Yoon envisions liaison office in Panmunjom or Washington as dialogue channel between Koreas, US

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol pledges to create a standing dialogue channel between the two Koreas and the United States by establishing a liaison office either in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom or in Washington if elected president. The liaison office idea was one of Yoon's top 10 campaign pledges that the main opposition People Power Party candidate put together to submit to the National Election Commission ahead of the March 9 presidential election, accord

PoliticsFeb. 13, 2022

New COVID-19 cases hit record high of over 56,000 amid omicron surge

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea reached a fresh high of 56,431 on Sunday, as the highly transmissible omicron variant continued to spread fast across the nation. The fresh cases, including 56,297 local infections, raised the country's total caseload to 1,350,630, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure marks the fourth day in a row with daily infections above the 50,000 level. A total of 54,941 cases were reported Saturday. New

Social AffairsFeb. 13, 2022

Foreign ministers of S. Korea, Japan meet over N. Korea, bilateral issues

HONOLULU -- South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong met with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Honolulu on Saturday to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including North Korea and disputes over their shared history. The bilateral meeting was held before the foreign ministers were set to hold trilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Hawaiian capital. "Minister Chung stressed that South Korea and Japan are the closest neighbors t

Foreign AffairsFeb. 13, 2022

[Newsmaker] Buying of virus self-test kits to be restricted to 5 per purchase for 3 weeks

Buying of COVID-19 self-test kits will be restricted to five units per purchase for three weeks, as the government works to stabilize the supply in light of the recent surge in at-home treatment patients, according to officials Saturday. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the purchase restriction of self-test kits will be enforced for three weeks starting Sunday. Customers, however, will be allowed to purchase additional kits at different stores if needed, according to officials

Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2022

Ultrafine dust blankets most parts of S. Korea

Ultrafine dust plagued most parts of South Korea on Saturday, prompting authorities to take emergency emissions reduction measures against bad air quality, according to officials. According to the National Institute of Environmental Research, the level of ultrafine dust in the greater Seoul area, Chungcheong and North Jeolla regions were all recorded at "very bad" on Saturday morning. South Korea measures air pollution in a four-tier system -- "good," "average," &

Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2022

New COVID-19 cases reach fresh high of 54,941 amid omicron surge

South Korea's new COVID-19 infections reached a fresh daily high Saturday, as the highly transmissible omicron variant continued to spread fast across the nation. The country reported 54,941 new COVID-19 infections, including 53,797 local cases, raising the total to 1,294,205, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It marks the third day in a row that the daily tally exceeded the 50,000 level. A total of 53,926 cases were reported Friday. The health authorities have war

Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2022

Status quo not an option for Korean Peninsula: S. Korean FM

Maintaining the status quo is not an option when it comes to North Korea, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Friday, urging the North to quickly return to dialogue. The top South Korean diplomat also insisted maintaining the status quo would actually lead to greater instability not only on the Korean Peninsula but throughout Northeast Asia while having global implications. "As I have repeatedly said publicly, maintaining status quo in the Korean Peninsula issues is not an o

Foreign AffairsFeb. 12, 2022

Biden taps Goldberg as new U.S. ambassador to S. Korea

US President Joe Biden has nominated a senior member of the US foreign service, Philip Goldberg, as new US ambassador to South Korea, the White House said Friday. "Philip Goldberg is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Career Ambassador, and currently is the US Ambassador to the Republic of Colombia," the White House said in a press release. Ambassador Goldberg, if appointed, will replace Harry Harris who stepped down when Biden took office on Jan. 20, 2021. Sout

Foreign AffairsFeb. 12, 2022

S. Korea to ban travel to all regions of Ukraine amid looming conflict

South Korea on Friday has decided to ban its nationals from traveling to all regions of Ukraine and urged those staying there to evacuate immediately amid brewing tensions in the region. The Level 4 travel alert, the highest in the four-tier system, is set to take effect Sunday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. South Korea had issued the Level 3 advisory in southern, eastern and northern areas of Ukraine in late January. The ban came amid growing tensions that Russia could l

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 11, 2022

Lee claims two Koreas ‘effectively ended war’

The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said South and North Korea had effectively ended the war but the situation was only an armistice in legal terms. “(The two Koreas) have practically ended the war, but legally, we are in an armistice,” Lee, said at the second presidential candidate TV debate held Friday by the Journalist Association of Korea, when asked by Yoon Suk-yeol of People Power Party on his views about declaring the end of Korean War. Moon

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

Lee Jae-myung's policies rooted in 'pro-North, pro-China, anti-US' ideology: Yoon

Presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s foreign and security policies are rooted in "pro-North, pro-China, anti-US" ideas, claimed his main rival Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party. During a presidential debate program aired Friday, Yoon claimed the set of views Lee has in approaching North Korea is essentially in favor of maintaining close ties with China while shunning South Korea's relationship with the United States.

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

Presidential candidates united on press freedom, differ on methods

The four major candidates in the ongoing presidential race for South Korea were united in the need to assure freedom of the press, but had differing views on whether additional agencies or laws were needed to achieve it and to protect people from false reports. The responses were made following a general question during a debate program Friday on what measures candidates have in mind to protect freedom of the press, respond to victims of "fake news" and prevent undue influence from th

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

Ruling party candidate treads lightly on anti-discrimination law

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of ruling Democratic Party, said he agreed with the idea of passing an anti-discrimination law, but remained cautious about it being billed. Sim Sang-jung, candidate from the minor progressive Justice Party, brought up the anti-discrimnation law at the second presidential candidate TV debate held Friday by the Journalist Association of Korea. “Though there may be some controversies, it is right to enact the anti-discrimination law. I have shared my

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

Yoon Suk-yeol concentrates fire on allegations against Lee Jae-myung during debate

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol spent much of his allotted time during a debate program Friday on questioning his main rival Lee Jae-myung on allegations of corruption. Yoon asked Lee during his turn to ask the two other candidates in the debate if Lee would call his past behavior, in which he allegedly favored certain entities in real estate contracts, as truly fair. The candidate representing the main opposition People Power Party was referring to an allegation that&

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

FM Chung heads to Hawaii for talks with US, Japanese counterparts on N. Korea

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong left for Hawaii on Friday to meet his US and Japanese counterparts for discussions on North Korea's recent series of missile tests and other regional issues. Chung is scheduled to have bilateral and trilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Honolulu on Saturday (local time). High on the agenda is strengthening cooperation on the problem of Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program, o

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 11, 2022

Yoon, Lee veer off topic to attack each other over allegations

Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol, the respective presidential candidates from Democratic Party and People Power Party, attacked each other over past scandals at the second TV debate held Friday, despite them being unrelated to the topic of debate. While the debate arranged by the Journalist Association of Korea kicked off discussing policies for the young people in their 20s and 30s, Lee and Yoon dedicated much of their time to scandals surrounding each other, Lee attacked Yoon

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

Sim emphasizes green economy; Ahn denounces signs of political revenge

Rep. Sim Sang-jung, presidential nominee of the left-wing Justice Party stressed the need to establish an eco-friendly welfare nation as South Korea faces myriad of socioeconomic challenges on Friday at the second televised presidential candidates’ debate. In the debate hosted by the Journalists Association of Korea on Friday, Sim veered away from the more ususual pledge to become an “economic president,” instead opting to stress that the country must change completely if wan

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

Ahn Cheol-soo is only presidential contender with science literacy: adviser

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate for South Korea’s centrist People Party, will prioritize sound judgments based on science over populism as Korea seeks a safe exit from the pandemic, according to his COVID-19 adviser. Dr. Park Jin-kyu, COVID-19 adviser to Ahn and the former Korea Medical Association vice president, told The Korea Herald that response has been swayed by political meddling. Ahn -- the qualified medical doctor, software engineer and two-time presidential candida

PoliticsFeb. 11, 2022

Moon meets with Cambodian PM

President Moon Jae-in held a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday and discussed ways to enhance exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, including a bilateral free trade agreement. During the meeting, Moon described Cambodia as a major partner for South Korea's economic strategy of reducing its reliance on China, noting that relations between the two countries "have dynamically developed in various fields." Moon also said that South Korea's free trade

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 11, 2022

Vice health minister tests positive for COVID-19

A senior health and welfare ministry official has tested positive for COVID-19, his office said Friday amid worries over a spike in infections of the omicron variant and its spread among high-ranking government officials. Second Vice Health and Welfare Minister Ryu Geun-hyuk took the polymerase chain reaction examination earlier in the day after having tested positive with a self-test kit, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. He has been deeply involved in anti-pandemic efforts sin

Social AffairsFeb. 11, 2022