‘Omicron is COVID-22’: Korea’s top national hospital doctor spells hope

Omicron may spell the beginning of the end of the pandemic, a leading infectious disease doctor at South Korea’s top national hospital said Wednesday. Dr. Oh Myoung-don, who heads the National Medical Center‘s committee for clinical management of emerging infectious diseases, told a news conference Wednesday, “Omicron is a distinctly different virus from the coronavirus as we know it. COVID-22, if you will.” While COVID-19 is known to infect the lungs, growing eviden

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022

After ‘hypersonic’ missile test, Kim eyes more ‘strategic military muscle’

North Korea successfully conducted the second consecutive test-firing of a “hypersonic missile” in less than a week for “final verification” on Tuesday, while the country’s leader Kim Jong-un urged bolstering “strategic military muscle” according to state media reports the following day. The North Korean state media suggested that the country successively test-fired an identical maneuverable reentry vehicle (MaRV) to the one launched on Jan. 5, although

North KoreaJan. 12, 2022

[KH Explains] Ministry for feminists? Pledge to abolish gender ministry reignites debate

The idea of abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has reemerged as a hot topic, after presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party proposed it as an election pledge. When the conservative party candidate made the simple pledge in plain words, “Abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family,” via Facebook on Saturday without further elaboration, it immediately drew criticism from rivals as a move to woo male voters in their

PoliticsJan. 12, 2022

Lee Jae-myung vows to raise annual export volume to $1 trillion

The ruling party's presidential nominee vowed to ensure South Korea‘s yearly exports reach $1 trillion within his five-year term by fostering traditionally strong and novel sectors and diversifying trade routes. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea said in an event Wednesday that, if elected, his government would lead a digital transition in the manufacturing sector and foster the renewable energy sector to adapt to the new global business environment. "Products and market

PoliticsJan. 12, 2022

S. Korea, India to resume talks on upgrading trade pact next month

South Korea and India have agreed to resume negotiations to upgrade their bilateral trade pact next month after more than two years of hiatus, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday. The two nations implemented the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in January 2010 and began talks to upgrade the pact in 2015. But negotiations have been suspended since June 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and India's Commerce and In

Foreign AffairsJan. 12, 2022

Education Ministry’s ‘vaccine cartoon’ attacked

The Ministry of Education is again drawing fire over sharing cartoons encouraging students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 despite the court order suspending vaccine mandate measures on education facilities for young students. On Friday, the ministry posted a cartoon on its social media account, titled “Why did these friends have to take out tteokbokki (rice cakes in a red chili sauce)?” The cartoon shows two students going to a diner for tteokbokki. The owner asks them whether

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022

S. Korea approves Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea's drug safety agency on Wednesday approved an authorization of US-based biotechnology company Novavax Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine. The protein-based vaccine, Nuvaxovid, marks the fifth COVID-19 vaccine to get approval for use here, following the ones by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University, Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety convened a panel of experts from both inside and outside to review the safe

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022

Eastar Jet founder gets 6-yr prison term for embezzlement, breach of trust

JEONJU -- The founder of South Korean budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday for embezzlement of company funds and breach of trust. A district court in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, handed down the sentence to Eastar founder and independent lawmaker Lee Sang-jik after convicting him on several charges, including embezzlement. The Jeonju District Court also ordered Lee's immediate detention. Lee was indicted for causing about 43.9 billion won (

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022

Yoon vows to resolve unfair practices in gaming industry

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday unveiled a set of measures to upgrade the country's gaming industry, including disclosing information on randomized in-game items, in his latest move to woo young male voters ahead of the upcoming election. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) said he would mandate game developers to disclose the odds of getting randomized items, which has been a hot topic among gamers here. In some online games, users pay to receive items ran

PoliticsJan. 12, 2022

Construction site safety under scrutiny after Gwangju collapse

Safety inspections took place at major construction sites across South Korea on Wednesday, as the search continued for workers missing in Tuesday‘s collapse of a Gwangju apartment building that was under construction. The Gwangju Metropolitan Government earlier in the day ordered the temporary shutdown on all construction sites in the city run by Hyundai Development Co., the company involved in the accident. HDC, later in the day, suspended work on all of its worksites across the country

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022

Moon orders thorough investigation into accident at Gwangju construction site

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday ordered a thorough investigation into a construction site accident that left six people unaccounted for, his spokesperson said. Moon's order comes a day after the facade of a high-rise apartment building under construction in the southwestern city of Gwangju collapsed, leaving six workers missing. "Thoroughly investigate the fundamental cause of the recent series of safety accidents," Moon said during a meeting with his aides, according to his spoke

PoliticsJan. 12, 2022

Search for missing workers at Gwangju construction accident site suspended amid safety inspection

GWANGJU -- A safety inspection was under way Wednesday as authorities weighed when to resume a search for the six workers who went missing after the collapse of a facade of a high-rise apartment building under construction in the southwestern city of Gwangju a day earlier. Search efforts at the collapse site were temporarily suspended Tuesday night due to safety concerns over possible further disintegration of the building or the potential collapse of a tower crane adjoining the building. Ext

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022

SPO orders joint probe of Gwangju building collapse accident

The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) on Wednesday ordered the launch of a joint investigation into a construction site accident in Gwangju in which six people remain unaccounted for. Six workers were unaccounted for after a facade of a high-rise apartment building under construction in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, collapsed Tuesday, according to police. The SPO said it ordered the Gwangju District Prosecutors Office, the city's police agency and the regional labor office to form a j

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022

UN Command to suspend Panmunjom tours again amid coronavirus concerns

Tours to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom will be suspended starting next week due to spikes in COVID-19 infections, the UN Command (UNC) said Wednesday. The UNC will discontinue the tour program to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, effective Tuesday, less than two months after it resumed the tours in line with the country's "living with COVID-19" scheme. "UNC coordinated this suspension closely with the Ministry of Uni

DefenseJan. 12, 2022

S. Korea succeeds in developing counter missile system for aircraft: ADD

South Korea has successfully tested a counter missile system for military aircraft to help dodge enemies' portable surface-to-air missiles, a state-run defense research agency said Wednesday. The directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) system enables aircraft to dodge missiles by emitting a laser beam to the ground, blinding missiles that rely on heat to track targets. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) said it carried out an initial operational test and evaluation on helicopters un

DefenseJan. 12, 2022

WFP says its food aid to N. Korea remains halted since last March

The World Food Programme (WFP) has not provided North Korea with any food assistance for nearly a year, its monthly report showed Wednesday, amid the country's strict border controls against COVID-19. The UN food agency last delivered 891.5 tons of fortified food and 4,970 tons of raw food commodities to North Korea from January to March last year, assisting 566,886 people, according to its December brief on activities for the impoverished nation. "After the introduction of COVID-19 prev

North KoreaJan. 12, 2022

Military reports 65 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 65 additional COVID-19 cases, including 62 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,526. Of the new cases, 46 are from the Army, 14 from the Air Force, four from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, and one from the Marine Corps. Currently, 226 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,708 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

DefenseJan. 12, 2022

Yoon overtakes Lee 38% to 35.3%: poll

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol overtook his ruling party rival Lee Jae-myung after gaining 38 percent public support against Lee's 35.3 percent, a survey showed Wednesday. Yoon of the conservative People Power Party added 3.1 percentage points, while Lee of the liberal Democratic Party lost 7.1 points, according to the survey of 1,014 adults conducted by Hangil Research from Saturday to Monday. In the pollster's previous survey conducted from Dec. 25-27, Yoon trailed Lee

PoliticsJan. 12, 2022

[Graphic News] Number of workers taking parental leave up 3.7%

　The number of South Korean workers who took time off to take care of their children rose 3.7 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid more government support for parental leave, government data showed. 　A total of 169,345 workers took parental leave to take care of their children in 2020, up 6,089 from the previous year, according to the preliminary data from Statistics Korea. 　The figure was approximately 2.3 times the number 10 years earlier.  　Women accounted for 77.3 percent of the

NationalJan. 12, 2022

Daily infections back above 4,000 in 6 days amid lingering omicron woes

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases bounced back to above 4,000 for the first time in six days Wednesday, putting health authorities on high alert over a possible resurgence amid omicron concerns. The country added 4,388 new COVID-19 infections, including 4,007 local infections, raising the total caseload to 674,868, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Wednesday's figure was up 1,291 from a day earlier and 53 down from last Wednesday. The country reported 5

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2022