Following the World Health Organization's declaration of mpox outbreaks in Africa as a global health emergency, South Korean authorities have decided to ramp up quarantine and surveillance measures. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced the decision after a meeting with medical and academic experts Friday to discuss the potential of mpox entering the country and response strategies. KDCA officials and experts determined that the current domestic mpox situation remains ma

Social Affairs Aug. 17, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has attended a demonstration class for children from flood-hit regions, state media reported Saturday, as part of a series of efforts to emphasize his concern for the victims of recent heavy downpours. Kim visited the school located at their accommodation in Pyongyang on Friday, which had been prepared for victims from flood-affected areas in the North Phyongan, Jagang, and Ryanggang provinces, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Heavy rains in late July

North Korea Aug. 17, 2024

Interpark Commerce filed for a debt restructuring program with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court on Friday, following in the footsteps of two sister e-commerce giants amid a liquidity crisis. The company's request for an autonomous restructuring support (ARS) program came 18 days after TMON and WeMakePrice filed for the same program to negotiate with creditors for rescheduling overdue payments. With Friday's decision, all three Korean e-commerce companies under Qoo10 are now subject to the co

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2024

Health authorities said Friday they plan to supply treatments for 260,000 COVID-19 patients, as the nation saw a surge in cases due to a summer wave. "We have started contacting global pharmaceutical companies after recognizing that treatments are being used more widely than before, and the supply will start this week," Park Ji-young, a senior official from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said. The KDCA added that it will have treatments available nationwide by

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2024

The presidential National Security Council (NSC) held a meeting Friday to discuss measures to enhance cybersecurity for defense contractors to address concerns about hacking attacks targeting military technology. Shin Yong-seok, the presidential secretary for cybersecurity, led the meeting with officials from the state-run arms procurement agency, the spy agency, the police and the Defense Counterintelligence Command, following recent reports of alleged hacking attempts on local defense companie

Politics Aug. 16, 2024

Olympic badminton champion An Se-young broke her long silence Friday, clarifying her recent criticism of the national badminton federation. The 22-year-old gold medalist sparked controversy when she lashed out at her national team and the Badminton Korea Association (BKA) for their poor handling of her knee injury, and for outdated and inefficient operations, among other things, soon after winning the women's singles event at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 5. But she had not commented further o

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2024

South Korean stocks ended almost 2 percent higher Friday to extend their winning streak to a fifth day, as a series of US data soothed economic slowdown fears. The local currency gained ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 52.73 points, or 1.99 percent, to close at 2,697.23. Trade volume was moderate at 375.9 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won ($7.95 billion), with winners slightly outnumbering losers 473 to 412. Foreigners scooped up a w

Market Aug. 16, 2024

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho on Friday called on North Korea to respond to South Korea's offer for an official dialogue platform and resume suspended inter-Korean communication channels. Kim made the call a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol proposed to North Korea the establishment of a working-level dialogue channel that can "take up any issue" in an address marking Liberation Day. Yoon unveiled a vision for freedom-based unification with North Korea and pledged to expand the

Politics Aug. 16, 2024

Chang Ho-jin, new foreign policy adviser to President Yoon Suk Yeol, arrived in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to meet with officials and discuss the countries' alliance, the upcoming US election and other bilateral issues. Chang's trip came days after he was replaced as South Korea's top national security adviser and assigned to the newly created position of Yoon's special adviser for foreign and security affairs in a surprise reshuffle. "It has been nearly a year since

Politics Aug. 16, 2024

A White House official on Thursday suggested the possibility of holding a trilateral summit among the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan by the end of this year, following the historic Camp David summit last year. Mira Rapp-Hooper, the senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, made the remarks, emphasizing that the three countries will continue to build the partnership and put it on strategic footing for the long term, including by holding "

Foreign Affairs Aug. 16, 2024

Defense Minister nominee Kim Yong-hyun said Friday he was open to all means to respond to North Korea's nuclear threats, while reaffirming that the alliance with the United States remains the basis in dealing with such threats. Kim made the remarks after being questioned on the possibility of South Korea developing nuclear weapons of its own amid persistent domestic calls for such arms to deter North Korea. "Responding to North Korean nuclear threats based on extended deterrence and th

Politics Aug. 16, 2024

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Friday as major US data eased economic slowdown fears. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 52.43 points, or 1.98 percent, to 2,696.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, major US indexes rallied as the latest retail sales data showed that shoppers are still driving the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4 percent, the S&P 500 increased 1.61 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite soared 2.34 perc

Market Aug. 16, 2024

Hospitals were set to wrap up the hiring of more junior doctors Friday, but there are expected to be few applicants as many trainee doctors have defied the government's medical reform for nearly seven months, officials said. Hospitals issued new recruitment notices for trainee doctors last week after the medical community was lukewarm to the initial round that ended last month. Some medical professors have even warned of a potential boycott of training new applicants. During the previous ro

Social Affairs Aug. 16, 2024

The Kia Tigers' All-Star Kim Do-yeong became the youngest member of the "30-30" club in South Korean baseball history Thursday. Kim launched his 30th home run of the 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season in the top of the fifth inning against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, a two-run shot off Heroes starter Enmanuel De Jesus. Kim already had 33 steals prior to Thursday's game. With this home run, Kim, at 20 years, 10 months and 13 days old, became the

Baseball Aug. 15, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday paid his respects at the grave of former first lady Yook Young-su, the assassinated wife of ex-President Park Chung-hee, on the 50th anniversary of her death, the presidential office said. Yoon, accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee, visited the grave at Seoul National Cemetery in southern Seoul a day after making a phone call to former President Park Geun-hye, Yook's daughter, to express his condolences, according to presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-

Politics Aug. 15, 2024