Moon encourages charities, promotes year-end donations

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook on Friday invited officials from 14 major charities to the presidential office, joining them in promoting year-end donations. Moon and Kim delivered charitable donations to them and complimented their hard work in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the presidential office said in a statement. During the meeting, Moon asked for more people to participate in the culture of donating and sharing. Moon also asked people to pay more attention to t

PoliticsDec. 3, 2021

Yoon unlikely to face indictment in political meddling case

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl is unlikely to face indictment over allegations the prosecution colluded with the opposition party to attempt to investigate pro-government figures when he was prosecutor-general, observers said Friday. The investigation into the alleged collusion floundered after the Seoul Central District Court rejected an arrest warrant for Son Jun-sung, a prosecutor accused of conspiring with the People Power Party, for the second time Thursday. Son's a

PoliticsDec. 3, 2021

Unification ministry budget for inter-Korean cooperation rises 2% in 2022

The unification ministry's next year budget for inter-Korean cooperation slightly increased despite chilled cross-border exchanges in the face of deadlocked nuclear negotiations and the North's prolonged border lockdown, according to officials. Under the budget plan approved by the National Assembly earlier in the day, the 2022 budget for the ministry handling inter-Korean relations was set at 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion), up from this year's 1.48 trillion won. Of the total, 1.27 trillion w

North KoreaDec. 3, 2021

Top Chinese official expresses support for Seoul's pursuit of end-of-war declaration: embassy

A top Chinese official in charge of foreign affairs said Beijing supports Seoul's push for the declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korea's embassy Friday. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, delivered the message during a meeting with Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae who serves as President Moon Jae-in's national security adviser, in China's eastern city of Tianjin the previous day, the embassy in B

Foreign AffairsDec. 3, 2021

Navy set for launch of light carrier project, spurred by budget passage

South Korea's Navy looks set to embark on a long-cherished project next year to secure a light aircraft carrier, as the National Assembly passed a 7.2 billion won ($6.1 million) budget for the project Friday in a reversal of an earlier move to slash it. The legislature passed the budget in a plenary vote, reversing a committee-level decision last month to reduce it to 500 million won -- a drastic cut that threatened to derail the Navy's push to acquire the coveted vessel by 2033. With the budg

DefenseDec. 3, 2021

Critically ill COVID-19 cases hit record high amid growing omicron fears

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases fell below 5,000 on Friday, but the number of critically ill patients hit yet another record high as the country prepares to limit private gatherings amid growing concerns over the new omicron variant. The country reported 4,944 new COVID-19 cases, including 4,923 local infections, raising the total caseload to 462,555, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of critically ill patients came to 736, up from the previo

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2021

Nat'l Assembly passes record W607.7t govt. budget for 2022

The National Assembly passed the 2022 government budget Friday, a record high amount of 607.7 trillion won ($516.3 billion) to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and other expenses. The bill's passage came a day after the legal deadline, as last-minute negotiations between the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and main opposition People Power Party (PPP) caused a delay in the finance ministry's computation work. The final package is an increase of 3.3 trillion won from the gove

PoliticsDec. 3, 2021

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s 2021 rice output rises for first time in 6 years

　South Korea’s rice output rose for the first time in six years due mainly to favorable weather conditions and an increase in the cultivation area, data showed. 　The country’s rice production reached 3.88 million metric tons in 2021, up 10.7 percent from a record low of 3.51 million tons the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. 　It marked the first rebound since 2015 when rice output rose 2 percent on-year to 4.33 million tons. The figure declined for

NationalDec. 3, 2021

S. Korea to limit private gatherings to 6 in capital area, 8 elsewhere: PM

South Korea will limit private gatherings to six people in the capital area and eight in other regions for four weeks starting next week, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, reversing an easing of distancing rules adopted under the "living with COVID-19" scheme last month. Kim announced the new measure during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country and heightened fears of the more contagious omicr

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2021

UN excludes N. Korea from humanitarian aid plans for two straight years

The United Nations has excluded North Korea from its global humanitarian assistance plan for 2022, its recent report showed, apparently due to the impoverished country's prolonged border lockdown against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Global Humanitarian Overview 2022 released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, "Afghanistan, DPR Korea and Myanmar are facing acute food insecurity situations, which are likely to deteriorate further by the year's end."

North KoreaDec. 3, 2021

S. Korea reports additional omicron variant infection, total now at 6

A teenage boy tested positive for the omicron variant of coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the total caseload of the heavily mutated variant in South Korea to six, health authorities said Thursday. The boy, residing in Incheon, west of Seoul, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and had been tested for the variant, after his parents were confirmed to have been infected with the variant on Wednesday following their visit to Nigeria last month, according to the Korea Disease Control and Preve

Social AffairsDec. 2, 2021

Lee Jae-myung asks US firms for investment and jobs while promising to ease regulations

The presidential candidate for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday requested increased investments from foreign firms here, promising to return the favor by lifting regulations and enhancing the business environment for them as part of his vision to revitalize the local economy through "transition." In a meeting with representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung requested foreign firms to increase investments and create

PoliticsDec. 2, 2021

S.Korea, US agree to update war plans against growing N. Korean threats

South Korean and US defense chiefs on Thursday agreed to update war plans against Pyongyang’s growing missile and nuclear threats and to conduct a long-postponed assessment required for Seoul to regain wartime operational control, or OPCON, next fall. The announcement comes after South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted the 53rd Security Consultative Meeting the same morning in Seoul. Secretary Austin said Seoul and Washington discussed

DefenseDec. 2, 2021

Omicron throws travel plans into doubt, as post-travel quarantine returns

Residents in Korea and South Korean nationals abroad are scrambling to reschedule their Christmas travel plans after the government announced on Wednesday evening that a mandatory 10-day quarantine is back for all international arrivals starting Friday. Since early May, those fully vaccinated in Korea had been able to bypass quarantine when they returned. But after the first cases of the omicron variant were found the country, the government introduced stricter COVID-19 measures. The new measur

Social AffairsDec. 2, 2021

Korea’s push for bringing normal life back marred by omicron, soaring cases

Korea’s three-month plan for exiting pandemic restrictions is being threatened by a record surge in infections and the likely community spread of the omicron variant. On Thursday, Korea’s new cases reach a new record high of 5,266 -- topping 5,000 for the second day in a row -- while intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients at Seoul hospitals were more than 90 percent full. For the past month since the country abandoned the majority of its mitigation efforts in line with a new

Social AffairsDec. 2, 2021

People Power Party’s continued strife puts dent in electioneering efforts

People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok said on Thursday he is not “boycotting” his duties as the chairman as he was never actually given any, expressing his discontent with the party’s presidential candidate. Making his way to Jeju Island on the third day of his unannounced road trip to the southern portion of the country, Lee denied suspicions that he has gone into hiding in protest, contending he is traveling to “check” on how the party is doing. Lee cancel

PoliticsDec. 2, 2021

Moon’s end of war proposal faces multitude of challenges

President Moon Jae-in hopes to declare the end of the Korean War during his term, but such a declaration without corresponding denuclearization does not guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula and time is too short to untangle complicated interests of all involved parties, experts say. Moon revived the issue, which had remained dormant since the failed 2019 US-North Korea summit -- at the United Nations in September. Since then, Seoul and Washington have discussed the issue, and are reportedly

North KoreaDec. 2, 2021

NK to hold key party meeting as Kim’s 10-year leadership anniversary approaches

North Korea will hold a key party meeting later this month as leader Kim Jong-un is set to mark 10 years in office, North Korean media said Thursday, with growing speculation that Pyongyang could unveil its policy toward Washington and Seoul for the next year.  The decision to hold a plenary session was made during a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea held on Wednesday, presided by leader Kim, according to the Korea Central News Agency. 　 The 4th plenary meetin

North KoreaDec. 2, 2021

Seoul reports record high of 2,268 daily COVID-19 cases

The number of Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases has hit a record high of 2,268, surpassing 2,000 for two straight days, health authorities said Thursday. Of the cases reported Wednesday, 2,262 were local infections, and six were from overseas, according to the Central Disease Control Headquarters. The new high was up 46 from the previous high of 2,222 recorded Tuesday and up 508 from 1,760 tallied a week ago. The number of new daily coronavirus cases in Seoul topped 1,000 for the first time on Sep

Social AffairsDec. 2, 2021

Omicron woes dash growing hopes for overseas travel

Fears over the omicron coronavirus variant are dashing hopes for the resumption of overseas travel, forcing many to cancel or postpone travel plans, including honeymoons, only a month after the country's "living with COVID-19" policy revived expectations for a return to normal. South Korea confirmed five omicron infections a day earlier, the first local cases of the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant, forcing authorities to tighten passenger screening and other antivirus quarantine measu

Social AffairsDec. 2, 2021