![[News Focus] Working age population declines by 750,000 over 4 years](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2021/01/24/20210124000003_0.jpg)
[News Focus] Working age population declines by 750,000 over 4 years
Social affairsJan 24, 2021
SEJONG -- South Korea is heading toward a labor shortage in the wake of record-low fertility rates and the rapidly aging population. The baby boomer generation -- defined in Korea as those born between 1955-1963 -- is beginning to enter retirement age, with the working-age population classed as those aged 15-64. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the working age population fell to 71.4 percent of the total in December, the lowest in at least 12 years. The portion was 72.4 perce
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Korea’s COVID-19 numbers fall, but risks still loomSocial affairsJan 24, 2021The number of official cases of the novel coronavirus in South Korea is on a downward slope, but risks of a fresh flare-up are still significant, health officials and experts say. Korea on Sunday confirmed 369 locally transmitted and 23 imported cases of COVID-19, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency situation report, bringing the cumulative total to 75,084. Twelve more people died, pushing the death toll to 1,349. The national health agency’s deputy director Kwo -
![[Newsmaker] Opposition lays siege to new justice minister nominee](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2021/01/24/20210124000126_0.jpg)
[Newsmaker] Opposition lays siege to new justice minister nomineePoliticsJan 24, 2021Opposition lawmakers were geared up to use Monday’s confirmation hearing of Justice Minister nominee Park Beom-kye to their fullest advantage by bashing him over suspicions including his failure to declare some of his assets. The opposition’s offensive in the series of hearings of ministerial nominees since last week has been mainly focused on Park, who himself rose to confirmation hearing stardom in 2014. As a first-time lawmaker at the time, Park had raised allegations that the au
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Mayor Baek Kun-ki transforms Yongin into a hub for semiconductorsSocial affairsJan 24, 2021City of Yongin turns into special city as citizens take lead -
Green projects, growing competitiveness marked Yongin’s 2020Social affairsJan 24, 2021Shaking off reputation for reckless development, Yongin moves forward with key projects -
Moon to receive policy briefing on vaccine, antivirus effortsPoliticsJan 24, 2021President Moon Jae-in is set to receive a policy briefing on the country's vaccination plans and ongoing efforts to fight the new coronavirus this week, a presidential official said Sunday. Moon will hold a teleconference at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday with relevant ministers -- including Welfare Minister Kwon Deok-cheol, Food and Drug Safety Minister Kim Ganglip and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency chief Jeong Eun-kyeong, according to the official. The officials are expected to report -
S. Korean, US defense chiefs reaffirm alliance in phone talksForeign affairsJan 24, 2021South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook held telephone talks Sunday with newly confirmed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, where the two reaffirmed the importance of their alliance and agreed to closely cooperate on developing it, Seoul's defense ministry said. During the dialogue, which took place upon Washington's request, the two defense chiefs agreed that the Seoul-Washington alliance is more important than ever and promised to cooperate on improving the relationship, as well as openly com -
SFS appoints Tom Alexander as new assistant head of schoolEducationJan 24, 2021The Seoul Foreign School has appointed a financial expert in the education sector as its new assistant head of school - finance and operations, the school announced Sunday. Tom Alexander assumed the position this month after serving in various financial positions for independent schools across several major metropolitan areas. SFS is an international independent school in Seoul with more than 1,450 students aged 2 to 18. Alexander’s 35 years of financial experience, 17 years of them bein -
![[Feature] ‘Lost decade’ possible for South Korea as employment prospect dims among young job seekers](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2021/01/20/20210120000770_0.jpg)
[Feature] ‘Lost decade’ possible for South Korea as employment prospect dims among young job seekersSocial affairsJan 24, 2021College graduates continue to find doors to employment closed as economy suffers -
New virus cases under 400 again, alert in place against potential upticksSocial affairsJan 24, 2021South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 400 on Sunday, following a brief rise a day earlier, but health authorities remain vigilant against possible upticks amid an apparent slowdown. The country added 392 more COVID-19 cases, including 369 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 75,084, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Sunday's daily caseload was down from 431 cases reported the previous day. The third wave of COVID- -
Watchdog set to announce results of probe into ex-Seoul mayor's alleged sexual abuseSocial affairsJan 24, 2021The state human rights watchdog is set to announce the results of its investigation into former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's alleged sexual abuse of a secretary as early as this week. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has been looking into allegations Park sexually harassed the former municipal government employee over several years until his death in an apparent suicide in July. The results will be discussed during a plenary meeting of the watchdog's members on Monday, according to -
![[Newsmaker] 3 missing as fishing boat capsizes near Geoje Island](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2021/01/24/20210124000020_0.jpg)
[Newsmaker] 3 missing as fishing boat capsizes near Geoje IslandSocial affairsJan 24, 2021GEOJE -- Search operations were under way off the southern island of Geoje after three crew members of a capsized fishing boat went missing on Saturday, authorities said. The 339-ton vessel capsized at around 4 p.m. in waters 1.11 kilometers southeast of the island, located some 400 km south of Seoul, with 10 crew members aboard -- nine South Koreans and one Indonesian -- according to the Coast Guard. Seven of them, including the Indonesian, have been rescued, but search operations were still -
Korea calls new variants big risk in pandemic fightSocial affairsJan 23, 2021South Korea's health authorities warned Saturday that their efforts to contain COVID-19 face a potentially major challenge from the spread of new variants. Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, even raised the possibility that the nation will be drawn back into a "nightmare" similar to that in December last year, when the daily number of infections exceeded 1,000. "Mutant viruses are more contagious than existing ones," he said during -
![[Weekender] Dispute rages over ban on propaganda leafleting](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2021/01/21/20210121000890_0.jpg)
[Weekender] Dispute rages over ban on propaganda leafletingNorth KoreaJan 23, 2021Critics slam the ban as ill-conceived and unprecedented -
S. Korean, US security chiefs discuss Korea peace, global issues: Cheong Wa DaeDiplomatic CircuitJan 23, 2021The top national security officials of South Korea and the United States agreed on the need for close bilateral cooperation in advancing the Korea peace process and the handling of global issues during their phone call Saturday, Cheong Wa Dae said. It was the first formal conversation between Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, and his new American counterpart, Jake Sullivan, since the launch of the Joe Biden administration this week. Suh congratulated Sullivan on his ina
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