FM stresses Seoul’s ‘sincerity’ in efforts to release frozen Iranian assets
Foreign affairsFeb 24, 2021
Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong told his Iranian counterpart Wednesday that South Korea is making sincere efforts to release Tehran’s assets frozen in Seoul, the foreign ministry said. The phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif came a day after Tehran claimed that it had reached an agreement with Seoul on the transfer and use of US$7 billion of its funds frozen in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions. South Korea later said that the two sides agreed i
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High hopes, stark reminders as Korea finally gets vaccinesSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021Face masks, social distancing still required post-vaccination -
Court temporarily halts 6-month suspension of cable channel MBNSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021A Seoul court has granted an injunction to temporarily lift the suspension order given to MBN, a local cable TV channel last year over accounting fraud, judicial sources said Wednesday. According to the sources, the Seoul Administrative Court has recently ruled in favor of MBN, halting a six-month suspension order issued by the country's telecommunications regulator. In October, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) ordered the broadcaster to suspend its service after concluding that MBN m
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Labor Ministry vows to strengthen role in preventing industrial accidentsSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021The government will prepare guidelines and a protective network for industrial accidents to strengthen its role as an overseer and administrator over malpractice, as the country continues to report deaths from workers on duty, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday. In a press briefing, Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap said the ministry is preparing to work with industries and corporations to create detailed guidelines that fall well within the realities of those obliged to follow. &ldq -
NK failed to meet previous five-year economic goals due to investment in ineffective industries: expertNorth KoreaFeb 24, 2021North Korea failed to meet its previous five-year economic goals due to its dependence on heavy industries amid crippling sanctions, a researcher at a state-run think tank said Wednesday. Kim Seok-jin, a researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), cited the North's investment strategies in rebuilding the heavy industries and the following chronic power shortage as the main reasons for its failure in achieving the five-year economic goal. In 2016, North Korea pu -
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[Newsmaker] Controversy brews over sex dolls in KoreaSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021After court approval, lawmakers seek regulation as civic groups protest -
1st conscientious objector recognized on ethical, not religious, groundsDefenseFeb 24, 2021A conscientious objector received approval on Wednesday to perform alternative service instead of undergoing mandatory conscription. He is the first conscientious objector in South Korea to qualify for the program because of a personal belief in nonviolence, rather than on religious grounds. South Korea, which conscripts all able-bodied men for about two years to maintain defense readiness against North Korea, introduced the program in October to honor a court ruling that the country stop penal -
Why North Korea replaced its ambassador to China after 11 yearsNorth KoreaFeb 24, 2021Former trade minister named to key post amid Kim Jong-un’s growth push -
Star football player accused of sexually, physically assaulting teammates in elementary schoolSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021A former South Korean national football team player is facing accusations of sexually and physically assaulting teammates while in elementary school more than 20 years ago. Park Ji-hun, attorney for the Seoul-based firm Hyun Law, put out a press release on Wednesday detailing allegations put forward by two clients. Both of them are one year younger than the accused player, who, according to Park, is "a star player who recently joined a club in the greater Seoul area." The players att -
More schoolchildren want to be doctors amid COVID: pollSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors beat teachers in an annual survey of elementary schoolchildren on what they want to become when they grow up. In an online poll conducted for three months through Oct. 15 last year by the government, 7.6 percent of first through sixth graders said they want to be medical doctors, making it the second most popular career after professional athletes. Content creators such as Youtubers and professional gamers were also among the top five careers chosen by the -
Population mobility declines in Jan. amid fall in housing transactionsSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country declined in January amid a decrease in housing transactions, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 2.2 percent on-year to 633,000 in January, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The tally declined last month after rising for the seventh straight month in December 2020 amid skyrocketing home prices. The population mobility rate -- the number of those relocating per 10 -
S. Korea suffers 1st population decline last year on record low birthsSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country declined in January amid a decrease in housing transactions, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 2.2 percent on-year to 633,000 in January, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The tally declined last month after rising for the seventh straight month in December 2020 amid skyrocketing home prices. The population mobility rate -- the number of those relocating per 10 -
Spring blossom, cultural festivals canceled or downsized over COVID-19 fearsPoliticsFeb 24, 2021Spring is just around the corner, but almost all spring blossom and cultural festivals across the country are likely to be called off for the second consecutive year amid little signs of a letup in coronavirus outbreaks, officials said Wednesday. Many local governments have already decided to cancel their annual spring flower festivals again this year due to fears of COVID-19 transmission, though some others are considering holding festivals on a sharply reduced scale or in a non-face-to-face m -
Joint Chiefs of Staff officer tests positive for new coronavirusSocial affairsFeb 24, 2021A military officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. It is the second COVID-19 case among JCS members so far, after a civilian employee was confirmed to have been infected last week. He undertook a virus test to exit quarantine, as he has been in isolation since Feb. 10 at his residence in Seoul after one of his family members tested positive earlier, according to the ministry. "We are taking necessary measur -
S. Korea investigating new suspected bird flu case, total now at 101Social affairsFeb 24, 2021South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it is investigating yet another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms, with the total caseload reaching 101. The latest suspected case of the malign H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from an egg farm in Wonju, 132 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea confirmed its 101st case of seriously contagious bird flu from another egg farm in Icheon, sout
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