Concerns are mounting in Gwangju that it could emerge as a new hotbed for the spread of the new coronavirus, as sporadic infections continue to grow in the southern city with a population of 1.5 million. Of 54 new daily cases reported in South Korea on Thursday, Gwangju registered 22 new cases with a recent surge in COVID-19 infections related to small gatherings in churches and a Buddhist temple following its first double-digit rise of 12 on Wednesday. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo

Social Affairs July 2, 2020

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Wednesday he would announce his bid for the chairmanship of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea next week, which could help the key potential presidential candidate consolidate his position and stamp his authority on the liberal faction. Lee said he would make an announcement on his future course of action on Tuesday, about eight weeks before the Democratic Party’s Aug. 29 convention where a new chairman and other leaders will be elected. &ldqu

Politics July 1, 2020

The country’s third and largest-ever extra budget plan cleared a minor hurdle Tuesday as the ruling Democratic Party forges ahead with the review process despite the absence of the main opposition party following fierce strife between the rival political groups. Sixteen parliamentary standing committees completed the budget review sessions by adding 3.13 trillion won ($2.61 billion) to the government’s initial budget of 35.3 trillion won, the third extra budget to support indust

Politics June 30, 2020

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has strengthened its grip on the National Assembly, already heavily tilted to the left, by taking the chair posts of nearly all standing committees, after talks with the main opposition party on sharing them fell apart. In a plenary session held on Monday, 181 lawmakers, including 176 from the Democratic Party, completed casting votes for the mainstream liberal party to secure 17 committee chairmanships out of 18. The chief of the Intelligence Committee w

Politics June 29, 2020

Prosecutors’ yearslong intensive probe into Samsung Group took a fresh twist after a panel of outside experts advised them not to indict the group’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong and drop the investigation on alleged corporate fraud surrounding the 2015 merger between two key affiliates. In a deliberation session held Friday, the 14-member committee, which was set up to check the prosecution’s possible abuse of power to indict as a part of reform measures, voted in favor of

Social Affairs June 28, 2020

South Korea’s health authorities said Thursday they will provide epidemiological information collected from thousands of local COVID-19 patients to medical professionals, in a bid to come up with effective measures to counter a possible resurgence of the virus. The Central Disaster Management Headquarters and National Medical Center will disclose clinical data on 5,500 people who have been released after fully recovering from the virus, through Friday. The large volume of data ranges

Social Affairs June 25, 2020

South Korea reported 28 more cases of the novel coronavirus, chiefly in the Seoul metropolitan area, bringing the national’s total infections to 12,563, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The latest figure is nearly a half of Wednesday’s 51 new cases, which sparked concern over a growing number of infections from overseas and provincial areas. Of the 28 new patients, five were imported cases and the rest were domestic infections. The death toll f

Social Affairs June 25, 2020

Health authorities on Wednesday decided to lower the bar for releasing coronavirus patients from quarantine, as virus infections continued a sustained rise, threatening the capacity of the local health system. Starting Thursday, asymptomatic patients will be released from quarantine if they show no symptoms for 10 days after having tested positive, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. At present, isolation ends only when the patients turn two negative te

Social Affairs June 24, 2020

North Korea’s literary news outlet praised J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, the best selling book series in history, for the pioneering spirit that it models for children. In a review dated June 20, Literature Newspaper, a mouthpiece of the Joseon Writers’ Alliance, the Central Committee of North Korea’s official literary organization, belatedly introduced the British writer’s work. The first book in the seven-book series was published in 1997,

North Korea June 24, 2020

South Korea reported 51 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, with new infections detected in more cities compared with the previous trend of concentration in the Greater Seoul area. Of the new cases, 31 were domestic cases, including 11 which were registered in Seoul and eight in Daejeon, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Door-to-door sales companies are said to be responsible for the increased caseloads in the two cities recently. Twenty cases

Social Affairs June 24, 2020

Friction between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl appears to have subsided, after hitting a point where President Moon Jae-in had to summon them together to call for cooperation on prosecution reform. Ever since the minister took office in January, Choo has clashed with Yoon over myriad issues, from a personal reshuffle that relegated Yoon’s key lieutenants at the prosecution office, to investigations into scandals involving former Justice Minister Ch

Politics June 23, 2020

The main opposition United Future Party urged the government on Monday to employ psychological warfare against North Korea if there are further provocations. “A certain way of stopping North Korea’s provocations is to make them feel that they have more to lose than gain from provocations,” the party’s in-house foreign policy and security group said in a statement. Among other actions, the government should resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at the border as it

Politics June 22, 2020

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl has ordered a fresh probe of the 2010 bribery case against former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook amid growing calls to revisit the case, according to an official statement from the prosecution. Yoon has reportedly ordered the head of the human rights department of the Seoul Prosecutors’ Office to lead the investigation following a petition over alleged fabrication of evidence and power abuse. Two teams -- the inspection headquarters of the SPO and hum

Social Affairs June 22, 2020

The government is unlikely to meddle in disputes over tuition refund between colleges and their students as classes and assessments have shifted online due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. After the Ministry of Education last week made clear the government’s position that it is a matter to be settled between the two sides, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea appears to have reached a similar conclusion Sunday that the issue should be settled by schools, not with taxpayers’ mone

Social Affairs June 21, 2020

For Japanese, Hashima Island may be a site that evokes pride that propelled the country to the global stage as an economic powerhouse. However, Koreans consider the islet off the coast of Nagasaki, also called Battleship Island, as a tragic place where hundreds of victims of forced labor suffered wrenching hardships in the undersea coal mines. It was listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2015 along with other 22 sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution. The problem for Korea

Foreign Affairs June 18, 2020