow of late authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan to continue husband’s trial

Lee Soon-ja, the widow of South Korea’s late authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan, will take on legal proceedings involving a civil case against Chun, as she decided to inherit her late husband’s assets. Lee, however, will not be entitled to pay the penalty that Chun failed to pay during his life, which amounts to 95.6 billion won ($78.6 million), or 43 percent of the 220.5 billion won that the court ordered him to forfeit. Under the current law in South Korea, forfeiture cannot be

Social AffairsApril 1, 2022

Petition against Yoon’s office relocation plan gains over 500,000 supports

A presidential petition against the president-elect’s plan to relocate the presidential office had garnered over 500,000 signatures of support Friday. The petition on the presidential website operated by the Moon Jae-in government claims that President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s election pledge to relocate the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno, Seoul about 6 kilometers south to the Defense Ministry compound in Yongsan poses a threat to national security and is a waste of

PoliticsApril 1, 2022

4 killed in collision, crash of 2 Air Force trainer jets

SACHEON, South Korea -- Two Air Force KT-1 trainer jets collided in midair and crashed in southern South Korea on Friday, killing all four pilots aboard the planes, the Air Force and local disaster response officials said. The jets went down in a rice paddy in Sacheon, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, after colliding with each other in midair at around 1:37 p.m. during training, just minutes after their takeoffs from a nearby base, they said. Over 62 firefighters and emergency responders wer

Social AffairsApril 1, 2022

S. Korea to ease private gathering limit to 10 people, pushes back curfew to midnight

The South Korean government announced Friday that it will raise the private gathering size limit to 10 people and push back the current 11 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes to midnight. “Other COVID-19 preventive measures will remain unchanged,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul on Friday. The new social distancing rules will be effective from Monday for two weeks. Previously, expectations were growing for the latest change to soci

Social AffairsApril 1, 2022

Yoon delegation to depart for Washington on Sunday

A delegation for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol led by Rep. Park Jin will depart for the United States on Sunday, before the US Congress breaks for recess. “The delegation team is to depart on April 3, and it will be a five-night, seven-day trip,” Yoon’s spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said in a press briefing Friday. The delegation is expected to meet with leading officials of the US administration, members of the US Congress and think tanks to discuss a wide range of topics, inc

PoliticsApril 1, 2022

[Newsmaker] Dozens of dog carcasses dumped by vet clinic

A veterinary clinic employee allegedly dumped the remains of dozens of animals at a mountain in Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province, police said Thursday. Police summoned a veterinary hospital employee to investigate the charges of dumping about 70 dead dogs, including newborn puppies and skeletal remains, on a mountain in Geumwang-eup. An animal registration chip was found in one of the carcasses that contained medical records of the dog for the clinic where the suspect is emplo

Social AffairsApril 1, 2022

55% expect Yoon to do good job: survey

Fifty-five percent of South Koreans expect President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to do a good job after taking office, a survey showed Friday. The Gallup Korea survey of 1,001 adults conducted between Tuesday and Thursday also showed that 41 percent do not expect Yoon to do well on state affairs. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. Compared with a week ago, positive responses on expectations of Yoon's job performance were unchanged, w

PoliticsApril 1, 2022

COVAX cuts all COVID-19 vaccines allocated for N. Korea: global charity

North Korea no longer has COVID-19 vaccines allocated for its people under the COVAX Facility initiative, an international group co-leading the vaccine-sharing program confirmed Friday. The announcement came amid a protracted setback in shipment-related efforts apparently attributable to lack of cooperation from the country's reclusive regime. "COVAX has no concrete allocations for DPRK currently," a spokesperson for the Gavi vaccine alliance told Yonhap News Agency, using the acronym

North KoreaApril 1, 2022

BOK chief nominee says policy direction to be determined after analyzing current risks' impact on growth, inflation

The nominee for South Korea's central bank chief said Friday that he will determine the direction of monetary policy after analyzing how existing risks, including the Ukraine crisis and the pandemic, will affect economic growth and inflation. Rhee Chang-yong, picked for the next governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK) last week, made the remarks in a brief interview with reporters in Seoul as he prepares for a parliamentary confirmation hearing. The remarks came amid speculation that he might adjust

PoliticsApril 1, 2022

Yoon to visit Jeju to attend memorial for 1948 massacre victims

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will visit the southern island of Jeju this weekend to attend a memorial for victims of a 1948 civilian massacre, his spokesperson said Friday. Yoon plans to attend the memorial ceremony Sunday, keeping a promise he made during the campaign, Kim Eun-hye said during a press briefing. "Whatever the reason, regarding the fact that civilians were innocently sacrificed, President-elect Yoon has stressed it is the obligation and duty of a liberal democracy to honor t

PoliticsApril 1, 2022

1st reported omicron-positive patient indicted for lying in epidemiological survey

The first reported patient of the COVID-19 omicron variant in South Korea has been indicted for lying to health authorities during an epidemiological survey following her infection in November, according to legal sources Friday. The 40-something woman living in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, was charged without detention for allegedly violating the Infectious Disease Control Act by lying about her transportation use when questioned by local authorities after testing positive for omicron o

Social AffairsApril 1, 2022

Cheong Wa Dae demands apology from transition team for raising speculation over DSME CEO appointment

Cheong Wa Dae on Friday demanded an apology from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team for accusing the outgoing administration of interfering with the appointment of a new CEO of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). Park Soo-hyun, senior secretary for public communication, told TBS radio the Moon Jae-in government "has never been involved in personnel appointments of private companies." On Thursday, transition committee deputy spokesperson Won Il-hee said the

PoliticsApril 1, 2022

Air Force chief to visit US for talks on NK threats, space security

South Korea's Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho will visit the United States next week for talks on security cooperation following North Korea's long-range missile launch last week, his office said Friday. During his seven-day stay there starting Sunday, Park plans to meet key US military officials in Washington and Colorado to reinforce the bilateral alliance and space security cooperation, according to the Air Force. In Washington on Wednesday, Park is set to meet his US counterpart, Ge

Foreign AffairsApril 1, 2022

GCF board approves $190m for projects to support climate actions

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), an international organization on fighting climate change, has approved $190 million in funding for two new green energy projects, South Korea's finance ministry said Friday. The board of the GCF, headquartered in Songdo of Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, endorsed the funding plan for projects to help 14 emerging countries fight climate change, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It said $73 million will be spent to support a climate-smart agricul

Social AffairsApril 1, 2022