Grace period sought for workplace safety law at small businesses

South Korea’s ruling party is seeking an amendment to laws that punish employers for serious industrial accidents that would give workplaces with fewer than 50 employees an exemption for another two years. In a statement issued after a high-level meeting with the concerned ministries on Sunday, the People Power Party said that smaller workplaces were not yet prepared to keep up with the laws enacted in January 2021. The party said that applying the laws indiscriminately could lead to closu

PoliticsDec. 3, 2023

Yoon's unification secretary named presidential spokesperson

Kim Soo-kyung, President Yoon Suk Yeol's unification secretary, will serve as the new presidential spokesperson starting from Monday, according to Yoon's office on Sunday. Kim will replace Lee Do-woon, who was nominated to be senior presidential secretary for public relations. She joined the presidential office as the unification secretary in July. Born in Seoul, the 47-year-old was formerly a journalist at the Dong-A Ilbo vernacular and a researcher at the Korea Institute for National

PoliticsDec. 3, 2023

[Hello Indonesia] Soft power takes Korea-Indonesia ties to new heights

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- People-to-people diplomacy between South Korea and Indonesia is playing a pivotal role in enhancing bilateral relations and will continue to do so in the coming years, according to experts. Deepening the relationship between the two nations further is no longer a matter of choice, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Lee Sang-deok said during a seminar commemorating the 50th anniversary of Korea-Indonesia diplomatic ties, held at the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta on Thursd

Foreign AffairsDec. 3, 2023

North Korea threatens consequences after South Korea launches 1st spy satellite

North Korea said Sunday a clash and even war with South Korea was only a “matter of time,” about a day after Seoul’s first military reconnaissance satellite was launched into orbit. The satellite, the first of the five South Korea is planning to send into space by 2025, lifted off from the US Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX rocket at 10:19 a.m. Friday and reached orbit soon after, according to the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul. The National Defense Ministry s

North KoreaDec. 3, 2023

Schools brace for impact of record-low enrollment

South Korea is set to record the lowest number of first graders entering elementary school next year, signaling the consequences of an apparent demographic crisis driven by the world’s lowest birth rate. According to local reports quoting the statistics agency's birth rate data, fewer than 400,000 children are expected to enter elementary school next year. This will be the first time the number has dropped below 400,000 since the agency started compiling data. This comes amid a sharp decli

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2023

Seoul City to operate autonomous night bus

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday announced it would launch autonomous overnight buses for a pilot run beginning Monday. The Seoul Autonomous Night Bus pilot run will include two buses that travel 9.8 kilometers between Hapjeong Station in western Seoul to Dongdaemun Station in eastern Seoul between 11:30 p.m. and 5:10 a.m. Starting Monday, the buses will operate at an interval of 70 minutes at each stop across a total of 40 stops, and will pass through the Hongdae neighborhood and th

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2023

Day laborers, low-income earners fear lonely death

Day laborers and low-income earners in South Korea feel that they have a high chance of dying alone and remaining unnoticed for days, compared to peers with regular jobs earning higher incomes, a survey showed Sunday. Those employed and paid daily without a regular job feared they would have an average 41.8 percent chance of suffering a "lonely death," compared to 28.6 percent for those with regular jobs, according to data from a survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Af

Social AffairsDec. 3, 2023

S. Korea, Japan to resume high-level economic talks

South Korea and Japan are expected to resume high-level economic talks later this month after nearly eight years of suspension due to tensions over wartime sexual slavery and other rows, diplomatic sources said Sunday. The resumption of the Korea-Japan High-Level Economic Consultation is the latest in a series of measures the two countries have taken amid warming relations in the wake of the resolution of the wartime forced labor issue earlier this year. During a summit in Lithuania's Vilni

PoliticsDec. 3, 2023

Concerns over bedbugs rise among pet owners

Concerns over bedbugs are rising among pet owners in Korea following the recent string of reports of the pest spreading here. "I usually enjoy camping with my dog, but lately, with news of bedbugs being found everywhere, I'm refraining from outdoor activities," said Kim, an office worker in his 30s. He expressed concerns about camping with his dog, fearing bedbugs might transfer in such environments. Online forums also reflect pet owners seeking advice on the likelihood of bedbug

Social AffairsDec. 2, 2023

N. Korea to hold plenary meeting of ruling Workers' Party in late Dec.: state media

North Korea will hold a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party later this month to discuss this year's state policies and policy goals for next year, its state media said Saturday. The ninth plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the WPK will be convened late in December to "review the execution of the Party and state policies in 2023," the Korean Central News Agency said in an English-language dispatch. The decision was made during a politburo meeting on Fr

North KoreaDec. 2, 2023

US issues rules on 'foreign entity of concern' ineligibility for EV car tax credit

The United States on Friday released proposed guidance defining a "foreign entity of concern (FEOC)" in a move to clarify its rules meant to block tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) with battery components and critical minerals from China. The Treasury and Energy Departments announced the long-awaited rules of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as South Korean battery makers have stressed the need to clarify the FEOC requirements to address uncertainties in their overseas oper

Foreign AffairsDec. 2, 2023

US authorizes potential sale to S. Korea of munitions, equipment for F-35 stealth jets

The United States has approved a potential sale to South Korea of munitions for the operation of F-35 radar-evading fighter jets and related equipment to help improve the Asian ally's defense capabilities, a government agency said Friday. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the Department of Defense made the announcement on the potential government-to-government Foreign Military Sale (FMS) estimated to cost US$271 million. South Korea has made a request to purchase 39 AIM-120C-8 A

DefenseDec. 2, 2023

UN World Food Program extends assistance plan for N. Korea by one year

The U.N. World Food Program has extended its food assistance plan for North Korea by another year to the end of 2024, according to an updated document on its website Saturday. The revision extends the one-year duration of the interim country strategic plan for North Korea until Dec. 31, 2024, the document showed. The amount of budget for the project has also increased to US$247.7 million from $214.9 million. The revised assistance plan is expected to benefit some 5.2 million North Korean people,

North KoreaDec. 2, 2023

Koreas' spy satellite launches heat up arms race in space

Space has emerged as an extended battlefield for the rival Koreas as they have successfully launched their own spy satellites into orbit and are gearing up to send more to better monitor each other amid an intensifying arms race, analysts said Saturday. South Korea's first homegrown spy satellite was launched from U.S. Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Friday (local time). It successfully entered orbit and communicated with a ground station a little over an

DefenseDec. 2, 2023

S. Korea successfully launches 1st spy satellite into orbit

South Korea successfully launched its first indigenous military spy satellite from a U.S. military base in California Friday (local time), the defense ministry said, in a culmination of Seoul's quest for space-based intelligence capabilities amid growing North Korean threats. The launch of the satellite atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base came after Pyongyang claimed success in its own spy satellite launch last week -- a move that underscored a growing inter-Kor

DefenseDec. 2, 2023

National security advisers of S. Korea, US, Japan to meet in Seoul next week

The national security advisers of South Korea, Japan and the United States will meet in Seoul next week, government sources said Friday, amid escalating threats from North Korea following its launch of a military satellite. The three-way meeting is set to be held for two days starting next Friday, they added. It will be held between South Korea's Cho Tae-yong, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary-General Takeo Akiba. Ch

North KoreaDec. 1, 2023

UNC says it will continue monitoring situation on Korean Peninsula amid growing tensions

The United Nations Command said Friday it is monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula amid escalating tensions in the region, including the rearmament of North Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas. "The Joint Security Area remains a neutral ground for dialogue and de-escalation," the UNC said, noting its intent is to maintain "peace" and "security" in the area. The UNC added its mission has remained unchanged for 70 years

North KoreaDec. 1, 2023

Yoon vetoes contentious pro-labor, broadcasting bills

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday vetoed a new pro-labor bill and three broadcasting law revisions passed by parliament last month. Yoon's decision came mere hours after the Cabinet officially filed a request for him to reject the bills that were unilaterally passed by the National Assembly on Nov. 9, despite the ruling People Power Party’s strong opposition. The opposition parties, including the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, currently holds the controlling majority of se

PoliticsDec. 1, 2023

S. Korean court network hit by malware infection

South Korea's Supreme Court belatedly revealed that it had confirmed the infection of computers used in courts with malware earlier this year. However, the court said it could not conclusively determine the connection of cyberattacks to North Korea. "Earlier this year, a malware infection was detected during a routine cybersecurity scan," the Office of Court Administration of the Supreme Court said in a statement issued Thursday. "During our response to the malware detection,

Social AffairsDec. 1, 2023

Seoul city to beef up inspection in bedbug-prone residential areas

To tackle the hike in bedbug infestations in single-room residences, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday that it would increase inspections of such homes as nearly half of all bedbug reports came from there. The plan comes after 39 reports out of 89 came from “goshiwon,” a type of budget accommodation consisting of one small studio room with no separate kitchen or bathroom. The city government will assign personnel dedicated to overseeing goshiwon in each autonomous distric

Social AffairsDec. 1, 2023