Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate for the minor opposition People’s Party, stepped down once again from a election race on Thursday, marking his fourth withdrawal in a political career that extends just over 10 years. Ahn became a big name in local politics starting in 2011, when there were rumors that he -- a respected doctor-turned-software mogul at the time -- would run in the Seoul mayoral by-election. Ahn, however, declined to join the race, instead choosing to endorse the

Politics March 3, 2022

The new school year kicked off Wednesday while the country’s daily COVID-19 tally soared to nearly 220,000. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s report on Wednesday, the number of daily cases here reached 219,241, up 80,248 from the previous day. The total caseload reached 3,492,686 accordingly, the country’s health authorities said.　 Despite the tally, most schools opted for in-person classes Wednesday. Though the Education Ministry gave school

Social Affairs March 2, 2022

Unvaccinated students living with confirmed COVID-19 patients will be allowed to attend in-person classes staring March 14, as part of the Ministry of Education’s new guidelines announced Monday. Schools will not penalize students’ COVID-19-related absences from the new semester onward. Also, from March 14, students can attend classes in person even if their family member has been infected with COVID-19. The Ministry of Education announced more details to its response against the

Social Affairs Feb. 28, 2022

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate for the minor opposition People’s Party, attacked Yoon Suk-yeol of the major opposition People Power Party for being unrealistic about leading a government in a situation where opposition parties are the majority. “If (the Democratic Party of Korea) attempts to disturb the government because it has 180 seats in the National Assembly, I believe it goes against the orders of the Constitution,” Yoon said during a TV debate held Friday,

Politics Feb. 25, 2022

The two frontrunners in the quickly approaching presidential election addressed the Russian invasion of Ukraine with different focuses. While Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea spoke of economic aspects, Yoon Suk-yeol from the main opposition People Power Party attacked the Moon Jae-in administration’s security policies. Lee tried to bring the focus on how the war will affect the Korean economy in an attempt to emphasize his capability in handling economic matters. Lee

Politics Feb. 25, 2022

The Korean government joined an intergovernmental announcement to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Countries that are members of the Community of Democracies issued a statement Thursday, condemning Russia’s massive military assault against Ukraine. Following the international community’s shock as Russia launched an all-out invasion on Ukraine, the governing council members of the Community of Democracies, including Korea, the US, Japan, Canada, Estonia, Finland and many m

International Feb. 25, 2022

South Korea on Wednesday reported more than 170,000 new COVID-19 cases, outpacing the government’s earlier estimates. Despite the record figure, authorities tried to reduce some of the pandemic panic, stressing the virus crisis is under control. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures said a total of 171,452 cases had been confirmed as of Tuesday midnight, raising the total caseload to 2,329,182. On Monday, the government announced it expects the peak of the omicron variant spr

Social Affairs Feb. 23, 2022

Teachers’ unions are voicing out their concerns after the government announced schools will have the choice to provide full remote classes during the first two weeks of March. The Ministry of Education announced Monday that it has designated March 2 -11 to be a new semester adjustment period, allowing schools to hold online-only classes if needed. Previously, the ministry had warned schools to refrain from switching to an online-only class scheme. However, it changed its stance with a s

Social Affairs Feb. 22, 2022

Yoon Suk-yeol, candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, put forward the idea of “digital data economy” in Monday’s televised debate, inciting criticism from Ahn Cheol-soo, the opposition People’s Party’s nominee. “It is an era of slow growth. It is difficult to resolve the economic polarization and encourage social mobility at a time like this. We have to strengthen the digital data economy, creating a new paradigm,” Yoon said during a TV pr

Politics Feb. 21, 2022

The Education Ministry on Monday recommended schools be more flexible with attendance policies in early March during a two-week transition period, dialing up an advisory for holding online classes if needed.　 The announcement gives schools more flexibility from the ministry’s earlier guidelines for schools to go hybrid with online and offline classes, allowing schools to tweak attendance policies regardless of the rules during the first two weeks of the new semester. “We are exp

Social Affairs Feb. 21, 2022

Over the weekend, Sim Sang-jung, the minor progressive Justice Party’s presidential candidate, attacked the two front-runners for their corruption-related scandals, stressing she is “the only clean candidate qualified to be president.” On Sunday, she led her canvassing in Seoul, meeting with the people at Gwanaksan and Gangnam Station. “What is the most important quality of a president? It is the morality to refrain from using power -- given to use for the people -- fo

Politics Feb. 20, 2022

The divide among age groups’ political inclinations in South Korea is breaking down, with many younger voters supporting conservatives, joining older voters. However, though the two age groups may root for the same candidate and party, the reasons behind their support differ. While older conservatives’ support for Yoon Suk-yeol and the People Power Party has firmer footing, young conservative voters’ support is characterized by disappointment in the existing political situati

Politics Feb. 20, 2022

The Ministry of Education on Wednesday watered down its guidelines for school students’ COVID-19 testing, saying that students are recommended to take two rapid antigen tests a week. While saying that schools will be provided with testing kits, the ministry said that the tests were not mandatory and that schools will be given autonomy in implementing measures against spread of the virus. The measure comes days after the ministry came under fire over reports that COVID tests could be mad

Social Affairs Feb. 16, 2022

Two people were found dead and one unconscious on a bus belonging to the campaign of minor opposition People‘s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Tuesday. The bodies of the head of the election committee for Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, and an election campaign vehicle driver were found in the vehicle parked on a road in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province at about 5:24 p.m. The two are suspected to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning while inside the stand-by vehi

Politics Feb. 15, 2022

Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party is the wealthiest among the 11 presidential candidates, according to data submitted to the National Election Commission. The candidates’ financial reports submitted to commission show that Ahn is the has net assets of 197 billion won ($164 million). Among the four major candidates, Yoon Suk-yeol from the People Power Party came second with 7.7 billion won, followed by Lee Jae-myung from Democratic Party with 3.2 billion won. Sim Sang-jung of the

Politics Feb. 14, 2022