South Korea remains open to discussing solutions for wartime forced labor issues with Japan, the foreign ministry said Monday, after a local court dismissed a compensation lawsuit filed by a group of victims. The Seoul Central District Court dropped the case filed by 85 plaintiffs against 16 Japanese companies, including Nippon Steel Corp. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. It ruled that while their individual rights to damage claims may not be precluded by the 1965 bilateral agreement that inclu

Social Affairs June 7, 2021

President Moon Jae-in said Monday that 36 million South Koreans will get at least the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines by September. The number represents 70 percent of the nation's population. Moon raised the possibility that more than 14 million people will be inoculated by the end of June, chairing a special interagency meeting on the coronavirus prevention and control at Cheong Wa Dae, the third of its kind. If achieved, fatality rates and the number of additional infections would decline

Politics June 7, 2021

A local court on Monday dismissed a damages suit launched by 85 South Korean victims of wartime forced labor in Japan and their families against 16 Japanese companies, saying the plaintiffs don't have litigation rights. The Seoul Central District Court said South Korean wartime forced laborers cannot claim individual legal rights to damages from Japan, while deciding to reject their collective suit. The 85 forced labor victims and their families started their damages suit against 16 Japanese c

Social Affairs June 7, 2021

South Korean retail giants Shinsegae and Lotte Shopping submitted their bids to take over South Korea's third largest e-commerce retailer, eBay Korea, a deal that will shake up the country's e-commerce retail segment, retail industry sources said Monday. According to the sources, the two retail behemoths submitted their letters of intent (LOIs) for the Korean unit of eBay. SK Telecom, South Korea's No. 1 mobile carrier, and MBK Partners, private equity firm and largest shareholder of discount s

Industry June 7, 2021

Police said Monday they have started to regulate life-size sex doll "experience" shops, popping up around the country following court decisions to allow the import of the sex toys. The National Police Agency said the crackdown will continue for two months, jointly with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and local governments. As the import of sex dolls, as well as running shops that allow customers to use the sex toys, is all legal under the current laws, however, the police

Social Affairs June 7, 2021

President Moon Jae-in instructed the government Monday to establish a task force on overhauling military culture, Cheong Wa Dae said amid a public uproar over the suicide of a female Air Force official who was sexually assaulted by a male colleague. It should not be business as usual, with the people infuriated over the incident, the president stressed, speaking during an internal meeting of his office earlier in the day, according to his spokesperson Park Kyung-mee. He then urged the launch o

Politics June 7, 2021

The South Korean economy is on a modest recovery track as exports remain robust and a slump in private consumption has eased, a state-run think tank said Monday. The country's exports and facility investment have expanded amid a global economic recovery, while sluggishness in consumption has eased, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "The Korean economy is recovering at a modest pace as exports maintain a favorable trend and the slug

Economy June 7, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) pledged Monday to legislate a bill this month to compensate small business owners hit by the country's COVID-19 restrictions. "During the (ongoing provisional) National Assembly session in June, the DP will definitely process the legislation bill on (COVID-19) damage compensation," party floor leader Rep. Yun Ho-jung said at the opening of the party's consultation meeting with the government. "The government should surely be responsible for the

Politics June 7, 2021

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Monday decided to launch a task force aimed at preventing military crimes and helping better protect victims following the suicide of a sexually harassed female noncommissioned officer and the military's alleged mishandling of the incident. In its supreme council meeting, the DP named Rep. Min Hong-chul, chairman of the National Assembly's defense committee, to head the team aimed at fixing "the overall system in connection to the closed culture of the m

Politics June 7, 2021

May posted the largest on-year increase in the number of employment insurance subscribers in 18 months on the back of an economic recovery, the labor ministry said Monday. There were 14.26 million subscribers to the state insurance plan last month, up 443,000, or 3.2 percent, from May 2020, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It is the biggest increase since 477,000 in November 2019. "Thanks to recovering consumer confidence, strong exports and base effects from last year,

Social Affairs June 7, 2021

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun will visit Washington later this week for talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Monday. Choi and Sherman are set to meet on Wednesday (US time) for their first in-person talks since the latter assumed office in April. The two sides plan to discuss follow-up measures to last month's summit between Presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden, w

Foreign Affairs June 7, 2021

K-pop act Tomorrow X Together (TXT) is set to appear on popular American TV shows to perform its first English-language song this month, the group's management agency said Monday. On Thursday, the five-member boy band will deliver its first performance of "Magic," along with an interview, on ABC's "Good Morning America," according to Big Hit Music. On June 15, the act will put on another performance of the song on the CBS program "The Late Late Show with James Corden.

K-pop June 7, 2021

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Monday it plans to release 80,000 tons of rice into the market this month to cope with supply shortages and stabilize prices. The move will raise the amount of reserved rice released into the market since January this year to 290,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The ministry earlier announced it plans to release up to 370,000 tons of reserved rice into the market this year. The combined production of rice came

Economy June 7, 2021

South Korea said Monday it plans to increase the number of government-supported shipping services to North America starting next month to help local exporters cope with the hike in freight costs. Under the plan, the country will operate four shipping schedules to North America monthly starting July under cooperation with HMM Co., South Korea's largest shipper, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The figure marks a sharp rise from the previous plan to operate two shipping s

Economy June 7, 2021

RM, the leader of global dynamo BTS, has released a self-written solo song based on his experience of riding his bike across the South Korean capital. The 3 minute and 23 second song, uploaded on YouTube and SoundCloud, is a relaxed and comforting track in which RM raps and sings in Korean and English. RM, who has taken part in the songwriting for the seven-piece act's songs, including their latest hit "Butter," worked on his solo song with jazz singer-songwriter John Eun.  &n

K-pop June 7, 2021