Free lunch will be served to all kindergartners in Seoul starting in March, completing the city's universal free meal program up to high school, officials said Wednesday. Seoul's education office, city government and council of ward offices signed an agreement to provide funds for the program to all 790 public and private kindergartens, according to officials. A total of 71,876 kindergartners were enrolled in Seoul as of April. About 69.9 billion won ($59.4 million) will be necessary a year

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2021

Jungheung Construction, a midsized local builder, said Wednesday that it will sign a deal this week to buy a controlling stake in Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. In July, Jungheung Construction was named the preferred bidder to take over the 50.75-percent stake in its bigger rival from an investment fund under the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB). The deal is known to be worth around 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion). In 2018, Hoban Construction Co. was selected as a preferred bid

Industry Dec. 8, 2021

The average price of Seoul apartments has soared more than twofold in about five years under the current Moon Jae-in administration, according to a civic group analysis Wednesday. According to the analysis by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), an apartment in Seoul fetched 43.09 million won ($36,590) per pyeong, or 3.3 square meters, on average as of November, up 109 percent compared to May 2017 when Moon was sworn into office. The average price of 99.1-square-meter apartment

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2021

South Korea on Wednesday opened a new state cemetery for fallen national heroes, including independence fighters and Korean War troops, on the southern island of Jeju, the veterans affairs ministry said. The ministry held a ceremony opening the Jeju National Cemetery, the first such facility on the island, with the attendance of some 100 people, including Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Veterans Affairs Minister Hwang Ki-chul and bereaved families. The bereaved families had called for the establ

Defense Dec. 8, 2021

SK Gas Co., a key energy unit of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has invested in a US startup that has the original decarbonizing technology to produce clean hydrogen, as part of efforts to advance its transition to clean energy. SK Gas did not disclose the value of the investment in C-Zero, a California-based tech company, citing the terms of the contract. C-Zero is known for its methane pyrolysis technology that uses high temperatures to break methane in natural

Industry Dec. 8, 2021

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to impose a combined 20.7 billion won ($17.6 million) in fines on eight makers of aluminum alloy products for colluding to fix bidding prices. Altechno Metal and seven other firms colluded to fix their quotations between 2011 and 2021 for bids on aluminum alloy products by the country's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp., according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Prior to the bidding, the companies

Industry Dec. 8, 2021

South Korean banks' loans to households grew at a slower pace in November amid the government's stepped-up control on home-backed loans and other lending, central bank data showed Wednesday. According to the data from the Bank of Korea, banks' household loans stood at 1,060.9 trillion won ($901.2 billion) as of end-November, up 3 trillion won from a month earlier. The on-month growth decelerated from a 5.2 trillion won growth in October. Of household loans, mortgage loans grew 2.4 trillion wo

Economy Dec. 8, 2021

Nearly one in three households in South Korea consists of one person last year, data showed Wednesday, as the number of single-member families has risen amid a delay in marriage and rapid aging. One-person families accounted for 31.7 percent of the total last year, up from 30.2 percent the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Households consisting of a single member totaled 6.64 million in 2020, up from 6.15 million a year earlier, the statistics agency said. The propor

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2021

Civic groups opposing the government's plan to expand the COVID-19 vaccine pass program to adolescents filed a petition with the state human rights commission on Wednesday, arguing that the scheme would violate the learning rights of students. The decision to require teens aged 12 to 18 to present vaccine certificates at multiuse facilities, most notably public study rooms and cram schools, starting February has been met with wide opposition among parents, arguing the measure amounts to forcing

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2021

President Moon Jae-in pledged Wednesday to provide a variety of support for an initiative to create jobs through joint cooperative projects between local governments, businesses and residents. The government has pushed for the initiative to create "mutually beneficial local jobs" in an attempt to build an economy in which workers and businesses can grow together by creating new jobs with labor and management cooperating and upholding the value of people and labor. In congratulatory

Politics Dec. 8, 2021

Construction machinery manufacturer Hyundai Doosan Infracore Co. said Wednesday that it has won preorders for 100 excavators from North America. Under the deals with dealers in North America, Hyundai Doosan Infracore will deliver the 10-ton excavators during the third quarter of next year, the company said. The South Korea's top construction equipment maker, however, did not reveal the value of the deals. Hyundai Doosan Infracore released its 10-ton excavators for the first time at a meeting

Industry Dec. 8, 2021

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday the 2022 economic policy will be focused on supporting pandemic-hit small merchants and helping the country's economy pull off a full recovery. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks at a meeting with heads of major economic institutes and experts from investment banks over the government's economic policy for next year. "Next year, we should make efforts to help the Korean economy pull off a complete recovery and put it on an u

Economy Dec. 8, 2021

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, said Wednesday he will increase the government's investment in startups to 10 trillion won ($8.50 billion) by 2027 and help create 300,000 annual jobs in new technologies and industries. If elected, Lee said he will also improve the financial, tax and regulatory system for small businesses and offer them tailored assistance to support their growth to mid-sized and large firms. "Fair growth in which businesses large an

Politics Dec. 8, 2021

Peter Chung Soon-taick will officially assume the role of the new archbishop of Seoul on Wednesday, succeeding Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, who served in the post for nearly a decade. Chung's installation ceremony and Mass will be held at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul at 2 p.m., according to the Archdiocese of Seoul. During the ceremony, the 60-year-old archbishop will accept pastoral staff symbolizing the authority of the pastoral office from his predecessor Yeom and take a seat in

Social Affairs Dec. 8, 2021

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 31 additional COVID-19 cases, including 28 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,583. Of the new cases, 26 people are from the Army, two from the Air Force, two from the Navy and one from a military unit under the direct control of the defense ministry, officials said. Currently, 302 miliary personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 854 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Defense Dec. 8, 2021