[Newsmaker] COVID-19 health spending to reach W320b this year: NHIS

The amount of money expected to be spent on coronavirus patients -- from the pre-diagnosis stage through recovery -- is expected to total close to 320 billion won ($280 million), the National Health Insurance Service said Sunday. About one-third of the cost would be taken up at the pre-diagnosis stage, including coronavirus tests, it added. The total number of coronavirus patients here is projected to reach 33,995 by the end of this year, 8,796 more than Sunday’s tally of 25,199, t

Social AffairsOct. 18, 2020

[Newsmaker] NK says Danish documentary on Pyongyang dodging sanctions ‘fabricated:’ report

North Korea said a recent Danish documentary claims to show Pyongyang bypassing international sanctions on arms trading is “fabricated” and called Denmark to find the infiltrator, according to media reports on Friday.  The North Korean Embassy in Stockholm said the documentary “is from the beginning to the end a fabricated film which aimed to cast a slur on the image of the DPRK,” Reuters reported, citing the embassy’s letter sent to Danish newspaper Ekstra Bl

North KoreaOct. 16, 2020

[Newsmaker] Church suspends pastor for blessing sexual minorities

The Korea Methodist Church slapped Rev. Lee Dong-hwan with a two-year suspension from work for giving a blessing to participants in a queer festival in August last year. The judicial committee of the Korea Methodist Church’s Gyeonggi Province branch made the decision Thursday, immediately suspending Lee from his position as pastor at a Methodist church in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. He is also barred from making sermons, giving blessings and holding prayers on behalf of the Methodist Church

Social AffairsOct. 15, 2020

[Newsmaker] Human rights groups call for UN resolution to include N. Korea's killing of S. Korean citizen

More than 30 human rights groups from seven countries urged the United Nations to include North Korea's recent killing of a South Korean official adrift in its waters in its annual human rights resolution on the communist state. The groups said they made the request in a joint public letter to the UN after learning of the "shocking news" that North Korea killed the South Korean official and burned his body last month "in accordance with Pyongyang's shoot-to-kill order to prevent

North KoreaOct. 15, 2020

[Newsmaker] N. Korea appears to have 'no appetite' for provocation until after US election: Seoul official

North Korea seems to have no appetite for provocation until after the US presidential election in November, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday, citing "no explicit agitation" toward Washington during Pyongyang's recent military parade. Park Jang-ho, deputy director-general at the foreign ministry's North Korean nuclear affairs bureau, made the remarks during a webinar hosted jointly by the Sejong Institute and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It seems to us t

North KoreaOct. 14, 2020

[Newsmaker] Rhee Keun claims he was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault

Rhee Keun, also known as Ken Rhee, who recently gained huge popularity playing a South Korean Navy SEAL on YouTube, has suddenly found himself fighting to safeguard his reputation and lucrative commercial deals after a groping conviction on his record was revealed to the public. “I apologize for posting another message dealing with such unfortunate matters,” said Rhee on his YouTube channel Tuesday. He admitted that he had been convicted of sexual assault in 2019, but sai

Social AffairsOct. 13, 2020

[Newsmaker] Illegal military service exemptions rise steadily every year

The number of illegal exemptions from mandatory military service detected by local authorities has surged nearly 60 percent over the past five years, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday, calling for tougher punishments for draft dodgers. Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the Democratic Party, citing the Military Manpower Administration's data, said the number of people booked by police on charges of illegally receiving an exemption from military duty increased 59.6 percent from 47 in 2015 to 75 in 2019. T

DefenseOct. 13, 2020

[Newsmaker] Chinese fans upset by BTS’ Korean War remark: report

Hit K-pop act BTS has come under fire in China for a remark about the Korean War, according to a Chinese news outlet. BTS recently received the General James A. Van Fleet Award from the Korea Society, a US-based nonprofit organization. The award, named after a US commander who fought in the Korean War (1950-1953), is given to South Korean and US nationals who have strengthened the ties between the two nations. In a video clip released by the organization on Wednesday, BTS member RM made an

PerformanceOct. 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] People Power Party slams Moon's 'submissive' attitude towards NK

The main opposition party on Monday accused North Korea of violating its military agreement with South Korea by developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile and submarine-launched ballistic missiles which it unveiled in a military parade on Saturday. “This is a clear violation of the military agreement. We can only see (the North’s threat) as increased, not diminished,” Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the People’s Power Party, said during an emergency meeting at t

PoliticsOct. 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] Progressive groups, women oppose 'regressive' abortion bill

Controversy has intensified over the government’s bill to allow abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy, as progressive groups say the new law would remain in violation of women’s rights and the Constitution. As a follow-up to the Constitutional Court‘s landmark ruling last year to revise the ban on abortion, the government unveiled its plan on Oct. 7 to press no criminal charges against those who have an abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy. Under the planned

Social AffairsOct. 11, 2020

[Newsmaker] Rep. Kim Hong-gul faces questioning over real estate scandal

An independent lawmaker and son of late President Kim Dae-jung appeared at the prosecutors' office in Seoul on Saturday for questioning over an allegation he intentionally underreported property ownership just ahead of the general elections in April. Kim Hong-gul said he would be "faithful" during the investigation as he walked into the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office with his lawyer. Last month, Kim was expelled from the ruling Democratic Party due to the scandal. Kim wa

Social AffairsOct. 10, 2020

[Newsmaker] Criticism mounts over revelation of NK diplomat’s defection

Criticism is mounting over the recent revelation of a high-ranking North Korean diplomat’s defection here by S. Korean media and lawmakers. A UN official called on both Koreas to make efforts to help the safety of the defector’s remaining family in the North, while Seoul’s unification minister directed an investigation into how such sensitive information could have been published. On Wednesday, Rep. Ha Tae-keung, a member of the National Assembly’s intelligence commit

North KoreaOct. 9, 2020

[Newsmaker] Tension rises again over Hangeul Day rallies

Disease prevention authorities and the police are on high alert once again as mass rallies are scheduled to be held in downtown Seoul over the long weekend starting from Hangeul Day on Friday. While the authorities maintain that outdoor rallies are still inappropriate due to COVID-19, organizers of protests against the Moon Jae-in administration are seeking to get court approval like they did for the Aug. 15 Liberation Day rallies. The Seoul Administrative Court is set to review on Thursday a

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2020

[Newsmaker] Fine for personal data leaks averaged 258 won since 2016: lawmaker

Tens of million personal data records have been leaked over the past five years but fines for the leaks averaged 258 won ($0.22), a lawmaker said Thursday, calling for tougher penalties. According to Rep. Park Kwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party, over 64 million leaks of personal information, such as names, social security numbers and mobile phone numbers, were reported from the public, private and online sectors from 2016 to last month. Of them, administrative action was taken in 50.87 mi

PoliticsOct. 8, 2020

[Newsmaker] Private schools hold more in-person classes than public ones

Private elementary schools have held more in-person classes than public ones, a lawmaker said Wednesday, claiming it to be evidence of the “unequal” disruptions in students’ learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the office of Rep. Lee Tahney of the Democratic Party, private elementary schools in Seoul offered an average of 4.2 in-person classes per week, compared to just 1.9 at public schools. The data is based on lesson plans that the schools reported to the Se

Social AffairsOct. 7, 2020

[Newsmaker] Govt. purchases of Japanese products persist amid boycott: lawmaker

The South Korean government has maintained business deals with Japanese companies with war crime records despite a nationwide boycott on Japan-made goods since last year, according to a lawmaker Wednesday. According to Rep. Jung Sung-ho of the ruling Democratic Party, the government procured 28.7 billion won ($24.6 million) worth of products from Japanese firms with war crime histories, including Hitachi and Mitsubishi, from 2015 to August of this year. During the period, the total amount of J

PoliticsOct. 7, 2020

[Newsmaker] Controversies surrounding ministers fan talks of Cabinet reshuffle

Talks of a Cabinet reshuffle are rising, following a series of controversies surrounding high-profile ministers of the Moon Jae-in administration. Controversies about Cabinet members and nominees have dogged President Moon Jae-in throughout his term, but this time talks of a reshuffle are rising from within the ranks of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Ministers linked to a possible reshuffle include Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha and Ministe

PoliticsOct. 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] In letter to President Moon, son of slain fishery official demands truth

A son of the fishery official killed by North Korea at sea last month doubted the South Korean government's announcement that his father sought defection and pleaded with the president to find the truth about his father's death. In a letter released late Monday by Lee Rae-jin, the official's older brother, the son asked President Moon Jae-in, "Do you think it really makes sense that my father, who never learned how to swim and weighed only 68 kg for his height of 180 cm, swam 38 km against

PoliticsOct. 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] N. Korea likely to be last to reopen borders due to COVID-19: experts

WASHINGTON -- North Korea will likely be one of the last in the world to reopen its borders since an outbreak of the new coronavirus would spell an "absolute disaster" for the impoverished nation, experts said Monday. The communist state was one of the first to close its border following the outbreak of the new coronavirus in neighboring China and South Korea. "As we know that North Korea was the first country to totally close its borders and I think it will be probably the last

North KoreaOct. 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] N. Korea touts economic progress as party anniversary nears

North Korea on Monday celebrated its economic achievements as it geared up for the anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party on Saturday, at a time when its economy is faltering under UN-led sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and the aftereffects of recent floods. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency and its state newspaper released extensive coverage of what it called a “remarkable” recovery from the floods, saying hundreds of new homes and pu

North KoreaOct. 5, 2020