[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[Newsmaker] ‘Loose screws on border fence sensors disabled alarm’

A North Korean refugee was able to jump over the 3-meter fence along the inter-Korean border to the South without triggering the alarm because screws were loose on the fence’s sensors, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The military revealed the initial finding of its internal investigation into the event early this month, in which a former gymnast in his 20s crossed the border on foot. Sensors on the border fences along the general outposts, south of the demarcati

DefenseNov. 26, 2020

[Newsmaker] Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona dies at 60

BUENOS AIRES (AP) -- Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer great who scored the “Hand of God” goal in 1986 and led his country to that year’s World Cup title before later struggling with cocaine use and obesity, has died. He was 60. Maradona’s spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said he died Wednesday of a heart attack, two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following brain surgery. The office of Argentina’s president said it will decre

SoccerNov. 26, 2020

[Newsmaker] Biden Cabinet picks prioritizes experience

NEW YORK (AP) -- Competence is making a comeback. President-elect Joe Biden has prized staying power over star power when making his first wave of Cabinet picks and choices for White House staff, with a premium placed on government experience and proficiency as he looks to rebuild a depleted and demoralized federal bureaucracy. With an eye in part toward making selections who may have to seek approval from a Republican-controlled Senate, Biden has prioritized choosing qualified professionals wh

World NewsNov. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] What is it like to take part in a vaccine trial?

MIAMI (AFP) -- A key facet of the global mad scramble by Pfizer, Moderna and other pharma groups to develop a viable coronavirus vaccine is the recruitment of tens of thousands of volunteers willing to participate in clinical trials. Agence France-Presse’s correspondent in Miami, Leila Macor, took part in such a trial organized by US biotech firm Moderna, which announced Monday that its experimental vaccine was nearly 95 percent effective. Why did Macor, who suffers from asthma, decide t

World NewsNov. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] Kia workers go on strike over little progress in wage talks

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. began a partial strike Wednesday to demand higher wages and bonuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the union said. The workers in the morning shift walked away from their production lines at 11:40 a.m. in a four-hour strike while those on the evening shift plan to put down their tools at 8:30 p.m. for another four-hour strike. The union will stage the partial strikes until Friday, after the company and the union failed to narrow differences over wages and pe

IndustryNov. 25, 2020

[Newsmaker] KCTU to launch nationwide rallies Wednesday despite COVID-19 surge

The largest umbrella labor group in South Korea is sticking to its plans to launch a general strike and nationwide rallies Wednesday, despite warnings from authorities about the COVID-19 situation. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions said Tuesday that the one-day walkout will go ahead as previously announced, and striking members will take to the streets in small groups throughout the country. In the capital, rallies of nine people or fewer at various locations are planned in accordance

Social AffairsNov. 24, 2020

[Newsmaker] Seoul area soldiers could miss vacation, off-base visits

Soldiers based in the Greater Seoul area could see their vacation and off-base leave suspended under the military’s tightened antivirus measures that went into effect Tuesday. The military began enforcing tougher rules in the capital for two weeks through Dec. 3, in line with government-imposed Level 2 social distancing guidelines in the area. The country, in the onset of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported 349 cases in 24 hours ending at midnight on Monday. All servic

DefenseNov. 24, 2020

[Newsmaker] N. Korea repeats ‘self-help’ in antivirus effort

North Korea said Monday that self-help is the way to power through the obstacles ahead, like the coronavirus pandemic, and no one should challenge that direction. “Self-help is the way of life we’ve maintained to this day and it’s in our blood. We display that and there is nothing we cannot overcome,” the official state newspaper said, urging Workers’ Party members to be a brigade moving forward to grab victory. The North still claims it has yet to report an infec

North KoreaNov. 23, 2020

[Newsmaker] FM Kang voices hope for strengthening anti-virus cooperation with Latin America

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed hope Monday for South Korea and Latin American countries to strengthen cooperation in overcoming the new coronavirus and charting a path for a post-pandemic economic recovery. Kang delivered opening remarks during the 2020 Korea-LAC Future Cooperation Forum hosted by Seoul's ministries of foreign affairs and health to promote cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries. "We are in a situation that urgently calls for the entire world to

Foreign AffairsNov. 23, 2020

[Newsmaker] G-20 leaders urge united response to virus

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The Group of 20 summit opened on Saturday with appeals by the world's most powerful leaders to collectively chart a way forward as the coronavirus pandemic overshadows this year's gathering, transforming it from in-person meetings to a virtual gathering of speeches and declarations. The pandemic, which has claimed more than 1.37 million lives worldwide, has offered the G-20 an opportunity to prove how such bodies can facilitate international cooperation in c

World NewsNov. 22, 2020

[Newsmaker] Judge throws out Trump bid to stop PA vote certification

Pennsylvania officials can certify election results that currently show Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by more than 80,000 votes, a federal judge ruled Saturday, dealing President Donald Trump's campaign another blow in its effort to invalidate the election. US District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, turned down the request for an injunction by Trump's campaign. In his ruling, Brann said the Trump campaign presented "strained legal arguments without merit and spec

World NewsNov. 22, 2020