Korea mistakenly registers ineligible people for COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea mistakenly opened up COVID-19 vaccine appointments on Monday for tens of thousands of people who were not yet eligible, leading to a slew of cancellations the same day. Pfizer vaccine appointments became available to employees in their 20s at some of the country’s largest tech and semiconductor firms and banks, according to industry sources. The news quickly spread through social media, with many people working in the same fields proceeding to make appointments. Later, the

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

Seoul court dismisses lawsuit on Japan’s wartime forced labor

A Seoul court ruled Monday that victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor cannot sue Japanese companies. The victims said they would appeal the ruling. The Seoul Central District Court rejected a lawsuit filed by 85 plaintiffs, comprising forced laborers and bereaved family members of forced laborers, against 16 Japanese companies including Nippon Steel, Nissan Chemical and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Rejection means the court made its decision without hearing the case because it d

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

'Farmland of peace' project will promote inter-Korean cooperation: unification ministry

The Gyeonggi provincial government's plan to turn an inter-Korean border area into a "farmland of peace" and grow rice there for North Korea could create positive conditions for further inter-Korean cooperation, the unification ministry said Monday. The provincial government is pushing ahead with the project in cooperation with the Korean Peasants League to transform the area near the Gunnam Dam built in the South Korean border town of Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul, to cope

North KoreaJune 7, 2021

Couriers refuse parcel sorting in protest of working conditions

Thousands of unionized parcel delivery workers arrived late at work Monday and refused to sort packages as they urged logistics firms to quickly finalize a deal on their working conditions. The Parcel Delivery Workers' Solidarity Union said that starting Monday, around 6,500 couriers nationwide would start work at 9 a.m. instead of 7 a.m., and head out to make deliveries at 11 a.m. instead of after noon, without sorting parcels in between. Between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., the workers will load parc

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

S. Korea 'open' to discussing solution for forced labor issue with Japan: ministry

South Korea remains open to discussing solutions for wartime forced labor issues with Japan, the foreign ministry said Monday, after a local court dismissed a compensation lawsuit filed by a group of victims. The Seoul Central District Court dropped the case filed by 85 plaintiffs against 16 Japanese companies, including Nippon Steel Corp. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. It ruled that while their individual rights to damage claims may not be precluded by the 1965 bilateral agreement that inclu

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

Moon says 36m S. Koreans to be vaccinated by September

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that 36 million South Koreans will get at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines by September. The number represents 70 percent of the nation's population. Moon raised the possibility that more than 14 million people will be inoculated by the end of June, chairing a special interagency meeting on the coronavirus prevention and control at Cheong Wa Dae, the third of its kind. If achieved, fatality rates and the number of additional infections would decline

PoliticsJune 7, 2021

Moon orders complete overhaul of military culture

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for a complete overhaul of military culture amid a public outcry over the suicide of an Air Force noncommissioned officer who was sexually assaulted by her male colleague. According to presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee, Moon ordered the creation of an independent task force with civilian representation to improve the barracks culture overall. “I cannot tolerate the latest incident that has sparked people’s outrage,” the preside

PoliticsJune 7, 2021

Court rejects damages suit against Japanese firms by Korean forced labor victims

A local court on Monday dismissed a damages suit launched by 85 South Korean victims of wartime forced labor in Japan and their families against 16 Japanese companies, saying the plaintiffs don't have litigation rights. The Seoul Central District Court said South Korean wartime forced laborers cannot claim individual legal rights to damages from Japan, while deciding to reject their collective suit. The 85 forced labor victims and their families started their damages suit against 16 Japanese c

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

NK calls for strengthened discipline ahead of key party meeting

North Korea’s official newspaper on Monday urged officials to strengthen discipline in executing the country’s economic goals ahead of an important party meeting this month. 　 The Rodong Sinmun stressed that the five-year economic development plan laid out early this year was an order from the ruling Workers’ Party and was the “nation’s law,” one that all North Koreans were obliged to execute. 　 To strengthen discipline, the paper urged the officials to &ld

North KoreaJune 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] Distrust of police and media, and fake news fuel outcry in medical student’s death

Lee Jin-ah, 43 and the mother of a 13-year-old son, has been following the updates of the death of Sohn Jung-min, a medical student who died in the Han River, every day, through news articles and YouTube videos. “Because I have a son, I am emotionally attached to Jung-min’s father. I feel so sorry for him. It is so terrible to think that my child could be dead like that,” she said. Lee does not know why Jung-min died, but does not trust the police investigation. “I

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

Police tighten reins on sex doll businesses left in legal gray area

Police said Monday they have started to regulate life-size sex doll "experience" shops, popping up around the country following court decisions to allow the import of the sex toys. The National Police Agency said the crackdown will continue for two months, jointly with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and local governments. As the import of sex dolls, as well as running shops that allow customers to use the sex toys, is all legal under the current laws, however, the police

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

Moon orders launch of task force to overhaul military culture amid fury over death of sex assault victim

President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Monday to establish a task force on overhauling military culture, Cheong Wa Dae said amid a public uproar over the suicide of a female Air Force official who was sexually assaulted by a male colleague. It should not be business as usual, with the people infuriated over the incident, the president stressed, speaking during an internal meeting of his office earlier in the day, according to his spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. He then urged the launch o

PoliticsJune 7, 2021

DP to enact bill on providing compensation for COVID-19 losses this month

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) pledged Monday to legislate a bill this month to compensate small business owners hit by the country's COVID-19 restrictions. "During the (ongoing provisional) National Assembly session in June, the DP will definitely process the legislation bill on (COVID-19) damage compensation," party floor leader Rep. Yun Ho-jung said at the opening of the party's consultation meeting with the government. "The government should surely be responsible for the

PoliticsJune 7, 2021

DP to form task force on military crimes amid suicide case of abused female officer

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Monday decided to launch a task force aimed at preventing military crimes and helping better protect victims following the suicide of a sexually harassed female noncommissioned officer and the military's alleged mishandling of the incident. In its supreme council meeting, the DP named Rep. Min Hong-chul, chairman of the National Assembly's defense committee, to head the team aimed at fixing "the overall system in connection to the closed culture of the m

PoliticsJune 7, 2021

May posts biggest increase in employment-insured in 18 months

May posted the largest on-year increase in the number of employment insurance subscribers in 18 months on the back of an economic recovery, the labor ministry said Monday. There were 14.26 million subscribers to the state insurance plan last month, up 443,000, or 3.2 percent, from May 2020, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It is the biggest increase since 477,000 in November 2019. "Thanks to recovering consumer confidence, strong exports and base effects from last year,

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

Disgruntled students decry online university classes

The COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to turn to online classes last year. As the coronavirus swept the country, both students and professors struggled to adapt to video-based courses. But more than three semesters into the pandemic, students are discontented with the quality of the online classes. “After taking the midterm exam in one of my core courses, the professor did not upload online classes for four weeks without any notice,” a student told The Korea Herald. “T

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021

Vice FM Choi to visit US this week for talks with counterpart Sherman

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun will visit Washington later this week for talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Monday. Choi and Sherman are set to meet on Wednesday (US time) for their first in-person talks since the latter assumed office in April. The two sides plan to discuss follow-up measures to last month's summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden, w

Foreign AffairsJune 7, 2021

PPP enjoys upward momentum in polls on heated leadership race, new developments on Yoon

The approval rating of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was seen as displaying upward momentum, according to a new poll Monday, amid its intense leadership race and new developments surrounding the former prosecutor general predicted to join the party to run for president. In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,519 people over the age of 18 from May 31 to June 4, the PPP's approval rating was recorded at 38 percent, up 2.4 percentage points from the previous week. The ruling Dem

PoliticsJune 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] Late Air Force sexual assault victim suffered multiple abuses over year: lawyer

Colleagues of the late Air Force noncommissioned officer, whose suicide sparked a public uproar over sexual abuse in the military, had abused her for about a year repeatedly after watching her unable to speak up about such cases, a lawyer for the bereaved family said. The claim suggests that additional members of her unit could have abused the victim, identified only as Master Sergeant Lee, besides the lastest case in March in which she was groped and suffered other abuse by a colleague in a ca

DefenseJune 7, 2021

New cases under 500 over fewer tests; inoculation drive to pick up pace

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell back to under 500 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend as health authorities push to ramp up the vaccination drive on the back of an increased vaccine supply. The country reported 485 more COVID-19 cases, including 454 local infections, raising the total caseload to 144,637, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure was sharply down from 556 cases on Sunday. But daily cases usually rise on Wednesday and Friday

Social AffairsJune 7, 2021