Moon pledges Korea’s bigger role as ‘advanced nation’

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged to play a bigger role in the international community, touting the nation’s recent status upgrade as an “advanced nation” as recognized by an UN agency last week. “I’m very proud that the status change is the first of its kind since the establishment of the UN Conference on Trade and Development in 1964,” the president said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. “We will continue to move for

PoliticsJuly 6, 2021

Seoul to run free shuttles for wheelchair users getting COVID-19 vaccines

Seoul will operate free shuttle services for wheelchair users to get their COVID-19 shots starting Thursday as the capital of South Korea seeks to improve access for those unable to easily reach vaccination centers in the city. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday that it will dispatch two wheelchair-friendly “Seoul Accessible Buses” to pick up and drop off passengers at welfare centers and 33 local COVID-19 vaccination centers. The buses will run every Monday to Friday an

Social AffairsJuly 6, 2021

Military reports 5 COVID-19 cases

Four Army soldiers and an Air Force officer have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Two soldiers in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after one of them first developed symptoms, while another soldier and an officer in Paju, some 35 km northwest of the capital, were found to be infected, also after one of them first tested positive, according to the ministry. The officer received the second dose of Pfi

DefenseJuly 6, 2021

Downpours trigger landslide, cut off power, leave 2 dead in southern parts of Korea

Heavy rains that hit the southern parts of the country overnight flooded houses and farmland, and disrupted the power supply and train services, leaving two dead and forcing 120 people to evacuate, authorities said Tuesday. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said the downpour swept away a woman, in her 60s, in the southwestern county of Haenam early in the morning. The authorities said she was found dead from drowning. In the nearby counties of Gangjin and Jindo, 47 p

Social AffairsJuly 6, 2021

23 Incheon elementary school students infected with COVID-19

INCHEON -- More than 20 students of an elementary school here have been infected with the new coronavirus, authorities said Tuesday, ordering emergency COVID-19 tests for all its students and teachers and their families. According to the municipality of Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, 23 sixth graders of Inju Elementary School in the city's central ward of Michuhol have been diagnosed with COVID-19 this week. The municipality plans to install a walk-through screening station at the schoo

Social AffairsJuly 6, 2021

New cases over 700 for 4th day, distancing rules in greater Seoul likely to be maintained

South Korea's daily new virus cases stayed in the 700s for the fourth day in a row Tuesday, as health authorities struggle to prevent infections from spreading further amid concerns about a spike in cases of the contagious delta COVID-19 variant. The country reported 746 more COVID-19 cases, including 690 local infections, raising the total caseload to 161,541, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest figure is compared with 826 on Friday, which marked a nearly s

Social AffairsJuly 6, 2021

Businesses to face 10-day closure for single breach of coronavirus rules: PM

Restaurants, cafes and other businesses will face a strengthened penalty of a 10-day closure for just a one-time violation of new social distancing rules, the prime minister said Tuesday. The new enforcement regulation set to go into effect Thursday is "a strong law that warrants a shutdown of 10 days for even a single violation of distancing rules," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during an interagency meeting to review the greater Seoul region's virus situation. The statement came

Social AffairsJuly 6, 2021

[Newsmaker] Military general arrested over sexual harassment allegations

An Army general was arrested on charges of sexually molesting a female subordinate, officials said Tuesday, in yet another sex crime in barracks following the suicide death of an Air Force sexual abuse victim. The brigadier general was relieved of his duties and arrested after the subordinate reported her suffering to the authorities, according to the officials. "An investigation is under way. We will thoroughly look into the case and take corresponding measures," defense ministry s

DefenseJuly 6, 2021

NK premier inspects economic sites, indicating his exclusion from recent reshuffle

North Korea's Premier Kim Tok-hun made field inspection visits to economic sites, state media said Tuesday, confirming that he has been spared from a recent reshuffle carried out to fire officials responsible for causing a "crucial case" in the country's fight against the coronavirus. Kim, also a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, "inspected several units concerning the national economy" and saw preparations to pre

North KoreaJuly 6, 2021

Vice FM calls for continued intl. support for peninsula peace efforts

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon called for continued international support for South Korea's efforts for lasting peace on the divided Korean Peninsula during a global forum on nuclear disarmament, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. Choi made the call at the virtual Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament, a multilateral forum on nuclear arms control issues, Monday amid Seoul's efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang. "Choi explained t

Foreign AffairsJuly 6, 2021

Ex-top prosecutor Yoon ahead of Gyeonggi Gov. Lee in latest polls

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl maintained his lead over Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung in two polls on presidential hopefuls released Monday. In a Realmeter survey conducted over the weekend, Yoon came out on top with 33.9 percent of support, with Lee trailing at 26.3 percent. Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon was a distant third at 12.5 percent, with others who have thrown their hats into the ring only garnering single digits of support. Realmeter polled 1,015 South Koreans ag

PoliticsJuly 6, 2021

Wife of Belgian ambassador to Seoul got into altercation with street sweeper: police

The wife of the Belgian ambassador to South Korea, who faced assault charges in Seoul earlier this year, was involved in an altercation with a street sweeper in the city Monday morning, police said. Police said Xiang Xueqiu, the spouse of Ambassador Peter Lescouhier, got into a fight with the cleaner in a park in central Seoul after the cleaner's broom touched Xiang. Police said the two apparently traded blows, but when officers arrived on the scene, neither wanted the other punished. Xiang w

Social AffairsJuly 5, 2021

S. Korea in talks with mRNA vaccine makers to make up to 1b doses: govt. official

SEOUL (Reuters) -- South Korea is in talks with mRNA vaccine makers including Pfizer and Moderna to produce COVID-19 shots in the country and is ready to offer the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses immediately, a senior government official said. The plan, if agreed, would help ease tight global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in Asia which lags North America and Europe in vaccine rollouts, and put South Korea a step closer to its ambition to become a major vaccine manufacturing c

Social AffairsJuly 5, 2021

Main opposition party selects 20-something co-spokespeople

With a 36-year-old leader in charge, the main opposition People Power Party selected a pair of 27-year-olds as its new co-spokespeople. The party will continue to serve the youth, with Lim Seung-ho and Yang Jun-woo having finished first and second in the final round of the open audition for the PPP spokespeople positions. Lim is a former deputy youth spokesman for the central-right Bareun Party. Yang was previously unemployed and, in his own words, "was playing video games at home and tak

PoliticsJuly 5, 2021

New Air Force chief meets bereaved family of late sexual abuse victim

New Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho met Monday with the bereaved family of a late noncommissioned officer who took her own life after suffering from sexual abuse, and promised to reform the barracks culture to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Park took office on Friday to succeed Lee Seong-yong, who stepped down last month to take responsibility over the death of the master sergeant, surnamed Lee. Lee was found dead in an apparent suicide on May 22, three months after she was

DefenseJuly 5, 2021

S. Koreans remaining in Afghanistan urged to leave by July: official

All South Koreans remaining in Afghanistan must leave the country by no later than July or face criminal punishment, a foreign ministry official said Monday, as unrest grew in Afghanistan amid the ongoing withdrawal of US and its allies' forces. Afghanistan is currently banned for travel, along with five other foreign countries, including Iraq, Syria and Somalia. A violation of the travel ban is punishable by up to one-year in prison or a 10 million-won fine ($8,837) under Korean law. A "

Foreign AffairsJuly 5, 2021

Restrictions remain in place amid COVID-19 resurgence

South Korea has walked back its plans to ease restrictions in the capital region for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, as the country struggles with another virus resurgence despite continued vaccination efforts. Face masks will again be mandatory and drinking outdoors past 10 p.m. will be prohibited in the Greater Seoul area, even for those vaccinated against COVID-19. These rules are to be enforced indefinitely until the authorities decide that the COVID-19 situation has impro

Social AffairsJuly 5, 2021

Moon warns of stern punishment against acts of hampering antivirus fight

President Moon Jae-in warned Monday again that the government will take stern measures against the violation of social distancing rules. He made clear that illegal massive rallies cannot be an exception, apparently referring to collective action by the members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major umbrella labor union, last weekend. "(The government) can't help taking stern legal steps against collective actions, including illegal large-scale rallies, that violate so

PoliticsJuly 5, 2021

Apartment prices soar fivefold in Sejong under Moon presidency: civic group

Prices of apartments set aside for public servants in the administrative capital of Sejong rose fivefold in the past four years, a civic group said Monday. The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice announced the results of its study that has tracked the prices of apartment units owned by 25,852 public servants in 127 complexes in the city, around 160 kilometers south of Seoul, since President Moon Jae-in took office in May 2017 until May this year. The results showed that the average price

Social AffairsJuly 5, 2021

Heavy rain forecast for southern regions early this week

Southern South Korean regions will be hit with heavy rains early this week, while light rain is forecast for the greater Seoul area, the state weather agency said Monday. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that up to 150 millimeters of rain are expected for the southern provinces of Jeolla and Gyeongsang between late Monday and early Tuesday. In particular, some southern areas, including southern North Jeolla Province, coastal areas of South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang province

Social AffairsJuly 5, 2021