S. Korea expresses ‘deep concern’ as Japan’s Abe visits wartime shrine
Foreign affairsSept 20, 2020
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed deep regret over former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine for war dead. The shrine is controversial because it honors 14 Japanese leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as war criminals. Visits there by ranking Tokyo officials have usually sparked criticisms from neighboring countries such as South Korea and China. “We express our deepest concern and regret that Abe paid a visit to the shri
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NK silent as Moon speaks of peace dealPoliticsSept 20, 2020South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Saturday that the Pyongyang Joint Declaration should be fulfilled, in a message commemorating the second anniversary of the inter-Korean peace deal signed by him and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sept. 19, 2018, at their third summit that year. “The reason the deal has yet to be realized was that there were hurdles, both domestic and foreign. Nevertheless, we have an unwavering commitment to peace,” Moon wrote on Facebook, adding that th -
Offline classes to resume in Seoul schools from MondayEducationSept 20, 2020Schools in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province will resume in-person classes Monday after South Korea eased its social distancing measures in the capital region. To minimize the risk of infection at classroom, kindergartens and schools will keep the attendance level to one third and high schools will keep the rate at two-thirds until Oct. 11, the Education Ministry said. The measures, aimed at ensuring physical distance among students inside classroom, also apply to high school seniors under
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![[News Focus] High-profile DUI cases spur fresh crackdown](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2020/09/20/20200920000144_0.jpg)
[News Focus] High-profile DUI cases spur fresh crackdownSocial affairsSept 20, 2020South Korean authorities are renewing a war against drunk driving, after recent high-profile cases caused public uproar. A ruling party leader said they will push to enact a tougher law to punish passengers of drunk drivers. The Korean National Police Agency said Sunday they will run a special crackdown period on driving under influence of alcohol until Nov. 17, as violations continue amid the COVID-19 outbreak. All police stations will run at least two DUI checkpoints every week and will als -
![[News Focus] South Korea aging 2nd-fastest in OECD since 2000](http://res.heraldm.com/phpwas/restmb_idxmake.php?idx=643&simg=/content/image/2020/09/19/20200919000087_0.jpg)
[News Focus] South Korea aging 2nd-fastest in OECD since 2000Social affairsSept 20, 2020SEJONG -- South Korea ranked 2nd in the growth of its senior population since 2000 among the 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, though the was still only 30th in terms of the current senior population. According to the OECD, Korea saw the portion of seniors -- aged 65 or over -- of the entire population at 7.22 percent in 2000. But the figure climbed by 7.07 percentage points in less than two decades to 14.29 percent as of 2018. This marked the second-ste -
Virus cases in greater Seoul area top 10,000 since Jan. outbreakSocial affairsSept 20, 2020The number of new coronavirus infections in Seoul and its adjacent areas has surpassed 10,000 since the first outbreak in late January, health officials said Sunday. As of Sunday morning, the number of COVID-19 infections in Seoul, its surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the western port city of Incheon came to 10,007 in total, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It represents 43.6 percent of the country's total confirmed infections of 22,975. Seoul, the country -
Korea reports 82 new COVID-19 cases, marking first two-digit day in a monthSocial affairsSept 20, 2020The daily count of new coronavirus cases in South Korea fell below 100 for the first time in more than a month Sunday. There were over 400 cases reported in mid-August, largely due to sporadic infection clusters in Seoul and the surrounding area. The country reported 82 new COVID-19 cases for the 24 hours ending Saturday at midnight, including 72 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 22,975, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Five more pat -
Kindergartens, schools in greater Seoul area to resume limited in-person classes this weekSocial affairsSept 20, 2020All kindergartens and schools in Seoul and its adjacent areas will resume limited in-person classes this week, the education ministry said Sunday, as the spread of the new coronavirus is showing signs of slowing down. The move to be enforced until Oct. 11 is in line with the government's eased social distancing guidelines announced early last week amid a recent drop in new coronavirus cases. According to the ministry, students at kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul -
Defector caught trying to cross back into N. KoreaNorth KoreaSept 20, 2020South Korea's police said Sunday that they have taken into custody a North Korean defector for attempting to cross into his homeland through a military unit in an eastern border town. The man in his 30s was caught entering a military unit in Chorwon, Gangwon Province, at around 9 a.m. on Thursday in an attempt to cross into the North. He was found to have four mobile phones and a cutting machine when he was caught. Police said that the man defected to the South in 2018 and has stayed in Seo -
NK premier visits industrial sites, urges increased production for typhoon recoveryNorth KoreaSept 20, 2020North Korea's Premier Kim Tok-hun visited major industrial sites, including steelmaking factories, calling for expanded production to help with recovery efforts in areas hit by recent typhoons, state media reported Sunday. Kim inspected the Chollima Steel Complex in South Pyongyang Province on the North's west coast and encouraged its workers "to provide the people in the typhoon-hit areas with happy life as early as possible," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). &qu -
Bishop found innocent in posthumous retrial for resistance to 'Yushin dictatorship'Social affairsSept 20, 2020Late Bishop Daniel Tji Hak-soun (1921-1993) has been acquitted of protesting against the Yushin Constitution, instituted by an authoritarian president, in a retrial 46 years after his death. Earlier in the week, the Seoul Central District Court found the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wonju, some 140 kilometers southeast Seoul, innocent of violating the emergency rules of the authoritarian Constitution enacted by strongman Park Chung-hee that enabled Park to remain in power indefinite -
Proportion of women in high-ranking govt. posts reaches record highPoliticsSept 20, 2020The proportion of women among high-ranking officials in the central government has risen to an all-time high, a government report showed Sunday. According to the report on balanced personnel policy in the public sector, 7.9 percent, or 122, of 1,539 high-ranking civil servants in the central government were female as of the end of last year, up 19.6 percent from 102 recorded a year ago. It said both the number of senior female officials and their growth rate are the largest on record. High-r -
NK stresses self-reliance undeterred by triple whammy of challengesNorth KoreaSept 20, 2020North Korea's official newspaper called Sunday for efforts to realize self-reliance in the economy and national defense undeterred by multiple challenges from its ongoing antivirus campaign, devastation caused by recent typhoons and the fallout from global sanctions. "Without economic independence, it is impossible to realize autonomous politics or the huge task of building a wealthy country with a strong military," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling party, said in a -
New virus cases at more than 1-month low, nationwide virus curbs tipped to be extendedSocial affairsSept 20, 2020South Korea's new coronavirus cases dipped below 100 for the first time in more than a month on Sunday on the back of the country's strict social distancing scheme, but untraceable infections still pose a challenge to the country's virus fight. The country added 82 more COVID-19 cases, including 72 local infections, taking the total caseload to 22,975, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked the first time for the daily tally to fall below 100 since Aug. -
S. Korea reports suspected case of coronavirus reinfectionSocial affairsSept 19, 2020South Korean heath authorities are studying a possible case of a coronavirus reinfection found in a woman in her 20s, officials said Saturday. "Research on a suspected reinfection case is under way in the country," Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said in a press briefing. The patient, who was first diagnosed with COVID-19 in March, tested positive again in early April, he said. The authorities believe the woman was likely infected through
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