After Rep. Yong Hye-in, 31, of the Basic Income Party, brought her 2-month-old son to her workplace on July 5, her photos went viral on social media. On the day, she held a press conference to urge the passage of her bill that would allow a lawmaker to enter a plenary session with an infant who needs nursing. Under the current law, only lawmakers, the prime minister, state council members and those authorized by the assembly speaker are allowed. When her photos made headlines, opinions were

South Korea’s already slow vaccination rollout may face a further delay with Moderna, from which Seoul purchased 40 million COVID-19 vaccines -- experiencing production issues. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on Tuesday, “Moderna has informed us that it is inevitable to adjust the supply schedule due to production setbacks.” He added, “We are currently discussing with Moderna over the specific and definitive volume and date for vaccines in the July and August period.&

A majority of Koreans support the idea of granting parole to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Aug. 15, the nation’s liberation day, a survey showed Monday. His release date is July next year. More than 66 percent of South Koreans said Lee, head of the nation’s largest conglomerate, should be released early as it would provide a boost to the economy, a nationwide survey conducted by Realmeter on Friday showed. Realmeter interviewed 500 people who were aged 18 or old

Ten days into the toughest level of distancing curbs in Greater Seoul, the nation has continued to see record-breaking daily case numbers. The current restrictions that end Sunday are likely to be extended to curb further spread. As of Wednesday at midnight, the number of new daily confirmed cases reached a record high of 1,842 people. The figure includes 270 infected sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. Of the newly confirmed cases, 1,53

A Chinese spending spree on property and land in South Korea if left unchecked may fuel a rise in already skyrocketing housing prices, a lawmaker warned Wednesday, calling for stricter regulations on property ownership by foreign nationals. Land bought by foreign nationals increased from an area of 190 million square meters worth 24.9 trillion won ($21.6 billion) in 2011 to 253 million square meters worth 31.4 trillion won in 2020, each 1.3 times more than what it was almost a decade ago, off

Lee Jun-seok, 36, the youngest-ever leader of the nation’s main opposition People Power Party, has been outspoken on a number of sensitive issues since taking office last month. Sitting down with The Korea Herald on Monday, he candidly spoke about hot topics like refugees, immigrants and North. When asked about the nation’s immigration policies, Lee said that South Korea should accept immigrants who can help the nation’s economy, but should be cautious about refugees. &ldqu

The Ministry of Justice said Monday that it would extend the period of stay for some 90,000 registered foreign residents and overseas Korean (F-4) residents whose authorized stay in the country is set to expire soon. The measure, effective the same day, will grant them an extension of stay for three months as part of efforts to prevent the community spread of COVID-19 as the nation raises its social distancing rules to the toughest level in the four-tier system for Greater Seoul. The minist

As the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections raged in Greater Seoul and spread nationwide, the government announced plans Sunday to tighten restrictions on private gatherings across the country to the same level as the capital region. “From tomorrow, we will apply the same permissions for private gatherings outside the Greater Seoul area,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday. The government said the new measure is to unify restrictions on private gatherings to minimize travel bet

On Wednesday, single-person protests took place in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul calling for an apology from the Japanese government and demanding it redress its colonial sexual slavery. Unlike the 1,400th demonstration that garnered thousands of people on site, due to the pandemic the 1,500th protest was held in the form of one-person protests -- still watched by thousands of people around the world online. The Wednesday protests first began on Jan. 8, 1992 and have been held every

With the race for the presidential election kicking into gear, a string of senior lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party are announcing their candidacies one after another. Four-term lawmaker Park Jin on Tuesday declared his bid, becoming the third current lawmaker from the People Power Party to enter the fray, following Ha Tae-keung and Yun Hee-suk. Considered a diplomacy expert in the National Assembly, Park is known to be close to US President Joe Biden. He visited the US

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s second in command, said Pope Francis wants to visit North Korea and is waiting for an official invitation. He conveyed the message during talks with National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, who visited last week, officials said Monday. Park met with Parolin at the Vatican Apostolic Palace on Friday, the last day of his 10-day visit to Greece and Italy, according to the statement released by the National Assembly. During the talks with Parolin,

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, who was on an official visit to Italy and Greek, discussed with the two countries’ politicians ways to bolster cooperation in areas of travel, smart city development, energy and infrastructure, officials said Friday. Park visited Italy on Thursday and met with Senate Speaker Elisabetta Casellati and House Speaker Roberto Fico to exchange opinions on pending issues between the two countries. He urged Italy to include Korea in their Green Pass s

Rep. Lee Nak-yon, a Democratic Party of Korea heavyweight who announced his presidential bid Monday, believes South Korea now needs a new leader befitting its raised status. “South Korea’s status has risen to a high level,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “The public has gained a lot of confidence both internally and externally, but at the same time we face a lot of challenges. “We need a leader who is worthy of strengthening the nation’s s

Former Democratic Party leader Rep. Lee Nak-yon announced his presidential bid Monday. With Lee’s announcement, the race among the ruling bloc’s “Big Three” -- the others being Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun -- began in earnest. In a video clip released on YouTube at 10 a.m., the former prime minister and Democratic Party leader presented a five-point policy blueprint for South Korea that consisted of a new approach to social welf

Police have set up a special team to investigate the organizers of Saturday’s rally held by the umbrella labor union, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Police said they plan to seek charges against organizers and key participants of the KCTU on suspicion of holding illegal rallies and marches, traffic obstruction and violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. The Seoul Metropolitan Government also plans to file a criminal complaint against the KCTU for violatin

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice said Wednesday that when foreign nationals get permission to stay in Korea, starting July 1 the period of stay will not exceed the passport validity period. Up to now, foreigners whose passports expired during their stay in Korea could get new passports and report the change to the immigration authorities later. But some faced difficulty when entering or leaving the country, and some were fined for failing to report their new passport information within 1

The government will toughen quarantine inspections in the Seoul metropolitan area for two weeks starting Thursday, when relaxed social distancing rules begin to take effect, officials said Tuesday. The confirmed cases in the Seoul metropolitan area made up 73.9 percent of the nationwide total in the fourth week of June, up from 63.5 percent in the fourth week of May. The daily number of new cases in Greater Seoul averages 363.4. “More than 70 percent of domestic infections are concent

The regional government of Gangwon Province in the northeastern part of South Korea hosted a ceremony on Friday to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. The ceremony took place near the Peace Dam in Hwacheon County, and its theme was “Precious sacrifice, engraved deeply in the heart.” Some 220 local and foreign guests attended, including veterans, Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon and former members of the US House of Representatives. “To

A bill to install closed-circuit TVs in operating rooms failed to win a consensus at the National Assembly as the opposition party and the medical community took a cautious stance and called for further discussion. On Thursday, the National Assembly’s welfare committee met to review a change to the medical law that would have required closed-circuit TVs in operating rooms. It was the fourth review since November last year. Both the ruling and opposition parties agreed that operating roo

The COVID-19 outbreak is showing signs of worsening ahead of the easing of social distancing next month. The number of newly confirmed cases stood at 645 as of midnight on Tuesday, up 250 from the previous day. The number is expected to reach 700 on Wednesday. The total number of confirmed cases to date is 152,545. Health Minister Kwon Deok-chul said at a meeting on Wednesday, “Cluster infections are occurring in places with many risk factors such as schools, academies, workplaces, chur