S. Korea acknowledges 1st death after vaccination

South Korea's health authorities on Monday acknowledged the country's first death after vaccination as a man died last week of a rare case of blood clotting after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The man in his 30s, who died Wednesday, was confirmed to have the very rare but serious side effect, called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), following inoculation on May 27.   The patient showed symptoms of a severe headache and nausea nine days after receiving th

Social AffairsJune 21, 2021

[Newsmaker] Most victims of military sexual violence are low-ranking personnel

Most female victims of sexual violence in the military were soldiers and civilian workers of less than five years in service, government data showed. A majority of the perpetrators were non-commissioned officers senior to their victims, and field officers, showing how sexual violence that involves taking advantage of one’s superior status at work was prevalent. A total of 771 sexual offenses, ranging from harassment to rape, were committed against women in the military last year, accordi

DefenseJune 21, 2021

79% of S. Koreans want surveillance cameras in hospital operating rooms: poll

Nearly 8 out of 10 South Koreans believe surveillance cameras should be installed in hospital operating rooms, a poll showed Monday. According to the survey conducted by Realmeter on Friday, 78.9 percent of respondents said they support installing closed-circuit (CC) TV cameras, with 48.8 percent showing strong support and 30.1 percent moderate support. Only 17.4 percent said they opposed the idea, while the remaining 3.6 percent said they were undecided on the matter. The poll was conducted

Social AffairsJune 21, 2021

Nuclear envoy says US ready for NK talks ‘anywhere, anytime’

The US is willing to meet North Korea for dialogue “anywhere, anytime, without preconditions,” President Joe Biden’s point man on North Korea said, expressing hope for a positive response from the reclusive regime. 　 Sung Kim, US special representative for North Korea, made the remarks in Seoul during trilateral talks with his counterparts from South Korea and Japan, Noh Kyu-duk and Takehiro Funakoshi, saying the Biden administration’s policy called for a “calibra

North KoreaJune 21, 2021

Assembly speaker urges NK to engage in dialogue

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug said he hoped North Korea would take a proactive role in inter-Korean dialogue, stressing that South Korea’s National Assembly was considering the ratification of the inter-Korean summit agreement. “The Korea-US summit was an important achievement,” said Park on Monday at a press meeting. “The position of South Korea in relation to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula is evaluated to have been well reflected. “It w

PoliticsJune 21, 2021

Probe under way into hacking attempts against Daewoo Shipbuilding: govt.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder specializing in submarine and other naval vessels, has suffered hacking attempts by unidentified entities, prompting the authorities to launch a probe, the arms procurement agency said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) confirmed hacking attempts against the Daewoo database recently but declined to say if those attempts were successful and who appeared to be behind the attack. "Th

DefenseJune 21, 2021

Parcel shipments rise 27% in Seoul last year due to COVID-19

Parcel shipments in Seoul increased 26.9 percent last year from the previous year, a study showed Monday, as an increasing number of people prefer ordering food and daily necessities online amid the spread of COVID-19. According to the AI-based study by the University of Seoul, parcel deliveries of food, household items and health products in the capital surged by around 50 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast, the study said maternity and baby care produc

Social AffairsJune 21, 2021

S. Korea hopes for resumption of talks with N. Korea after Kim's mention of dialogue

South Korea hopes that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent mention of dialogue will lead to resumption of talks between the two Koreas, as well as between the United States and the North, the unification ministry said Monday. During a key Workers' Party meeting last week, Kim said the country should be ready for both dialogue and, more importantly, confrontation with Washington and called for efforts to stably control the political situation. "The government takes note of Chairman Ki

North KoreaJune 21, 2021

Value of household chores up 36% in 2019 from 5 years earlier

The value of household chores grew nearly 36 percent in 2019 from five years earlier, with men's participation in such work rising amid an increase in one-person households and double income families, data showed Monday. The value of household work, such as child care, meal preparations and cleaning, came to 490.9 trillion won ($433 billion) in 2019, compared with 361.5 trillion won in 2014, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The 2019 figure was equivalent to 25.5 percent of the coun

Social AffairsJune 21, 2021

S. Korea, Japan to hold working-level talks on wartime history, other issues

South Korea and Japan will hold working-level talks in Seoul later Monday to discuss a prolonged row over wartime sexual slavery, forced labor and other pending issues, the foreign ministry said. The planned meeting between Lee Sang-ryeol, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, comes amid little headway in Seoul's efforts to mend strained ties with Tokyo. Funakoshi, who doubles as Japan's top nuclear envoy, w

Foreign AffairsJune 21, 2021

Labor, business far apart on 2022 minimum wage demands

The obstacle-strewn journey to setting next year’s minimum wage level has effectively kicked off, with those representing labor and business presenting starkly different views on how the rate should be set to assist those suffering from COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic setback. This year’s negotiation is the last one to be held during the Moon Jae-in administration, which the labor side has claimed is the final chance to uphold his campaign promise to hike the rate to above 10

Social AffairsJune 21, 2021

Moon picks new Cheong Wa Dae secretaries for political affairs, youth affairs, education

President Moon Jae-in nominated Kim Han-kyu, a lawyer and rookie politician, as his new secretary for political affairs Monday. Having worked as a legal counsel for the ruling Democratic Party (DP), he is a lawyer at the Seoul-based law firm Kim & Chang and also a standing member of the National Unification Advisory Council. He graduated from Harvard Law School after studying law at Seoul National University. Park Seong-min, another DP official who is 25 years old, was tapped as secretary

PoliticsJune 21, 2021

Prosecutors recommend ex-Busan mayor get 7 years in prison for sexual assault

BUSAN, -- Prosecutors asked a judge to sentence former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don to seven years in prison for sexual assault in the workplace. Oh is accused of sexually assaulting two female employees and injuring one of them while in office. He is also charged with filing a false complaint against YouTube channel operators who reported the accusations against him. "Given the similarity of his crimes against the two victims, this is a workplace sex crime using his power," prosecutors sa

PoliticsJune 21, 2021

[Newsmaker] PPP's approval hits highest point since 2016 presidential corruption scandal: Realmeter

The approval rating of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has reached its highest point since a far-reaching corruption scandal surrounding former conservative President Park Geun-hye in 2016 dealt a crushing blow to the party, the latest opinion poll showed Monday. In the Realmeter survey of 2,514 voters nationwide conducted from Monday to Friday last week, the PPP garnered 39.7 percent of support, up 0.6 percentage point from the previous week. It marks the third week in a row that

PoliticsJune 21, 2021

Defense minister vows to beef up space tech after lifting of curbs on missiles

Defense Minister Suh Wook said Monday that South Korea will enhance its space defense capabilities and establish a system for combined operations to deal with growing space threats following the recent lifting of US curbs on the country's missile development. The minister made the remarks in a pre-released message for a forum in Seoul, also describing the lifting as having "great significance" that has opened a new horizon for the country's defense industry. After a summit with US Pr

DefenseJune 21, 2021

New infections back under 400, virus fight hampered by rising variants, pandemic fatigue

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 400 in about a week on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but rising COVID-19 variant cases, along with pandemic fatigue, are hampering the country's virus battle amid the accelerating vaccinations. The country reported 357 new cases, including 317 local infections, raising the total caseload to 151,506, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections stayed in the 400s or 500s in the past five days after rep

Social AffairsJune 21, 2021

China's ambassador stresses cooperation with N. Korea for regional peace

China's top envoy to North Korea stressed the importance of cooperation between the two allies on regional peace, stability and prosperity on the occasion of the second anniversary of President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang, the North's state media showed Monday. In an op-ed piece to the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun also said that China and North Korea should expand their communication as their relations are faced wit

North KoreaJune 21, 2021

S. Korean Olympic chief clinging to hope for N. Korean participation in Tokyo 2020

South Korea's top Olympic official is holding on to hope that North Korea will change its mind and participate in the Tokyo Summer Games after all -- however slim those chances may be. Lee Kee-heung, head of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said in a recent interview that North Korea's status for Tokyo 2020 will remain up in the air until July 5. That's the deadline for countries to submit their Olympic entries. "My

North KoreaJune 21, 2021

US envoy hopes N.Korea will accept offer to meet 'anytime, anywhere without preconditions'

The United States has offered to meet with North Korea "anywhere, anytime without preconditions" and looks forward to a positive response from Pyongyang, the new US special envoy for the North said Monday. Ambassador Sung Kim made the remarks during trilateral talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Noh Kyu-duk and Takehiro Funakoshi, in Seoul, where they discussed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent remarks that his country should be ready for both dialogue and co

Foreign AffairsJune 21, 2021

N. Korea replaces chief of Kim Il-sung University: state media

North Korea has replaced the president of Kim Il-sung University, who doubles as minister of higher education, a state broadcaster reported Sunday. An official named Kim Sung-chan was appointed to the post last week during a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, according to Korean Central Television. The move represents the dismissal and appointment of senior officials of the state organ, it added. Just five months earlier, North Korea picked Ri Guk-chol as the pres

North KoreaJune 21, 2021