PM calls for parliament to approve extra budget amid coronavirus jitters

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Sunday urged lawmakers to promptly approve the extra budget bill of 11.7 trillion won ($9.6 billion) currently pending at the parliament, amid the growing concerns over the economic fallout from the spread of the new coronavirus. "South Korea will actively review further necessary measures by closely monitoring the economic situation," Chung said during a meeting with related ministers. "We also urge the National Assembly to promptly pass the ext

March 15, 2020

Moon declares virus-hit Daegu, part of North Gyeongsang Province as special disaster zones

President Moon Jae-in declared the southeastern city of Daegu and three nearby regions in North Gyeongsang Province as special disaster zones Sunday, paving the way for state support for the regions hit hard by the new coronavirus. It was the first time that the government has designated a certain area as a special disaster zone for reasons unrelated to natural disasters. Daegu is the epicenter of South Korea's coronavirus outbreak, accounting for some 77 percent of the total cases. The three

March 15, 2020

Coronavirus rattles S. Korean politics 30 days before April elections

The new coronavirus is rattling South Korean politics just a month before the April 15 parliamentary elections, changing the way candidates campaign and shifting the overall focus to how the government has handled the outbreak. With COVID-19 infections totaling more than 8,000, experts say the elections are widely expected to be polls on the government's response to the outbreak as the current assessment is sharply divided between supporters of the ruling Democratic Party and opposition partie

March 15, 2020

Moon urges 'unprecedented' special steps for pandemic-hit economy

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called Friday for "unprecedented" policy measures to counter the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, speaking at a rare Cheong Wa Dae meeting with the country's finance minister and central bank chief. Moon received an emergency briefing on the real economy and the financial market jolted by growing worries about the global spread of COVID-19. It marked Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol's first official visit to Moon's office since he was re

March 13, 2020

Ruling party votes in favor of proportional coalition

The ruling Democratic Party will join a coalition proportional representative party in the April 15 general election, the party said Friday. In the vote to decide whether to join the coalition, nearly three-quarters of party members with voting rights supported the idea. According to the party, 74.1 percent of those who voted approved of the plan. Of the party’s 789,868 members with voting rights, 30.6 percent or 241,559 took part in the vote. The idea of joining the proportional re

March 13, 2020

Ruling party to join proportional representation coalition

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) voted Friday to take part in a liberal political bloc designed to win more parliamentary seats via the proportional representation system in next month's general elections, a controversial countermeasure to the main opposition party's similar step. The DP's move is seen as a reversal of its stated protest against the formation of such a political organization often called a paper party. DP lawmakers have strongly criticized the conservative United Future Party

March 13, 2020

Govt. preparing to declare virus-stricken Daegu a special disaster

The South Korean government is preparing to designate Daegu and nearby North Gyeongsang Province, hard hit by massive coronavirus infections, as "special disaster zones" in a bid to facilitate emergency relief and administrative and financial support, according to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Friday. "Procedures are under way in relation to the declaration" of Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and the province as special diaster zones," he said at an intera

March 13, 2020

Govt. orders scheduled remote working for public servants

In its latest efforts to fight the new coronavirus, South Korea on Thursday introduced a flexible working scheme, including flexible working hours and remote working, for public servants. Under the guidelines, public servants across the country are expected to take turns working remotely, either at home or at so-called smart work centers run by the government, according to the document distributed to 50 government organizations by the Ministry of Personnel Management. The heads of each organi

March 12, 2020

NSC decides to actively join global efforts to contain new coronavirus

South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) decided Thursday to actively join global efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus as the UN health agency has declared the virus outbreak a pandemic. Chung Eui-yong, the top national security advisor at the presidential office, presided over a weekly standing committee meeting earlier in the day to discuss responses to the coronavirus. "Taking into consideration the World Health Organization's (WHO) pandemic declaration, standing

March 12, 2020

Moon makes first visit to virus control headquarters

President Moon Jae-in visited the disease control headquarters Wednesday to encourage health officials fighting the new coronavirus. Moon visited the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) in Cheongju, 140 kilometers south of Seoul, for the first time since the nation reported the outbreak of COVID-19 on Jan. 20. Moon commended the health authorities' fast testing and treatment, pointing out that Korea's containment efforts are receiving international recognition, his spokesma

March 11, 2020

Ruling bloc wants larger supplementary budget

Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party will look into increasing the supplementary budget that was recently drawn up in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the ruling Democratic Party, plans to increase the supplementary budget and launch new support programs were discussed at Wednesday’s meeting among high-level officials from the presidential office, the ruling party and the government. The supplementary budget put to the National Assembly’s review is about 11.7 trilli

March 11, 2020

Ruling party to vote on joining proportional representation coalition

The ruling Democratic Party will hold an online vote for all its members to decide whether to participate in a coalition proportional representative party. The coalition proportional representative party is a proposed political party that will field only proportional representatives in the April 15 general elections. If Democratic Party members approve the resolution, the new party would include the ruling party, the Justice Party and left-leaning parties that do not at present have represent

March 11, 2020

Govt. to toughen air quality rules for public transport

The government will strengthen its air quality monitoring efforts for trains and buses from next month to minimize ultrafine dust particles inside public transportation vehicles, the Ministry of Environment said Wednesday. Beginning April 1, operators of subways, trains and inter-city buses will be advised to keep the amount of ultrafine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 2.5, inside their vehicles below 50 micrograms per cubic meter, the ministry said. Currently,

March 11, 2020

Some 15,000 adult wards to cast votes in April general elections

Seoul’s election body acknowledged adult wards’ right to vote, paving the way for voters under full guardianship to cast their ballot for the first time in the April 15 parliamentary elections, the Seoul city government said Wednesday. Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center, a city-affiliated institution, said it received the Seoul City Election Commission’s authoritative interpretation of the relevant law, recognizing voting rights of some 15,000 people under legal

March 11, 2020

Ahn Cheol-soo’s party surges in polls

The tentatively named People’s Party led by Ahn Cheol-soo is rising in the polls on the back of support from young and centrist voters, a survey showed Monday. The party’s approval rating came in at 4.7 percent between March 2 and March 6, up 3 percentage points from a week earlier, when it lagged behind in the 1 percent range, according to a survey by local pollster Realmeter. The hike comes amid much-publicized volunteer work by former physician Ahn and his spouse at a hospital

March 10, 2020

PM casts cautious optimism about containment of new coronavirus

South Korea's prime minister raised cautious optimism about the containment of the new coronavirus Monday, saying the pace of growth in infections has slowed for the third straight day. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun also vowed efforts for the smooth operation in a new rationing system for face masks amid public anger over the bungled supply scheme. "It is still too cautious, but I can see some hope that we may approach an inflection point in the near future through cooperation of the cen

March 9, 2020

National Assembly votes against ride-hailing service Tada

The National Assembly on Friday passed a controversial bill that dealt a severe blow to the ride-hailing service Tada, in an attempt to put an end to the conflict between the service operator and taxi companies. The passage of the bill comes on the heels of a court ruling last month that allowed the ride-hailing service to operate freely. Tada is the only company to offer the service here. The bill limits the hours of operation for ride-hailing services and also imposes restrictions on the ou

March 7, 2020

First political party of NK defectors launched

North Korean defectors launched a political party in South Korea for the first time Friday, vowing to work toward "liberating" people in their homeland from autocratic rule and promoting the rights of defectors. "Although we are few in number I feel that we have great potential ... just two months ago I, myself, was skeptical as to whether or not we would be able to launch the party but a miracle happened today thanks to everyone here," Thae Yong-ho, a former No. 2 diplomat

March 6, 2020

All govt. bodies switch to 24/7 emergency situation room system

All government organizations in South Korea have been operating emergency situation rooms 24 hours a day since earlier this week to swiftly cope with the coronavirus outbreak, authorities said Friday. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said that the 24/7 operations at all government organization emergency situation rooms began Wednesday and will continue until the COVID-19 crisis is over. The rare emergency footing by all government ministries and agencies was ordere

March 6, 2020

NSC to convene over Japan's entry restrictions on arrivals from S. Korea

South Korea's National Security Council will hold a meeting on Friday morning to discuss Japan's decision to tighten entry restrictions from the South amid the spread of the new coronavirus. In its standing committee meeting at 10 a.m., top national security officials will discuss ways to respond to Japan's move to effectively place South Koreans arriving in Japan under a two-week quarantine, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Thursday night that those fl

March 6, 2020