9th Korea Challenge Festival celebrates people who overcame adversity

The Korea Challenge Festival commemorated Challenge Day, which falls on July 8, by honoring those who overcame adversity in various fields at the World Taekwondo Headquarters on Thursday. The festival was organized by the nonprofit Challenge Korea Association Headquarter and supported by The Korea Herald, Korean Senior Citizens Association, World Taekwondo Headquarters, Miracle City World Group, Arirang TV and World Korea New Deal Public Group. The festival was held under the theme of &ldq

Foreign AffairsJuly 13, 2021

7 more soldiers at Army boot camp test positive for virus

Seven newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections recently reported at the base to 95, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The enlistees 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 infection outbreak at the base last week, according to the ministry. Separately, an airman based in Seongnam, south of Seoul, tes

DefenseJuly 13, 2021

N. Korea reports no coronavirus cases: WHO report

North Korea has conducted coronavirus tests on around 35,000 people so far but found no infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday, amid the global spread of the more contagious delta variant. According to the WHO's weekly report on COVID-19, 718 North Koreans underwent virus tests from June 25 to July 1, bringing the total number of tested citizens to 32,512, but none were found to have been infected. Of the 718 newly tested citizens, 127 people with symptoms turned out to b

North KoreaJuly 13, 2021

[Graphic News] No. of fake banknotes dips to record low in H1 amid pandemic

　The number of counterfeit South Korean banknotes identified dropped to a new record low in the first half of 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the decline of cash use, the Bank of Korea said. 　In the January-June period, the number of fake banknotes found here came to just 38, down from 161 a year earlier and marking the lowest figure since the BOK began releasing such data in 2000. 　By denomination, 5,000-won counterfeit bills accounted for more than half of all counterfeit bil

NationalJuly 13, 2021

New cases above 1,000 for week; delta variant fast spreading

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose by more than 1,000 for the seventh consecutive day Tuesday, as worries ran high over a further uptick in new infections amid the fast spread of the more contagious delta variant and the summer season despite toughened virus curbs. The country added 1,150 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,097 local infections, raising the total caseload to 170,296, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally is slightly up from 1,100

Social AffairsJuly 13, 2021

Next year's minimum wage set at W9,160 in 5.1% on-year increase

A national commission on Monday set next year's minimum hourly wage at 9,160 won ($7.98) in a 5.1 percent on-year increase. The Minimum Wage Commission, which is composed of nine members each from labor, business and the general public, struck the agreement around midnight during a plenary session held at the government complex in Sejong. During the negotiations, the labor side had called for a significant increase from this year's 8,720 won, while the management side had called for a freeze,

Social AffairsJuly 13, 2021

Rival party leaders agree to give COVID-19 relief aid to all citizens

The leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties agreed Monday to give the next round of COVID-19 relief aid to all citizens, not just select groups, their spokespeople said.    Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), and Lee Jun-seok, chairman of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), reached the agreement during a meeting over dinner.    "The two leaders appear to have reached a consensus that (the handouts) should be given to the

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2021

Moon meets Korean archbishop headed for Vatican

President Moon Jae-in on Monday met with archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik, the first South Korean appointed to a secretary position at the Vatican, Cheong Wa Dae said.    You is set to leave for the Vatican later this month to serve as the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, the Vatican arm overseeing matters regarding priests and deacons as well as seminaries.    Pope Francis appointed You to the position last month.    "I wish for Pope Franci

PoliticsJuly 12, 2021

[Diplomatic Circuit] I was a child of war and a product of multilateralism, former UN chief says

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon officially launched his new book titled “Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World” in Seoul on Thursday. “Without the United nations troops, humanitarian agencies and advisers, Korea would not be where she is today, such experiences grounded in me importance of peace, opportunity, security, stability, and collective responsibility, beliefs that shaped my life and my tenure as (UN) secretary-general,” Ban said at the book launc

Foreign AffairsJuly 12, 2021

11 USFK-affiliated people test positive for COVID-19

Six US Forces Korea (USFK) service members and five other affiliated individuals tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Monday, the latest in a series of infections from American military bases in South Korea.    Three of the six soldiers were from Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, and one each from Camp Carroll in the southeastern city of Daegu and the Osan and Kunsan Air Bases, according to the USFK.    The remaining cases were one Korean

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2021

Japan's attitude important over whether Moon will visit Japan: Cheong Wa Dae

    President Moon Jae-in will take Japan's attitude into account when deciding whether to visit Tokyo for the opening ceremony of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and bilateral summit talks, according to his office Monday.    "Our government intends to have South Korea-Japan summit talks," a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters, requesting anonymity. "But it maintains the position that there should be an accomplishment if talks are held."    The

Foreign AffairsJuly 12, 2021

UNESCO ‘strongly regrets’ Japan not fulfilling pledges on forced labor issue

A UNESCO committee on Monday expressed strong regrets over Japan not fulfilling its pledge to honor victims of wartime forced labor at an information center on its industrial revolution site registered on the World Heritage List.  Japan opened the Industrial Heritage Information Center last year, introducing 23 modern Japanese Meiji-era sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, including the notorious Hashima Island, also known as Battleship Island, where many Koreans were forced int

Foreign AffairsJuly 12, 2021

Jailed Samsung heir's trial put off as top court advises courts be adjourned to control COVID-19

Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong's trial has been postponed after the Supreme Court advised last week that court proceedings be suspended in the greater Seoul area for two weeks amid record-setting coronavirus cases. The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics has been on trial over a controversial merger of two Samsung affiliates and alleged accounting fraud since October last year. In September, he was charged with unfair trading, stock manipulation and breach of trust in relation to the 2015 me

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2021

NK propaganda outlet denies Pyongyang's hacking of S. Korean think tank

A North Korean propaganda outlet on Monday denied allegations Pyongyang was behind the recent hacking attacks on South Korea's nuclear power think tank and an aircraft manufacturer, denouncing such claims as an "act of provocation" that seeks to disgrace the regime. On Thursday, South Korea's spy agency reported to parliament that the Atomic Energy Research Institute was believed to have been exposed to North Korean hacking attacks for 12 days, though no major data was leaked, accordi

North KoreaJuly 12, 2021

UNESCO committee to urge Japan to carry out recommendations on wartime forced labor

A UNESCO committee will adopt a decision next week calling for Japan to live up to its promise to honor forced labor victims at an information center on industrial revolution sites registered on the World Heritage list, an official said Monday. The World Heritage Committee (WHC) is expected to adopt the decision between July 21-23 during the 44th annual session slated to run virtually through the end of this month, a foreign ministry official said. In the decision, the WHC plans to express &qu

Foreign AffairsJuly 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yoon says his heart aches for jailed ex-presidents

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, now a presidential contender, said his heart aches when he thinks about ex-Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, who were jailed for corruption as a result of investigations that he led. “No matter the reasons, (I) offer consolation and express regrets to all who have gone through pain because of me,” Yoon said in an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo published Monday, about the political corruption probes that he led as chief of the Seoul

PoliticsJuly 12, 2021

Seoul city's digital map adds feature showing crowd sizes at virus testing centers

The Seoul city government's official digital map has newly added a feature showing the level of crowds at COVID-19 testing centers across the city, according to officials Monday. The Smart Seoul Map, available at the URL address https://map.seoul.go.kr/smgis2/short/6NjT7, was updated to reveal the level of crowds in line waiting to be tested at some 80 testing centers across the city, according to city officials. The crowed sizes are divided into three categories -- normal, busy and crowded --

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2021

S. Korea hit by increasing heat waves, tropical nights, data shows

South Korea experienced three to four more days of heat waves and tropical nights per year during the past decade than it did during the past 48 years, data from the Korea Meteorological Administration showed Monday. Heat wave days from 2011 to 2020 averaged 14 days per year, up 3.9 days from the 10.1 days recorded between 1973 and 2020. The average number of tropical nights increased 3.3 days to nine days during the same period. A heat wave alert is issued when the maximum sensible temperatur

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2021

Moon says very sorry for asking people to endure toughest social distancing rules

President Moon Jae-in apologized publicly Monday for requesting the public put up with the strictest level of social distancing restrictions. He pledged to mobilize every possible resource to bring the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic here under control as early as possible. He was speaking at the outset of an emergency interagency meeting on the rapid spread of the coronavirus, especially the delta variant, in Seoul and nearby areas. "I am very sorry to ask the people once again to

PoliticsJuly 12, 2021

Say goodbye to Gangnam Style, treadmill running for next 2 weeks

South Korea’s virus authorities are asking those in the Greater Seoul area to give up high-speed running on treadmills and fast dance music for group exercises in fitness clubs, as they worry that intense workouts could exacerbate the spread of COVID-19 during its most challenging wave to date. The restrictions under the strictest level of the four-tier system now require many fitness clubs and users to revise their plans, or else face fines. The health authorities have also come under mo

Social AffairsJuly 12, 2021