COVID-19 vaccine pass system causes inconvenience for businesses, customers on 1st day

Cafe and restaurant owners and customers alike voiced complaints Monday as the government began enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine pass system in earnest in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Following a one-week trial period, the country officially began its vaccine pass system Monday, requiring all visitors to cafes and restaurants to present a certificate proving they have completed their COVID-19 vaccination or tested negative. Businesses can be fined 1.5 million won (US$1,270) or susp

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Ruling party's presidential candidate raps Japan for meddling in Dokdo issue

The ruling Democratic Party's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday criticized Japan's excessive reactions to the South Korean police chief's recent trip to Dokdo for "meddling in another country's policy." The comment came during a telephone call with officers from Dokdo Security Police as part of his nationwide election campaign. Last month, National Police Agency Commissioner-General Kim Chang-yong visited Dokdo to encourage officials working on the country's easternmost

PoliticsDec. 13, 2021

Coffee shops play top health official’s audio message for indoor mask mandate

With daily COVID-19 caseload hitting new records, some 8,000 coffee chain shops and restaurants here are playing in-store audio announcements from one of the top public health officials recommending indoor masking. “Hello. This is the Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Gang-lip. Please remind yourself to wear a mask before and after eating or drinking and while talking,” the voice announcement rang out, interspersed every 30 minutes between Christmas jazz licks played at a Star

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Could he have been saved? Questions ensue in death of 6-year-old

South Korea’s second known child to die of COVID-19 had a chronic health condition, and he was considered to be at risk. He had been sick for about a week before he was officially diagnosed on Dec. 2. And yet he was not immediately given a bed at a hospital, instead isolating at home for two days until he was taken to the emergency room. When he got to the ER on Dec. 4, he had breathing difficulties and a fever that wouldn’t go down. He was placed on a respirator immediately in an

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Rising deaths, hospitalizations test Korea’s return to normal

After South Korea’s brief freedom from COVID-19 restrictions, deaths and hospital admissions are all rising, putting Moon Jae-in administration’s goal to bring country back to normal by early next year to a test. The country will decide this week whether to roll back social distancing and other restrictions of the past. Pandemic of the unvaccinated? In the past week the number of deaths per day has averaged 57, nearly five times what it was in the last week of October. Eighty d

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

The 4th edition of Global Intelligence Summit kicks off

The Institute for National Security Strategy kicked off the 2021 Global Intelligence Summit on Monday, to discuss the theme of a “Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative.” The Global Intelligence Summit is an annual conference that invites intelligence and security experts from both here and abroad to share opinions about enduring multilateral security and peace in Northeast Asia. Speakers who are invited to this year’s event include former founding director of the C

Foreign AffairsDec. 13, 2021

2 killed, 1 missing after explosion at Yeosu chemical factory

Police have again come under fire for their inadequate handling of a recent stalking case, which eventually led to one death and one serious injury in Seoul. A ranking official of the National Police Agency (NPA) on Monday admitted apparent misjudgment by a local police station, which failed on Tuesday of last week to detain a stalker accused of abducting and sexually assaulting his former girlfriend for unclear reasons. (Yonhap)Two workers were found dead and one is missing in connection with

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Discrimination or not? Museum denies foreigners access to programs citing language barrier

A tea museum operated by South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific is found to have a rather controversial policy: It says no foreigners are allowed in its guided tours or tea classes because no interpretation services are provided.  Even if the foreigner is OK with not having an interpreter or has a native Korean speaker to help, the museum is apparently reluctant to accept the guest, warning, “The translation (by another guest) may be restricted if it disturbs other participants of

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Ven. Seongpa elected Supreme Patriarch of Jogye Order

Ven. Seongpa was chosen to be the spiritual leader of the Jogye Order, South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, on Monday, The 82-year-old priest is to start his five-year term as the 15th Supreme Patriarch on March 25 when current leader Ven. Jinje's second five-year term ends, the Jogye Order said. The Supreme Patriarch, or "Jongjeong" in Korean, is the highest authority in the Buddhist sect, but does not oversee its administration. Born in 1939 in Hapcheon, 354 kilometers south of Se

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Protester throws eggs at DP candidate Lee near THAAD base in Seongju

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday was attacked with eggs by a protester opposing the US THAAD anti-missile system in the central county of Seongju while campaigning. The male protester threw two eggs at Lee from across a road while the candidate was heading toward a fruit farm in the county, 217 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as part of his campaign in the region. Lee was not hit, but a bodyguard and Rep. Han Jun-ho were hit by pieces of an egg. The incident cause

PoliticsDec. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Nth room prevention law draws fire for censorship, invasion of privacy

The so-called "Nth room prevention law" is facing growing criticism from the public, with critics accusing the measure of censorship and violation of free speech. A legislative revision to the Telecommunications Business Act went into effect Friday, requiring internet platforms with yearly sales of 1 billion won ($848,800) or those with more than 100,000 daily users to engage in removing illegal content from their servers. The revision was nicknamed the Nth room prevention law after

PoliticsDec. 13, 2021

S.Korea, Australia agree to revive MOU on defense industry cooperation

South Korea and Australia on Monday agreed to revive a bilateral agreement on enhancing defense industrial cooperation after a 10-year gap, and finalized a multimillion-dollar weapons contract. The two countries signed a new memorandum of understanding on the defense industry and materials cooperation, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Monday. “This provides an opportunity for Australia and South Korea to grow into each other’s strategic partner

DefenseDec. 13, 2021

Vaccine QR system outage causes inconveniences on 1st day of vaccine pass enforcement

Outages in the government's digital vaccine authentication system have been reported in large numbers Monday, causing inconveniences around lunch time on the first day of the nation's vaccine pass enforcement. Reports of inability to access COOV, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's smartphone application which offers vaccine certifications in QR codes, began appearing in various online communities at around 11:40 a.m. Authentications of QR codes in other popular services, such as

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

At G-7, FM Chung discusses peninsula issue with US, remains apart with Japan

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong stressed the partnership with Washington, but remained apart on key sticking points with Tokyo, in a brief meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the Group of Seven session in the UK.   　 Chung joined the in-person gathering of G-7 foreign and development ministers meeting in Liverpool, England, over the weekend, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. South Korea was invited as a guest -- along with Australia, India, South

Foreign AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Ruling party to push ahead with adding labor reps to public entity boards

South Korea's ruling bloc is pushing to pass a bill that would require labor representatives on corporate boards, raising backlash for potentially undermining the rights of shareholders and decreasing the efficiency of state-run companies. The National Assembly is holding a provisional session in December, with lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea hoping to pass a proposed revision to the Act on the Management of Public Institutions that would mandate public institutions to include

PoliticsDec. 13, 2021

Seoul not considering Beijing Olympics boycott: Moon

President Moon Jae-in said during a state visit to Australia Monday that the Korean government is not considering a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics in a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. When a reporter asked whether Moon’s visit to Australia could give China a bad signal while Australia is in conflict with China and has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics, Moon said, “We have not received any recommenda

Foreign AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Police to consider disclosing identities of online sexual abuse material buyers

Police will consider disclosing the identities of not only distributors of sexually exploitative materials but also their buyers as part of efforts to clamp down on digital sex crimes, officials said Monday. The National Police Agency said it began discussing the matter in an interagency meeting with the government's policy coordination office, the interior ministry, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's censorship body and others. "To curb online sex crimes,

Social AffairsDec. 13, 2021

[Hwang’s China and the World] Looking on New Northern Policy, from the origin

The death of Roh Tae-woo, who was president from 1988 to 1993, in October put a spotlight on his historical achievements. His foreign policies, such as hosting the Seoul Olympics, joining the UN, and promoting the Northern Policy, are seen as major diplomatic moments in modern Korean history. Behind the scenes of it all was the Presidential Secretary Kim Chong-whi. Kim served as the senior presidential secretary for foreign and security affairs in the Blue House at the time and has since ser

Foreign AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Moon says S. Korea not considering diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that South Korea is not considering a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics and has not been asked by any nation to do so. Moon addressed the issue for the first time after the United States announced last week that it will not send an official delegation to the Olympics in February over concerns about China's human rights abuses. "The South Korean government is not considering (a boycott)," Moon said at a joint press conference with Australian

Foreign AffairsDec. 13, 2021

Yoon, Lee neck-and-neck at 42% vs. 40.6% in presidential poll

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP)'s presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, was leading his ruling Democratic Party (DP) rival Lee Jae-myung by a thin margin at 42 percent to 40.6 percent, a survey showed Monday. The 1.4 percentage point margin in the poll by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) is smaller than the 3.3 percentage point gap in favor of Yoon last week, and within the range of the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The poll, commissione

PoliticsDec. 13, 2021