[Newsmaker] Public remains poles apart over accepting Afghan refugees

A public debate over whether Korea should accept Afghan refugees continues to heat up with the government granting special stay permits for Afghans here while airlifting nationals who worked for Korea in the war-torn country. Since the Taliban took control of Kabul earlier this month, opinions are split over whether Korea should help Afghan nationals. A national petition against the idea of taking in Afghan refugees posted on the presidential website of Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday has gained ove

Social AffairsAug. 25, 2021

[Newsmaker] Controversial media bill passes last hurdle to go on parliamentary plenary vote

A controversial bill on curbing fake news passed the last parliamentary hurdle Wednesday to be put to a final plenary vote at the National Assembly amid heated protests from opposition parties and journalists' associations. The bill to revise the Act on Press Arbitration and Remedies, Etc. for Damage Caused by Press Reports received the green light from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the final gatekeeping committee for all bills before they go on a final vote at a parliamentary plenar

PoliticsAug. 25, 2021

[Newsmaker] HMM workers vote for strike; governments drawing up measures

The South Korean government said Monday that it was taking measures to cope with any potential disruptions in maritime shipping as a labor strike loomed at the country’s largest shipper, HMM. Earlier in the day, nearly 88 percent of the 453 unionized longshore workers at HMM voted in favor of the collective action, as their wage negotiations with the company management remained deadlocked. If realized, it would be the first labor strike at the company. It is unclear when the union pl

IndustryAug. 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul subway workers to launch strike next month to protest restructuring plan

Seoul’s subway workers on Monday warned of a full strike next month to protest Seoul Metro’s massive restructuring plan, the company’s response to continuing financial losses. Unionized workers at Seoul Metro said at a press conference Monday that they will stage a full-scale walkout on Sept. 14 unless the central government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government withdraw the restructuring plan and devote the funds to improving the corporation’s financial standing. The u

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Rival parties' leading contenders in tight race for president, poll shows

Two leading contenders in South Korea's presidential race -- Yoon Seok-youl and Lee Jae-myung -- are still neck and neck, with the election less than seven months away, a survey showed Monday. In the two-day poll on 1,007 voters nationwide through last Saturday by the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI), former Prosecutor General Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) had 29.8 percent of support, down 0.8 percentage point from a week earlier. Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee of the

PoliticsAug. 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul’s riverside parks to have cleaner restrooms, more women’s toilets

Seoul will upgrade the restrooms at its riverside parks and install new ones over the next four years to make the parks more inviting for visitors. The city government said Sunday that it will make investments starting this year to improve the ventilation of the restrooms at Seoul’s riverside parks and increase the number of toilets for women. Some public restrooms at the parks have been criticized over the years for being run-down and unhygienic. “As the number of visitors at riv

Social AffairsAug. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] PPP presidential contenders in slugfest

People aiming to be the main opposition party‘s candidate for president are busy attacking each other ahead of the primary. Rep. Hong Joon-pyo of the People Power Party has been blasting Yoon Seok-youl for his lack of experience; former legislator Yoo Seung-min and ex-chief state auditor Choe Jae-hyeong have been arguing over adding a clause in the primary rules; and former Jeju governor Won Hee-ryong has been harassing PPP leader Lee Jun-seok. “Someone who has been doing only pros

PoliticsAug. 20, 2021

[Newsmaker] COVAX allocates 3m Sinovac vaccines to North Korea

The UN-backed vaccine-sharing program COVAX has allocated around 3 million doses of the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to North Korea, but it remains to be seen whether the reclusive regime will accept them. 　 According to Radio Free Asia on Thursday, Edwin Salvador, head of the World Health Organization office in Pyongyang, said the program allotted 2.97 million shots of China’s Sinovac to the North during the latest round of vaccine allocation. COVAX is a multinational program that distri

Foreign AffairsAug. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] High court okays 34-year prison term for university student in sexual blackmail case

DAEGU -- An appellate court on Thursday upheld an imprisonment of 34 years for a key member of an online sexual blackmail ring indicted on 12 criminal charges, including the violation of laws on protecting minors from sexual abuse. The Daegu High Court in this southeastern city approved the hefty prison term after convicting Moon Hyung-wook, a 24-year-old university student, of coercing 21 women and girls into sharing nearly 3,800 sexually explicit videos of themselves for distribution on a Tel

Social AffairsAug. 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] BTS producer Pdogg beats chaebol chiefs in pay

In another sign of the rise of the “new rich” in Korea Inc., the producer behind K-pop juggernaut BTS topped the list of highest-paid executives in the first half of this year, beating the country’s far more prominent tycoons running conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai and LG. According to regulatory filings by listed companies on Wednesday, senior song producer Kang Hyo-won took home the biggest sum during the first six months of this year, receiving a total of 40.07 billi

IndustryAug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Main opposition in leadership fracas

A day after canceling a planned debate because a leading presidential contender was unhappy about it, the main opposition party on Wednesday was wrangling over its leader’s comments in a private conversation. Won Hee-ryong, former Jeju governor and a preliminary presidential candidate of the People Power Party, claimed that party leader Lee Jun-seok told him on the phone that Yoon Seok-youl, the ex-prosecutor general and the party’s most popular presidential hopeful, “will be

PoliticsAug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] DP chief calls for swift OPCON transfer as lesson from Afghan crisis

The chief of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday called for speeding up South Korea's envisioned takeover of wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the United States in reflection of the recent crisis in Afghanistan. "We need OPCON transfer to further strengthen our will and capability of self-defense against the backdrop of the Afghanistan crisis," Rep. Song Young-gil said in his Facebook post. Song wrote the post as a direct rebuttal to a claim recently ma

PoliticsAug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Last remaining Koreans evacuate Afghanistan

The last remaining South Koreans, including the country’s ambassador, were evacuated from Afghanistan on Tuesday, following the Taliban’s abrupt takeover of the country. 　 South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said four Korean nationals -- three diplomats and one civilian -- left the Kabul airport at around 9 a.m. Seoul time, and safely arrived in a third country in the Middle East. 　 　 The three embassy personnel, including Ambassador Choi Tae-ho, had remained in Afghani

Foreign AffairsAug. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Five-term lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo announces 2nd presidential bid

Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, a five-term lawmaker of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), officially announced Tuesday he will run in the presidential election slated for March. Hong, who lost the 2017 election against President Moon Jae-in, held an online press conference announcing his second bid for the presidency, in which he pledged to "correct the nation heading in the wrong direction." The former prosecutor-turned-politician presented a vision in which South Korea wins respect

PoliticsAug. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Blame game intensifies over Mergepoint fiasco

The blame game between financial authorities and discount app operator Mergeplus intensified Monday, leaving customers who bought coupons uncertain as to whether they would lose their money. Mergeplus launched Mergepoint, an electronic payment service, in 2018. Consumers can buy Mergepoints for 20 percent less than their face value, and use them in local retail franchises, convenience stores and coffee shops. The substantial discounts on offer have helped the service attract about 1 million u

MarketAug. 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon orders all-out efforts for safe evacuation of Koreans from Afghanistan

President Moon Jae-in instructed his government Monday to do its best for the safe evacuation of South Korea's diplomatic officials and residents in Afghanistan. He told relevant authorities to make all-out efforts so that every single South Korean national there can be evacuated to safety, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. The president has been receiving real-time reports on recent security situations in the nation, where the Taliban has taken control, she added. Moon

Foreign AffairsAug. 16, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ruling party forges ahead with “fake news” law despite opposition

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is poised to push ahead with the revision of the Act on Press Arbitration, despite resistance from opposition parties and the media. The Act on Press Arbitration aims to mediate disputes over media reports that infringe on people’s rights, interests or reputations. The ruling party recently proposed a revised bill that would further toughen consequences for false reports, including the introduction of punitive damages. Under the revised law

PoliticsAug. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Anti-feminism website singled out celebs, lists RM from BTS as ‘verified feminist’

A website claiming to “verify” feminist celebrities and high profile figures was deleted hours after launch Friday, highlighting once again how feminism faces backlash from anti-feminist groups and how deepened gender conflict has become in the country. The website, dubbed “Check Femi,” had several dozens of figures analyzed by 11 a.m. Friday, categorizing them to three groups of “suspected,” “verified” and “vanguard” in their associat

Social AffairsAug. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Gyeonggi governor announces in-province universal COVID-19 relief handouts

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung on Friday announced his decision to provide universal COVID-19 relief funds to all provincial residents, contrary to the central government's policy of selective relief payments. Lee, the front-running presidential contender for the ruling Democratic Party, vowed to ensure that all 14 million residents in the province, which surrounds Seoul, will benefit from the government's upcoming emergency disaster relief handouts. In late July, the National Assembly p

PoliticsAug. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Internal strife continues to weigh on PPP

Main opposition party leader Lee Jun-seok continued to bicker with his own party members supporting former prosecutor general and presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl despite concerns that internal fighting will not help the party win next year’s election. The People Power Party plans to hold a debate between the party’s preliminary presidential candidates on Aug. 18, which members of Yoon’s camp have expressed discontent with, saying everyone will attack Yoon, the leading can

PoliticsAug. 12, 2021