Govt. to cut credit card processing fees for small merchants

The government will cut credit card processing fees for small merchants to ease their burdens amid the COVID-19 crisis, the ruling Democratic Party said Thursday following its meeting with financial authorities. The commission rate for small merchants with an annual revenue of below 300 million won ($252,550) will be lowered from 0.8 percent to 0.5 percent, according to Rep. Kim Byung-wook of the DP. For small business operators with an annual revenue between 300 million won and 500 million

PoliticsDec. 23, 2021

S. Korea, China set for high-level strategic talks on regional security, global issues

South Korea and China will hold high-level strategic talks on Thursday, the first of its kind between the two sides in more than four years, to discuss bilateral cooperation on regional and global issues, Seoul officials said. Choi Jong-kun, first vice foreign minister, and his Chinese counterpart Le Yucheng will lead the 9th Strategic Dialogue meeting to be held via video links in the afternoon. The two countries held the 8th session in June 2017. The discussions are expected to touch on a wi

Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2021

S. Korea to bolster 'future-oriented' cooperation with US on supply chains, technologies in 2022

South Korea will expand "future-oriented" cooperation with the United States on supply chains, technologies and other areas next year while reinforcing "conflict prevention" efforts with China, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry delineated the plans in a written policy report for 2022 to President Moon Jae-in as Seoul seeks to craft an optimal diplomatic strategy amid a hardening Sino-US rivalry on technological primacy, security, trade and other fronts. Deliv

Foreign AffairsDec. 23, 2021

6 in 10 company workers say public sector seriously corrupt: survey

More than 6 out of 10 workers at big and medium-sized companies think the country's public sector is heavily corrupt, a survey showed Thursday. In the survey of 1,000 workers, conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, 61.9 percent said that corruption in the public sector is serious, up from 49.8 perent last year. The corresponding figures for 2017-2019 were 55.4 percent, 56.2 percent and 48.1 percent, respectively. By sector, construction, national defense and the prosecution

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

Military reports 26 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 26 additional COVID-19 cases, including 23 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,027. Of the new cases, 12 are from the Army, six from the Air Force, five from units under the direct control of the defense ministry, one from the Navy, and one from the Marine Corps, the ministry said. Currently, 289 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,243 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

DefenseDec. 23, 2021

[Graphic News] Proportion of 1-person households hits record high of 32% last year

　The proportion of one-person households in South Korea hit a fresh record high last year, as the number of such households has continued to increase amid a delay in marriage and rapid aging, data showed. 　One-person families accounted for 31.7 percent of the total last year, up from 30.2 percent the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　Households consisting of a single member totaled 6.64 million in 2020, up from 6.15 million a year earlier, the statistics agency said

NationalDec. 23, 2021

New COVID-19 cases fall below 7,000, but critical cases, deaths hit record highs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 7,000 on Thursday, but critical cases and deaths surged to record highs as the country has reimposed antivirus restrictions amid the resurgence of infections and spread of the omicron variant. The country added 6,919 more COVID-19 cases, including 6,856 local infections, bringing the cumulative total to 589,978, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Thursday's tally is down from 7,456 on Wednesday but higher than 5,202 reported T

Social AffairsDec. 23, 2021

China's top envoy to N. Korea to return home after delay due to COVID-19

Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun will leave Pyongyang following a seven-year stint, according to the North's state media Thursday, with his departure having been delayed apparently due to tight border control to stave off the COVID-19 pandemic. The envoy met with Choe Ryong-hae, a member of the North Korean ruling party's politburo presidium, and other ranking officials at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang for a farewell, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) s

North KoreaDec. 23, 2021

S. Korea becomes 10th non-European country to join Europol

South Korea on Wednesday became the 10th country outside of Europe to join the European Union (EU) law enforcement cooperation agency that fights terrorism and other international crimes, police said. The National Police Agency (NPA) joined Europol by signing a working-level agreement that was approved unanimously by the 27 EU nations on Oct. 6. The accession is an outcome of efforts by police to strengthen cooperation with Europe since 2017, officials said. Under the agreement, police can now

Foreign AffairsDec. 22, 2021

End-of-war declaration: What are US conditions, sequence, timing?

Seoul has stressed time and again that its approach to North Korean issues are in sync with that of the US, but the allies appear far apart on Moon Jae-in administration’s latest play -- declaring the end of the Korean War. The Biden administration essentially prefers to discuss an end of war declaration as a part of a broad and comprehensive process toward complete denuclearization and permanent peacebuilding on the Korean Peninsula. Washington also wants to see upfront steps toward d

North KoreaDec. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Is vaccine pass constitutional? Korea is about to find out

South Korea’s Consitutional Court is set to review whether the COVID-19 pass is constitutional.  The Constitutional Court said Tuesday evening its full bench of nine justices would review the constitutionality of the pass’s enactment. The court’s full bench is usually summoned when a case is deemed to hold legitimacy. The COVID-19 pass, or vaccine pass, was implemented nationwide on Dec. 13 and requires people to present digitized proof of full vaccination or a negative

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2021

Another figure in land development scandal dies

A second key figure in the Daejang-dong land development scandal has been found dead, 11 days after another key figure also died. The deceased, Seongnam Development Corp.’s development chief Kim Moon-ki, was among those prosecutors were questioning as part of their investigation into the development project, which took place while now-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myeong was mayor of the city. 　 On Tuesday, police said they discovered Kim’s body in an office of the company in Seon

PoliticsDec. 22, 2021

S. Korea to add 10,000 hospital beds as critical COVID cases rise

South Korea will secure 10,000 additional hospital beds for COVID-19 patients in January to counter the increasing number of critically ill coronavirus patients, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday. If the government successfully adds hospital beds, the total number could increase to 25,000. “(The government) will take preemptive measures in case the country’s daily COVID-19 cases reach 15,000,” Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting of the Central Disaster and

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2021

Man gets 30-year sentence for raping, killing 20-month-old baby

A man who stunned the nation earlier this year by sexually assaulting and killing a 20-month-old baby girl was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a court in the central city of Daejeon on Wednesday. The Daejeon District Court handed down the sentence to the 29-year-old man, identified only by his surname Yang, after convicting him of raping and killing the baby daughter of his live-in girlfriend in June. Yang was indicted for abusing and killing the baby girl because she did not stop crying on

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2021

Biden bans nonhumanitarian aid to N. Korea for human trafficking

US President Joe Biden has banned the provision of nonhumanitarian aid to North Korea for fiscal year 2022, accusing the reclusive state of human trafficking, according to the White House. It marks the 19th consecutive year for a US president to take such a measure against Pyongyang. In a presidential memorandum for the secretary of state, posted on the White House website Tuesday (Washington time), Biden said the US will not provide "nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related assistance" or

North KoreaDec. 22, 2021

Kim to take stronger lead in conservative election committee

Veteran electioneer Kim Chong-in is once again taking a central role in the presidential election, following yet another power struggle within the People Power Party. Less than three weeks after the party’s Chairman Lee Jun-seok and presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol settled their differences, chaos has struck again with Lee resigning from the election committee following an argument with the committee campaign’s communications chief, Rep. Cho Su-jin. On Wednesday, Kim held a p

PoliticsDec. 22, 2021

S. Korea begins review of Pfizer's oral COVID-19 pill

South Korea's drug safety agency said Wednesday that it has begun reviewing an emergency authorization of US drug giant Pfizer Inc.'s oral drug to treat COVID-19. Paxlovid is the antiviral pill for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients at increased risk of hospitalization or death, according to Pfizer and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. If authorized, Paxlovid would be the first oral antiviral of its kind in South Korea. The drug candidate is a protease inhibitor antivi

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2021

Ex-school principal accused of spy cam voyeurism admits to charges in court

A former elementary school principal indicted for allegedly installing a spy camera in a female teachers' restroom admitted to all charges against him in his first court hearing Wednesday. The 57-year-old former principal at the school in Anyang, 23 kilometers south of Seoul, was charged with the sexual offenses last month for allegedly fitting a tiny camera inside a tissue box in the restroom in late October to secretly film women while serving as the school's chief. He was dismissed from the

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2021

Squatter kills landlord after discovery

A man has been arrested in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in connection to the killing of a landlord who was found dead in a residential building she owned on Dec. 15. According to local police on Wednesday, the suspect, in his 40s, had been living secretly in a one-bedroom unit in the victim’s building in Wonju. The attack occurred when the landlord, who lived in Gyeonggi Province, came to check on her property and found the illegal tenant. Police, acting on a missing person report filed

Social AffairsDec. 22, 2021

S. Korea urges US to begin talks on revision of Trump-era steel tariffs

South Korea called on the United States Wednesday to quickly start talks to revise the Section 232 tariff rules on Seoul's steel exports.South Korean Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook made the request to his US counterpart, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, in phone talks, the ministry said. "Moon told Raimondo that Washington should launch negotiations on the issue as soon as possible as it is related to a recovery in the global supply chain," the ministry said. South Korea has

Foreign AffairsDec. 22, 2021