Kazakhstani Damir Kusheyev, a former professional cyclist, has finished a 793.8-kilometer bicycle trip across Korea, which he embarked on to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Kazakhstan and to support Busan in its bid to host the World Expo 2030. Kusheyev began his trip at Haeundae Beach in Busan on Jan. 8. He cycled over nine days, passing through Samnangjin, Daegu, Mungyeong, Jeungpyeong, Daejeon and Jincheon, before arriving in Seoul. In Seoul, Kush

Foreign Affairs Jan. 18, 2022

South Korea will strengthen cooperation with the United Arab Emirates in major technologies related to the hydrogen economy, President Moon Jae-in said Sunday. The president, who is in Dubai for a three-day visit as part of his trip to the Middle East, made the remark at a business forum attended by Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE. “Korea and the UAE will expand energy cooperation into the hydrogen sector, a core energy resource in the

Foreign Affairs Jan. 16, 2022

The government is set to announce its latest decision on the vaccine pass mandate Monday, amid continued controversy over the measure. The measure, which would have prevented unvaccinated people from using a number of facilities including department stores from Monday, has been put on hold in Seoul following the Seoul Administrative Court’s ruling that large shops based in Seoul should be temporarily excluded from the mandate. Due to ongoing concerns over the fairness of the vaccine pas

Social Affairs Jan. 16, 2022

Seoul Foreign School announced Thursday that Andre Jin Coquillard has been named Alumnus of the Year for his athletic achievement. The award is the highest honor the school grants on its alumni, who presented excellence in their chosen field of endeavor and outstanding service to the community or profession, as well as devotion to SFS. For Coquillard, the school thought highly of his efforts in South Korea’s national rugby team. In 2021, Andre represented South Korea in men’s ru

Social Affairs Jan. 13, 2022

People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Thursday openly attacked Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, saying that those linked to allegations against him have been “silenced with death.” Ahn also strongly demanded prosecutors to launch a special investigation into the scandals and their possible connection with presidential candidate Lee. “People who held keys to corruption scandals, including the Daejang-dong corruption scandal

Politics Jan. 13, 2022

Yongin, a city of 1 million located about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, will step up efforts to become an eco-friendly and economically self-sufficient city, said Baek Kun-ki, the mayor of Yongin. During a press conference held on Tuesday, Baek shared his vision for Yongin, whose new “special city” status goes into effect on Thursday. Yongin is one of four cities that received the designation this year. The others are Suwon, Goyang and Changwon. With the city’s new status,

Social Affairs Jan. 12, 2022

A man convicted of killing three people in an arson fire at a motel in Seoul was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the Supreme Court of South Korea ruled Monday. The 71-year-old man was indicted on charges of setting a fire at a motel located in Mapo-gu, Seoul, in November 2020, which led to a total of eight casualties. The man demanded the owner of the motel give him alcohol, but the owner refused. The man, who was found to be already drunk, then set a fire that killed three people and injur

Social Affairs Jan. 10, 2022

South Korea‘s vaccine pass mandate, which requires people to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test conducted within 48 hours to shop in large retail and department stores, became effective on Monday. According to the government, there will be a one-week grace period until Jan. 16 to reduce confusion. After the grace period, penalties can be levied on people who enter those facilities with expired vaccine passes, as well as facilities owners who accept them. People who go in

Social Affairs Jan. 10, 2022

South Korea‘s daily coronavirus cases continued to drop, falling below 4,000 for the first time in three days for Thursday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency‘s data, the country added 3,717 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Thursday. South Korea has recently seen a modest downward trend in daily COVID-19 cases lately. The numbers of COVID-19 cases for Tuesday and Wednesday were 4,443 and 4,125, respectively. The number of critically ill patients also

Social Affairs Jan. 7, 2022

South Korea’s military said Wednesday that it failed to stop a North Korean defector even though he was caught on surveillance cameras five times. The Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday disclosed the results of its on-site investigation into how the 30-something North Korean man returned to the North Saturday night. The military currently believes that the defector is the same person who defected to the South in November 2020. The military first spotted him approaching the border reg

Defense Jan. 5, 2022

Prosecutors have decided not to indict the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who was accused of sexually harassing his secretary, according to local reports Tuesday. The decision was reached by prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday. Prosecutors closed the case as they no longer have the right of arraignment to file an indictment against the deceased Park. As prosecutors have closed the case, the connection of his death with the accusation will not b

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2022

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases remained below 4,000 for the second straight day as of midnight Sunday, but the number of critically ill patients continued to surpass 1,000. Two deaths in connection with the omicron variant of the coronavirus were reported on Monday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, South Korea added 3,129 new COVID-19 cases during Sunday, raising the total to 642,207. It was down from that of the previous day, which recorded 3,833 cases

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

South Korea’s military said Sunday that an unidentified person crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said an individual was spotted crossing the Military Demarcation Line at around 9:20 p.m. Saturday, through surveillance equipment installed in the border region. The JCS added it confirmed the person crossed the border at 10:40 p.m., some 80 minutes after the military immediately deployed its unit to locate the person. The J

North Korea Jan. 2, 2022

Lee Seok-ki, a former left-wing lawmaker who was imprisoned for plotting a rebellion against the South Korean government in case of a war with North Korea, was released on parole Friday. Lee was released from a detention center in Daejeon with an ankle bracelet that allows officers to monitor offenders on parole. Previously, Lee refused to wear the ankle bracelet. Upon his release, Lee criticized the government’s announcement that came earlier in the day, which granted a special pardon

Politics Dec. 24, 2021

A special pardon for Park Geun-hye, the former president serving a 22-year prison term for corruption, has sparked a wide range of responses in South Korea’s political circles. The ruling Democratic Party appeared largely to respect the president’s decision, while lawmakers from the opposition parties voiced different opinions, mostly raising doubts about the special pardon. Democratic Party Chairman Song Young-gil announced that the party “honors” the president&rsquo

Politics Dec. 24, 2021