South Korea grants asylum to Angolan family

　 The Ministry of Justice has granted refugee status to an Angolan family with a Congolese background, citing the likelihood of persecution should they return home, officials said Saturday. 　The Refugee Council approved the application from Nkuka Lulendo and his family, who were in the media spotlight in 2019 for being stuck at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, for nine months after they were denied a chance to file for refugee status. 　“The possibility of them being perse

Social AffairsOct. 9, 2021

Maryland to open new ‘Koreatown’

The US state of Maryland will open a new “Koreatown” this week with a new structure designed to symbolize the unity of the Korean-American community in the state, as well as its unity with other communities there, organizers said Friday. 　An opening ceremony will be held Saturday with State Gov. Larry Hogan and his Korean-American wife, Yumi, expected to take part, along with South Korean Ambassador to the US, Lee Soo-hyuck. 　Yumi is the honorary chair of a committee that ha

InternationalOct. 9, 2021

New cases under 2,000, authorities vigilant over autumn travelers

South Korea‘s daily new coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 on Saturday, with health authorities still keeping a watchful eye on a possible increase of infections over the extended weekend. 　The country added 1,953 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,924 local infections, raising the total caseload to 329,925, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 　After falling to 1,575 on Tuesday, the daily figure again rebounded to over 2,000 on Wednesday. 　The country ad

Social AffairsOct. 9, 2021

More than 30m people fully vaccinated in S. Korea

The number of fully vaccinated people in South Korea has surpassed 30 million, data showed Saturday, as the country speeds up inoculations and seeks to gradually roll out the “living with COVID-19” scheme. 　Around 30.3 million people, or 59.1 percent of the total population, have been fully inoculated since the country launched its vaccination program in February, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 　The KDCA said nearly 1.1 million people recei

Social AffairsOct. 9, 2021

Police seize key suspect's phone in Seongnam land development scandal

Investigations into a key suspect in the snowballing corruption scandal surrounding a lucrative land development project near Seoul are expected to make progress, as police said Friday they have secured his mobile phone. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency in Suwon, south of Seoul, said its investigators have discovered a mobile phone of Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., which went missing during a prosecution raid on the suspect's home in Yongin, also south of

PoliticsOct. 8, 2021

Japan’s Kishida urges Seoul to act on soured relations

Japan’s new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday that his government would strongly urge South Korea to take appropriate action to resolve the strained bilateral relations between the two countries, signaling that he will likely maintain the same hard-line stance toward Seoul as his predecessor Yoshihide Suga.  In his first policy speech since taking office Monday, Kishida briefly mentioned South Korea, saying Tokyo would maintain its “coherent stance” toward Seoul,

Foreign AffairsOct. 8, 2021

DP chief asks Italian ambassador for support for end-of-war declaration

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) met with Italy's ambassador on Friday and asked for support for President Moon Jae-in's push for a declaration to formally end the Korean War. "It is a shame that the war on the Korean Peninsula remains undone," Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the party, said during the meeting with Italian Ambassador Federico Failla at the National Assembly. The South and the North are still technically in a state of conflict as the 1950-53 Korean War en

Diplomatic CircuitOct. 8, 2021

Magnitude 5.9 quake halts trains in Tokyo area; 30 injured

A powerful magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook the Tokyo area on Thursday night, injuring more than 30 people, damaging underground water pipes and halting trains and subways. Traffic disruptions continued Friday morning, with local trains delayed and commuters overflowing from stations. The Meteorological Agency said the quake was centered in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, at a depth of about 80 kilometers (48 miles). There was no danger of a tsunami. It caused buildings to sway and hangin

Foreign AffairsOct. 8, 2021

6 in 10 Americans support military intervention if N. Korea invades South: survey

More than 60 percent of the American public would consent to US troop intervention if North Korea initiated military aggression against South Korea, a survey carried out by a US think tank showed Thursday. In the nationwide poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 63 percent of Americans said they would support using US forces to defend the South if the North invaded. The figure marks the second-highest since 1982, having reached a record high of 64 percent in 2018. An invasion of Sout

Foreign AffairsOct. 8, 2021

Busan's Haeundae Beach loses over 20% of white sand from erosion: data

South Korea's best-known Haeundae Beach in the southeastern city of Busan lost nearly a quarter of its white sand area between 2016 and 2020 due to acceleration of coastal erosion, government data showed Friday. According to a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries report submitted to Rep. Kim Tae-heum of the main opposition People Power Party, the beach lost 41,954 square meters, or 22.7 percent, of its white sand area over the five years. By volume, 66,224 cubic meters of white sand, or 17.2 perce

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2021

Seoul raises emissions reduction target

The government raised its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030, the presidential carbon neutrality committee said Friday. The previous goal was to decrease the level of greenhouse gas emissions by 26.3 percent from 2018 output. The country produced 727.6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. The goal now is to reduce the figure to 436.6 million tons. The move is a follow-up to the carbon neutrality act that was legislated last month, the committee said, a

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2021

People Power Party shortlists 4 presidential candidates

The main opposition People Power Party on Friday shortlisted four contenders heading toward the primary’s second elimination round to pick a candidate for next year’s presidential election. The party announced Friday morning that former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and former Jeju Island Gov. Won Hee-ryong are the remaining contenders in the People Power Party’s primary. The four candidates were chosen based on results f

PoliticsOct. 8, 2021

North Korea accepts COVID aid from WHO amid border shutdown

The COVID-19 medical supplies sent by the World Health Organization and other UN agencies have reached the North Korean port of Nampo, an apparent signal that the reclusive regime is easing its strict border lockdown and welcoming outside help.  A few months ago, the WHO and other UN agencies were informed by North Korea’s Public Health Ministry that it would allow items stranded in China since the onset of the pandemic to be transported to the North through the seaport Dalian, acco

North KoreaOct. 8, 2021

Assembly speaker stresses transnational cooperation in G-20 talks

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug stressed international cooperation while meeting with global leaders and promising cooperation and support with his counterparts from other nations in his trip Thursday to Europe for G-20 diplomatic talks. Upon attending the opening ceremony of the 7th G-20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit in Rome, Park held bilateral talks with Germany’s President Reiner Haseloff and South Africa’s National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqukula. Pa

PoliticsOct. 8, 2021

Unification minister talks with Jim Rogers, renews calls for 'New Deal' initiative related to inter-Korean cooperation

Unification Minister Lee In-young stressed the need for the Korean-version New Deal project to expand to cross-border cooperation with North Korea, while speaking online with Jim Rogers, a well-known investor, according to the ministry Friday. During a conversation with Rogers the previous day, the minister said that the so-called Peace New Deal will serve as a new growth engine for the South Korean economy. "The minister said that ... if economic cooperation between the two Koreas develops

North KoreaOct. 8, 2021

Seoul announces incentives for vaccinated overstayers

Illegal stayers who want to leave South Korea voluntarily after completing COVID-19 vaccination will be given various incentives, including exemption from fines, the Ministry of Justice said Friday. The government will waive fines and suspend reentry restrictions for fully vaccinated illegal stayers choosing to voluntarily depart from South Korea between next Tuesday and Dec. 31 this year, the ministry said. The latest measure is part of the Seoul government's efforts to boost the COVID-19 vacci

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] Prosecutors seek 15-year prison term for airman over death of sexual harassment victim

Military prosecutors on Friday sought a 15-year prison sentence for a noncommissioned Air Force officer for the alleged sexual abuse of a female colleague that led to her death by suicide, officials said. The master sergeant, surnamed Jang, is suspected of sexually harassing the victim of the same rank inside a car on their way back to their base in the western city of Seosan after a private gathering in March. Following the military's poor initial responses to the case, she took her own life in

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2021

S. Korea aims to forge deeper partnerships with EU vaccine firms

South Korea said Friday it plans to forge deeper ties with biotechnology firms from the European Union as it seeks to emerge as a global production hub of vaccines by 2025. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo is set to meet Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for internal market, during the Korea-EU Global Vaccine Business Round Table in Brussels later in the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Officials from 14 major biotechnology businesses from both regions, including SK Bios

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2021

Army boot camp in border town reports 22 new COVID-19 cases

Twenty-two draftees at an Army boot camp just south of the inter-Korean border have tested positive for COVID-19, the defense ministry said Friday. The newly enlisted soldiers at the boot camp of the Army's Fifth Division in the border county of Yeoncheon underwent coronavirus tests and were confirmed to have been infected, two days after a colleague was diagnosed with the virus, according to the ministry. All of them joined the military late last month, and only three of the 23 members received

DefenseOct. 8, 2021

Main opposition's presidential candidates shortlisted to 4, ex-Jeju Gov. Won makes cut

The presidential field for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was shortlisted to four candidates Friday, with former Jeju Province Gov. Won Hee-ryong making the cut in the primary's second elimination round. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, former opposition lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and Won were announced as the four remaining contenders in the main opposition's presidential primary. Friday's result was based on a survey that combined a national poll and a se

PoliticsOct. 8, 2021