President Moon Jae-in has withdrawn his nomination of a senior aide handling job creation amid opposition from labor circles, a presidential official said Thursday.Ahn Hyun-ho, a former vice minister of what is now the Ministry of TradeAhn Hyun-ho, a former vice minister of what is now the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, was tapped last month to serve as the new president's chief secretary for job creation.But labor circles expressed opposition to his appointment, claiming he was biased

Politics June 1, 2017

JEJU ISLAND -- Climate crisis-induced food shortages were behind the Arab revolutions in 2010 known as the Arab Spring, former United States Vice President Al Gore said Thursday, making the case for action to counter climate change as a growing cause of social instability.Gore, vice president from 1993-2001 under former President Bill Clinton, was giving a speech on "Challenges and Opportunities of Climate Change" at the on-going Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity on this resort island.Recallin

Foreign Affairs June 1, 2017

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump’s cryptic tweet of a non-existent word -- “covfefe” -- sparked a flood of humor and ridicule on the internet, but it also highlighted the inability of his communications team to control White House messaging.It may have been a simple keyboard slip, or a “senior moment” -- the soon to be 71-year-old Trump’s huge catalog of Twitter bloopers regularly offer evidence that a spelling-challenged speed-tweeter occupies the Oval Office.It also shows that four m

World News June 1, 2017

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide attacker struck the fortified heart of the Afghan capital with a massive truck bomb Wednesday, killing 90 people, wounding 400 and raising new fears about the government’s ability to protect its citizens nearly 16 years into a war with insurgents.The bomber drove into Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic quarter during the morning rush hour, leaving behind a bloody scene of chaos and destruction in one of the worst attacks since the draw-down of foreign forces

World News June 1, 2017

CHEONGJU -- A task force of the state-run Korea Tourism Organization's branch in Cheongju, central South Korea, said Thursday it plans to complete a project aimed at turning a plaza that is known for its flagpole from Korea's medieval dynasty into one of the top tourist spots by creating a dazzling night view there by the end of this month.According to the business group, which has focused its efforts on revitalizing traditional markets, the project involves illuminating the plaza and the Iron F

Social Affairs June 1, 2017

A new presidential committee tasked with job creation vowed Thursday to reorganize state affairs in a way that promotes job growth within President Moon Jae-in's first 100 days in office.The plan is to carry out an overall review of the government system, budget and tax system, and reorient them in a way that fosters job creation, according to the committee. (Yonhap)"We will make the creation of quality jobs a top policy priority," said Lee Yong-sup, vice chair of the committee, in a press confe

Politics June 1, 2017

South Korea strongly condemned the latest deadly bombing in Kabul on Thursday, vowing to work with the international community to rebuild Afghanistan and root out terrorism in the region. On Wednesday morning (local time), a truck bomb went off during rush hour in central Kabul, killing at least 90 people and injuring some 400 others. The blast occurred in front of the German Embassy building located inside a diplomatic complex, local media reported.  (AP-Yonhap)"Under any circumstances, it cann

Foreign Affairs June 1, 2017

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has thrown a solid outing in his return to the starting rotation, while fellow Korean pitcher Oh Seung-hwan earned a save for the St. Louis Cardinals in the same game.Ryu tossed six effective innings in a no-decision against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday (local time). Ryu held the Cards to a run on three hits over those half-dozen frames, while striking out four and walking one, but the Cardinals went on to win the game 2-1.The l

Baseball June 1, 2017

South Korean football club Seongnam FC said on Thursday they've recently filed a suit against the K League, the operator of the country's professional football leagues, to amend the promotion playoff result in 2016.Seongnam said they previously requested that the K League fofeit the second leg of the promotion playoffs on Nov. 20, 2016, due to Gangwon FC's use of an ineligible player. But since the league didn't take any action, they decided to take the case to court on May 23. In this file phot

Soccer June 1, 2017

DAEJEON -- Former major league players Alexi Ogando and Wilin Rosario on Wednesday became the first batterymates from the Dominican Republic to win a game in the Korea Baseball Organization.Ogando tossed six strong innings for the Hanwha Eagles with countryman Rosario behind the plate, as they beat the Doosan Bears 3-1 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul. The Eagles are now enjoying a season-high four-game winning streak.Ogando gave up just one earned run on

Baseball June 1, 2017

Six KF-16 fighter jets of South Korea headed to the US state of Alaska on Thursday to take part in a multinational air combat training led by Pacific Air Forces.The KF-16s took off at around 5:30 a.m., originally scheduled to arrive in Alaska about 10 hours later, according to South Korea's Air Force. South Korea`s KF-16 fighter jets prepare for takeoff to fly to Alaska to join the RED FLAG training on June 1, 2017, in this photo provided by the Air Force. (Yonhap)The flight distance to the Eiel

Defense June 1, 2017

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ratcheted up his push to secure a 10 trillion-won ($8.9 billion) extra budget for job creation, saying he would visit parliament to gain its backing at an "appropriate time" if need be.During a regular meeting with his senior secretaries, Moon also directed the government to accelerate the process of submitting a bill for the supplementary budget to the National Assembly in order to deliver on his key election pledge of creating 810,000 jobs in the public sector

Politics June 1, 2017

South Korea's consumption of antibiotics has been greatly reduced, a government report showed Thursday, but the country remains the top user among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries.According to the report by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the prescription rate of antibiotics for acute upper respiratory infections came to 40.99 percent in the second half of last year, down 2.53 percent from a year earlier. (123RF)The government has been pu

Social Affairs June 1, 2017

South Korea is set for the mass-production of the Raybolt medium-range anti-tank guided missile, as it has passed a "quality certification" test, the nation's arms procurement agency said Thursday.The live-fire test of the man-portable rocket system was successful, held at a Pocheon range, northeast of Seoul, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. A Raybolt medium-range anti-tank guided missile is test-fired in this undated photo provided by the Defense Acquisition Program

Defense June 1, 2017

Moving into a town full of complete strangers may be hard and stressful to most people. When Kwon Ji-hyun, a 36-year-old working mom, decided to bear it and relocate to an unheard-of village in west Seoul four years ago, there was only one thing on her mind: a daycare center where her child can be in good hands."I was at a loss for what to do when my mother said she had to move out of town. She was of great help in taking care of my son," she said, asking for an alias to be used.She couldn't fin

Social Affairs June 1, 2017