Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean adoptee sisters meet for the first time in 39 years
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Signs point to N. Korean troops in Russia-Ukraine combat zone
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Yoon calls for measures to protect Koreans amid escalating Iran-Israel conflicts
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Rose's 'Apt.' redefines K-pop's global appeal
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Civil servant’s death linked to workplace bullying
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Two years on, thousands mourn Itaewon tragedy, calling for accountability
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[Weekender] Walk around Korea to really get to know the country
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N. Korea slams Seoul-Washington joint air exercise
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[Herald Interview] Love for K-drama, food defines 'Secret Ingredient'
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[Herald Interview] K-pop’s 'best years are ahead of us': Spotify’s general manager for Asia Pacific
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea confirms 6th highly pathogenic bird flu case from farms
South Korea said Wednesday it has confirmed the sixth case of highly pathogenic bird flu from a duck farm, raising concerns over the disease penetrating deeper into the local livestock industry. Local authorities identified the latest case from Naju, 355 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The country has been reporting highly pathogenic cases from different regions, ranging from Gyeonggi Province to South Jeolla Province. Highly pathoge
Social AffairsDec. 9, 2020
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[Newsmaker] US says willing to help N. Korea fight coronavirus
The United States will seriously consider helping North Korea contain the spread of the coronavirus if it requests such assistance, Robert O’Brien, US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said Monday. “They (North Korea) have been reticent to ask for outside help for things in the past but if they did we would certainly look at that very seriously,” O’Brien said in an interview with 19FortyFive, a website on global affairs. He said Pyongyang appears
North KoreaDec. 8, 2020
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[Newsmaker] USFK under fire over no-mask dance party amid virus resurgence
The US Forces Korea is facing criticism over a dance party held at one of its bases last week at which participants did not wear face masks amid South Korea's heightened social distancing scheme to stem the resurgence of new coronavirus cases. The party took place at Flightline Tap Room at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Friday, with dozens of people dancing side by side without wearing masks, according to officials. On the same day, South Korea's daily number of new COVID-19
DefenseDec. 8, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Questions remain as infamous child rapist set for release on weekend
Infamous child rapist Cho Doo-soon is set to be released Saturday, with controversy lingering as to whether he should be released and what the country should do to protect potential victims. Cho, who brutally assaulted an 8-year-old girl in 2008, will be released from prison Dec. 12 after 12 years in prison. It is not known which correctional facility he will be released from on that date, but he will be set free between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Upon release, Cho will be tracked at all times via a GP
Social AffairsDec. 7, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Moon urges measures for thorough tracing of coronavirus infections
President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Monday to mobilize "every available" workforce for thorough tracing of COVID-19 infections, Cheong Wa Dae said. He called for measures to enhance the capabilities of tracking and tracing coronavirus-related contacts in response to continued surges in infections especially in and around Seoul, according to Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication. Health authorities here have been suffering increased difficult
PoliticsDec. 7, 2020
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[Newsmaker] International human rights group condemns anti-leafleting bill as violation of free expression
A human rights group condemned the South Korean parliament’s push to penalize the launching of propaganda leaflets into North Korea as a violation of the freedom of expression, calling on the National Assembly to reject the proposed legislature. Human Rights Watch, a New York-based organization, said in a statement Saturday that if the bill that bans leafleting campaigns is enacted, it would violate South Koreans’ rights to the freedom of expression, making “engaging
North KoreaDec. 6, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Ancient asteroid dust collected by Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe arrives on Earth
TOKYO (AFP) -- In a streak of light across the night sky, samples collected from a distant asteroid arrived on Earth on Sunday after being dropped off by Japanese space probe Hayabusa-2. Scientists hope the precious samples, which are expected to amount to no more than 0.1 grams of material, could help shed light on the origin of life and the formation of the universe. The capsule carrying samples entered the atmosphere just before 2:30 am Japan time (1730 GMT Saturday), creating a shooting-st
World NewsDec. 6, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Court mulls arrest warrants for 3 Industry Ministry officials over closure of Wolsong-1 reactor
A local court on Friday began reviewing whether to issue arrest warrants for three high-ranking Energy Ministry officials suspected of destroying documents about the controversial closure of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor. The Daejeon District Court on Friday afternoon started an arrest warrant hearing for the three officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This followed a request from the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday. The officials are under investig
Social AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea probes 10 suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu
South Korea said Friday it is investigating 10 suspected cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) found from wild bird droppings, sparking concerns over the nationwide spread of the virus among poultry farms. The new suspected cases came from samples gathered from major wild bird habitats across the nation, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It will take up to five days to determine whether they are highly pathogenic. South Korea reported its first highl
Social AffairsDec. 4, 2020
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[Newsmaker] How Korea held its nationwide college entrance exam with COVID-19
South Korea on Thursday held the nation’s annual rite of passage -- the Suneung, the standardized college entrance exam -- on which it’s an understatement to say that students stake their future. The question of how to hold a college entrance exam during a global pandemic has been a headache for many. In the US, the Educational Testing Service has made its graduate admissions test, the GRE, available at home in the interest of social distancing, while the College Board went back on
IndustryDec. 3, 2020
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[Newsmaker] North Korea enforces tougher antivirus measures in Pyongyang amid heightened alert
North Korea has been enforcing tougher antivirus measures in Pyongyang since the capital was recently put on the highest level of alert against the global coronavirus pandemic, according to state media. "Preventive efforts to block the inflow of the vicious virus into Pyongyang have been under way in a more proactive manner," the state-run Korean Central Broadcasting station said. All people entering through the Mankyongdae region, a western gateway to Pyongyang, should get their tem
North KoreaDec. 3, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Not just students being examined as Suneung puts ‘K-quarantine’ to test
Tens of thousands of college hopefuls in South Korea will take the annual national college entrance exam Thursday, so important that many here describe it as one of the most pivotal moments in life. The College Scholastic Aptitude Test, or the Suneung, will begin at 8:40 a.m. at over 1,300 testing sites across the country, and will last until 5:40 p.m. Some 493,433 college hopefuls are to sit the marathon test. Coming amid a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections, this year’s Suneung is argu
Social AffairsDec. 2, 2020
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea braces for nat'l college entrance exam amid pandemic
South Koreans were on high alert Wednesday with only hours to go until hundreds of thousands of students would sit for the annual state college entrance exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 490,000 high school seniors, graduates and others plan to take the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) on Thursday amid a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus infections across the country. That includes 37 coronavirus patients and 430 people in self-quarantine, according to Dec. 1 data from th
Social AffairsDec. 2, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Safety concerns revived at campuses as finals approach
As the second semester nears its end, a debate is being rekindled on campuses – should final exams be held in-person or online? While most universities leave the matter up to lecturers to decide, who appear to favor physical attendance to prevent cheating, students fear the risk of infection, as young people have been pointed to as potential silent spreaders of the virus. As the nation undergoes a third wave of coronavirus infections, the number of college students diagnosed with COVID
Social AffairsDec. 1, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Ex-CIA official suggests Biden administration propose working-level talks with N. Korea
A proposal by the incoming US administration of President-elect Joe Biden to hold working-level talks with North Korea can be a "good starting point" to resume the long-stalled nuclear negotiations, a former US intelligence official said Tuesday. Andrew Kim, who retired as the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency's Korea Mission Center in 2018, made the remark during a webinar on the South Korea-US alliance, saying the North appears to be waiting to see what the Biden camp will sa
North KoreaDec. 1, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Ex-President Chun found guilty of libel for denying civilians were shot from helicopters during Gwangju Uprising
Former President Chun Doo-hwan on Monday received a suspended prison sentence for libel with regard to the massacre of civilians during the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The Gwangju District Court found Chun guilty of defamation for comments he made about an activist priest who had shared eyewitness accounts of the bloody crackdown, which was led by the military virtually under Chun’s leadership, against pro-democracy activists in Gwangju. The court sentenced the 89-year-old former
Social AffairsNov. 30, 2020
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[Newsmaker] N. Korea reinforces border control amid mounting COVID-19 worries
North Korea said Sunday it was reinforcing border lockdown to prevent the coronavirus pandemic from spreading into its territory. The regime still claims zero COVID-19 cases. “Every effort is made to keep strong border closures and to ensure everyone stick to antivirus measures and report anything out of ordinary,” the official Korean Central News Agency, said adding it was enforcing tighter controls over the inter-Korean border. Earlier this month, a North Korean man, now in Seoul
North KoreaNov. 29, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Army artillery school reports 17 COVID-19 infections
An Army artillery school in southwestern South Korea has reported large-scale coronavirus infections among its soldiers, local health authorities said Saturday. Sixteen soldiers undergoing training or stationed at the Sangmudae Artillery School in Jangseong, 310 kilometers south of Seoul, were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday after an Army officer from the same compound tested positive for the virus the previous day, the authorities said. All of the 16 new patients had come into contact wit
Social AffairsNov. 28, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Opposition parties call for parliament-led probe into Choo-Yoon clash
Opposition parties on Friday submitted a written request for an investigation led by the National Assembly into the justice minister’s unprecedented action to suspend the top prosecutor from duty. The request was signed by 110 lawmakers -- 103 from the main opposition People Power Party, three from the minor People’s Party and four independent lawmakers. The procedural legitimacy of the disciplinary actions taken by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok
Social AffairsNov. 27, 2020
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[Newsmaker] Twelve more facility types to be subject to school bus safety regulations
A revised law will require 12 more types of facilities to follow school bus safety regulations starting Friday, police said. The new categories include alternative schools, international schools and public libraries, according to the National Police Agency. The six original types of facilities were kindergartens, elementary schools, special education schools, day care centers, academic institutes and sports facilities. "The added 12 are frequently used by children and operate buses for th
Social AffairsNov. 27, 2020