Cheong Wa Dae extends press center closure for two weeks

Cheong Wa Dae said Friday its Chunchugwan press center will remain closed for two more weeks in line with extended social distancing restrictions against COVID-19. Earlier in the day, the government announced the extension of the highest level of regulations by two weeks in Seoul and nearby regions amid no tangible progress in efforts to curb the spread of the virus. Chunchugwan has been shut temporarily since July 12. It is the first time that the facility has closed as a precautionary measu

PoliticsJuly 23, 2021

Court rules against US composer in plagiarism suit over 'Baby Shark'

A Seoul court on Friday ruled against an American composer in a plagiarism suit he brought against the producer of the popular South Korean children's song "Baby Shark" two years ago. The Seoul Central District Court rejected a claim by New York-based composer Johnny Only that "Baby Shark," a world-famous song released by South Korean education startup SmartStudy in 2015, copied his 2011 song. The rhythmic two-minute song featuring a shark family and their underwater hunt f

Social AffairsJuly 23, 2021

NK paper calls grain production 'life-or-death' matter

North Korea's official newspaper on Friday called for all-out efforts to maximize grain production this year, saying successful farming is a "life-or-death" matter that could determine the country's fate. "The top priority issue of this year's national policy is successful farming," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the country's ruling Workers' Party, said in an editorial. "All citizens living in this country should provide every possible support while regarding good fa

North KoreaJuly 23, 2021

3 more newly enlisted soldiers at boot camp test positive for virus

Three more newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total caseload recently reported at the base to 122, the defense ministry said Friday. The soldiers at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine following the mass outbreak at the base earlier this month, according to the ministry. In Jinhae, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, a Navy officer was

DefenseJuly 23, 2021

Greater Seoul to be under toughest curbs for 2 more weeks

South Korea will extend the toughest virus restrictions in the greater Seoul area for another two weeks amid no signs of a letup in the fourth wave of new COVID-19 outbreaks, health authorities said Friday. Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the western port city of Incheon have been placed under Level 4, the highest in the four-tier virus curbs, since July 12, and the measures will be extended for another two weeks starting Monday until Aug. 8, according to the authorities. Gatherin

Social AffairsJuly 23, 2021

New cases above 1,600 amid 4th wave of pandemic; toughest curbs in wider Seoul extended

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases dropped Friday from the previous day's all-time high, but authorities extended the toughest virus curbs in the wider Seoul area to curb a further rise in new infections. The country added 1,630 COVID-19 cases, including 1,574 local infections, raising the total caseload to 185,733, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure was down from a record high of 1,842 on Thursday when 270 patients from a virus-hit Ch

Social AffairsJuly 23, 2021

6 USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for COVID-19

Five American service members and a civilian worker for the US military in South Korea tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival here from the United States, US Forces Korea (USFK) has said. One of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on a US government chartered flight, and four service members and a civilian affiliated with the US Department of Defense arrived on international commercial flights at Incheon International Airport,

DefenseJuly 23, 2021

Vice FM Choi, Deputy Secretary Sherman to hold talks on N. Korea, global issues

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman held talks in Seoul on Friday over stalled nuclear diplomacy with North Korea and other bilateral and global issues. The strategic dialogue comes as Washington pushes to cement regional alliances and partnerships to confront shared challenges, including China's growing assertiveness. The agenda for the meeting included regional challenges that "threaten to undermine the rules-based international order

North KoreaJuly 23, 2021

N. Korea is one area US and China share 'aligned' interests: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The United States and China may share similar interests when it comes to the issue of denuclearizing North Korea despite their sometimes competitive and even adversarial relationship, a State Department spokesman said Thursday. Ned Price made the remarks as Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is set to visit China for discussions on issues that will include ways to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear and provocative ballistic missile programs. "The DPRK is one of those areas whe

Foreign AffairsJuly 23, 2021

Seoul, Washington agree to induce Pyongyang back to nuclear talks

US Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman on Thursday held talks with key officials here, underscoring close coordination between the allies to induce North Korea back to the stalled denuclearization talks. 　 As part of the Asia trip, Sherman arrived in Seoul on Wednesday after her stop in Tokyo, where she and her South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Choi Jong-kun and Takeo Mori, respectively, held trilateral talks and reiterated close coordination on North Korea policy. 　 Sherman met with South K

Foreign AffairsJuly 22, 2021

Ministry launches inspection into COVID-hit warship

The Ministry of National Defense has launched a sweeping inspection into the massive COVID-19 outbreak that forced its unvaccinated anti-piracy unit to return home five months after departing for Africa, military officials said Thursday. The inspection comes amid mounting calls for Defense Minister Suh Wook to step down to take responsibility for an aborted overseas mission, a first for the military, which airlifted the 301-strong Cheonghae Unit on Tuesday. More than two-thirds of the cre

DefenseJuly 22, 2021

Korea sees record daily cases despite toughest distancing rules

Ten days into the toughest level of distancing curbs in Greater Seoul, the nation has continued to see record-breaking daily case numbers. The current restrictions that end Sunday are likely to be extended to curb further spread. As of Wednesday at midnight, the number of new daily confirmed cases reached a record high of 1,842 people. The figure includes 270 infected sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. Of the newly confirmed cases, 1,53

Social AffairsJuly 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Buddhist monks fined for breaching social distancing guidelines

Buddhist monks are facing criticism after seven of them were caught having a private gathering in violation of local social distancing guidelines. According to the local government of Haenam in South Jeolla Province, there was a report of several Buddhist monks having a meal together with alcoholic drinks on Monday evening, when the region’s social distancing guidelines prohibiting private gatherings of more than four people had come into effect. A photograph showed eight people sitting

Social AffairsJuly 22, 2021

S. Korea seeks unification not 'by absorption' but through peaceful means: official

South Korea seeks unification with North Korea through peaceful means and based on agreement between the two sides, a unification ministry official said Thursday after the chief of the main opposition party expressed his wish for unification "by absorption." In a TV debate on Wednesday, Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the People Power Party (PPP), said that he is an advocate of "unification by peaceful absorption" with North Korea. He also renewed calls for scrapping or adjusting

PoliticsJuly 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi governor pledges to distribute universal basic income if elected president

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung, the front-running presidential contender for the ruling Democratic Party, made a campaign pledge Thursday to distribute universal basic income of up to 2 million won ($1,736) per year to all citizens. "Within the (five-year) term of the next administration, (I) will provide 2 million won in basic income to each young person every year and 1 million won each to the rest of the citizens" Lee said in a press conference at the National Assembly in Seo

PoliticsJuly 22, 2021

Former chief of S. Korea's largest Buddhist sect, social activist dies

Ven. Wolju, a former chief of South Korea's largest Buddhist sect who devoted himself to social movements, passed away Thursday. He was 87. The former chief executive of the Jogye Order died at 9:45 a.m. at Geumsan Temple in Gimje, some 200 kilometers south of Seoul, after suffering from pneumonia, according to the order. Born in 1935, he entered the Buddhist priesthood in the 1950s. He took the initiative in leading a nationwide purification campaign of Korean Buddhism in 1961 and worked in t

Social AffairsJuly 22, 2021

Military reports 4 more COVID-19 cases, including one from Cheonghae unit

An additional sailor of the virus-stricken Cheonghae anti-piracy unit and three Army members have tested positive for the coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. The sailor has been in isolation since returning home Tuesday from Africa due to the mass outbreak in the unit. He previously tested negative but developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 on Wednesday and underwent another round of tests, which found him to be infected, according to the ministry. As of Thursday, the total c

DefenseJuly 22, 2021

Sweltering heat continues to bake S. Korea

Unrelenting heat continued in most parts of the country Thursday, with temperatures reaching the upper 30s in some of the hottest areas, the weather agency said. Heat warnings remained in effect for most of the country, where the average temperature was recorded in the range of 28 C-36 C nationwide, with some southwestern inland cities reaching as high as 38 C, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The scorching warm weather eased only slightly during the night. And the s

Social AffairsJuly 22, 2021

Defense ministry launches audit on Cheonghae unit's mass COVID-19 outbreak

The defense ministry on Thursday began an inspection into the mass coronavirus outbreak at the country's anti-piracy Cheonghae unit that infected 90 percent of its 301 members, forcing them to cut short their mission in waters off Africa and return home, officials said. A 10-member team from the ministry's inspector office will look into whether the military -- including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy, the Armed Forces Medical Command, the Cheonghae unit and related ministry bureaus -- pro

DefenseJuly 22, 2021

New cases break record for 2nd day; toughest curbs likely to be extended

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit a fresh high of over 1,800 on Thursday with mass infections from a virus-hit Naval unit, while authorities are increasingly inclined to extend the toughest virus restrictions in the wider Seoul area amid no signs of letup. The country added 1,842 COVID-19 cases, including 1,533 local infections, raising the total caseload to 184,103, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure was the highest ever since th

Social AffairsJuly 22, 2021