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

Politics March 11, 2020

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

Politics March 11, 2020

China’s decision to provide masks to South Korea while imposing tit-for-tat entry restrictions on Japanese nationals is highlighting Seoul-Beijing relations. From Tuesday, China temporarily halted its visa waiver program for Japanese nationals coming to China for tourism, to visit acquaintances or to change planes. Visa-free travel will still be allowed for Japanese visiting relatives in China or going there on business. The measure is thought to be a response to Japan’s latest

Foreign Affairs March 10, 2020

The COVID-19 outbreak in Korea appears to be slowing, with the number of new confirmed cases dropping for a third consecutive day. According to the government’s central response team, the number of confirmed patients came to 7,478 as of 4 p.m. Monday, with 96 new cases reported in the midday tally. The government’s central response team releases the figures at midnight, and updates them again at 4 p.m. That follows the addition of 248 new infections reported in the midnight Sunda

Social Affairs March 9, 2020

The number of COVID-19 patients rose to 7,041 on Saturday, with 274 additional cases being confirmed as of 5 p.m. According to the government’s central response team, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province continued to see the largest increase in the number of cases. Of the 483 cases confirmed Friday, 390 were in Daegu and 65 in North Gyeongsang Province. The number of COVID-19 cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province now stands at 6,133, accounting for 90.6 percent of South Korea&rsq

Social Affairs March 7, 2020

President Moon Jae-in on Friday urged mask producers to increase output as much as possible, and again promised the government would purchase surplus masks when demand falls, to reduce impact on the industry. Speaking at Wooil C&Tech, a mask producer in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Moon said that while government measures to improve mask supplies are being rolled out, production output must be increased to address the issue fundamentally. “The most important thing is to quickly

Social Affairs March 6, 2020

The Shincheonji Church of Jesus on Thursday donated 12 billion won ($10.1 million) to the efforts for battling the COVID-19 outbreak. The funds were donated to the Community Chest of Korea, with Sihncheonji’s Daegu branch raising 10 billion won, and the group’s central body raising 2 billion won. Shincheonji is a Christianity-based cult that has been at the center of the rapid spread of the virus in Korea, with about half of Korea’s 5,766 confirmed cases, as of Thursday af

Social Affairs March 5, 2020

Thirty-four people at a nursing home were confirmed to have the new coronavirus on Wednesday, fanning fears of further mass transmission incidents. On Thursday, the government’s COVID-19 response team revealed that 34 people at a nursing home in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province had been diagnosed with the illness, pushing up the total for the facility to 36. So far, nearly two-thirds of COVID-19 cases in South Korea have resulted from mass transmission incidents, with hospitals and

Social Affairs March 5, 2020

Ousted former President Park Geun-hye has called for unity within the conservative bloc, saying that conservatives’ patriotism can save the country from an “unprecedented crisis,” in a letter revealed by her lawyer Yoo Young-ha. “The country is in deep difficulties. There can be differences, and gaps that are difficult to fill in, but I urge all those who took up the Taegeukgi to come together around the behemoth opposition for a better Korea,” the imprisoned Par

Politics March 4, 2020

The public trust in the presidential office and media fell while feelings of anger have grown significantly amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, research showed Wednesday. According to a survey conducted by a team led by professor You Myoung-soon of the Graduate School of Public Health at Seoul National University, 49.5 percent of the public said that they trusted Cheong Wa Dae with regards to the outbreak, while the figure for the media came to 39.9 percent. In comparison, the figures for C

Social Affairs March 4, 2020

Those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak may be allowed to vote from home in the April 15 general elections. According to reports, the National Election Commission is considering ways to enable COVID-19 patients and people under quarantine to vote in the general elections. One possible option is allowing them to apply to vote from their places of residence. Those who might be eligible under the new rules include hospitalized COVID-19 patients, patients in home isolation and others whose movem

Politics March 4, 2020

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday apologized for the shortage of protective masks, and called on all government organizations to operate 24-hour situation rooms in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. “I feel very sorry for causing inconveniences to the public by failing to supply masks sufficiently and quickly,” Moon said at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. “Resolve the matter in the near future through cooperation among concerned ministries, with the Ministry of Food and Drug

Politics March 3, 2020

The government and ruling Democratic Party of Korea have decided to draw up a supplementary budget of over 6.2 trillion won ($5.2 billion) and submit the plans to the National Assembly on Thursday. The exact scale of the supplementary budget has not been determined, but the two sides agreed it needs to be larger than that allocated in response to the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2015, the ruling party said. At the time, a supplementary budget of 6.2 trillion won was drawn up

Politics March 2, 2020

President Moon Jae-in on Friday met with leaders of political parties, calling for their cooperation in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. “(I) ask you to increase the speed and strength of the cooperation. I hope (the parties) will shore up measures such as strengthening the country’s quarantine capabilities, and aid (to those affected by the outbreak) with the (supplementary) budget,” Moon said. With the virus spreading rapidly, the government and the ruling Democratic

Politics Feb. 28, 2020

Over 850 medical professionals and administrative officials from the private sector have volunteered to serve in Daegu, the government announced Friday. “Having recruited medical professionals to volunteer to work in the Daegu area from the 24th of this month, 853 have volunteered as of 9 a.m. today,” Kim Gang-lip, vice health minister, said Friday. Kim also serves on the government’s central response team. By profession, the volunteers consist of 58 doctors, 257 nurses, 2

Social Affairs Feb. 28, 2020