US must not reward N. Korea with end of war declaration before talks: Harry Harris

WASHINGTON -- The United States must not give anything to North Korea, including an end of war declaration, before Pyongyang returns to the dialogue table, former US ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday. Harris noted prospects for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula are getting darker by the day, but insisted giving benefits in advance to the North would only lead to failure. "I'll simply say that the quest for dialogue with the North must never be made at

Foreign AffairsJan. 5, 2022

Main opposition party bogged down in power struggle

The main opposition People Power Party appears to be swamped with a power struggle, as the discord between the presidential candidate and his election campaign chief on running the campaign has come to the fore. As the election committee’s top chief, Kim Chong-in revealed to have excluded the party’s presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol in announcing the surprise renewal of the election committee, and reversing his on what he had agreed with Yoon, the presidential candid

PoliticsJan. 4, 2022

Is vaccine pass justified? Seoul court has doubts

A Seoul court on Tuesday afternoon temporarily blocked the vaccine pass mandate at educational facilities, saying the policy “seriously disadvantages people who are not vaccinated.” Seoul’s administrative court has granted local community groups’ request for an injunction against the Ministry of Health and Welfare mandate requiring people to present proof of full vaccination or a recently taken negative PCR test result to enter public places. Tuesday’s decisio

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Korea mulls fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccine for some

South Korea is considering whether to distribute a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to some vulnerable populations now that the booster vaccination program is well underway for people aged 18 and over. Ministry of Health and Welfare spokesperson Son Young-rae said in a news briefing Tuesday whether to distribute fourth doses in the coming months was being discussed within the ministry and other concerned government agencies. 　 “Whether a fourth dose is going to be necessary at all

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Police tracking 188 billion won of Osstem Implant embezzled through multiple accounts

Police are tracking the whereabouts of 188 billion won ($157 million) in corporate funds that an employee of a South Korean dental implant maker allegedly embezzled, with information that the money had been divided and transferred through multiple bank accounts in the process of the crime. A police official told media outlets Tuesday the 188 billion won of corporate funds, which accounts for 91.8 percent of Osstem Implant’s 204.7 billion won in equity capital, was confirmed to have been c

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Presidential candidate Lee envisions state-sponsored workcation centers

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday pledged to establish “workcation” centers in rural areas of the country to allow people working remotely to stay and help struggling local economies. Under the COVID-19 pandemic, over 9 in 10 of the country’s biggest firms have adopted a telework system, according to Lee. “I will support a balanced life between work and rest in line with the changes in the new era and in the

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Nationalistic content takes new form in YouTube era

Toxic nationalism manifests online via ‘gukppong’ YouTube channels In 2015, when Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League acquired forward Son Heung-min -- arguably the best soccer player Korea has ever produced -- a curious fad emerged among Korean soccer fans. Whenever Son pulled off a remarkable performance, they would flood online comment sections with the word “Jumo!” It was meant as a compliment. The Korean word refers to the now-defunct profession of a f

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Vacation, vaccination bring down COVID-19 cases in Seoul schools

With schools going into winter vacation and more youths being vaccinated, the number of COVID-19 cases in schools have decreased to the 1,200s. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Tuesday, 1,237 students from kindergarten to high school tested positive for COVID-19 in Seoul last week, along with 107 faculty members. Cases of COVID-19 among students dropped by 34.2 percent, 642 cases from a total of 1,879 cases in the previous week. Of the total cases involving students

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Poll finds 9 in 10 Koreans feeling climate change firsthand

Nine out of 10 South Koreans feel climate change firsthand and are willing to accept any inconvenience caused by policies to solve the problem, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the poll of 1,000 adults nationwide by a civic group, 89.2 percent answered that they actually feel the effects of the climate crisis and 88.5 percent expressed a willingness to accept the inconvenience of policies introduced to address the crisis. The poll was conducted by pollster Research View from Dec. 14-18 at t

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors close case on late Seoul Mayor Park’s alleged sexual harassment

Prosecutors have decided not to indict the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who was accused of sexually harassing his secretary, according to local reports Tuesday. The decision was reached by prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday. Prosecutors closed the case as they no longer have the right of arraignment to file an indictment against the deceased Park. As prosecutors have closed the case, the connection of his death with the accusation will not b

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Cheong Wa Dae confident about stabilizing housing prices, pundits doubtful

The Korean government says the nation is moving toward stabilizing housing prices due to its supply and policy measures, but experts are scratching their heads. “(Cheong Wa Dae) has thoughts close to a conviction that housing prices have begun to stabilize,” said Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, in a local radio interview Tuesday. The nation’s housing prices have continuously increased during Moon’s administration, but a slowdown

PoliticsJan. 4, 2022

CICA ready to support Korea on energy, IT, says executive director

The head of a pan-Asian peace and security organization expressed its support for cooperation with Korea in key areas and asked it to send diplomats to help with regional efforts for peace and stability. The secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures (CICA) is committed to supporting Korea in priority areas of energy security and information technology, CICA executive director Kairat Sarybay told The Korea Herald Thursday. In an online interview Sarybay refe

Diplomatic CircuitJan. 4, 2022

Wine highlights Georgia Day celebrations at Eurasian Economic and Cultural forum

The Georgian Embassy celebrated Georgia Day at the 12th week of The Korea Herald’s Eurasian Economic and Cultural forum on Dec. 29 at Sebitseom. The embassy helped arrange a wine tasting event and showcased Georgia’s history, traditions, cultural and touristic potential through video clips to CEOs attending the forum. “Georgia counts around 8,000 years of uninterrupted viticulture and unique winemaking, and has more than 525 types of indigenous grape varieties,” said Ge

Diplomatic CircuitJan. 4, 2022

F-35A fighter makes emergency landing due to 'avionic system issues': Air Force

An F-35A fighter operated by South Korea's Air Force made an emergency landing during a training session Tuesday due to avionic system issues, with its pilot having emerged unscathed, officials said. The radar-evading jet made the belly landing on a runway at an air base in Seosan, 151 kilometers south of Seoul, at 12:51 p.m. after the issues caused the landing gear to momentarily malfunction, the officials said. The pilot walked away unscathed, they added. Before the landing, the Air Force m

DefenseJan. 4, 2022

[Newsmaker] Seoul says NK defector presumed as border crosser received due settlement support

The North Korean defector who is presumed to have crossed the tense inter-Korean border to return home last week had received due resettlement support from the South Korean government, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday, amid reports he suffered economic difficulties after his defection. The man crossed the heavily fortified eastern border into the North over the weekend, about a year after he reached the South, also using an eastern front-line route in November 2020, according to the mi

North KoreaJan. 4, 2022

Moon calls for enhanced containment measures against spread of omicron variant

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday instructed his aides to make utmost efforts to contain the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant, as health authorities warned that omicron is likely to soon replace the delta variant as the dominant strain in South Korea. Moon also called for officials to spare no efforts to provide compensation to small merchants and self-employed people who were hit by the government's imposing of tighter virus curbs. "The government should make utmost effo

PoliticsJan. 4, 2022

Lee says W30tr extra budget possible before end-Jan.

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Tuesday he believes it will be possible to draw up a supplementary budget of up to 30 trillion won ($25 billion) before the end of January to support pandemic-hit small businesses. Lee of the Democratic Party made the remark during a New Year's press conference, referring to his party's push to create an extra budget to help small merchants affected by the government's COVID-19 business restrictions. "I think it's certainly possible b

PoliticsJan. 4, 2022

Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases under 1,000 for 2nd straight day

Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases on Tuesday remained under 1,000 for the second consecutive day in light of the country's extension of tighter social distancing measures for two weeks, officials said. The number of cases in the capital was recorded at 938, 52 fewer than the 990 tally Monday and down 351 compared with a week ago, according to city health officials. Of the total, 903 were local infections and 35 were from overseas. On Monday, Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 1,000 for the fir

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Military reports 4 infections among overseas troops

South Korea's military on Tuesday confirmed four cases of COVID-19 among troops stationed in Lebanon and South Sudan, amid growing concerns over the omicron variant around the globe. Two service members stationed in the Dongmyeong unit in Lebanon and two others based in the Hanbit unit in South Sudan have tested positive, according to the defense ministry. All of them have mild symptoms, it noted. South Korea has a total of around 1,000 troops stationed overseas, including the Akh unit in the

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

US says 'no changes' in allies' exercise plans: RFA

The US Department of Defense has said South Korea and the United States will proceed with their combined springtime exercise as previously agreed upon, according to Radio Free Asia. The statement by a Pentagon spokesperson came amid concerns that the exercise, if held, could dampen Seoul's efforts to resume dialogue with Pyongyang. The North has berated the allies' drills as a war rehearsal against it. "No changes to the training/exercise schedule as was discussed in the SCM," the sp

DefenseJan. 4, 2022