S. Korea to more than double solar, wind energy facilities by 2025: Moon

President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that South Korea will scale up its solar and wind energy production facilities by more than twofold within four years as part of the government's new carbon neutrality policy. "By 2025, we will expand the scale of solar and wind-related facilities by more than twofold compared to now," Moon said in a pre-recorded speech celebrating the second UN-designated International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. Cheong Wa Dae explained that Moon reiterated th

PoliticsSept. 7, 2021

Delta variant cases near 20,000 in S. Korea

South Korea has confirmed 3,091 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, including 3,070 of the highly transmissible delta variant, health authorities said Tuesday. The caseload of such infections reached 23,388 here, with the number of delta cases, first reported in India, tallied at 19,951, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally indicates the delta variant is becoming the dominant strain of COVID-19 here,

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2021

Police arrest 18, including TV celebrity, on charges of trafficking, using illegal drugs

C HUNCHEON -- Police in the eastern city of Chuncheon said Tuesday they arrested 14 people on charges of smuggling and distributing illegal drugs, and another four people, including TV celebrity Amy, who allegedly used narcotics from them, officials said Tuesday. The Gangwon Police Agency recently busted a drug trafficking operation that allegedly brought in drugs from Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries, largely by international airmail, and sold them to clients in South Korea via th

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2021

S. Korea to provide $3 million worth of humanitarian aid to Myanmar

South Korea will provide $3 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar to help the country cope with the coronavirus pandemic, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said it will make sure the aid is delivered to the people of Myanmar through "direct and transparent" means, suggesting that it will be provided through international organizations so as to prevent the aid from being diverted by the military. The aid comes amid the continuing political unrest in the S

Foreign AffairsSept. 7, 2021

Seoul launching multilingual COVID-19 campaign

The Seoul city government is encouraging foreigners in the city to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the proportion of foreign residents with COVID-19 grows. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, foreign residents accounted for 9.2 percent of all COVID-19 patients in Seoul in August, up from 6.3 percent in July. The city government said the increase could be due to language barriers preventing those who don‘t speak Korean from accessing information about the nationwide vaccinat

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2021

Nearly 2 million Korean adults illiterate: survey

About 2 million adults in South Korea are illiterate, the Ministry of Education said Tuesday. According to the National Institute for Lifelong Education’s survey on adult literacy, 4.5 percent of the country’s 44 million adults, or about 1.987 million people, do not have the basic reading, writing and math skills that are necessary for daily life. They were categorized as Level 1 in the survey, meaning they need elementary school education at the first or second grade level. The

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2021

PM asks metro unions to cancel planned walkout against restructuring measure

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday asked subway unions of Seoul and four other major cities to refrain from staging a planned walkout next week, saying it will seriously disrupt the public transportation service. "The people will likely experience great inconvenience and disruption if subways' operation gets interrupted ahead of the fall harvest Chuseok holiday," Kim said during a Cabinet meeting held at the government office complex in Seoul. This year's Chuseok holiday is set f

PoliticsSept. 7, 2021

N. Korea likely to hold military parade this week: sources

North Korea appears to be preparing to hold a military parade this week to mark the anniversary of the country's founding, military sources said Tuesday. Earlier, around 10,000 troops were observed in the North Korean capital in a possible indication the reclusive regime is preparing a military parade ahead of its state and ruling party founding anniversaries on Sept. 9 and Oct. 10, respectively. According to multiple sources, the parade is more likely to be held during the state founding an

North KoreaSept. 7, 2021

N. Korea's trade with China plunges 82% on-year amid pandemic: unification minister

North Korea's trade with China plunged 82.1 percent on-year amid prolonged border closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, the unification minister said Tuesday. Minister Lee In-young made the remarks during a plenary session of the foreign affairs and unification committee at the National Assembly, saying that the North is focused on addressing internal challenges, including protracted sanctions, the COVID-19 pandemic and recent flood damage. The North's trade with China from January to July

North KoreaSept. 7, 2021

Military reports 3 COVID-19 cases

An Air Force officer and two Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,644, the defense ministry said Tuesday. An Air Force officer in the central city of Cheonan was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after coming into contact with a person who tested positive earlier, while an Army officer in Yangju, north of Seoul, was found to have been infected after a family member tested positive, according to th

DefenseSept. 7, 2021

Indonesian ambassador calls for global unity to fight climate change

Climate change is the biggest existential challenge for humankind and the world needs to make a collective effort to use the rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to tackle the issue, says Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Umar Hadi. “We shall think green and transform now,” Hadi said in an interview with The Korea Herald, underscoring a need for a new ideology on sustainable development and for industries to undergo a green transformation. “I think, right now, what humanity t

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 7, 2021

Ban Ki-moon marks 2nd International Day of Clean Air for blue skies

‘Prioritize return of clean air and blue skies’ By Ban Ki-moon Sept. 7, 2021, marks the 2nd International Day of Clean Air for blue skies as designated by the United Nations General Assembly. This day reminds us of the need to act now to reduce air pollution and take a stand for the fundamental right to clean air for ourselves and for future generations. Last year, as the president of the assembly and the chair of the council of the Global Green Growth Institute, I had the pleas

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 7, 2021

New cases bounce back to near 1,600; virus resurgence in wider Seoul worrisome

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose to slightly below 1,600 on Tuesday while authorities strive to tighten their guard against the pandemic and raise the vaccination rate ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,597 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,563 local infections, raising the total caseload to 263,374, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload was the highest for any Tuesday despite tough social distancing measures

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2021

Murder suspect offers apology to his victims and their families

An ex-convict accused of killing two women before and after cutting off his location-tracking device appeared in public on Tuesday for the first time after his identity was made public last week. Kang Yoon-seong was escorted out of a police station where he was under police arrest before being taken to the prosecution. In a brief appearance before media, Kang said, "I apologize to the victims and their families." He also said he murdered them "for money, not sexual reasons,&qu

Social AffairsSept. 7, 2021

N. Korea promotes demoted military chief to member of politburo presidium

North Korea's military chief, Pak Jong-chon, has been elected a member of the Presidium of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported Tuesday, in a comeback after he was demoted earlier this year for a lapse in anti-coronavirus efforts. "The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK elected Pak Jong-chon as a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and secretary of the WPK Central Committee," according to the Korean Central News Age

North KoreaSept. 7, 2021

Kuwaiti ambassador makes a courtesy visit

FRIENDLY TIES -- Bader Al Awadi (right), ambassador of Kuwait to South Korea, fist-bumps with The Korea Herald CEO Choi Jin-young during a courtesy visit to the Herald Corp. headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday.

Diplomatic CircuitSept. 6, 2021

[From the scene] ‘Don’t give COVID-19 any chances’

ANYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- At critical case wards across Korea, health care workers have put their lives on the line quite literally every day for the past year and a half as they battle the pandemic. The squad of doctors and nurses at the Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital’s center for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO -- the last stage of life support for the sickest patients -- is weathering “the worst of COVID-19” on a daily basis. The ECMO center&r

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2021

[Us and Them] Lee Jun-seok and the rise of anti-feminism

At 36, Lee Jun-seok made history by becoming the youngest-ever leader of the main opposition People Power Party. His success has fanned hopes for significant changes in the political arena, but an uglier side of South Korean society has ascended along with him. Two months before he was elected party chairman, the party won the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections. Although the candidates were favored across age groups, young male voters showed overwhelming support. Post-election analyses s

PoliticsSept. 6, 2021

No more lining up for tickets at Seoul Grand Park

The Seoul Grand Park will no longer require visitors to line up to buy admission tickets, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. Seoul City said that the amusement park has poured 5.5 billion won ($4.75 million) into building a new front gate that allows visitors to tag their transit cards to pay for entrance. Visitors can also purchase tickets online and scan the given QR code at sensors installed by the gates to enter the park. People will still be able to purchase tickets at booths

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2021

Korean medical clinics see 76.5% decline in visits by foreigners in 2020: report

The number of foreign patients at medical institutions in South Korea plummeted more than 75 percent last year as the COVID-19 pandemic restricted international travel and lowered demand for medical tourism. According to a report released Aug. 30 by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the number of foreigners who visited Korean medical institutions last year came to 117,069, down 76.5 percent from 497,464 in 2019. The patients who did seek treatment here represented fewer countries

Social AffairsSept. 6, 2021