Around 40 organizations and schools joined a weeklong campaign to promote the eradication of verbal violence on the internet, as the campaign’s leader called for more continued efforts in making the cyberspace a safe place. Sunfull Foundation, a nongovernmental organization aimed at countering cyberbullying, hate speech and human rights violations on the internet, designated May 23 as the day without verbal abuse in cyberspace. A series of campaigns were launched from May 17-23 so mor

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday met with Rep. Yun Ho-jung, a co-chair of the Democratic Party of Korea’s interim leadership committee, in a gesture seeking cooperation from the country’s main opposition party. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Han visited Yun first before he met with leaders of the ruling People Power Party. This move showed his enthusiasm to cooperate with the opposition party, at least on the surface. Overall, Han’s first encounter with the main opposition

South Korea’s new Prime Minister Han Duck-soo officially began his term on Monday, 48 days since he was nominated by President Yoon Suk-yeol. At his inauguration, Han stressed he would seek cooperation with the country’s major parties and that the government will make all-out efforts to help the country’s economic recovery, while hinting at cutting red tape in the future. “Without national unity and political cooperation (among the government and major political partie

South Korea will accept rapid antigen tests for people boarding a flight to Korea and entering the country starting on Monday, the country’s health authorities said Sunday. Under the new entry rule, arrivals with a RAT result will be accepted if the test was taken no more than one day prior to travel. Arrivals with a negative polymerase chain reaction test result will continue to be accepted. The RAT results, however, must have been conducted under professional supervision. Results fro

Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayoral candidate of the ruling People Power Party, says he will strive for more foreign investment and will transform Seoul into a “leading Asian financial center” if elected for the fourth time as Seoul mayor. “Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, is the heart and engine of the country, and managing the city’s affairs is no less significant than running the country,” Oh said during an interview with The Korea Herald on May 17. Oh, who

The South Korean government announced Wednesday that it would decide whether to end the country’s seven-day quarantine mandate for COVID-19 patients on Friday, which would mark another major step towards the next phase of its post-pandemic plan. If the mandate is lifted, people who are infected with COVID-19 would no longer have to quarantine. COVID-19 patients will also be responsible for their own medical costs treating COVID-19. “South Korea is stepping towards normal,”

Protecting the ocean environment is more important than people usually think, according to Nam Sung-hyun, a School of Earth and Environmental Sciences professor at Seoul National University.　 Nam said the oceans work as massive carbon sinks and also absorb most of the solar energy reaching the Earth. Protecting the oceans and marine ecosystems is thus intimately involved in maintaining the Earth’s climate change resilience, Nam said in an email interview with The Korea Herald. “Mo

Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul Mayor candidate of the ruling People Power Party, on Tuesday expressed hopes to win the upcoming mayoral election and extend his term further in four years time. Oh is currently seeking his fourth mayoral term. If elected in the June 1 local elections, Oh will become the first mayor of Seoul to serve a fourth term, and become the city’s longest-serving mayor. “The mayor position of Seoul is perhaps as equally important as a presidential term,” Oh said d

The organizing committee of the annual beauty pageant World Miss University said Monday that it would organize a peace group of its senior members. WMU is a Seoul-based beauty pageant started in 1986 to celebrate and promote the United Nations’ recognition of the International Year of Peace. WMU selects representatives who will promote UN-affiliated events and volunteer for peace services. World Miss University Chairman Lee Seung-min said WMU decided to forge the World Senior Peace Ser

The 15th edition of the World Forestry Congress, the world’s largest gathering on forests, ended with delegates signing a joint declaration calling on enhanced cooperation across the world. The Korea Forest Service said the latest edition of the WFC, which was held at Coex in Seoul between May 3-6, both online and offline, invited a total of some 15,000 people from 164 different countries, becoming the largest in the history of the congress. Participants of the WFC this year adopted t

South Korea has decided to add an additional 230 international flights next month to meet increasing travel demand amid the weakening pandemic. With the addition, the number of weekly international flights will come to 762 in June, up from 532 in May and 420 in April, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said during a COVID-19 response meeting on Friday. From May 23, the government would also take rapid antigen test results for travelers coming to South Korea. Previously, the government only accep

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday made his diplomatic debut following his inauguration ceremony, holding a summit meeting and greeting delegates from key neighbors. Foreign dignitaries at the ceremony included Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan -- the highest-level official Beijing has sent to a Korean president’s inauguration -- Douglas Emhoff, the husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. Other foreign dignitaries included Sing

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases increased week-on-week for the second consecutive day, government data showed Monday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 20,601 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Sunday. The total caseload rose to 17,564,999. The daily tally reported on Monday was up 517 from 20,084 a week ago, showing a week-on-week increase for the second straight day. On the previous day, the country’s daily COVID-19 i

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases for Saturday rebounded week-on-week for the first time in around six weeks, government data showed Sunday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 40,064 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Saturday. The total caseload came to 17,544,398. The daily figure on Saturday was up from 37,771 cases on Saturday a week ago. It was the first time in 46 days that the daily COVID-19 infections increased week-on-we

Cecile Ndjebet, an international women’s rights advocate from Cameroon, has won the 2022 Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award, the Korea Forest Service said Sunday. The award ceremony was held on Thursday, as part of the 15th World Forestry Congress in Seoul. This year’s award was given to Ndjebet in recognition of her decadeslong efforts in promoting women’s participation in forest preservation, as well as their rights to land and forests, said Maria Helena Semedo, the Foo

South Korea will prepare a new bill to protect the basic rights of children by recognizing them as individuals who exercise their rights, not just subjects of protection or education, officials said on Children’s Day, Thursday. To protect the basic rights of children, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will start drafting a new bill this year, with an aim of passing it within the next year. “The new law will recognize children as individuals in their own right,” an official

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday announced new measures to increase the number of late-night taxis to cope with a worsening cab shortage, after the government lifted social distancing rules last month. The city plans to add around 3,000 taxis that run from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m., 2,700 of which will be operated by independent drivers, and another 300 from Seoul-based taxi firms. To secure more late-night taxi drivers, authorities have announced a raft of changes to existing rules, suc

South Korea‘s largest disabled advocacy group resumed subway protests Wednesday, calling on the government to roll out more detailed plans to guarantee the basic rights of those with disabilities.　 Like recent demonstrations, Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, a disability advocacy group that has recently been staging protests at subway stations, held a demonstration at Gyeongbokgung Station during the morning rush hour. Members of the disabled advocacy group crawled along t

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 deaths dropped below 50 for the first time in about two months, government data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of deaths from COVID-19 reported during the 24 hours for Monday came to 49, down from the previous day’s 83. The death toll came to 23,007, and the fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent. During the same period, the country reported 51,131 daily COVID-19 infections, bringing the total case

People seemed reluctant to take off their masks, although the country’s outdoor mask mandate was lifted on Monday. For various reasons, it was difficult to find people not wearing masks than those wearing them. “It is rather inconvenient to take off a face mask outside and put it back on when entering an indoor space,” said a 32-year-old female graduate student surnamed Cho in Seoul when asked why she still wore a mask outside, even though the mask rule had been scrapped. Ch