Korea’s soft power growth undeniable, but sustainability remains in question

By Ma Young-sam There is a region which has been overshadowed by great powers. Similar to a hospital’s emergency room, which people usually do not give attention to during normal daily life, but rush into in the case of health emergencies. This is the Arab region, a place where US President Joe Biden hurried to visit in the face of super economic inflation as an aftermath to the Ukraine crisis. The Arab world still holds immense influence over the world economy as a fundamental oil reso

The deaths from last week’s heavy rains stood at 14 and the number of people registered missing was revised down to four from five as one person was mistakenly reported missing, officials said Sunday. 　Of the dead, eight died in Seoul, four in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and two in the eastern Gangwon Province, according to data from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. 　Previously, one person had been registered as missing in Seoul, but the person was mist

The suspended chairman of the ruling People Power Party, Lee Jun-seok, again cried foul Saturday over a party leadership switch, which he claims is aimed at removing him from his position. 　The PPP’s move to switch to an emergency leadership system is “unfair” and “nonsense,” Lee told reporters in a news conference held just a few days after the PPP amended the party charter to switch to an emergency leadership system and named five-term Rep. Joo Ho-young as the in

By Hwang Jae-ho The international economy and industrial world are entering a revolution. The competition between nations and between corporations is escalating over industrial and technological competitiveness, and technological hegemony has emerged as the determinant factor in reorganizing the international order and maintaining the world great power’s status. The United States is continuing its strong stance on China policy, even after the Biden administration took over, and China is

South Korea‘s new daily COVID-19 cases declined for the third straight day Saturday but remained above the 100,000 level for the fifth day in a row amid the fast spread of the omicron variant. 　The country added 124,592 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 21,236,355, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. 　Of the new cases, 480 were from overseas. 　The daily tally marked a fall from 128,714 the previous day, but it was higher than the 110,632

North Korea has lifted a face mask mandate and eased antivirus curbs as the communist state moves toward normalcy after declaring victory in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, state media reported Saturday. 　Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory in his country‘s emergency campaign against COVID-19, three months after the nation first reported the COVID-19 outbreak. 　According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a face mask mandate and

UN fully supports S.Korea’s every effort to resume dialogue with N. Korea, says Guterres

Hospitalizations, deaths creep up

The Education Ministry is again under fire, this time from teachers against its new all-day schooling policy. With its minister Park Soon-ae announcing her willingness to resign after proposing to lower the elementary school entry age to five, the ministry said it will run all-day schooling programs to offer state-provided childcare. The plan involves elementary schools offering childcare services through afterschool classes until 8 p.m. At the National Assembly meeting held Tuesday, the min

The Korean government on Friday announced a plan to ensure the safety of children, based on the Child Safety Management Act, enacted in May 2020. In cooperation with other ministries, the Ministry of Interior and Safety pledged to ensure the safety of children from traffic accidents by improving the pedestrian environment in school zones and tightening the management of traffic lights, and more. It will designate roads without sidewalks as “pedestrian priority roads,” giving pr

Full-scale operation of THAAD battery, trilateral security cooperation will be key agenda topics for KIDD

Chaebol bosses -- most notably of Samsung and Lotte -- are being given special presidential pardons and being bailed out of jail in light of the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. The first round of special pardons by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration was issued in consideration of the “economic fallout from COVID-19 and stagnant recovery, as well as inflation that is associated with the hardships of many South Korean households,” according to the Ministry of Justice on Frid

President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to hold a press conference next week to mark his first 100 days in office, a presidential official said Friday. The press conference will be held at the presidential office on Wednesday to coincide with the 100th day and last around 50 minutes, according to the official. It would be Yoon's first formal press conference, though he has spoken to reporters on a near daily basis while arriving for work. (Yonhap)

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) is expected to take disciplinary action against a party lawmaker after he came under fire for making remarks wishing for more rain during voluntary cleanup work in the wake of massive downpours. Rep. Kim Sung-won drew strong criticism after he was caught on TV camera saying he wishes more rain would fall for better public relations effects of their voluntary work, even though the downpours, believed to be the heaviest in 115 years, caused serious flooding in S