Korea has extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month due to the continued spread of COVID-19, the foreign ministry said Saturday.    Citizens are recommended to cancel or postpone non-essential trips abroad until Dec. 13, as the rise of variant cases in many countries poses risks to their health, the ministry said.    The travel advisory was first imposed in March and has been extended every month as many countries struggle with the outbreaks o

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2021

    South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,000 for the fourth consecutive day Saturday amid concerns over a growing number of serious cases following eased virus curbs.    The country reported 2,325 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 393,042, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).    The daily caseload has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7, including the record high of 3,272 cases on Sept. 2

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2021

A computer system failure caused massive delays and cancellations of flights of Jin Air Co., a budget carrier, on Friday. The airline's passenger service system was down for 10 hours from 6:30 a.m., leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country. "The computer system failure occurred due to a problem in the server in Germany," Jin Air said. The system was restored at 4:40 p.m., it added. "We apologize for causing huge inconvenience to our customers.

Mobility Nov. 12, 2021

South Korea's vice foreign minister will visit Washington next week for talks with his US and Japanese counterparts, the foreign ministry said Friday. First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun plans to meet US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Tuesday (US time), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two are expected to discuss ways to bring North Korea to nuclear negotiations that have been stalled since 2019, and Seoul's proposal to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 K

Foreign Affairs Nov. 12, 2021

South Korean stocks surged by 1.5 percent Friday as investors scooped up oversold stocks after the recent slide. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 43.88 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 2,968.8 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 655 million shares worth some 12.3 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 766 to 118. Foreigners bought a net 430 billion won, while retail investors sold 1

Market Nov. 12, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office (NSO) and the Coast Guard were ordered Friday to provide undisclosed information in connection to North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official near the inter-Korean sea border in September last year to his family. The Seoul Administrative Court made the ruling in an information disclosure suit launched by the family of the then 47-year-old official, who was fatally shot and then set on fire by North Korean soldiers while on duty near the we

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2021

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), said Friday the United States played a part in Korea losing its sovereignty to Japan, as it consented to the colonization in a 1905 secret deal with Japan. Lee made the remarks during a meeting with Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), referring to the Taft-Katsura Agreement between then US Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Taro in which the US condoned Japanese rule over Korea at that time.

Politics Nov. 12, 2021

Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl met with the top US diplomat for East Asia and a US senator Friday, saying a firm alliance between the two countries has become ever more important. The meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and US Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) was held at the People Power Party's headquarters as part of their separate visits to Seoul. "I can't stress enough the importance of the South Korea-US alli

Politics Nov. 12, 2021

President Moon Jae-in on Friday emphasized independence and political neutrality of state auditors as he appointed a new head of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI). The appointment of Choe Jae-hae, a former senior official at the BAI, came about two months after Moon nominated him to lead the key state agency. During an appointment ceremony, Moon stressed the importance of independence and political neutrality of the audit agency and asked Choe to ensure the discipline of public officia

Politics Nov. 12, 2021

JEONJU -- An appeals court upheld prison sentences for five illegal immigrants from Vietnam for attacking each other with weapons in a fight over unpaid wages at an apartment complex in the southwestern city of Jeonju earlier this year, court records showed Friday. The incident happened on April 12 when a 33-year-old Vietnamese punched and stabbed a 39-year-old coworker in an apartment complex parking lot in Jeonju, about 245 kilometers southwest of Seoul. One of the three other Vietnamese han

Social Affairs Nov. 12, 2021

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was admitted to an emergency room Friday due to a sudden acute stomachache, officials said. Oh moved to the hospital at 11:30 a.m. after experiencing pain while on the way to an event organized by the Korea Senior Citizens Association in Seoul, city officials said. The mayor canceled all scheduled public events for the rest of the day, officials said. Oh had been scheduled to attend a foreign investment consultation meeting organized by Seoul City Hall in the afternoon.

Politics Nov. 12, 2021

The campaign of ruling party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung on Friday released photos of Lee holding his wife's hand as she was taken to a hospital in an ambulance earlier this week. Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of the Democratic Party nominee, was admitted to a hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Tuesday after sustaining injuries from a fall at their home, according to the party. Lee canceled his campaign activities that day, saying he wanted to be by her side. "This shows Lee Jae-m

Politics Nov. 12, 2021

The South Korean breakout hit "Squid Game" has emerged as a big contender in the US year-end awards season, possibly to become the first Korean-made TV series winning a trophy at prestigious awards ceremonies. Starting in late fall, the highly competitive race for great TV shows and movies of the year is the biggest celebration for the US entertainment industry eying for the Emmys and Oscars next year. In the past two years, the American awards season unprecedentedly caught the eyes

Television Nov. 12, 2021

A South Korea-US nuclear planning group and the conditional redeployment of US tactical nuclear arms can be policy options for the next Seoul government to address North Korea's evolving nuclear threats, a local think tank said Friday. In a 175-page research report, the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy (KRINS) made policy suggestions for the next government to be launched in May next year, as concerns persist over Pyongyang's steady focus on its nuclear and missile programs. The

Defense Nov. 12, 2021

South Korea is monitoring the possibility of North Korea holding a major event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of leader Kim Jong-un's rise to power, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday. Kim assumed power in December 2011, following the sudden death of his late father and former leader Kim Jong-il.  "North Korea has not announced a plan for such a commemorative event as of now, but we will continue monitoring related moves as there are some needs for one to strengthen interna

North Korea Nov. 12, 2021