Civil servant allegedly ordered to fetch groceries and pills for Lee’s wife

South Korea is predicted to see its working age population shrink by a whopping 3.2 million during the 2020-2030 period amid the country's graying demographics, a government labor report showed Thursday. The estimate of people aged 15-64 would represent a turnaround from a growth of 1.17 million between 2010 and 2020 and 2.66 million during the previous decade, the labor ministry said in a report illustrating the seriousness of the country's low birthrate and fast-aging population. People age

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is running neck and neck with his main opposition rival, Yoon Suk-yeol, at 40.4 percent support against Yoon's 38.5 percent, a poll showed Thursday. Lee of the liberal Democratic Party gained 5.1 percentage points from the pollster's previous survey on Jan. 8-10, and Yoon of the conservative People Power Party edged up 0.5 point, according to the survey of 1,012 adults conducted by Hangil Research on Wednesday. The gap between Lee and Yoon was

Feeling betrayed by both sides, voters more willing to choose beyond party allegiance

South Korea is keeping close tabs on an upcoming session of North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature over possible messages from its leader Kim Jong-un, a Seoul official said Thursday, following Pyongyang's barrage of missile tests since the start of the year. The North's official Korean Central News Agency earlier reported the country will convene the 6th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) on Sunday to discuss issues including "the work of the Cabinet" and the state bu

Almost three out of 10 women in Seoul believe they can have babies outside marriage, a city government report showed Thursday. According to the report, 28.1 percent of women and 31.6 percent of men living in the capital said they can have children even if they are not married. About six in 10 women and men said they can live together with their partners before marriage. The report was based on various surveys conducted on Seoul residents between 2018 and 2021. There were about 9.79 million

JEJU -- Tourist arrivals on the southern resort island of Jeju surged over 30 percent from a year ago during the just-ended Lunar New Year holiday, industry data showed Thursday, amid mounting concern about the spread of the omicron variant. According to the data from Jeju's tourism association, 203,437 visitors arrived on Jeju during the extended holiday, which ran from Saturday to Wednesday, marking an increase of 32.9 percent from 153,132 visitors during last year's Lunar New Year holiday.

Amid lax oversight, illegal rental businesses cater to those wanting a pet experience without responsibility or commitment

South Korea's military on Thursday reported 136 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its domestic personnel to 5,192. The new cases included 70 from the Army, 24 from the Air Force, 20 from the Navy, eight from the Marine Corps, 11 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry and three from the ministry. Currently, 1,175 military personnel are under treatment. Meanwhile, two more sailors of the Navy's 304-strong Cheonghae unit operating in waters off Afri

A United Nations Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions has approved a sanctions exemption for a civic organization here to send anti-coronavirus equipment to the impoverished nation, according to its website Thursday. Under the decision, the first of its kind for the North this year, the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Research Center will be exempt from UN sanctions in place for a shipment of 20 thermal imaging cameras there as part of efforts to help Pyongyang stave off the sp

　South Korea’s air traffic rose nearly 11 percent last year on increased domestic flights but international travel continued to falter amid the pandemic, data showed. 　Over 465,000 domestic and international flights flew over South Korea last year, up 10.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. 　Air traffic in the country had gradually increased in recent years from around 739,000 in 2016 to 842,000 in 2019 before dipping

South Korea broke its single-day COVID-19 case record again Thursday with infections topping 20,000 for the second day in a row, as holiday gatherings and travel fueled omicron's fast spread. The country reported 22,907 new virus infections, including 22,773 local cases, raising the total to 907,214, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The previous daily record was 20,270 reported on Wednesday. The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,812, up 25 from a day earli

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to remain focused on its joint defense capabilities with South Korea and will make any related decisions through close consultation with Seoul, a Pentagon spokesperson said Wednesday. John Kirby made the remarks when asked if the US and South Korea were considering postponing joint military exercises despite a recent series of missile launches by North Korea. "As I've said many times, we take our readiness on the peninsula very, very seriously,&qu

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases as of midnight Tuesday surpassed 20,000 for the first time since the country reported its first virus case in January 2020. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s announcement Wednesday, the country added 20,270 new COVID-19 infections for the 24 hours of Tuesday, due to the fast spread of the omicron variant. Of the total, 20,111 were locally transmitted cases, while the number of imported cases reached 159. Among the l

South Korean agricultural authorities on Wednesday reported an additional confirmed case of highly pathogenic bird flu from a local farm. The outbreak occurred in a duck farm in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, bringing the total number of such outbreaks to 29 since the first confirmed case in fall last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The farm is known to be raising some 9,000 meat ducks. Upon the report, the government cordoned off the duck farm a