World body of police commanders opens Asia-Pacific office in Seoul

The world's largest and most influential professional association for police leaders opened its Asia-Pacific office in South Korea on Thursday, the National Police Agency (NPA) said. The Asia-Pacific World Regional Office of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) began its operations at the NPA in central Seoul, the agency said. The United States-headquartered IACP is the world's largest nonprofit organization of police commanders and currently has about 31,500 members in 168

Dec. 16, 2021

Moon apologizes for restoring tough social distancing measures

President Moon Jae-in apologized to the nation Thursday for restoring tough social distancing measures following a spike in coronavirus cases and deaths. Moon issued the apology shortly after the government announced new measures to reduce the maximum private gathering size to four people and restore a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurant and cafe business hours. "I am sorry that we have had to once again strengthen antivirus measures," Moon was quoted as saying by his spokesperson Park Kyung

Dec. 16, 2021

Mudslinging in full swing for two main presidential contenders and their families

Controversies surrounding the families of the two leading presidential candidates are emerging one after another, threatening to overshadow the election itself -- and fanning questions about their moral aptness for the job. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential nominee for the main opposition People Power Party, has been swept in fierce criticism over his wife Kim Keon-hee allegedly falsifying her credentials when applying for a teaching job in 2007. Outside her office Wedn

Dec. 16, 2021

Election campaigns raise concerns for COVID-19

The election campaigns of presidential candidates are raising concerns for further fanning the pandemic, as large crowds flock to candidates’ public appearances. On Wednesday, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung tested negative for COVID-19, after having come into contact with an infected person over the weekend. Lee had called off scheduled activities on the previous day. He visited Boramae Medical Center, where COVID-19 patients are treate

Dec. 15, 2021

Yoon Suk-yeol’s wife fights accusations of lying on resume

The People Power Party presidential nominee’s wife is under fire for possibly exaggerating her career history on top of allegations of her involvement in academic plagiarism and stock manipulation. Kim Keon-hee, wife of presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, partly acknowledged in an interview with news broadcaster YTN released Tuesday that she exaggerated her credentials in successfully applying for a professor position at Suwon Women’s University in 2007. She served in the teaching

Dec. 14, 2021

Opposition camp reaches out to non-party figures for wider appeal

The main opposition People Power Party is looking beyond its own ranks as it builds a support team for Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential campaign. In most campaigns, parties have let political allegiances govern directions and appointments, but the main opposition bloc is emphasizing unity and inclusivity in its battle against the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. "Our election campaign committee will be a pragmatic team only for the people, not just for the conservatives nor the liberal

Dec. 14, 2021

Moon seeks support for Korean community in Australia

Moon Jae-in met with Australia's opposition leader on Tuesday and asked for his support for the Korean community in the country. Moon and Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party met in Sydney during the president's ongoing four-day state visit to the country. Moon noted that he and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison agreed the previous day to elevate the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and expressed hope for strengthened cooperation in future high-t

Dec. 14, 2021

PM apologizes for inconveniences from vaccine pass system outage

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for inconveniences caused by an outage of the government's digital COVID-19 vaccine pass system after authorities began enforcing the system in restaurants and other multiuse facilities across the country. In a Cabinet meeting held at the government office complex in Seoul, Kim said he "sincerely apologized for causing inconvenience to the public" with the vaccine pass system outage on Monday. "Yesterday was the launch day in enforc

Dec. 14, 2021

Ruling party's presidential candidate raps Japan for meddling in Dokdo issue

The ruling Democratic Party's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday criticized Japan's excessive reactions to the South Korean police chief's recent trip to Dokdo for "meddling in another country's policy." The comment came during a telephone call with officers from Dokdo Security Police as part of his nationwide election campaign. Last month, National Police Agency Commissioner-General Kim Chang-yong visited Dokdo to encourage officials working on the country's easternmost

Dec. 13, 2021

Protester throws eggs at DP candidate Lee near THAAD base in Seongju

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday was attacked with eggs by a protester opposing the US THAAD anti-missile system in the central county of Seongju while campaigning. The male protester threw two eggs at Lee from across a road while the candidate was heading toward a fruit farm in the county, 217 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as part of his campaign in the region. Lee was not hit, but a bodyguard and Rep. Han Jun-ho were hit by pieces of an egg. The incident cause

Dec. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Nth room prevention law draws fire for censorship, invasion of privacy

The so-called "Nth room prevention law" is facing growing criticism from the public, with critics accusing the measure of censorship and violation of free speech. A legislative revision to the Telecommunications Business Act went into effect Friday, requiring internet platforms with yearly sales of 1 billion won ($848,800) or those with more than 100,000 daily users to engage in removing illegal content from their servers. The revision was nicknamed the Nth room prevention law after

Dec. 13, 2021

Ruling party to push ahead with adding labor reps to public entity boards

South Korea's ruling bloc is pushing to pass a bill that would require labor representatives on corporate boards, raising backlash for potentially undermining the rights of shareholders and decreasing the efficiency of state-run companies. The National Assembly is holding a provisional session in December, with lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea hoping to pass a proposed revision to the Act on the Management of Public Institutions that would mandate public institutions to include

Dec. 13, 2021

Yoon, Lee neck-and-neck at 42% vs. 40.6% in presidential poll

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP)'s presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol, was leading his ruling Democratic Party (DP) rival Lee Jae-myung by a thin margin at 42 percent to 40.6 percent, a survey showed Monday. The 1.4 percentage point margin in the poll by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) is smaller than the 3.3 percentage point gap in favor of Yoon last week, and within the range of the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The poll, commissione

Dec. 13, 2021

Yoon to seek revision to 'Nth room prevention law' amid allegations of censorship

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol said Sunday he will seek to revise a law designed to filter out illegally filmed content from major internet platforms amid criticism the measure amounts to censorship. A revision to the Telecommunications Business Act and a related law went into effect on Friday, requiring large internet platforms with annual sales of 1 billion won or the number of daily users 100,000 or more to remove illegal content from their servers. The revision was ma

Dec. 12, 2021

[Weekender] Candidates miss the target with younger voters

They come from very different upbringings and career backgrounds, but Korea’s two main presidential candidates are united in one area: They are both failing to appeal to young voters. Democratic Party of Korea nominee Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol from the People Power Party have both struggled to shed the kind of “kkondae” image that the under-40s find repellent, and their election pledges have failed to inspire them. Kkondae is an expression describing a condescending per

Dec. 11, 2021

Moon calls for speeding up booster shots as deaths hit daily record high of 80

  President Moon Jae-in called Saturday for speeding up booster shots for the elderly as the country struggles to tackle the fast spread of coronavirus infections, including cases of the new omicron variant. The country added 6,977 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 510,538, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two days. Th

Dec. 11, 2021

Moon encourages corporate efforts for carbon neutrality goal

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday lauded the efforts made by companies to cut carbon emissions, and reiterated that the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 is “must” for the country. In celebration of the first anniversary of the declaration of the country’s 2050 carbon neutral vision, Moon invited company leaders and economic organizations to check on the year’s progress and renew their determination, according to the presidential office. “Car

Dec. 10, 2021

Lee calls for immediately allocating W100tr to virus-hit small businesses

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), called on the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday to agree to immediately execute its own proposal to spend 100 trillion won ($85 billion) on compensating small businesses hit by the pandemic. Lee suggested the rival parties jointly pass a supplementary budget through a provisional session of the National Assembly this month to fund the payments. "When it comes to people's livelihoods, there is no

Dec. 10, 2021

Suspect in Daejang-dong scandal dies, parties urge special probe

The head of a municipal development company, who was facing prosecutorial questioning for allegedly taking bribes in a massive land development corruption scandal, was found dead in an apparent suicide, police said on Friday. Police discovered the body of Yoo Han-gi, head of the Pocheon Urban Corp., who was reported missing by his family early Friday near his home in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Yoo reportedly left home after leaving behind a will. Earlier this week, prosecutors requested an ar

Dec. 10, 2021

Booster shots for adults can be given 3 months after their primary vaccination: PM

Booster shots for adults can be administered three months after their primary vaccination, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, amid rising concerns over a surge in COVID-19 infections. The decision to cut the dosage interval between primary vaccination and booster shots for people aged 18 or older was announced as the country's daily new coronavirus infections surpassed 7,000 for the third straight day amid worries about the omicron variant, while the number of serious COVID-19 cases showe

Dec. 10, 2021