Drug smuggling caught by South Korea‘s customs agency hit a record high last year as trafficking via non-contact delivery means shot up amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The Korea Customs Service said it confiscated a total of 1,272 kilograms of drugs in 2021, up 757 percent from the previous year. 　Drug smuggling via international mail and cargo sharply increased as drug delivery by international travelers declined due to the pandemic, according to the customs agency. 　The co

Temperatures in Seoul fell to below minus 10 degrees Celsius Thursday as a cold snap continued to grip the country, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) has issued cold wave alerts in the central inland area, most parts of the eastern Gangwon Province and the southeastern North Gyeongsang Province. As of 8 a.m, temperatures were minus 10.7 C in Seoul, minus 9.7 C in Incheon, minus 10.1 C in Daejeon, minus 7 C in Gwangju and minus 6.6 C in Busan, due to col

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases hit another high Thursday, exceeding 90,000 for the second consecutive day, amid few signs that the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant will subside. The country reported 93,135 new COVID-19 infections, including 93,045 local cases, raising the total caseload to 1,645,978, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of daily cases rose sharply Wednesday to surpass the 90,000 level for the first time ever, coming

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday congratulated Choi Min-jeong on winning a gold medal in the women's 1,500m short track speed skating race in Beijing. Moon sent a message to Choi after she successfully defended her gold medal in the women's 1,500m at the Beijing Games, praising her as a "living legend," the presidential office said in a statement. "I give loud applause to Choi Min-jeong, who gave it her all up to the last race," Moon said. Choi had earlier won silver medals

UIJEONGBU -- A total of 38 Southeast Asians have been apprehended on charges of distributing and using illegal drugs smuggled from overseas, police said Thursday. The suspects, 36 Thais and two Cambodians, are alleged to have either resold methamphetamines purchased from overseas or used them from January 2019 to this month, according to the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency. Of those, 19 have been formally arrested. Many of them were illegal aliens, according to police. Authorities have a

YEONGDEOK -- About 40 firefighting helicopters and more than 1,100 personnel resumed operations to extinguish a wildfire in the southern coastal county of Yeongdeok on Thursday as the blaze remains uncontained for the second consecutive day. The fire started on a mountain in Yeongdeok, about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday. It was extinguished but reignited overnight and spread to nearby residential areas the previous day, according to firefighters and local officials. The fire is

WASHINGTON -- Former US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert will begin working for Samsung Electronics America next month, the company said Wednesday. Lippert will head the company's Washington office as executive vice president and head of North America public affairs, starting from March 1. "Mark brings decades of public policy experience to Samsung Electronics America, as well as a deep understanding of how geopolitics impacts business in the US," K.S. Choi, president and chief e

SEOUL/CHEONAN -- The election campaign bus involved in the deaths of two campaign workers for presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo turned out to be illegally modified without the authorities’ approval, transportation ministry officials said Wednesday. The workers, a local campaign chief and a bus driver, were found unconscious inside a campaign bus in Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, Tuesday afternoon and later pronounced dead at hospitals. The candidate of the minor oppos

YEONGDEOK -- Firefighters battled a major wildfire in the southern coastal country of Yeongdeok on Wednesday as the blaze spread to local communities, forcing the evacuation of more than 180 households. The fire started on a mountain in the county, about 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Tuesday. It was extinguished but reignited overnight and spread to nearby residential areas, according to firefighters and local officials. Firefighters were having difficulties containing the fire late

Discourse with foreign policy experts

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on North Korea’s human rights situation, met with senior officials in Seoul on Wednesday and discussed human rights concerns in the reclusive nation. 　 Quintana arrived here on Tuesday for a nine-day stay, during which he will meet South Korean government officials, lawmakers as well as civic groups and North Korean defectors. 　 The purpose of his visit is to collect data necessary for writing a report on the findings of right abuses in the

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and minor candidate Sim Sang-jeung have expressed their disapproval of a 2015 agreement reached by South Korea and Japan to settle the issue of wartime sex slaves, an advocacy coalition said Wednesday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party and Sim of the progressive Justice Party stated their positions in response to questions sent last month by the group, which includes the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexu

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections jumped to an all-time high of 90,443 as the omicron wave intensifies, but the number of critical cases are rising at a slower pace, the government said Wednesday. With the cases rising by more than 30,000 in a day, the government issued an apology for failing to control a spiraling omicron variant outbreak. The government added that it will soon decide whether it will ease current social distancing curbs or not. According to the Korea Disease Con

Education Ministry says students ‘recommended’ to be tested twice a week

The presidential election has once again come down to the candidates from the two major parties – the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party. Both the Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and the People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol claim to be the only choice for a better future, and have made numerous pledges they claim are aimed at improving citizens’ lives. Many of their pledges on social issues outside of the field of politics are almost indistingui