S. Korea, US envoys discuss humanitarian aid for NK, nuclear issue

South Korea and the US discussed potential humanitarian aid to North Korea and reiterated calls for the reclusive regime to return to dialogue, Washington’s top nuclear envoy said Monday, as Pyongyang may be on track to expand its nuclear program.   　 Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, made the remark after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, who is in Washington through Wednesday for talks with officials at the State Department and the Wh

North KoreaAug. 31, 2021

Moon stresses aggressive fiscal spending for inclusive recovery

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday rolled out his administration’s last budget plan worth 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) that aims to cement the economic recovery, reduce deepening income disparity and prepare for post-pandemic policy initiatives. The big spending plan for 2022, up 8.3 percent from this year’s 558 trillion won, is set to be submitted to the National Assembly on Friday for approval. “At a time when the coronavirus crisis has greatly dampened the private sect

PoliticsAug. 31, 2021

Food poisoning victims sue 'gimbap' franchise

Over 130 people have lodged a damages suit against a restaurant franchise that sells "gimbap," or seaweed rice rolls with vegetables, over food poisoning. Park Young-saeng, an attorney at Jungjin law firm, said Tuesday that he filed a damages suit the previous day with the Suwon District Court in Seongnam, a Gyeonggi Province city just south of Seoul, on behalf of 135 victims of food poisoning incidents at two stores of a gimbap chain in the city. The victims have requested a total o

Social AffairsAug. 31, 2021

Health workers urged to scrap planned strike amid prolonged pandemic

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol urged unionized health workers Tuesday against launching their planned strike later this week, expressing concerns that the move could strain the country's health care system and fight against the pandemic. On Friday, the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) voted to go on strike starting Sept. 2 to demand better working conditions and the expansion of public health infrastructure amid concerns of a workforce shortage at hospitals as the country battle

Social AffairsAug. 31, 2021

Seoul education chief challenges opinion in anti-corruption agency’s 1st case

Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon filed an objection on Tuesday after the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials’ review committee decided Cho should face charges of abuse of power in connection with a hiring decision. Cho’s legal representative, Lee Jae-hwa, filed the official request with the chief of the CIO on Tuesday, arguing that the previous day’s review committee meeting was biased and it should reconvene. “(The review committee&rsq

Social AffairsAug. 31, 2021

Rival parties to take more time to discuss controversial media bill

Rival parties on Tuesday tentatively agreed to process a controversial media reform bill led by the ruling party in a plenary parliamentary session next month, party officials said. Reps. Yun Ho-jung and Kim Gi-hyeon, floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), respectively, made the consensus during a meeting earlier in the day to table the bill in a plenary parliamentary session set for Sept. 27. The bill, championed by the DP, is desi

PoliticsAug. 31, 2021

W12tr earmarked for carbon neutrality in 2022

South Korea plans to spend about 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) next year on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and responding to the climate crisis to pursue carbon neutrality, the government said in its 2022 budget plan released Tuesday. The plan calls for allocating 8.3 trillion won to low-carbon projects in four major sectors -- energy, industry, mobility and land -- and establishing a climate response fund worth 2.5 trillion won. The government has selected the transition to carbon neutra

PoliticsAug. 31, 2021

Unification minister calls for early resumption of dialogue with N. Korea

Unification Minister Lee In-young called Tuesday for the early resumption of talks with North Korea, saying dialogue is the only way toward achieving objectives that everyone wants. Lee made the appeal in an opening speech for the Korean Global Forum for Peace, an annual forum organized by the unification ministry, also urging North Korea to come out for talks on inter-Korean cooperation in humanitarian areas. "Even without perfect conditions for dialogue, the South, the North and the Uni

North KoreaAug. 31, 2021

USFK reports 40 new COVID-19 cases, including those from cluster at Osan base

Thirty-six American soldiers and four affiliated individuals have tested positive for the new coronavirus, including those from a cluster infection at the Osan base, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Tuesday. Eighteen service members and one family member stationed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, tested positive Thursday and Friday, either after developing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or after coming into contact with colleagues who tested positive earlier,

DefenseAug. 31, 2021

N.Korea leader urges young ex-convicts to become 'kindling spark' for national development

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met and held a photo session with young ex-convicts volunteering to work in "difficult and challenging sectors," and urged them to become a "kindling spark" for national development, state media said Tuesday. Kim "held hands of each of the young people who volunteered to work at difficult and challenging sectors with high awareness and enthusiasm to glorify their youth in the van of the worthwhile era, highly estimating their deeds and me

North KoreaAug. 31, 2021

Ruling party kicks off 41-day nationwide primary voting to pick presidential candidate

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday kicked off a 41-day nationwide voting process to choose its final candidate to run in next year's presidential election, party officials said. The primary election voting on six DP presidential contenders started off on the inaugural leg of the central city of Daejeon and surrounding South Chungcheong Province earlier in the day. It will then move to 10 additional legs across the country, including the southern city of Gwangju on Sept. 25, to wrap up

PoliticsAug. 31, 2021

S. Korea, US launch joint Korean War remains excavation project near DMZ

South Korea and the United States launched a joint project Tuesday to recover the remains of troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War at a former battle site near the inter-Korean border, the defense ministry said. Around 60 South Korean military personnel and 10 from the US' Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) began the joint excavation work on Mount Baekseok in the northeastern county of Yanggu, which will continue through Sept. 16, according to the ministry. As one of the key strate

DefenseAug. 31, 2021

[Graphic News] Number of seniors living alone soars 36% over 5 years

　The number of seniors living alone has surged nearly 36 percent over the last five years amid the country's rapid population aging, data showed. 　A total of 1.66 million South Koreans aged 65 and older lived by themselves in 2020, up 35.8 percent from five years earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　The number accounted for 21.2 percent of local household members aged 65 and older, which numbered 7.85 million last year. 　In particular, the number of seniors living alone

Social AffairsAug. 31, 2021

New cases under 1,400 on fewer tests; toughened curbs eyed ahead of Chuseok holiday

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,400 on Tuesday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but health authorities are facing hurdles in flattening the curve ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The country added 1,372 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,333 local infections, raising the total caseload to 251,421, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for 56 consecutive days. Tuesday's tally marked a drop from 1,619 on Sun

Social AffairsAug. 31, 2021

S. Korea, Egypt agree to expand defense industry cooperation

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook has met with Egypt's Military Production Minister Mohamed Ahmed Morsi during a visit to the country and agreed to expand defense industry cooperation between the two sides, his office said Tuesday. The meeting took place Monday after Suh arrived in Egypt for a two-day visit at the invitation of the country's defense chief Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed. He is South Korea's first defense minister to visit the Middle Eastern nation. During the talks, Suh said S

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 31, 2021

US continues to seek dialogue with N. Korea: White House

The United States continues to seek negotiations with North Korea to discuss a range of issues related to denuclearization, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki affirmed Monday. Her remark comes after the UN nuclear watchdog said the North appears to have restarted its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. "We continue to seek dialogue with the DPRK so we can address this reported activity and the full range of issues related to denuclearization," Psaki said at a daily pr

Foreign AffairsAug. 31, 2021

Korea, Colombia can help each other on green transition: Colombian environment minister

Korea is leading the world in the green transition with its Green New Deal, Carlos Eduardo Correa, Colombia’s environment and sustainable development minister said in an interview with the Korea Herald. Recognizing that Colombia also had a significant role to play in environmental issues, he said the two countries could work more effectively to achieving their aims if thy worked together “Colombia and Korea have big responsibility of sustainable development in post-COVID-19, if w

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 30, 2021

South Korean lawmakers to vote on cameras in operating rooms after surgery deaths

South Korean lawmakers will vote as early as Monday on whether to require hospitals to place surveillance cameras in operating rooms after a series of medical accidents involving unqualified staff who stood in for surgeons. If the bill is approved by parliament, South Korea will be the first developed country to require closed-circuit cameras to record surgical procedures. The push for having cameras in operating theatres intensified after a case in 2016 in which surgeons at private clinics we

Social AffairsAug. 30, 2021

Govt. agencies agree on need to extend peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, South Sudan

South Korean government agencies agreed Monday on the need to extend its peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and South Sudan, the foreign ministry said. Officials from the foreign, defense, finance and interior ministries as well as the military and police participated in a virtual consultative meeting to discuss extending the presence of the Dongmyeong Unit in Lebanon and the Hanbit Unit in South Sudan, the ministry said.  In the meeting led by Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon,

DefenseAug. 30, 2021

Panel backs indictment of Seoul education chief over hiring of fired teachers

A panel of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on Monday issued an opinion in favor of indicting the chief educational official of Seoul over his suspected abuse of power in the reinstatement of fired teachers. Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, has been under investigation by the government's independent corruption investigative body on suspicion of illegally influencing the process of reinstating five dismissed teachers, incl

Social AffairsAug. 30, 2021