[Newsmaker] More Koreans suffer mental disorders amid pandemic

The number of Koreans who have suffered from mental disorders and eating disorders has risen in the pandemic, data showed Sunday. Last year, the number of people diagnosed with either depression, insomnia, anorexia or bulimia stood at 1,504,181, up by 67,233, or 4.67 percent, from the previous year, according to government data. The data, from the state-run Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, was disclosed by independent lawmaker Lee Yong-ho. Depression accounted for 55.7 perce

Aug. 1, 2021

[Herald Interview] Bill allowing politicians to take babies to work look set to pass

After Rep. Yong Hye-in, 31, of the Basic Income Party, brought her 2-month-old son to her workplace on July 5, her photos went viral on social media. On the day, she held a press conference to urge the passage of her bill that would allow a lawmaker to enter a plenary session with an infant who needs nursing. Under the current law, only lawmakers, the prime minister, state council members and those authorized by the assembly speaker are allowed. When her photos made headlines, opinions were

Aug. 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ex-chief state auditor to declare presidential bid next week

Choe Jae-hyeong, former head of the state audit agency, will declare his bid to run for the presidency next week, opposition party officials said Friday. Choe will make the announcement through an online event Wednesday, about a month after he stepped down as chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), hinting at his presidential ambitions. According to opposition party officials, Choe is in the final stages of drawing up his statement announcing the presidential bid. In the statement,

July 30, 2021

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon joins main opposition party for presidential bid

Ex-Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, a leading conservative presidential hopeful, joined the main opposition party Friday to increase his chance of winning the race. Yoon submitted an application to join the People Power Party (PPP) during his meeting with Rep. Kwon Young-se, the chief of the party's external relations committee, at the party's headquarters in Seoul. The move, coming about a month after Yoon's official declaration to run in the March 9 presidential election, will subject hi

July 30, 2021

Moon picks new secretaries for civil affairs, fight against corruption

President Moon Jae-in has nominated new Cheong Wa Dae secretaries for civil affairs and anti-corruption, his office announced Friday. Lee Ki-heon, secretary to Moon for civil participation, was tapped as secretary for civil affairs and justice, to replace Lee Gwang-cheol, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. Lee offered to resign early this month after being indicted on suspicions that he was behind an allegedly illegal travel ban on a former vice justice minister involved i

July 30, 2021

Lawmakers condemn misogynistic attacks on Olympic archer

A group of progressive lawmakers have condemned misogynistic attacks being leveled at a female South Korean archer now competing at the Tokyo Olympics. An San, the double gold medalist who will vie for her third gold in women's individual archery on Friday, has recently become a target of misogynistic attacks for her short haircut. Some male internet users flooded An's social media account with hate speech, taking issue with her past use of online slang terms, deemed misandrist by anti-femin

July 30, 2021

Moon marks UNESCO inscription of S. Korean tidal flats as natural heritage

President Moon Jae-in expressed his gratitude Friday to those who have endeavored to protect South Korea's tidal flats inscribed as UNESCO's world natural heritage. Earlier this week, the UNESCO added tidal flats, called "getbol" in Korean, in four areas located on the western coast of the country, to the list. The getbol have become a "great life" to be protected by not just South Koreans but also mankind, the president wrote on his social media accounts. "But this p

July 30, 2021

Seoul to push for video-linked family reunion as priority project with North: Cheong Wa Dae

The government will push for a video-linked reunion of divided families with North Korea as the most urgent inter-Korean project, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. A presidential official made the remark when asked to comment on speculation that the government is seeking a video-linked reunion event with the North, following Tuesday's restoration of communication lines between the two Koreas. "It is an issue agreed upon by the leaders of South and North Korea, and (video reunions are) the most

July 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Opposition leader urges Yoon, Ahn to join primary next month

  South Korea’s main opposition party leader said Thursday that if former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl does not join the party next month, party members who have joined his camp will be expelled. People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok said that as the party has finalized the primary in late August, he expects Yoon to join the PPP in August. “The No. 1 opposition party’s primary is like a public good. A celebrity can’t stop the bus. That’s not going to

July 29, 2021

Presidential hopefuls vying to win support of pet lovers

Presidential contenders from the ruling and opposition blocs have added a new approach to their widening campaigns to win voters at next year's presidential election: reaching out to cats and dogs. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and Rep. Lee Nak-yon, the top two presidential hopefuls from the ruling Democratic Party (DP), have been stepping up the promotion of their presidential campaign pledges dedicated to pets and, ultimately, pet and animal lovers. Gov. Lee is not a pet owner himself

July 28, 2021

Minister rules out Aug. 15 presidential pardons for two jailed former leaders

Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said Wednesday it is too late for two former presidents jailed for corruption to receive presidential pardons on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day. He made the remark as two elderly former presidents, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, were admitted to hospitals last week in moves some observers said may be intended to arouse public opinion favorable to special amnesties for them. Minister Park dismissed such speculation, saying they were hospitalized for

July 28, 2021

Koreas at starting point for resumption of peace process: Cheong Wa Dae

South and North Korea are standing at the starting line again for the ultimate goal of denuclearization, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday. It was talking about the meaning of the reopening of inter-Korean communication lines, the result of President Moon Jae-in's exchange of several personal letters with the North's leader Kim Jong-un over the past few months. The previous day, the two Koreas restored their military and government-level liaison hotlines that were severed in June last year. They a

July 28, 2021

Moderna to resume COVID-19 vaccine shipments to S. Korea next week: govt.

US pharmaceutical company Moderna will resume provisions of COVID-19 vaccines to South Korea next week, the prime minister said Wednesday, following a delay due to an issue linked to the company's vaccine production. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced the company's vaccine supply resumption plan at an interagency COVID-19 response meeting, explaining that health officials discussed the matter with Moderna officials late Tuesday through a video conference. The government said Tuesday that Mo

July 28, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae says no plan yet to send special envoy to N. Korea

The office of President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday it has no plan, for now, to dispatch a special envoy to North Korea. It cited "realistic restraints" attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in the day, Cheong Wa Dae announced the reopening of direct communication lines between the two Koreas that were severed in June last year. Moon and the North's leader Kim Jong-un have reached an agreement on that, as they have exchanged personal letters several times, it added. On whethe

July 27, 2021

[Newsmaker] PPP leader says Lee Jae-myung is easier than Lee Nak-yon

The leader of the main opposition party said Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung was easier than former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon as a presidential candidate to compete against in next year’s election. Asked during a radio interview Monday evening which of the two ruling party presidential contenders he thought was “more comfortable to deal with,” People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok chose the governor. “If I say something like this, the Lee Jae-myung camp issues st

July 27, 2021

Vice FM attends in-person preparatory meeting for COP26 climate summit

Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon attended a high-level meeting on climate change in London this week to discuss efforts to advance carbon emission goals ahead of an upcoming multilateral summit, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The two-day ministerial talks for the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that ended Monday (local time) focused on how to implement the goals pledged by countries in the Paris Agreement on tackling climate change and encourage those w

July 27, 2021

Park Young-sun campaign officials face probe for hiring minor to express support

Prosecutors will investigate officials from the unsuccessful Seoul mayoral campaign of Park Young-sun for allegedly violating election rules by recruiting an underage high school student to voice support for the candidate. The Seoul Yangcheon Police Station said Tuesday that it has handed over the case to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office recommending to indict 17-year-old student surnamed Kang and two officials from Park’s campaign office who were working for her Seou

July 27, 2021

Koreas reopen severed cross-border hotline: Cheong Wa Dae

The two Koreas reopened direct cross-border communications Tuesday, Cheong Wa Dae announced, 13 months after Pyongyang unilaterally severed them in protest of anti-Pyongyang propaganda activities in the South. Park Soo-hyun, senior Cheong Wa Dae secretary for public communication, announced that Seoul and Pyongyang decided to resume communications via their direct hotline starting at 10 a.m. In June last year, North Korea cut off all communication lines with South Korea in protest over Seoul's

July 27, 2021

Rivals slam Gov. Lee over his basic income pledge

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is fighting back criticism from all across the political spectrum of his presidential campaign pledge to provide a universal basic income of up to 2 million won ($1,730) per year to all citizens. Lee, currently the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential front-runner, announced last week that if he is elected president, the government will start giving 2 million won a year to citizens aged between 19 and 29, and 1 million won to all other citiz

July 26, 2021

Moon touts budget approval for new COVID-19 relief funds

President Moon Jae-in on Monday touted last week’s bipartisan approval of a 34.9 trillion won ($30.2 billion) extra budget, pledging prompt execution of a new round of COVID-19 relief funds for people in urgent need. Parliament on Saturday endorsed the extra budget larger than the government’s proposed budget of 33 trillion won as the country plans to provide stimulus checks totaling 11 trillion won to people in the bottom 87.7 percent income bracket. About 20.3 million household

July 26, 2021