Can the Korean won become a reserve currency?

Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea claimed that the South Korean won is close to becoming a reserve currency, a comment that was immediately met with a huge uproar and mocked. During a presidential debate Monday, Lee said he is aware of a report that South Korea is close to seeing its local currency become a reserve currency like the US dollar, which will enable the country to increase its budgetary spending and raise the national debt level without worri

PoliticsFeb. 22, 2022

[BOOK DONATION]

BOOK DONATION -- Korean Council on Latin America & the Caribbean President Shin Soong-chull poses with Chilean Embassy in Seoul Chargé D´affairs, Counsellor Gustavo González. The Chilean Embassy in Seoul donated Pablo Neruda‘s books to the Korean Council on Latin America & the Caribbean Monday in celebration of 60 years of Chile-Korea diplomatic relations. Chilean poet-diplomat and politician Pablo Neruda, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, is know

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 22, 2022

Bangladesh marks Language Martyrs’ Day

The Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul and Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU) on Monday commemorated Language Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day 2022 in Seoul. Delivering opening remarks at the event, Bangladesh Ambassador to Korea Delwar Hossain honored those who had lost their lives in the 1952 protests calling for Bengali to be recognized as an official state language. The then-Pakistan government had forced people to speak Urdu, sparking protests in East Pakistan

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 22, 2022

3-yr prison term confirmed for ex-Busan mayor due to waiving of appeal

BUSAN -- A three-year prison sentence has been confirmed for former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don, who was convicted of sexually assaulting female employees at work, as he decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court, judicial officials said Tuesday. The Busan High Court approved the prison sentence by a lower court for Oh on charges of sexually assaulting two female employees of the city government in 2018 and 2020, respectively, during a hearing on Feb. 9. Oh, who stepped down as mayor of the nation's

Social AffairsFeb. 22, 2022

Moon calls for thorough preparation for safe election, swift execution of extra budget

President Moon Jae-in instructed officials Tuesday to make thorough preparations for a safe presidential election and swiftly execute a newly approved extra budget amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Moon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae as daily COVID-19 cases have reached 100,000 in recent days with two weeks to go until the election on March 9. "The election management authorities and health authorities must prepare thoroughly to ensure our people can vote with as

PoliticsFeb. 22, 2022

Ruling party chief says resumption of Kaesong complex possible

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) has said the resumption of a shuttered inter-Korean joint industrial complex in North Korea is possible through conditional relief of sanctions and in-kind payment of wages, officials said Tuesday. Rep. Song Young-il made the remarks during a meeting Monday with Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on North Korea's human rights situation, as they discussed ways to improve the human rights situation in the North, according to the DP. Quintan

PoliticsFeb. 22, 2022

S. Korea to take part in India-led joint naval exercise: sources

South Korea's Navy plans to participate in a multilateral naval exercise led by India starting later this week, informed sources said Tuesday. A Navy frigate with around 100 troops on board is heading to the Indian Ocean for Milan 2022, slated to run from Friday to March 4. The biennial exercise is aimed at improving counter-piracy capabilities and interoperability, they added. It was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)

DefenseFeb. 22, 2022

Seoul to launch experimental welfare project to provide monthly subsidies to low-income earners

The Seoul city government said Tuesday it will launch an experimental welfare program aimed at providing regular subsidies to low-income households in the capital under Mayor Oh Se-hoon's initiative. Under the project, a total of 800 households in the bottom 33 percent income bracket and with less than 326 million won ($272,575) in assets will be given monthly subsidies over the next three years, according to the city office. A total of 19.5 billion won of the city budget will be spent to financ

Social AffairsFeb. 22, 2022

COVAX reduces COVID-19 vaccines allocated for N. Korea: UN agency

The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has reduced the amount of COVID-19 vaccines allocated for North Korea, a UN website showed Tuesday, apparently canceling a batch of jabs developed by a US company, in a move seen attributable to the lack of a response from Pyongyang. A total of 1.29 million vaccines have been allocated to the North, according to the UN Children's Fund's COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard, down 252,000 from the previous 1.54 million doses as of earlier th

North KoreaFeb. 22, 2022

N. Korea massacred over 1,100 Christians, Catholics during Korean War: report

North Korea's military massacred more than 1,100 South Korean Christians and Catholics during the 1950-53 Korean War, a state reconciliation panel said Tuesday. The North's Korean People's Army killed 1,026 Christians and 119 Catholics during its retreat from the South following an amphibious Incheon landing operation by United Nations forces, also known as Operation Chromite, on Sept. 26, 1950, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said, citing a report from Seoul Theological University.South

North KoreaFeb. 22, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases again near 100,000 over raging omicron

South Korea's new COVID-19 infections rose again to just shy of 100,000 on Tuesday amid fears that the cases could further surge due to the fast spread of the omicron variant across the country. The country reported 99,573 new COVID-19 infections, including 99,444 local cases, raising the total caseload to 2,157,734, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). New daily infections have risen at a fast pace in recent weeks, surpassing the 100,000 mark for the first time F

Social AffairsFeb. 22, 2022

Ruling party seeking another extra budget for COVID-19 relief

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) will push for another extra budget to support pandemic-hit small businesses, the party's floor leader said Tuesday. Rep. Yun Ho-jung said the DP plans to swiftly draft a second supplementary budget for this year after the March 9 presidential election and will even consider using an emergency order if necessary. His remarks came a day after the National Assembly passed a 16.9 trillion-won ($14.2 billion) extra budget bill, which was up 2.9 trillion won from the g

PoliticsFeb. 22, 2022

Man sentenced to 3 yrs in prison for putting bathroom cleaner into patient's IV line

DAEJEON -- A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison for putting liquid bathroom cleaner into the intravenous drip line of another patient for unclear reasons while in hospital for burn treatment, sources said Tuesday. The man committed the crime at a hospital in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, in March last year. Following the infusion, the patient complained of chest pains and a nurse changed the IV solution, but the man put the cleaner into the line again abo

Social AffairsFeb. 22, 2022

S. Korean, Indian FMs discuss ways to deepen ties in France meeting

The top diplomats of South Korea and India have met in France to discuss regional issues and ways to expand cooperation and exchanges in various areas, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong sat down with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Paris on Monday (local time) on the eve of the Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum 2022. They were invited to the France-hosted forum, along with over 50 foreign ministers from the European Union and the Indo-Pacific r

Foreign AffairsFeb. 22, 2022

Moon to preside over NSC meeting to discuss Ukraine crisis

President Moon Jae-in will preside over a meeting of the National Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, Cheong Wa Dae said. The meeting, set to take place at Cheong Wa Dae at 11 a.m., comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in Ukraine after recognizing their independence. Moon is expected to use the meeting to discuss measures to protect South Korean nationals and minimize damage to South Korean businesses b

PoliticsFeb. 22, 2022

N. Korean leader Kim congratulates China's Xi on 'successful' closing of Beijing Olympics

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a verbal message to Chinese President Xi Jinping to congratulate China on the "successful" closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics, according to Pyongyang's state media Tuesday. "In the message the respected Comrade Kim Jong-un extended heartfelt warm congratulations to General Secretary Xi Jinping upon the splendid proceeding of the Beijing Winter Olympics as a novel and special grand sports festival," the North's Korean Central News A

North KoreaFeb. 22, 2022

Samsung heir again summoned in presidential candidate debate

The inheritance tax bill faced by Samsung Group’s leader Lee Jae-yong was again mentioned in the televised debate among key presidential candidates on Monday as People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol and Justice Party’s Sim Sang-jung quarreled over Yoon’s pledge to abolish capital gains tax on stocks. Sim first asked Yoon, “Do you know why the tax was introduced?” When Yoon said no, Sim said, “The introduction of the tax stems from Samsung Lee Jae-yong&rs

PoliticsFeb. 21, 2022

Lee says state should be responsible for all losses placed on self-employed

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, apologized to small business owners and self-employed people who sustained losses from the social distancing measures, drawing a clear line with the Moon Jae-in administration’s quarantine policies. “The first duty of the state is to protect the lives and safety of the public, and protecting the lives of the people from infectious disease is also a part of the state’s responsibility,” Lee said in a te

PoliticsFeb. 21, 2022

Lee Jae-myung attacks rival Yoon for possible involvement in Daejang-dong scandal

Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea attacked his main rival Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party for his possible involvement in the Daejang-dong development scandal during the presidential TV debate Monday. The ruling party candidate held up a sign showing excerpts of a conversation between Kim Man-be, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, and Jeong Young-hak, a public accountant and a stakeholder in the development project, that hi

PoliticsFeb. 21, 2022

Yoon calls for ‘digital data economy,’ Ahn questions validity

Yoon Suk-yeol, candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, put forward the idea of “digital data economy” in Monday’s televised debate, inciting criticism from Ahn Cheol-soo, the opposition People’s Party’s nominee. “It is an era of slow growth. It is difficult to resolve the economic polarization and encourage social mobility at a time like this. We have to strengthen the digital data economy, creating a new paradigm,” Yoon said during a TV pr

PoliticsFeb. 21, 2022