South Korea's Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is set to receive his Serbian counterpart Ana Brnabic on Friday, Han's office said Wednesday. Han and Brnabic will hold talks at the Government Complex Seoul, which will be followed by a formal luncheon. The three-term Serbian Prime Minister will be on an official visit to Korea from Thursday to Sunday. The talks will focus on the economic ties, people-to-people exchanges, cultural partnerships and regional security of each country, as well as

Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2023

Lawmakers and government officials on Wednesday agreed to increase the amount of condolence money to families of those who died following COVID-19 vaccinations, regardless of whether the vaccination itself was confirmed to be the cause of death. From September, families will be eligible to get up to 30 million won ($22,500) in condolence money if a family member dies within 90 days of having received the COVID-19 vaccine, even if the cause of death can not be identified in an autopsy. Since July

Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2023

South Korea is seeking to compel high-ranking public officials to disclose their virtual asset holdings and the history of their transactions, along with the conventional properties and assets they are already forced to report, beginning as early as December. Over 2,500 high-ranking officials in the government's class one group, the Supreme Court and the National Assembly -- including President Yoon Suk Yeol, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and lawmakers -- will be obliged to not only disclose their

Politics Sept. 4, 2023

  The Ministry of Justice announced Friday that it had sought an annulment of an international arbitration's ruling to pay $216.02 million in damages to US-based private equity firm Lone Star over its sales of a Korean commercial bank in 2012. The government seeks to nullify the entire award it owes to Lone Star to save taxpayers' money, it said in a statement. This announcement came four months after the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes rectified Seou

Foreign Affairs Sept. 1, 2023

South Korea approved Friday plans to allow logistics companies here to sponsor E-9 visas for foreign workers amid what it called a "chronic labor shortage." Currently, employers in manufacturing, construction and farming can recruit worker from 16 countries in Southeast Asia and Central Asia to work on E-9 visas. But the plan, confirmed Friday at the Foreign Workers Policy Committee at the Government Complex Seoul, will open the doors for logistics companies and airport subcontractors

Social Affairs Sept. 1, 2023

The safety of all 44 South Korean citizens in Gabon has been confirmed after a military coup took control and placed the nation's president, Ali Bongo, under house arrest, according to a government official in Seoul on Thursday. The official said on condition of anonymity that 43 out of 44 -- including staff at the Korean Embassy in Gabon and their families -- were confirmed to be safe by the embassy. The official added that one Korean citizen has been detained by the military coup but the

Foreign Affairs Aug. 31, 2023

  A 33-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday for brutally stabbing his girlfriend in retaliation for reporting dating violence to police. He was also ordered to take 40 hours of sex offender therapy. He is subject to 30 years of monitoring by the police via electronic shackles, and is under a restraining order that bans him from any contact with the victim's bereaved family should he get released on parole. Judges at the Seoul Southern District Court said that the murder

Social Affairs Aug. 31, 2023

South Korea will have a six-day Chuseok holiday this year, as the government plans to designate Oct. 2 as a one-off temporary holiday in a move aimed at shoring up domestic economy. President Yoon Suk Yeol confirmed the plan on Thursday at the 19th Emergency Meeting on Economic Affairs for Examining Economic Promotion Strategies held in his office in Seoul. If the plan proceeds as planned, all Korean citizens will be eligible to enjoy a six-day break spanning from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3. The Chuseok

Social Affairs Aug. 31, 2023

  Proposals to develop the Saemangeum, a reclaimed tidal flat area in North Jeolla Province, have been sent back to the drawing board after the projects' budget for next year has shrunk by nearly 80 percent compared to this year. Plans by 2030 to build an airport, a sea port and highways, among other infrastructure facilities, as part of the basic plan running through 2050 on the site, which is two-thirds the size of Seoul, are to be "completely overhauled," officials said. It cam

Social Affairs Aug. 30, 2023

Tens of thousands of South Korea's police officers dedicated to crime deterrence and the patrolling of neighborhoods will be armed with new less-lethal handguns, as part of nationwide efforts to curb crimes without obvious motives, President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The government expects the new measures to help law enforcement strengthen policing efforts, while serving as an alternative to conventional weapons to avoid police brutality. "All of the police o

Social Affairs Aug. 29, 2023

The South Korean government and politicians are scrambling to assure the public of the safety of consuming seafood amid growing concerns that Japan's 30-year plan to release radioactive water in northeastern Japan could be detrimental to the quality of seafood sourced from waters off the Korean Peninsula. Later this week, the government, the ruling People Power Party, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and meal service providers for corporations, including Samsung Wellstory, Ourho

Social Affairs Aug. 28, 2023

North Korea is gradually opening its tightly closed borders to neighbors like China and Russia amid concerns of an economic crisis in one of the world's most isolated nations. On Sunday, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency said the North’s State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters on Saturday authorized North Korean citizens stranded abroad to return. The move comes more than three years after strict border restrictions were implemented to prevent the spread

North Korea Aug. 27, 2023

The Ministry of Justice said on Thursday that the government would seek damages from suspects behind the online murder threats amid a surge in such cases. The government sees the instances as obstruction of official duty that "wastes police resources" and "taxpayers' money," it said in a statement. The Justice Ministry has yet to initiate civil court proceedings in a bid to seek "a considerable amount of compensation" from the individuals, alongside criminal procedu

Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2023

The South Korean government assured its people of safety as Japan began sending out treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima plant on Thursday, while urging Tokyo to commit to transparent information sharing, as protests from the fisheries industry and public concerns continued. "The IAEA, international academic circles in the field of nuclear energy and nuclear experts here together say that there is no reason for Koreans to worry if Japan releases the water according to the a

Social Affairs Aug. 24, 2023

South Korea announced Wednesday that it sought to revive the recently abolished conscripted police system to strengthen the state's crime prevention capabilities. According to the announcement, which came amid the recent surge of crimes seemingly targeting random people, the government plans to add up to 8,000 conscripted police within nine months. "In order to enhance (the police's) capability to prevent the occurrence of crimes, the government will proactively move to reintroduc

Social Affairs Aug. 23, 2023