[Us and Them] Migrant workers’ struggles in Korea continue despite better awareness

Discrimination against foreigners and migrant workers is apparent in how they are treated here, which hasn’t changed much from the past despite more people being aware of the problem. In many cases, migrant workers are deprived of their rightful wages, subjected to poor living conditions. In December, a Cambodian female worker at a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, was found dead in a greenhouse made of plastic after temperatures fell to minus 18 degrees Celsius. According to a Labor

Social AffairsOct. 11, 2021

S. Korean, US top security advisers to discuss NK

President Moon Jae-in’s top security adviser, Suh Hoon, is expected to meet with his US counterpart and make his case for signing a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War armistice as a way to facilitate North Korea’s denuclearization. “This week, a discussion will take place between Suh and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The agenda is denuclearization,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Sunday referring to Suh’s trip, without elaborating, though ma

PoliticsOct. 11, 2021

Challenges lie ahead for Lee Jae-myung to win presidential election

Lee Jae-myung, who was selected as the ruling Democratic Party‘s presidential candidate, now faces several challenges in the race for the top job, from clarifying property speculations and bringing together scattered party supporters. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee on Sunday won the majority of the Democratic Party’s primaries, crushing his rival Lee Nak-yon, a former prime minister. He won 50.29 percent of the votes and the narrow win was a surprise for Gov. Lee, who had won a solid

PoliticsOct. 11, 2021

Kim Jong-un calls for improving people’s lives amid economic woes

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un urged his party officials to improve people’s lives in the next five years amid a growing economic crisis aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, the official Korean Central News Agency said Monday. “As set forth in the January congress, the five-year plan has to improve the living conditions, bring about a fundamental change and buttress a socialist utopia the world envies,” Kim said as he marked the anniversary of the regime’s ruling pa

North KoreaOct. 11, 2021

Five more soldiers at Army boot camp test positive for COVID-19

Five more draftees at an Army boot camp just south of the inter-Korean border have tested positive for the new coronavirus after cluster infections were reported at their base, the defense ministry said Monday. The new cases raised the number of infections reported at the boot camp in the border county of Yeoncheon to 39. Four soldiers in the southeastern city of Busan and one in the eastern coastal town of Yangyang were also confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after virus cases were report

DefenseOct. 11, 2021

Prosecutors question asset firm owner at center of Seongnam development scandal

Prosecutors on Monday questioned the owner of an asset management firm at the center of a snowballing regional development corruption scandal over allegations that his firm received massive business favors in exchange for bribes. Kim Man-bae, a former journalist, is facing a series of allegations in connection with how his previously little-known firm, Hwacheon Daeyu, was selected as a civilian partner for the 2015 development project in the city of Seongnam, south of Seoul, and reaped astronom

PoliticsOct. 11, 2021

Top diplomats of S. Korea, UAE hold talks on bilateral cooperation

The top diplomats of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have held talks in Dubai to discuss ways to deepen cooperation between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Monday. Sunday's talks between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, came as Seoul seeks to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, which was elevated to a special strategic partnership in 2018. Chung expressed hope for the success of the UAE's "Projec

Foreign AffairsOct. 11, 2021

New cases under 2,000 for 3rd day on fewer tests; potential upticks still worrisome

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases stayed below 2,000 for a third straight day Monday as health authorities brace for potential upticks after another extended weekend. The country added 1,297 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,284 local infections, raising the total caseload to 332,816, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). This is the first time since Aug. 2 that daily cases were counted in the 1,200s. The country added eight more deaths from COVID-19, raisin

Social AffairsOct. 11, 2021

NK leader urges improvement in people's living on party's founding anniversary

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the need to improve people's living conditions, as he held a lecture to mark the 76th founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party, state media said Monday. He delivered the message during his "important" speech, titled, "Let us further improve party work in line with the demands of the period of fresh development of socialist construction," according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim said the party has defi

North KoreaOct. 11, 2021

Lee Jae-myung becomes final presidential candidate for ruling party

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung was announced on Sunday as the ruling party nominee for the upcoming presidential election. Lee has gained a total of 719,905 votes (50.29 percent), defeating his chief rival Lee Nak-yon, former prime minister, who received 560,392 votes (39.14 percent), in the party’s primary elections. Former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Rep. Park Yong-jin received 129,035 votes (9.01 percent) and 22,261 votes (1.55 percent), respectively. The ruling party held

PoliticsOct. 10, 2021

Ruling party to decide presidential candidate at 6 p.m.

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party will confirm its presidential candidate Sunday, with Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung maintaining the top spot in the cumulative votes. 　 Starting at 3:30 p.m. on the day, the ruling party holds its last regional primary in Seoul and the third Super Week -- national electoral vote -- to choose a final candidate at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul.　 At 6 p.m., the results of about 140,000 votes from party members in the Seoul pr

PoliticsOct. 10, 2021

[Photo News] Safety drill for students

Early Thursday morning, elementary school students in Gwangju participated in a safety drill to learn how to evacuate in the case of heavy rain at the Bitgoeul National Safety Experience Center.  The safety training center has 23 experience facilities and is set to officially open Oct. 19 to provide safety education services for all. The Bitgoeul National Safety Experience Center is to run programs teaching students how to respond when natural disasters or accidents, such as heavy rain, a

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2021

Callers impersonate government officials in 8 out of 10 phone scams

Recent data shows that 8 out of 10 communication fraud reports filed with the financial authorities this year concerned criminals impersonating government officials. A report published by Rep. Min Hyung-bae on Oct. 7 revealed that voice phishing cases in which criminals falsely offer to lend money to their victims are becoming less common, with the figure dropping every year. In contrast, impersonation of government officials has increased in recent years, accounting for 11,732 of the 14,065 c

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2021

Korea adds period disorders to list of reportable COVID-19 vaccine side effects

South Korea will add menstrual disorders to its list of reportable adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, according to a Thursday parliamentary audit report of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The national health agency said in response to Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the National Assembly’s health and welfare committee that it would create a separate category for menstrual disorders within its vaccine adverse event reporting system. But this addition does not mean tha

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2021

Assembly speaker appeals to British counterparts to support end-of-war declaration

Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug appealed for support for the declaration of the end of the war on the Korean Peninsula in a bilateral meeting with the speakers of the UK’s two houses of Parliament. Park made the request at a meeting with Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle and House of Lords Speaker John McFall at the 7th G20 National Assembly Speakers Meeting. According to a news release from the Korean speaker’s office, Park told Hoyle, “South Korea is pushi

PoliticsOct. 10, 2021

S. Korea to form govt.-private panel for move toward 'living with COVID-19'

South Korea said Sunday it will set up a committee this week for a strategy on the "New Normal" of "living with COVID-19," with the vaccination campaign picking up speed. The government plans to hold the inaugural meeting of the committee later this week, presided over by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, according to health authorities. Private sector experts are expected to participate in the meeting with government officials to discuss ways to carry out the envisioned tran

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2021

N. Korea unveils new apartment construction site under plan to build 10,000 homes this year

North Korea is accelerating the drive to construct new apartment buildings in its capital city, state media showed Sunday, as it aims to provide 10,000 new homes within this year and 40,000 more by 2025. North Korea has cleared tens of thousands of square meters of land in the western Pyongyang area of Mangyongdae to build more homes, according to its official Rodong Sinmun newspaper and Uriminzokkiri, a propaganda website. North Korea claims Mangyongdae is the birthplace of Kim Il-sung, its

North KoreaOct. 10, 2021

New infections under 2,000 for 2nd day amid concerns over spread during holidays

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases remained below 2,000 for a second straight day Sunday amid concerns over the spread of the virus during and after another extended weekend. The country added 1,594 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,560 local infections, raising the total caseload to 331,519, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Daily infections fell below the 2,000 mark Saturday after reporting more than 2,000 cases per day from Wednesday to Friday. The daily figu

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2021

Seoul city govt. bans labor group's planned street rallies this month

The Seoul city government has prohibited South Korea's major umbrella labor group from staging street rallies this month in accordance with a law on preventing the spread of infectious diseases, an official said Sunday. The measure came in response to a formal report submitted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions on its plan to hold outdoor rallies in some areas of the capital on Oct. 20. The KCTU stated it will carry out a general strike on the day. City authorities, however, sent an o

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2021

[Photo News] Massive oil spill off California coast

On Oct. 2, a massive oil spill of at least 570,000 liters occurred off the coast of Huntington Beach south of Los Angeles. The oil spill is believed to have originated from a damaged pipeline off the coast of Huntington Beach, which is connected to an offshore oil platform known as Elly.  Many fish and birds, as well as local wetlands around the area, have been seriously affected.  The pipeline was reported to have stopped leaking Sunday, but oil remains in the waters off Huntington

Foreign AffairsOct. 9, 2021