Moon calls for thorough preparations for changing trade conditions

President Moon Jae-in stressed the urgency Tuesday of taking government-private measures to respond to changes in the international trade conditions, especially in line with efforts to tackle climate change. For example, he said, the European Union plans to implement a carbon border tax in 2026 on certain goods imported from third countries with lower environmental standards. It also announced a plan to start banning the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles in 2035. "Changes i

July 20, 2021

Vice FM Choi says Soma's remarks affected Moon's decision not to visit Japan

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said Tuesday that the recent remarks by a senior Japanese diplomat disparaging President Moon Jae-in's efforts to improve ties with Tokyo acted as a "significant obstacle" to Moon's potential trip to Tokyo. Choi made the remark before departing for Tokyo to attend bilateral and trilateral talks with his Japanese and US counterparts, renewing the call for Tokyo to take appropriate action about the remarks by Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of miss

July 20, 2021

PM apologizes for failure to prevent mass virus outbreak within Cheonghae unit

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized Tuesday for the government's failure to prevent a mass COVID-19 outbreak among sailors of South Korea's Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. A total of 247 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday, confirming a widely feared mass infection. The military sent two KC-330 multirole aerial tankers to Africa to bring back all the members. "The governm

July 20, 2021

Moon vows more support for coronavirus-hit small businesses

President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed Monday that the government will expand substantive support for small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, he said the government will try to modify a proposed supplementary budget bill in the process of discussions at the National Assembly. "It is the most regrettable and apologetic thing that the self-employed and micro and small merchants are suffering increasing damage due to the resurgence of the coronavirus and strengthening of a

July 19, 2021

Opposition presidential contenders vie to claim no man’s land

With less than eight months left until the presidential election on March 9, 2022, over a dozen people are weighing their chances at presidency in the conservative arena that no longer has major factions after two former presidents have been jailed. The establishment within the main conservative party broke down with the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and the party’s crushing defeat in the parliamentary election last year, giving way to new faces such as an ex-prosecutor ge

July 19, 2021

Police book former special counsel for Park Geun-hye case for alleged graft

Police said Monday they have booked on suspicion of graft the former special counsel responsible for investigating a corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye. Park Young-soo, who investigated the scandal surrounding the now-imprisoned former president for over four years, resigned earlier this month following allegations that he accepted a Porsche rental car and seafood from a man who claimed to be a fisheries businessman last December. An official with the Seoul Metropolita

July 19, 2021

Former DP chief narrows gap with bigger rivals in presidential hopefuls poll

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl maintained his lead among prospective contenders for next year's presidential race, while Lee Nak-yon, a former chairman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), gained ground against his bigger rivals, according to a poll released Monday. According to the poll of 1,013 voters nationwide conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI) on Friday-Saturday, Yoon, the leading candidate from the opposition bloc, managed to stay on top with 30.3 percent su

July 19, 2021

Ruling party, govt. agree to hike up relief funds to small merchants hit by COVID-19

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government on Monday agreed to sharply expand the scale of relief funds for struggling small business owners in the wake of the recent upsurge in COVID-19 infections. The consensus was reached during a high-level consultative meeting between the two sides earlier in the morning, Rep. Koh Yong-jin, a DP spokesman, said in a briefing. "(The two sides) agreed to provide ample support to small merchants by increasing the size of assistance to the maxim

July 19, 2021

Approval ratings of Moon, ruling party climb for 2nd consecutive week: poll

President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) both saw their approval ratings climb for the second straight week, according to a new poll released Monday. In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,519 people over the age of 18 from July 12-16, Moon's job approval rating was recorded at 45.5 percent, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous week. The result marked Moon's highest performance in public polls since the 45.6 percent figure in the third week of October last year, acco

July 19, 2021

Defense chief names special prosecutor over death of Air Force sexual abuse victim

Defense Minister Suh Wook on Monday named a Navy colonel as a special prosecutor for the investigation into the death of an Air Force sexual harassment victim, the defense ministry said. The appointment of Col. Ko Min-sook -- the first of its kind since the founding of the country's armed forces -- came as the bereaved family has raised complaints that the ongoing probe is not thorough enough. The master sergeant, surnamed Lee, took her own life in May, about three months after being sexually

July 19, 2021

247 out of 301 Cheonghae unit members test positive for COVID-19: JCS

A total of 247 sailors of South Korea's 301-strong Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, in the worst-ever mass infection among service members. An additional 179 members have newly tested positive after 68 were confirmed to have been infected as of Sunday, the JCS said. The unit first reported six COVID-19 cases last week and conducted virus tests on all of its members. "Test re

July 19, 2021

Moon decides not to visit Japan: Cheong Wa Dae

SEOUL/TOKYO -- President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan this week, as no satisfactory accomplishment is expected in proposed summit talks, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday. Moon had considered a trip to Tokyo for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday. South Korea and Japan had consultations on the possibility of holding the first face-to-face summit between Moon and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the occasion. The two sides "had meaningful discussions on progress

July 19, 2021

61 more Cheonghae Unit members test positive for COVID-19

An additional 61 service members of South Korea's anti-piracy naval unit in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total caseload on their destroyer to 68, officials said Sunday. The figure is feared to rise further, as the test results of about 200 service members of the 300-strong Cheonghae Unit are expected to be available in the coming days. "Until now, we've received the test results on 101 service members, and 68 tested positive, with 33 negative,&q

July 18, 2021

Education ministry plans to use supplementary budget to reduce classroom crowding amid pandemic

The Ministry of Education will use a supplementary budget to alleviate classroom crowding in order to bring more students back into school buildings come September amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry's document has shown. According to the document shared with Yonhap News Agency by Rep. Lee Eun-ju of the minor opposition Justice Party on Thursday, the ministry asked education officials nationwide to use the supplementary budget, 6.36 trillion won ($5.5 billion) in total, to solve the proble

July 18, 2021

Gyeonggi lays out plan to turn DMZ into peace, ecology belt

Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul, has established a new five-year plan for the preservation and peaceful use of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified inter-Korean border area, officials said Sunday. The plan calls for the provincial government to invest 170 billion won ($149 million) from 2021 to 2025 in various projects to lay the grounds for a long-term national vision of turning the 4-kilometer-wide zone bisecting the peninsula into a peace, ecology and tourism belt. The D

July 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] ‘COVID relief to 80% of households is too much’

Former legislator and opposition presidential contender Yoo Seong-min criticized the ongoing political argument over whether to hand out another round of COVID-19 relief grants to all Koreans or to only those in the lower 80 percent of the income brackets. Based on the national health insurance premiums, the monthly income of a four-person household in the lower 80 percent income bracket is 9.75 million won at the upper bound, which is 117 million won in annual income (before tax), Yoo wrote on

July 16, 2021

Moon says this weekend is watershed for efforts to curb coronavirus spread

President Moon Jae-in stressed Friday that this weekend will be a watershed for South Korea's battle against the rapidly spreading coronavirus, especially the delta variant. He asked the people to refrain from making trips or having gatherings during the period. "The spread of the delta variant is scary," he wrote on his social media accounts. "But we cannot let our lives be swayed by the virus." In particular, he added, this weekend will be a "crossroads" in the

July 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Buddha's Birthday, Christmas to be excluded from alternative holidays

The alternative holiday bill passed by the National Assembly last month will be newly applied only to national holidays, the government said Friday. Public holidays, like Buddha's Birthday and Christmas, will be excluded from alternative holidays, the Ministry of Personnel Management said. The Assembly approved legislation on June 29 to increase alternative statutory holidays by designating a substitute holiday for all public holidays that fall on weekends. But the bill delegates the actual de

July 16, 2021

FM Chung calls for overseas mission chiefs to prioritize citizens' safety

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has ordered chiefs of South Korea's overseas diplomatic missions to prioritize the protection of citizens in South Africa and other countries struggling with political unrest and COVID-19 outbreaks, his office said Thursday. Chung made the call during Wednesday's virtual meeting with the diplomats, during which they discussed a range of issues, including the deepening unrest in South Africa sparked by the recent incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. The

July 15, 2021

S. Korean PM to join virtual APEC summit on pandemic

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will participate in a virtual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on COVID-19 this week, his office announced Thursday. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to chair the emergency summit of APEC member states on Friday. In the session, Kim is expected to speak about South Korea's role in regional efforts to overcome the coronavirus crisis. Other participants will reportedly include US President Joe Biden, Chinese Presid

July 15, 2021