Korea sees fastest growth of male part-timers in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the portion of employed men working as part-timers exceed the 10 percent mark in 2020, a first since the nation started compiling relevant data in 1989. Further, since 2016, Korea has been No. 1 in the growth of male part-time workers among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to the OECD, part-timers accounted for 10.43 percent of all employed men last year. The figure was an increase of 3.67 percentage points from 2016. Af

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021

Govt. to place emergency controls on urea water solution amid supply shortage

South Korea plans to place emergency controls on production and provision of urea water solution (UWS), the prime minister's office said Tuesday, in a move to ease the supply crunch of the material used to reduce emissions in diesel vehicles. A government notice that allows public authorities to command urea water solution makers' production, shipment and sales is expected to be approved at the Cabinet's extraordinary meeting on Thursday and come into force no later than this week. South Kore

PoliticsNov. 9, 2021

Moon calls for revision of laws on workplace harassment at civil service

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday instructed aides to take steps to revise laws on workplace harassment in the civil service, citing a lack of legal stipulations on compensation for victims in the field of public administration. The instruction came after a newly recruited civil servant at the city government of Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, was found dead at the person's home in September, about three months after the official was assigned to the post.  Family members of the dec

PoliticsNov. 9, 2021

Korea to get COVID-19 pills ‘no later than February’: vice health minister

South Korea plans to bring oral antivirals against COVID-19 to the country “no later than February,” Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Yoo Geun-heag told reporters Tuesday, in addition to the 90 million doses of vaccines that will be purchased for the third year of the pandemic. While refraining from calling oral antivirals a pandemic “game changer,” he said the government was working to make them available here possibly by January, a month earlier than previously p

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021

Nearly half of new COVID-19 cases in 2 weeks were breakthrough infections

Nearly half of new COVID-19 cases in South Korea over the past two weeks were breakthrough infections, health authorities said Tuesday. There were 8,336 breakthrough cases out of 17,325 new COVID-19 patients, or 48.1 percent, between Oct. 17 and Oct. 30, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Breakthrough infections are those who test positive even after receiving the full-dose vaccine regimen. The rate of breakthrough cases occurring in people aged in their 70s was the h

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021

Unionized construction workers urge govt. to solve urea water solution shortage

Unionized construction workers on Tuesday called upon the government to come up with measures to resolve the urea water solution crisis, claiming the shortage of the material essential to diesel vehicles threatens their livelihoods. The Korean Construction Workers' Union urged the government to promptly resolve the lack of urea water supply, punish hoarding of the material and aid construction workers facing difficulties operating their equipment due to the crisis. "My urea water reserves

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021

Labor ministry recognizes bullying case at Coupang, rebutting company's internal probe: union

The labor ministry has recognized that a workplace bullying incident occurred within e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. early this year, refuting a finding reached by the company through an internal probe, the company's union said Tuesday. In response to a petition filed by a Coupang logistics center worker, the ministry's branch office in northern Incheon, west of Seoul, concluded a supervisor's reprimanding of a worker's job performance in connection with union activities constitutes workplace bul

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021

Sleet falls in Seoul but is not defined as first snow of season

Some sleet was witnessed on the mountains on the outskirts of Seoul on Tuesday due to a sudden drop in temperatures but fell short of being recorded as the first snow of the season, the state weather agency said. The weather became as cold as winter amid light rainfall in the morning, raising expectations for the first snow of the season in the capital. Indeed, some sleet fell on suburban Seoul mountains, such as Dobong, Bukhan and Gwanak, where temperatures were lower than in the downtown and

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021

What’s behind the emergence of Kim Jong-un-ism?

North Korea is moving to strengthen Kim Jong-un’s monolithic leadership through an ideology known as “Kim Jong-un-ism.”  This new ideology -- named after the North’s leader as he marks 10 years in office -- was neither unprecedented nor unpredictable: Until now, Kim Il-sung-ism and Kim Jong-il-ism formed the ideological cornerstone of the reclusive country. But South Korean and US experts say Kim Jong-un-ism still has far-reaching implications. 　 At a recent parlia

North KoreaNov. 9, 2021

North Korea still operating key uranium plant: US think tank

North Korea has continued operation and production at its key uranium plant, a US think tank said Monday, highlighting the reclusive regime’s pursuit of weapon advances amid the stalled denuclearization talks with Washington.  Beyond Parallel, a website specializing in North Korean matters run by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the Pyongsan Uranium Concentrate Plant, located some 45 kilometers north of the inter-Korean border, remains operat

North KoreaNov. 9, 2021

S. Korea likely to send KC-330 aircraft Wednesday to import urea water from Australia

South Korea is expected to send an Air Force transport aircraft to Australia this week to import 27,000 liters of urea water solution, a military source said Tuesday, in an effort to ease a supply shortage of the fluid. A KC-330 tanker transport plane is expected to take off at Gimhae International Airport in the southeastern port city of Busan on Wednesday, the source said, noting details for the operation of the plane have yet to be finalized. The mobilization of the plane comes amid the gov

DefenseNov. 9, 2021

Moon to attend virtual APEC summit

President Moon Jae-in will attend a virtual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this week during which he will focus on the pandemic recovery and vaccine donations, a presidential spokesperson said Tuesday. Leaders of the 21-nation APEC will hold the virtual summit Friday, with the region's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chains and carbon neutrality expected to be high on the agenda. During the summit, Moon plans to emphasize South Korea's role

PoliticsNov. 9, 2021

Anti-discrimination law again discussed, gains momentum

Debate on enacting an anti-discrimination law is again gaining steam with the support of civic groups and left-wing lawmakers. The South Korean Coalition for Anti-Discrimination Legislation on Monday protested in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, demanding that the bill be passed within this year’s parliamentary session. The group says its passage cannot be delayed any longer. “Our demand is simply this: Pass the anti-discrimination law and uphold the virtue

PoliticsNov. 9, 2021

Outage leaves Yeoju without power for 1 1/2 hours

Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday was hit by a power outage that left a large part of the region without electricity for more than an hour, the state-owned utility said. Korea Electric Power Corp. confirmed that the widespread blackout started at 10:26 a.m. and power was restored at 11:59 a.m. after damaged power equipment was replaced. Around 52,800 households were estimated to have experienced about 1 1/2 hours without power, and nine out of the 12 districts in the city were affected. K

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021

Yoon far ahead of Lee in multiple polls after primary

People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl appears to be speeding past his contender, Lee Jae-myung, with various polls placing him more than 10 percentage points ahead. A Realmeter poll carried out between Sunday and Monday showed that Yoon recorded 46.2 percent in approval ratings, up 11.8 percentage points from the previous week. The ruling Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung fell 0.4 percentage points from the last survey to 34.2 percent. The People’s Party lea

PoliticsNov. 9, 2021

JCS chief embarks on trip to Belgium, UAE to expand cooperation

South Korea's top military officer embarked on a weeklong trip to Belgium and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday to promote bilateral defense exchanges and cooperation, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. During his visit to Brussels from Wednesday to Friday, JCS Chairman Gen. Won In-choul plans to meet senior officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including Military Committee Chairman Adm. Rob Bauer. Won is also scheduled to hold talks with European Union Militar

DefenseNov. 9, 2021

Seoul monitoring signs of N. Korea's border reopening amid reports of train operation

South Korea is closely monitoring signs of North Korea's reopening of its border long closed due to the coronavirus, a unification ministry official said Tuesday, amid reports a train in operation was spotted in the region bordering China. Local media broadcast footage of a train crossing the bridge over the Amnok River connecting Sinuiju in North Korea to the Chinese port city of Dandong on Monday, saying it appears to be a test operation ahead of an imminent border reopening. Yet, Seoul's un

North KoreaNov. 9, 2021

Ruling party pushes to provide universal relief handouts in Jan.

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Tuesday it will try to provide COVID-19 relief handouts to all people in January after earmarking the money in the next year's national budget despite opposition from the government and its rival party.  The DP plans to use this year's excess tax revenue to fund its universal relief grant scheme. If the government does not issue additional state bonds, the party believes 200,000-250,000 won ($170-$210) can be given to each person. "We will try

PoliticsNov. 9, 2021

Korea offers hope of encouraging civic participation and protecting civil liberties: OGP Secretary General

At a time when civil liberties are under attack in countries around the world, South Korea offers hope in demonstrating a different approach of encouraging civic participation and protecting civil liberties, said Sanjay Pradhan, chief executive of the Open Government Partnership during an interview with The Korea Herald on Saturday at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. According to Pradhan, Gwanghwamun Square is an inspirational example because after candlelit protests brought down the previ

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 9, 2021

S. Korea investigating suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu

The agricultural ministry said Tuesday it is investigating suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu from a local farm as it issued a nationwide standstill order to help contain its spread. The suspected cases of the avian influenza were reported from a quail farm in the central county of Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It is the first time in about seven months that suspected bird flu cases were reported from a farm,

Social AffairsNov. 9, 2021