COVAX allocates 1.29m additional COVID-19 vaccine doses to N. Korea

The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine distribution platform, has assigned 1.29 million doses of additional COVID-19 vaccines to North Korea, a UN website showed Friday. According to the U.N. Children's Fund's COVID-19 Vaccine Market Dashboard, the addition increases the number of vaccines allocated to North Korea to 8.12 million doses. The number is up from the previously known 6.83 million, including 4.7 million doses of COVAX allocated to the North last month. The type of the newly allocated

Social AffairsDec. 24, 2021

BOK to adjust monetary policy next year amid inflation woes

South Korea's central bank said Friday that it will "appropriately" adjust its monetary policy next year, given a variety of factors that could quicken inflation, suggesting that it will maintain the move to hike the key interest rate. In a report laying out its monetary policy direction for 2022, the Bank of Korea (BOK) also expected that the country's inflation will run in its 2 percent target range next year but expressed concerns over intensifying upward pressure from global suppl

Social AffairsDec. 24, 2021

S. Korea in final stage of signing contract for Pfizer's oral COVID-19 pill: PM

South Korea is in the final stage of signing a contract with US drug giant Pfizer Inc. to get its oral drug for COVID-19, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. "The government has been discussing a purchasing deal with Pfizer for a volume that is much more than our previously announced plan of 70,000 people," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. "We will announce the deal in detail once we confirm the contract and our drug safety agency approves emergency use

Social AffairsDec. 24, 2021

Moon visits front-line unit on border island, encourages Marines

President Moon Jae-in visited a front-line military unit on a western border island on Thursday and hailed Marines there for their hard work, Cheong Wa Dae said. Moon flew by helicopter to Baengnyeong Island near the western sea border with North Korea and began his visit by paying his respects at a memorial dedicated to the 46 sailors killed in the North's sinking of the Cheonan corvette in 2010, his spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said in a written briefing. Moon then visited the headquarters o

DefenseDec. 23, 2021

S. Korean defense minister emphasizes cooperation with China, Japan

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook on Thursday emphasized the need for close defense cooperation with China and Japan to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the region, the defense ministry said. "While the alliance between South Korea and the United States remains strong, I think (Seoul should) closely cooperate and get along with neighboring China," Suh said during a lecture in Singapore.  China can play a key role in the denuclearization of the Kore

DefenseDec. 23, 2021

Defense chiefs of S. Korea, Singapore discuss security cooperation

South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook held talks with his Singaporean counterpart Thursday to discuss regional security cooperation, including joint efforts to fight terrorism, his office said. The talks between Suh and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen came on the second day of his three-day trip to Singapore, a key partner for Seoul's New Southern Policy aimed at deepening ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Suh was on an overseas trip that also took him to Guam a

DefenseDec. 23, 2021

End-of-war: No reason for US to back ‘end-of-rainbow’ pursuit　

The Biden administration is skeptical of Seoul’s diplomatic initiative to utilize an end-of-war declaration as a standalone measure to reboot nuclear diplomacy with North Korea. Essentially, Washington’s doubts of the Moon Jae-in administration’s proposal have grown as North Korea began to raise the costs for declaring an end to the Korean War.  The US interprets North Korea’s move as in line with its apathy toward resuming nuclear negotiations and the denucleari

North KoreaDec. 23, 2021

[Election 2022] Fatigue grows in the presidential election riddled with scandals

The race to decide the country’s next president is becoming a contest of scandals and accusations surrounding the candidates. The political tit-for-tat following controversies have drowned out discussions on policy and state affairs, and voters are having second thoughts on who they should choose in the presidential election, slated for March. “Since the presidential candidates from the major parties have been decided, fresh allegations of past wrongdoings of the candidates and

PoliticsDec. 23, 2021

Unionized delivery workers at CJ Logistics to go on strike next week

Unionized delivery workers of South Korea's leading logistics firm CJ Logistics Corp. said Thursday they will launch a general strike next week, calling for better working conditions and steps to prevent overwork. Of 20,000 delivery workers at the logistics arm of the country's conglomerate CJ Group, some 1,700 couriers who have the right to strike are expected to launch an indefinite walkout Tuesday. The walkout plan was approved by 93.6 percent of the vote by 2,290 unionized members earlier

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

S. Korea calls in Tokyo diplomat over Japan's push for Fukushima water discharge

South Korea's foreign ministry called in a Japanese Embassy official Thursday to express concerns over the operator of Tokyo's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant having filed for approval for its planned release of radioactive water into the ocean. On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) submitted an application for the planned water release to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) amid growing concerns in South Korea that it could cause health risks and maritime contamination. L

Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2021

Feminist waging vendetta against Lee Jun-seok by joining Yoon’s team: friend

In a surprise move earlier this week, feminist politician Shin Ji-ye crossed party lines and joined the presidential campaign of conservative People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. A long-time friend believes Shin’s move is driven by a personal vendetta. “I think she’s doing this to get back at (leader of People Power Party) Lee Jun-seok. My view is that she wants to get back at Lee for lambasting her, making fun of her on national TV,” American Green Party member

PoliticsDec. 23, 2021

Supreme Court rules grandparents can adopt their grandchild for child's welfare purpose

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that grandparents can legally adopt their own grandchild, even though the child's biological parent is alive, when the arrangement is in the interest of the child's welfare. The top court ruled in favor grandparents who filed an appeal to adopt their own grandchildren, and transferred the case to a district court in Ulsan, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for a retrial. The decision was the first Supreme Court ruling which allowed grandparents to adopt the

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

South Korea to expand cooperation with US on supply chain, technologies in 2022

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday the country would look to expand cooperation with the US on many fronts next year, including on supply chains and cutting-edge technology, as well as North Korea’s denuclearization. 　 The Foreign Ministry, along with the Unification and Defense Ministries, jointly delivered a written policy report for 2022 to President Moon Jae-in on Monday, detailing Seoul’s priorities and direction on diplomacy, security and North Korean policies

Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2021

Hospital overload: Korea orders 210 COVID-19 patients to leave ICUs

The South Korean government is ordering COVID-19 patients out of intensive care units as hospitals across the country continue to face a severe shortage of beds. The executive orders were issued Wednesday afternoon to 210 patients who have been hospitalized in COVID-19 ICUs for longer than 20 days, the Ministry of Health and Welfare confirmed Thursday. The ministry said 71 patients have been moved to non-COVID-19 ICUs or other “step-down” beds providing less intensive care accordi

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yoon’s visit to DMZ draws accusations of armistice violations

South Korean presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to a front-line division in the Demilitarized Zone has come under fire, with the United Nations Command officially kicking off an investigation into an alleged violation of the Armistice Agreement. The UNC made an announcement after Yoon -- dressed in a military uniform -- on Monday visited the observation post of the South Korean Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, also known as the Baekgol Unit, in the DMZ. In what appears to b

PoliticsDec. 23, 2021

Do not wear earphones while walking alone: crime expert

Wearing earphones while walking alone at night could make you a target for crime, warned a leading Korean crime expert.  “It’s important to be alert at all times. I never park my car in dark areas and wear earphones in alleys,” said Lee Soo-jung, a criminal psychology professor at Kyonggi University, during an episode of MBC TV’s “Radio Star” that aired on Wednesday. “Always be aware of your surroundings.” Lee’s advice against the us

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

Prosecutors appeal Air Force officer's 9-yr prison term in sex abuse case

Military prosecutors have appealed a recent court decision to sentence an Air Force service member to nine years in prison on charges of sexually abusing a now deceased female colleague, officials said Thursday. On Tuesday, the prosecutors filed the appeal. They had sought a 15-year prison term for the master sergeant purported to have groped the victim of the same rank inside a car in March. She took her own life in May. On Friday last week, the General Military Court meted out the nine-year

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

S. Korea, US team up to recover damages for victims of crypto scams

Investigative authorities of South Korea and the United States have cooperated to crack down on a 2017 cryptocurrency phishing scam and help victims recover some of their losses, prosecutors in Seoul said Thursday. The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) said it arrested two South Korean suspects behind the cyber fraud and confirmed the identify of one Japanese suspect based on intelligence provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2018. The SPO and the FBI then teamed up to sei

Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2021

Corporate retirement pension funds gain 16.1% in 2020

SEJONG -- Corporate retirement pension funds under management expanded more than 16 percent in 2020 from a year earlier as the system has taken root here, government data showed Thursday. Cumulative corporate retirement pension funds stood at 255 trillion won ($214 billion) as of end-December last year, up 16.1 percent from a year ago, according to the data first compiled by Statistics Korea. A total of 408,000 companies adopted the scheme for their employees as of last year, up 3.5 percent fr

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

N. Korea's economy tanks 4.5% in 2020 on sanctions, pandemic

SEJONG -- North Korea's economy shrank 4.5 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to international sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. The drop in the reclusive country's real gross domestic product (GDP) represents a turnaround from a 0.4 percent increase a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The statistics agency attributed the decline to international economic sanctions for its weapons program and border lockdowns stemming from th

North KoreaDec. 23, 2021