[Video] Afghan evacuees arrive in Seoul

A military jet carrying 378 at-risk Afghans who worked alongside the Korean government arrived in South Korea on Thursday, as part of Seoul’s mission to evacuate civilians fleeing the Taliban takeover. 　 The evacuees on board the KC-330 tanker transport plane touched down at Incheon International Airport at 4:24 p.m. on Thursday, after leaving the Pakistani capital of Islamabad earlier in the day, according to the Foreign Ministry. 　 Another plane, carrying 13 remaining p

Foreign AffairsAug. 26, 2021

Colombian veterans of Korean War receive state medals from S. Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has awarded state medals to two Colombian veterans who fought for South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War in recognition of their sacrifice and devotion, officials said Thursday. Guillermo Rodriguez Guzman, 91, and Alvaro Lozano Charry, 87, were awarded the Ambassador for Peace Medal on Wednesday during their visit to Seoul on the occasion of Colombian President Ivan Duque's three-day state visit to South Korea that began Tuesday. A retired career soldier,

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 26, 2021

'Kabul rescue mission was miracle'

Evacuating almost 400 Afghan allies and their families from Afghanistan was nothing short of miracle, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Thursday, hinting that there were no more rescue missions possible with just days left before an Aug. 31 deadline for the US withdrawal. “If we had failed to mobilize buses at the last minute, only 26 people could have made it to the airport,” President Moon Jae-in’s senior secretary for public communications, Park Soo-hyun, said in a radi

Foreign AffairsAug. 26, 2021

'Fake news’ bill faces global criticism for ‘gagging press’

Criticism continues to pile up in response to the ruling party’s “fake news” bill, with critics saying it would suppress freedom of the press in South Korea. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has defended the proposed revision to the Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, Etc. for Damages Caused by Press Reports as a means to protect the public from misinformation and malicious press reports. Opposition lawmakers and local media organizations have attacked the bill from th

PoliticsAug. 26, 2021

Korea aims to move closer to ‘half-price college tuition’

South Korea on Thursday announced details of 87 youth policy measures that will affect housing, education, welfare and jobs. The highlights include plans to halve college tuition for the whole country and to subsidize rental payments for financially struggling young people. “In a situation where job opportunities for young people decrease due to digitalization, automation and robotization, the living conditions of young people are worsening due to COVID-19,” said Koo Yoon-cheol, he

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2021

Korea to revise law to grant Afghan helpers long-term visas

“Today, the Korean government accepts Afghans who have assisted its activities in Afghanistan, along with their family members,” Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said at a press briefing at Incheon Airport on Thursday, an hour before they arrived. The evacuated Afghans include those who worked at the Korean Embassy, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, a hospital and vocational training institute run by the Korean government and Korean military bases, he said. More than half o

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2021

Opposition party threatens filibuster to block media bill

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said Thursday it will mount a filibuster to block a controversial media bill, which it said would suppress press freedom and gag critical media. The ruling Democratic Party (DP) plans to pass the proposed revision to the press arbitration act during a parliamentary plenary session Monday despite resistance from opposition parties and media organizations. The bill, aimed at curbing fake news, would allow the court to order punitive damages of up to f

NationalAug. 26, 2021

NK propaganda outlet denounces S. Korea - US military drill as 'playing with fire'

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Thursday slammed South Korea and the United States over their summertime joint military drill, calling it "a dangerous playing with fire" that heightens tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Uriminzokkiri made the criticism as the allies were set to conclude their nine-day combined military exercise Thursday, which has been held in a scaled-back manner due to the coronavirus situation and peace efforts involving North Korea. "The joint military dr

DefenseAug. 26, 2021

Ruling party, govt. agree to give monthly rent subsidy to low-income youth

The ruling party and the government on Thursday agreed on a new youth assistance program, including a monthly rent subsidy for young people in lower income brackets, party officials said. The decision was reached during a consultative meeting between the Democratic Party and the government amid the country's soaring housing costs and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Under the special youth assistance program, the government will pay a monthly rent subsidy of 200,000 won ($171.4) for up to a ye

PoliticsAug. 26, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae vows continued support for political stability in Myanmar

Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday South Korea will continue efforts for democracy and recovery of peace and stability in Myanmar in close cooperation with the international community. It was responding to a public petition calling on Seoul to express formal support for a political group opposing Myanmar's junta, called the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG). In the online message, posted on Cheong Wa Dae's website and approved by more than 268,000 people, the petitioner requested South Korea

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 26, 2021

Disabled people suffer more than 2 sex crimes daily on average: report

More than two cases of sex crimes are committed against disabled people per day on average in South Korea, a police report showed Thursday. According to the National Police Agency report submitted to independent lawmaker Lee Yong-ho, a total of 2,432 cases of sex offenses targeted disabled people from 2017-19, which roughly translates into a daily average of 2.2 cases a day. The yearly tally stood at 785 in 2017, 843 in 2018 and 804 in 2019. Of the total, a supermajority of 2,242 cases, or 92

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2021

3 more Army recruits test positive for COVID-19

An Army boot camp reported three more cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the total caseload in the latest cluster infection there to 18, the defense ministry said Thursday. The three recruits at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan, 213 kilometers south of Seoul, have been in isolation after their camp reported another cluster infection weeks earlier. Last month, the training center suffered a massive outbreak, which resulted in 123 confirmed cases. Separately

DefenseAug. 26, 2021

S. Korea to seek talks with EU over new carbon policy

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it is seeking to hold talks with the European Union (EU) over the single largest economic bloc's new carbon-neutral policy, which may weigh down exports of steel and aluminum. The EU announced earlier that it will implement the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the near future. Under the CBAM scheme, European importers of cement, electricity, fertilizer, steel and aluminum must purchase "carbon certificates" corresponding to the a

PoliticsAug. 26, 2021

N. Korea to hold Supreme People's Assembly session next month: state media

North Korea will convene a meeting of its rubber-stamp legislature in Pyongyang next month to discuss adopting laws on youth education and modifications to the national economic plan, state media said Thursday. The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly met in Pyongyang on Tuesday and decided to convene an SPA session on Sept. 28, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The KCNA said the session will discuss the issue of "adopting the law on developing cities and

North KoreaAug. 26, 2021

[Graphic News] No. of households with minors falls below 5m in 2019: data

　The number of households with children under 18 years old fell below 5 million for the first time in 2019, amid a chronically low birthrate, data showed. 　The number of households with children under 18 came to 4.87 million in 2019, down from 5.04 million the previous year, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. 　Such households made up 23.3 percent of the total 20.9 million households in 2019, down 1.3 percentage points from 2018, the data showed. 　As of Nov. 1, 2019, the numbe

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2021

New COVID-19 cases hover under 1,900, largest death toll since 4th wave

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hovered near 1,900 on Thursday, and daily COVID-19 deaths hit the highest number since the fourth wave of the pandemic began, as health authorities scrambled to add critical-care hospital beds. The country added 1,882 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,829 local infections, raising the total caseload to 243,317, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Thursday's tally compares with 2,155 on Wednesday, 1,509 on Tuesday, 1,418

Social AffairsAug. 26, 2021

Afghan co-workers, family members on way to S. Korea on aerial tanker

A South Korean military plane departed for home from Islamabad on Thursday, carrying Afghan people evacuated from the war-torn nation after working for the South, as part of operations to bring a total of 391 Afghan co-workers and their family members to the country. The KC-330 tanker transport aircraft took off from an airport in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad at 4:53 a.m. (Seoul time) and is expected to land at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at 3:53 p.m., the foreign minist

Foreign AffairsAug. 26, 2021

S. Korea, US set to wrap up summertime combined exercise

 South Korea and the United States on Thursday were set to conclude a major summertime combined exercise held in a scaled-back manner due to the coronavirus situation and peace efforts involving North Korea, officials said. The nine-day computer-simulated Combined Command Post Training began on Aug. 16, mobilizing the minimum level of troops without any outdoor drills, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). This year's summertime exercise kicked off amid strong protests from North

DefenseAug. 26, 2021

US grateful for S. Korea's contribution in evacuating Afghan refugees: US general

The United States is thankful for South Korea's support in getting people out of warn-torn Afghanistan, a ranking US military official said Wednesday, as the US struggles to evacuate its citizens and Afghan refugees before its deadline expires next week. Maj. Gen. William Taylor, deputy director for regional operations of the Joint Staff at the US Department of Defense, made the remark after South Korea evacuated nearly 400 Afghans who will be airlifted to South Korea for possible settlement th

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 26, 2021

New Zealand Tech Roadshow 2021 to foster partnerships between New Zealand and Korean technology companies

New Zealand’s chamber of commerce in Korea, or the Kiwi Chamber, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Invest Seoul Center jointly launched the two-day “New Zealand-Korea Tech Roadshow 2021” webinar Wednesday. The tech roadshow aims to emphasize New Zealand‘s role as a testbed of agricultural technologies and its status as a global leader in the field. Tech Roadshow 2021’s agenda is “People & Environment” focusing

Diplomatic CircuitAug. 25, 2021