New Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday hinted that more multinational vaccine makers could be seeking a production base in Korea. “Korea is one of the few countries in the world that, as you know, can produce vaccines when combined with various technologies of the US,” he told reporters in his first press briefing on Tuesday afternoon. “Many multinational pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen and Moderna, want to form vaccine partnerships wi

An asylum seeker from an African nation won his case against the Ministry of Justice on Monday, after the court ruled it was illegal for the government to refuse to accept refugee applications. The Korea Immigration Service, under the Ministry of Justice, did not dispute the ruling. The Justice Ministry does not release personal information, including nationality, about those seeking refugee status. In February the man applied for refugee status, saying he had come to South Korea because of

The wife of the Belgian ambassador to South Korea, who was booked on charges of assaulting two clothing store clerks in April, is to avoid punishment on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. “We confirmed that the Belgian ambassador side would not give up the immunity in connection with the assault case of the ambassador’s wife,” the police said Monday. “We will decide not to send the case (to the prosecution) as usual.” According to the police, the Belgian Embass

The Seoul court sentenced an adoptive mother surnamed Jang to life in prison Friday for abusing and killing a 16-month-old girl named Jeong-in. Her husband was sentenced to five years in prison for neglecting the abuse. Jang was indicted last December on charges of habitually abusing her adopted daughter between March and October last year and causing her death. The adoptive father surnamed Ahn was also indicted without detention for neglecting to take action despite being aware of his wife&rs

New Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on his first day of work that the nation would have new social distancing rules from July if the coronavirus situation stabilizes. Kim, who took office Friday, presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Seoul Government Complex. “We will do our best to ensure that more than 13 million people complete their first vaccinations without a hitch in the first half,” Kim said. He added that t

With a year to go before the presidential election, three political heavyweights from the ruling bloc are rallying supporters, with each of their visions focusing on social welfare policies. Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung, former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yon and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, dubbed the ruling party’s Big Three, all launched their own think tanks and began working out their policies and messaging strategies. Front-runner Gov. Lee launched the Korea Growth an

Seoul’s education superintendent is being probed by the nation’s anti-corruption investigation agency over allegations that he abused his power in hiring teachers. This is the first probe by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, or CIO, since its inception in January. It was created to investigate allegations involving high-ranking officials or their family members. Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, who oversees the city’s education office, is accused

South Korea’s presidential race kicked off Sunday with an announcement from two-term lawmaker Park Yong-jin that he intended to run for president in next year’s election, while heavyweights geared up for the election by rallying supporters. Rep. Park of the ruling Democratic Party held a ceremony to announce his candidacy outside the National Assembly on Sunday. “The figures and forces responsible for disappointing and angering the younger generation with outdated and estab

Amid growing anti-China sentiment in the nation, some South Koreans are calling for foreign permanent residents’ right to vote to be abolished because a majority of them are Chinese. On April 28, a petition was posted on the website of presidential Blue House with the title of “Foreigners’ voting rights (location election) are unconstitutional. It has to be abolished.” The writer of the post said, “(We) respect and don’t discriminate against foreigners.

  Gender-based conflicts are escalating in South Korea with men becoming more gender sensitive and beginning to make their voices heard about feminists. Last week, police investigated female comedian Park Na-rae over allegations of sexual harassment after receiving a complaint from the petition site e-People. During her YouTube entertainment show in March, she playfully pushed a male doll’s arm toward its groin while changing the doll’s clothes. Following the program, thousa

Controversy is brewing over the pros and cons of a bill that would obligate netizens to fully disclose their usernames in posts and comments online. A National Assembly subcommittee approved an amendment to the information and communications network act late last month, mandating the so-called “quasi-real name system” to protect victims from malicious comments. The bill, proposed by Rep. Park Dae-chool of the People Power Party, calls for the full disclosure of the usernames of t

Sales of coronavirus self-test kits that offer results in 30 minutes began on Friday at pharmacies nationwide. Hanmi Pharmaceutical started distributing bio-diagnostic firm SD Biosensor’s at-home test kits nationwide through its affiliate, Online Pharm, which specializes in pharmacy sales and distribution. It will also be available on its website (www.hanmiprocalm.com) for ordinary customers. With the kit, a user can check whether they test positive or not within 15 to 30 minutes afte

South Korea has decided to extend the current social distancing measures and the ban on gatherings of more than five people for another three weeks. Currently, Level 2 is in place in Seoul and surrounding regions, and Level 1.5 in other parts of the country. Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, “We cannot relax, with 661 confirmed cases of COVID-19 coming out the previous day.” “In May,

Single-person households accounted for 33.3 percent of all households in Seoul, making them the most common type of household in the city. The hardest part of living alone was difficulty coping with sickness or emergencies, a survey showed Thursday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the results of its 2020 Seoul Welfare Survey, which involved 4,000 households and took place over two months beginning in November. After single-person households, the next most common were two-person h

South Korean researchers are turning to analyses of radioactive materials present in fine dust in hopes that it will better help them track down origins of the hazardous air pollutants. While scientists have often pointed to China as one of the main culprits, it has been difficult to prove the scope of the impact on Korea because Beijing does not disclose the latest information on its fine dust emissions. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, a government-funded institute established

On a sunny day in April, a truck carrying pigs approached a slaughterhouse in Gyeonggi Province. When the truck arrived, workers prodded the pigs to come out, but they would not move down the steep ramp. Workers responded by beating them with clubs, and the pigs hurried out squealing. The squealing continued until they moved to where they were slaughtered. This is only a glimpse of the animal abuse and cruelty involved in transporting animals from farms to holding pens and slaughterhouses,

Politicians and the public have appealed for leniency for a middle school student who faces legal punishment for allegedly damaging election posters ahead of the April 7 mayoral by-election in Seoul. The 13-year-old boy is accused of damaging posters of Park Young-sun of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Kim Jin-ah of the minor Women’s Party with a wooden ice cream stick at an apartment complex in Seocho-gu early this month, according to the police. While under questioning he

Japan’s planned release of contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant will play havoc with human health and is more hazardous than that of Wolseong nuclear plant’s in 2016, experts say. Japan announced last week it would discharge more than 1.25 million metric tons of contaminated water from the nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, arguing the radioactive water will not pose a threat to human health. However, Korean experts warn high-risk radioactive mater

National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug held talks with European Parliament President David Sassoli on Tuesday to discuss pending issues such as the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, Japan‘s wastewater release and peace process on the Korean Peninsula, among others. During the dialogue via video link, Park asked for Sassoli’s attention and cooperation from the European Parliament to allow vaccines produced in Europe to be introduced to Korea in a timely manner. Korea’s vaccin

President Moon Jae-in has nominated former Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum as his third prime minister and is replacing five other ministers as part of a major Cabinet shake-up, Cheong Wa Dae said Friday. The ministers in charge of industry, land, labor, science and oceans are set to be replaced in the reshuffle, and key Cheong Wa Dae staff are to be reorganized. The reshuffle is seen as an attempt to stabilize state affairs at the end of Moon’s term after the ruling party lost mayoral