Free flu vaccination program begins

South Korea has commenced this year’s flu vaccination program ahead of the winter season that offers free injections for young children and the elderly on Wednesday, according to the quarantine authorities. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that the vaccination program will run through April 30 next year, stressing that the vaccination would dramatically reduce the chance of catching the flu. The target groups for this program are children aged six months to under 13 yea

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Yoon, UN chief reaffirm cooperation on NK denuclearization, human rights

  President Yoon Suk Yeol and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres fortified their commitment to fostering peace and enhancing human rights in North Korea during a meeting on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York. Meeting the UN chief for the third time, Yoon said he was looking forward to continuing cooperation with the United Nations to “curb" North Korean provocations and substantially “improve the human rights situation” in the regime, accord

Foreign AffairsSept. 20, 2023

iPad or Galaxy Tab? 7th graders take their pick for digital classroom

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Wednesday that it has distributed some 70,530 electronic devices for 7th-grade students across middle schools in Seoul to help prepare students for the AI digital textbooks that will go into use starting in 2025. The devices will also provide diverse learning resources and interactive education content for students. The Education Office will also install charging stations at each school to keep students’ devices powered up and ready for use,

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Tourism businesses eye bilingual marriage immigrants at job fair

Seoul City is organizing a job fair for marriage-based immigrants this week, as part of its efforts to help their integration into Korean society and unlock a pool of bilingual potential workers, officials said Wednesday. The event, to be held at Seoul Women's Plaza on Thursday, aims to link local businesses to foreign nationals who are married to Korean nationals and proficient in more than one language. Among the participating businesses, some 15, such as those related to medical tours an

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Lamborghini driver suspect sent to prosecutors over parking dispute in Gangnam

A 30-year-old man accused of threatening a driver with a knife over a parking dispute last week was referred to prosecutors for further investigation, police said Wednesday. The suspect, identified only by his surname Hong, was formally arrested last Wednesday for allegedly revealing to the driver a sashimi knife, tucked in his waist, following a dispute after the suspect parked his Lamborghini at a road in Seoul's Gangnam district on Sept. 11. His driver's license was revoked at the t

Social AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Biden condemns N. Korea's defiance of UNSC resolutions, remains committed to diplomacy

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned North Korea's continued violation of UN Security Council resolutions but reiterated his commitment to diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Biden made the remarks in a speech at the UN General Assembly as a recent summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin deepened concerns about a potential arms deal that would violate multiple UNSC resolutions. "We condemned the DPRK's continu

Foreign AffairsSept. 20, 2023

N. Korea's Kim arrives in Pyongyang after Russia trip: state media

A special train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived in Pyongyang after traveling to Russia for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the North's state media reported Wednesday. The train reached Pyongyang on Tuesday evening, after completing "external revolutionary activities" that will shine in the history of strengthening friendly relations between North Korea and Russia, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Kim was welcomed by top party and

North KoreaSept. 20, 2023

US energy firm to appeal court decision in favor of KEPCO, KHNP over nuclear reactor exports

A US energy firm said Tuesday it will appeal a district court's decision earlier this week to dismiss its lawsuit filed to stop two South Korean state-run companies from exporting nuclear power plants. On Monday, the District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the complaint that Westinghouse Electric Co. filed against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Korea Electric Power Corp. last October. The court determined that Westinghouse "lacks a private cause of action" and wa

Foreign AffairsSept. 20, 2023

Philippine soldiers from Korean War honored at Camp Tiano War Memorial

A ceremony to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the erection of the Camp Tiano War Memorial took place in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province on Monday. The Camp Tiano War Memorial was built to commemorate the 19th Battalion Combat Team from the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea who died during the Battle of Hill Eerie in 1952 while fighting against the Chinese Communist Forces during the 1950-53 Korean War. The camp was given its name to honor the troops that died during the battle, including

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

Foreign ministry asks Japanese police for fair probe into 'bleach water' case

The foreign ministry said Tuesday it has asked the Japanese police to carry out a "prompt and fair" probe into an incident in which a restaurant served water containing bleach to a South Korean national. The request came after a South Korean national was hospitalized in Tokyo late last month after showing symptoms, such as vomiting, after drinking water served by the restaurant that contained bleach. The victim informed the South Korean embassy of the incident earlier this month, with

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

S. Korean foreign ministry summons Russian envoy over NK ties

The South Korean foreign ministry summoned the top Russian envoy to the country Tuesday to lodge a complaint over Moscow's discussions of arms deals and military cooperation with North Korea. Seoul's Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin called in Russian Ambassador Andrey Kulik earlier in the day and called for Moscow to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions, the ministry said in a message to reporters. The summons came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a summit with Rus

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

Assembly to vote on opposition leader’s arrest warrant after Yoon approval

Another motion for an arrest warrant for Democratic Party of Korea’s leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, who is in hospital from his 19-day hunger strike, awaits a vote by the National Assembly, possibly on Thursday. President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the request for the opposition leader’s arrest warrant, which was referred to the Assembly for a vote, his office said Tuesday. The presidential approval comes a day after Seoul prosecutors filed an arrest warrant request after Lee over three sepa

PoliticsSept. 19, 2023

South Korea frees Iran funds

The South Korean government confirmed Tuesday that it had transferred to Qatar Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions, as part of a prisoner swap deal that led to the US and Iran releasing five of each other’s detainees. Tehran’s access to $6 billion in oil revenue had been frozen since May 2019, when Washington, after scrapping the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, stepped up pressure to block hard currency from flowing into the Middle Eastern country. “

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

20 companies pay fines rather than pay for day care

Twenty workplaces in Korea have failed to set up day care centers for employees' children in the last five years, even though they face fines of up to 200 million won ($153,000) per year if they keep failing to provide them, government data showed Tuesday. Under the Child Care Act and Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, businesses that have more than 500 workers or 300 female workers are required to either set up day care facilities, or pay nearby centers th

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

PM says willing to meet Xi during China visit

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Tuesday he is willing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of his official visit to attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou in China. Han expressed hope for his official engagement, as he confirmed on Tuesday plans for a two-day visit to Hangzhou beginning Saturday. "It would be a great opportunity if I, as prime minister, were to make a visit and send friendly signals ... about the relationship between

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

What drove Korea's once-revered teachers to despair?

For Kim, a retired teacher in her late 60s, teaching was one of the greatest gifts of her life. Recalling students’ laughter and small parties in classrooms celebrating Teachers’ Day every year, she was a teacher who was revered and appreciated by both students and parents. However, when Kim visited a memorial altar for a Seoul elementary school teacher who took her own life on Sept. 4, she lamented at how different schools have become and how the teaching profession -- widely revere

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

Yoon rallies support for Busan Expo at UN

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol led a diplomatic campaign at the 78th United Nations General Assembly in a bid to secure support for the 2030 Busan World Expo, his office said Tuesday. After arriving in New York on Monday morning, Yoon met with leaders of nine countries, including Sri Lanka, San Marino and Denmark on the day. He plans to hold bilateral summits with leaders of around 40 countries throughout his stay in the city. Yoon told the leaders that Busan is the world’s second-la

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023

Yoon meets leaders of Sri Lanka, San Marino, other nations

President Yoon Suk Yeol held summits with the leaders of Sri Lanka, San Marino and four other nations in New York on Monday, kicking off a series of bilateral meetings arranged on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to seek support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. Yoon, who arrived in New York on Monday for a five-day visit, is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday and hold at least 30 bilateral summits on the margins, according to his office. Duri

PoliticsSept. 19, 2023

Uzbek man risks life to save Korean woman from blaze

An Uzbek man, aged 40, risked his life to rescue a Korean woman, aged 69, from a blaze that broke out in a restaurant in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday. According to the South Gyeongsang Province Fire Department, a fire broke out in a restaurant run by an older couple in Bukbu-dong, Yangsan, around 6:44 p.m. on Monday. Witnessing the sound of an explosion, broken glass, and flames in the restaurant, someone called 119. Meanwhile, however, the woman was alone in the restaurant as the

Social AffairsSept. 19, 2023

'Cross-cultural exchanges crucial to Mexico-Korea ties'

Mexico's ambassador to Korea, Carlos Penafiel Soto, underlined people-to-people connections and the mutual exchange of knowledge as the linchpin of Mexico-Korea ties, marking Mexico’s 213th anniversary of independence from Spain on Wednesday. Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810. Noting bilateral strategic partnerships and political dialogue that were developed over six decades, Soto highlighted recent bilateral trade between Mexico and Korea that hit $30 billion in 202

Foreign AffairsSept. 19, 2023