The Seoul Metropolitan Government is to ramp up its drive for hosting international sports events in the future, including the 2036 Summer Olympics. Seoul is currently hosting the 26th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees, which runs until Friday, and the city government aims to use the event as a springboard for its 2036 bid. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will also meet with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Thursday and deliver Seoul’s int

Foreign Affairs Oct. 18, 2022

Nurses who were at the front lines of the yearslong battle against COVID-19 are being neglected as the pandemic recedes, according to the results of a local survey released by Rep. Kang Sun-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Monday. The Korean Nurses Association conducted a survey on 764 nurses from 245 hospitals across the country between Sept. 19 and 25, which included a total of 588 nurses who worked at COVID-19 wards. Of the 588, 229 nurses were not able to return to w

Social Affairs Oct. 17, 2022

Prosecutors will create special investigation teams to tackle the growing number of drug crimes in South Korea, the Supreme Prosecutors Office said Friday. According to the Supreme Prosecutors Office, four special anti-drug investigation teams will be created at the Seoul Central Prosecutors Office and the district prosecutors’ offices in Incheon, Busan and Gwangju. The special teams will focus on cases involving large-scale drug smuggling, illegal circulation of medical-purpose drugs a

Social Affairs Oct. 14, 2022

The 2022 Gathering for Overseas Korean Adoptees kicked off Wednesday, and will continue until Monday. Organized by the Overseas Koreans Foundation, an organization affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gathering for Overseas Korean Adoptees is an annual homecoming program. The event is designed to invite Koreans who were adopted overseas to their home country and help them better understand the country and mingle with other Korean adoptees. The latest edition of Gathering for Oversea

Foreign Affairs Oct. 13, 2022

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said the Seoul city government will look into whether late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was involved in a US cryptocurrency expert’s attempts to help North Korea evade US sanctions via cryptocurrency, during a parliamentary inspection of the city government at Seoul City Hall, Seoul, Wednesday. Oh provided the answer to Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the ruling People Power Party, who asked if the former mayor was related to the case involving cryptocurrency expert Virgil

Social Affairs Oct. 12, 2022

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Tuesday made official its stance against plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, while backing other parts of the government's reorganization strategy. Countering the government’s plan to abolish it, the Democratic Party said the ministry should be expanded, with a reorganization of the ministry's functions. Rep. Kim Sung-hwan, who chairs the party’s policy planning committee, made such remarks during a p

Politics Oct. 11, 2022

South Korea begins inoculation using bivalent COVID-19 vaccines from Tuesday, the country's health authorities said on Monday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Moderna's bivalent COVID-19 vaccine will be used for the first time as a booster in the country. The bivalent COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer will be used after completion of the regulatory process. The bivalent COVID-19 vaccine will be first available for people at high risk and in other vulnerable gr

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2022

The first round of the Seoul Light show, a media facade show organized by the Seoul Design Foundation, ended Sunday, premiering the main show that is slated to kick off in December this year. Seoul Light show is an annual event that features media facade shows at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, utilizing projection mapping and the curved aluminum-panel surface of Zaha Hadid’s architectural work. Since its first edition in 2019, the media show has attracted over 1 million visitors and has become

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2022

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will be abolished and its core functions will be subsumed by other ministries, according to the reform plans announced by the Ministry of Interior and Safety on Thursday. The plans also include the creation of a new body to address issues concerning overseas Koreans, and elevation of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs' status. The government will aim to pass the proposed amendment to the Government Organization Act at the Na

Politics Oct. 6, 2022

Citizens living in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, were panicked and confused by an explosion, thundering noises and a subsequent fire at a military airfield late Tuesday, while the country’s military remained silent about the accident caused by a missile malfunction throughout the night. Residents in Gangneung said they saw a bright flash that accompanied loud noises at around 11 p.m. A video of an orange ball of flames emerging from an area close to the site wa

Defense Oct. 5, 2022

PyeongChang, the host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangwon Province, will hold the 18th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates from Dec. 12-14, according to the local government on Tuesday. The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates is a forum initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, in which Nobel Peace Prize laureates, experts on peace and conflict resolution and representatives from peace organizations gather together for dialogue. Since its inaugural edition in Rome in 1999, the annual event

Foreign Affairs Oct. 4, 2022

The prosecution on Friday asked for life sentences for a woman and her accomplice who are standing trial for murdering the woman's husband. In the trial for Lee Eun-hae, 31, and Cho Hyeon-soo, 30, who are accused of killing Lee's husband and attempting to cover it up as an accidental drowning, the prosecution has requested life imprisonment. The court's decision will be made on Oct. 27. An official from the Prosecutors Office at the trial on Friday said the nature of the crime is serious, as

Social Affairs Sept. 30, 2022

South Korea will completely lift the requirement for a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test for travelers entering the country starting from Saturday, the country‘s health authorities said Friday. From Saturday, inbound travelers will no longer have to take a PCR test within a day of their arrival, Second Vice Health Minister Lee Ki-il said during a COVID-19 response meeting on Friday. Until Friday, a PCR test has been mandated, and inbound travelers have been required to take the te

Social Affairs Sept. 30, 2022

The ruling People Power Party on Friday submitted a resolution asking National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo to step down, in an apparent retaliation against the main opposition party’s passing of a motion calling for the dismissal of the foreign minister at the National Assembly on Thursday. The motion for the dismissal of Foreign Minister Park Jin was approved in a 168-1 vote boycotted by the ruling People Power Party on Thursday evening. It was put to a vote at a delayed plenary sessio

Politics Sept. 30, 2022

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday passed a motion to formally request that President Yoon Suk-yeol replace Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin over diplomatic gaffes during Yoon’s overseas trip last week. The motion was put to a vote in a National Assembly plenary session, which resumed at 6 p.m. The motion it was passed with 168 votes, mainly from the main opposition party, which holds a majority -- 169 out of 299 seats -- in the National Ass

Politics Sept. 29, 2022