The Ministry of Education will use a supplementary budget to alleviate classroom crowding in order to bring more students back into school buildings come September amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry's document has shown. According to the document shared with Yonhap News Agency by Rep. Lee Eun-ju of the minor opposition Justice Party on Thursday, the ministry asked education officials nationwide to use the supplementary budget, 6.36 trillion won ($5.5 billion) in total, to solve the proble

Politics July 18, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the mid-1,400s for the second day in a row Sunday on fewer tests over the weekend amid concerns about increased cases in non-capital areas, the imminent summer holiday season and the prevalence of the delta variant from India. The country added 1,454 COVID-19 cases, an all-time high for a Sunday, including 1,402 local infections, raising the total caseload to 177,951, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The

Social Affairs July 18, 2021

Two baseball players have been fined by local health authorities for violating social distancing rules, in a new wrinkle to a damaging misconduct scandal that has rocked professional sports in the country. Gangnam Ward office in southern Seoul said Saturday evening that it has levied a fine on one player each from the Hanwha Eagles and the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for being involved in an illegal social gathering. The players also face a potential police investigat

Baseball July 18, 2021

Two years have passed since the so-called anti-bullying law went into effect at domestic workplaces, but there are still many loopholes in the application of the law depending on the business size or type of employment, labor experts said Sunday. Under the revision of the Labor Standards Act that took effect in July 2019, if workplace harassment is reported, employers should launch an immediate probe and take proper action. Employers could face a maximum three-year jail term and a fine of up to

Social Affairs July 18, 2021

Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul, has established a new five-year plan for the preservation and peaceful use of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified inter-Korean border area, officials said Sunday. The plan calls for the provincial government to invest 170 billion won ($149 million) from 2021 to 2025 in various projects to lay the grounds for a long-term national vision of turning the 4-kilometer-wide zone bisecting the peninsula into a peace, ecology and tourism belt. The D

Politics July 18, 2021

In the latest fallout from a COVID-19-related misconduct scandal, South Korean pitcher Han Hyun-hee withdrew from the Olympic baseball team Saturday. The right-hander was promptly replaced by former major league closer Oh Seung-hwan. Han, who pitches for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), admitted to and apologized for leaving the team hotel on a road trip last week for drinks with a teammate and three other guests. Contact tracing and epidemiological studies are und

Sports July 17, 2021

One more service member of South Korea's Cheonghae anti-piracy unit off the coast of Africa has tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total caseload there to seven, the defense ministry said Saturday. Earlier this week, six service members of the 300-strong unit aboard the 4,400-ton Munmu the Great destroyer were confirmed to have been infected, and the authorities conducted virus tests on all other crewmembers. Fears of a mass infection have grown as around 80 others have shown s

National July 17, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus retreated to the 1,400s on Saturday, but authorities are considering slapping tighter social distancing rules outside the capital area amid the spiraling number of infections nationwide coupled with the concerns over the delta variant. The country added 1,455 COVID-19 cases, including 1,404 local infections, raising the total caseload to 176,500, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). On the previous day, South Korea added 1,5

National July 17, 2021

South Korea's foreign ministry made an implicit call Saturday for Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming to be "cautious" after his comments on a presidential front-runner raised questions over whether they could amount to political interference. In a contribution to the local daily Joong-Ang Ilbo on Friday, Xing rebutted remarks by Yoon Seok-youl, a conservative presidential hopeful, from a recent interview about missile defense as "hardly understandable." Yoon had

Foreign Affairs July 17, 2021

South Korea on Saturday took down banners at its Olympic athletes' village with a nod to history, following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said the IOC had raised issues with the message written across a few banners, initially hung on balconies at South Korean athletes' rooms at the village in Tokyo. The letters translated as, "I still have support from 50 million Korean people." This was in reference to the

Diplomatic Circuit July 17, 2021

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday amid concerns about faster-than-expected inflation in the United States and the spreading new coronavirus pandemic at home. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.31 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,276.91 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 489 to 354. Foreigners sold a net 8

Market July 16, 2021

President Moon Jae-in stressed Friday that this weekend will be a watershed for South Korea's battle against the rapidly spreading coronavirus, especially the delta variant. He asked the people to refrain from making trips or having gatherings during the period. "The spread of the delta variant is scary," he wrote on his social media accounts. "But we cannot let our lives be swayed by the virus." In particular, he added, this weekend will be a "crossroads" in the

Politics July 16, 2021

Only two North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea in the second quarter, the lowest number ever since the government began compiling quarterly defector data in 2003, the unification ministry said Friday. The number of incoming defectors has gradually decreased since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic due to restrictions on cross-border movements, dropping significantly to 12 in last year's second quarter from 135 in the previous quarter. The figure stood at 48 defectors in the third qu

North Korea July 16, 2021

South Korea plans to offer face masks and COVID-19 diagnostic kits to its citizens in Myanmar next week, the foreign ministry said Friday, amid a spike in new virus cases in the Southeast Asian country. The move followed reports that three South Korean citizens in Myanmar died recently after having tested positive for COVID-19. The country reportedly posted 7,083 new virus cases with 145 additional deaths Wednesday. "In consideration of the serious COVID-19 situation in Myanmar, the forei

Foreign Affairs July 16, 2021

Eight matches in the top South Korean football league have been canceled due to a rising number of coronavirus infections across the circuit. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) announced Friday that eight matches scheduled for July in the first-tier K League 1 will be contested at a later date to guard against the further spread of COVID-19. Four clubs -- Seongnam FC, Jeju United, Daegu FC and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors -- have reported 18 positive COVID-19 cases so far. The eight

Soccer July 16, 2021