The US military in South Korea reported 11 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total number of its infections to 1,297. Five infections were reported from Osan Air Base and three COVID-19 patients -- one soldier and two civilian workers -- were identified from Camp Humphreys, both located in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to US Forces Korea. USFK said three family members from its base in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, also tested positive. The

Social Affairs Aug. 28, 2021

A group of ruling party lawmakers have withdrawn a controversial bill designed to curb slander of former wartime sexual slavery victims and their advocacy groups, in the face of strong criticism from opposition parties. According to a National Assembly website tracking legislative bills, the proposal to revise the act on protecting so-called comfort women was withdrawn on Wednesday after its submission 12 days ago. "Comfort women" is a euphemistic term for those who were sexually ens

Politics Aug. 28, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell to slightly under 1,800 Saturday, but the number of critical patients kept rising, while health authorities started to discuss special antivirus measures for the upcoming Chuseok holidays. The country added 1,793 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,738 local infections, raising the total caseload to 246,951, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Saturday's tally compares with 1,811 on Friday, 1,882 on Thursday, 2,155 on Wedne

National Aug. 28, 2021

The top diplomats of South Korea and Thailand agreed Friday to strengthen cooperation in future industries, health care and green technologies during their talks in the Southeast Asian country, the foreign ministry said. The talks between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and his Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, came as Seoul strives to advance its New Southern Policy aimed at deepening diplomatic and economic cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). At the talks,

Foreign Affairs Aug. 27, 2021

South Korea is grappling with a growing number of coronavirus cases among migrant workers, many of whom are living and working in conditions highly vulnerable to cluster infections. New COVID-19 cases among foreign nationals last week reached 1,665, a 20.7 percent increase from the previous week, according to health authorities. They accounted for 13.6 percent of all new cases during the period, up 2.5 percentage points from 11.1 percent a week earlier and much higher than the proportion of t

Social Affairs Aug. 27, 2021

Unionized workers at Kia, South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, voted Friday to accept the company's wage proposals without a strike for the first time in a decade. Kia said 68 percent of 26,945 workers voted in favor of wage offers that include an increase of 75,000 won ($64.30) in monthly basic pay, two months of wages in performance-based pay and cash bonuses worth 5.8 million won. More than 1,600 out of the 28,604-member union abstained. But Kia rejected the union's demand to extend the

Mobility Aug. 27, 2021

GM Korea Co. and its labor union have signed a wage agreement for the year amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic and sluggish sales, the company said Friday. In their second vote held early this week, some 65 percent of GM Korea's unionized workers agreed to accept the company's revised proposals that newly include 300,000 won ($260) worth of repair coupons for Chevrolet brand vehicles and 200,000 won worth of gift certificates GM Korea, the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., and its union

Industry Aug. 27, 2021

South Korean stocks finished higher Friday after a choppy session as investors await the comments from the chief of the US Federal Reserve about its tapering timeline. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 5.37 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 3,133.9 points. Trading volume was low at about 512 million shares worth some 10.9 trillion won ($9.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 586 to 259. Foreigners sold a ne

Market Aug. 27, 2021

Unionized health workers will go on strike next week to demand better working conditions and the expansion of public health infrastructure amid the pandemic, their union said Friday, raising concerns over a workforce shortage in hospitals as South Korea is battling the worst wave of COVID-19. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) said 82 percent of 56,091 members from 124 hospitals and treatment facilities cast their ballot, and nearly 90 percent of them voted in favor of the str

Social Affairs Aug. 27, 2021

The site of the deadly attack on the Kabul airport was the same gate that South Korea used days earlier to evacuate Afghan co-workers and their family members, a source said Friday. The suicide bomb attack at the airport's Abby Gate on Thursday has left scores of Afghans and US troops dead and many others wounded. South Korea used the gate Monday to bring 26 Afghans into the airport as part of the operation to evacuate 390 Afghans. Seoul's evacuation team is known to have chosen the gate, as a

Foreign Affairs Aug. 27, 2021

South Korean civic groups on Friday urged Japan to scrap its plan to build an undersea tunnel to discharge radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. The groups, including the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements and the Korea Radiation Watch, held a joint news conference in Seoul to warn about serious environmental problems to be caused by a dumping of contaminated water through an undersea tunnel. "If radioactive wastewater is discharged th

Foreign Affairs Aug. 27, 2021

At least 33 American service members stationed at Osan Air Base tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Friday, after the base came under fire for a no-mask dance party in disregard of social distancing rules. The infections were reported on Thursday and Friday at the base, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and contact tracing is under way, according to South Korean government officials. A dance party took place at the base Saturday involving dozens of individuals not wearing face

Defense Aug. 27, 2021

Defense Minister Suh Wook will visit Egypt and Oman next week to meet with senior officials there to discuss ways to boost defense and arms industry ties, his office said Friday. Suh plans to leave for Egypt on Sunday for a two-day visit at the invitation of the country's defense chief Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed. It is the first time for a South Korean defense minister to visit the Middle Eastern nation, according to the ministry. During the stay, Suh will have talks with the defense chief and

Foreign Affairs Aug. 27, 2021

The foreign ministry corrected the number of Afghan evacuees brought into South Korean on Thursday to 377 from 378, saying one person had to be returned to Kabul from Islamabad due to unclear identity. A total of 391 Afghans had originally been brought from Kabul to Islamabad, but while checking their identities before departure for South Korea, officials found one unidentified person not on the evacuation list, according to the ministry. "The person was sent back to Kabul on a military t

Foreign Affairs Aug. 27, 2021

South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, will visit the United States next week for talks with his US counterpart, Sung Kim, about efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea, the foreign ministry said Friday. Noh's four-day trip to Washington, D.C., starting Sunday, comes only about a week after Kim's visit to Seoul early this week, during which the two discussed humanitarian aid to the North amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's protest against military exercises between the South a

Foreign Affairs Aug. 27, 2021