Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, a Samsung Electronics executive-turned-lawmaker, said Sunday she decided to accept an offer from the ruling People Power Party to chair an envisioned special parliamentary committee on semiconductors. The decision drew attention because Yang is considered an opposition figure though she left the main opposition Democratic Party and became an independent last year amid allegations one of her aides sexually harassed a colleague. "Semiconductors represent the economy and na

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained below 7,000 for the second consecutive day Sunday as the omicron variant is slowing down. The country added 6,246 new COVID-19 infections, including 135 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,326,019, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Sunday's tally is down from Friday's 7,227 and Saturday's 6,790. The daily caseload has been on the decline and stayed below 10,000 since June 10, after hitting mo

North Korea has held an anti-American rally for the third day in a row to mark the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, with participants vowing to "mercilessly annihilate" the United States if it provokes the North, state media reported Sunday. The North has held anti-US rallies since Thursday to mark the war anniversary for the first time in five years. Pyongyang skipped such rallies in 2018 amid a thaw in relations with the United States and had not resumed them amid the COVID-19 pan

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases have remained below 10,000 for the second consecutive day, its state media said Sunday. More than 8,920 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. The total number of fever cases since late April came to ov

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivers a speech during a commemorative ceremony to mark the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War in Seoul on Saturday. About 1,500 participants including senior government and military officials, veterans and citizens took part in the event, which was held under the slogan of “Freedom preserved, Peace to protect.”

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases dropped below 7,000 on Saturday, marking a moderate downtrend amid the easing omicron wave. The country added 6,790 new COVID-19 infections, including 85 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,319,773, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The KDCA reported 18 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 24,516. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent. The number of critically ill patients came to 50, down from Friday's

Coast Guard Commissioner Gen. Jeong Bong-hoon and eight top officers offered their resignations on Friday over the Coast Guard’s involvement in the developments that followed the death of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020. Jeong and eight chief superintendent generals and senior superintendent generals felt “keen responsibility” in their handling of the aftermath of the incident, according to the Coast Guard. The fisheries official, Lee Dae-jun, was killed by North K

South Korea’s first confirmed monkeypox patient, who entered the country from Germany, was found to have proceeded unchecked through Incheon Airport’s health inspection, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The KDCA said the monkeypox patient reported at the airport’s lobby after having passed the airport’s screening Tuesday. When entering the country, the patient’s symptoms were a low-grade fever of 37 degrees Celsius, sore throat, fati

SK Bioscience’s SKYCovione expected to obtain government authorization as early as next week

Ethics panel to reach decision on July 7

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense flip-flopped on its announcement in regards to the case of a South Korean man killed by North Korean troops in 2020, in response to orders from a top official from the National Security Council, a lawmaker claimed Thursday. Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the People Power Party told reporters Thursday that Suh Choo-suk, former first deputy director of the NSC under the Moon Jae-in administration, had an official document sent to the Defense Ministry with in

The US House Armed Services Committee has endorsed an annual defense policy bill for the fiscal year 2023 maintaining the current level of around 28,500 American troops in South Korea, according to media reports Friday. The proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 also directs the defense secretary to brief the committee no later than March 1 next year on how the Pentagon will continue to strengthen its long-term security commitment to South Korea. T

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday that a revision to the 52-hour legal work week has not been officially decided by the government yet. Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik told reporters a day earlier that the government will consider revising the 52-hour work week system in a way that will allow employers and workers to flexibly spread the hours over a period of a month. "The deputy prime minister apparently collected the suggestions of people from private research associations and such and tol

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases came below 8,000 for the second consecutive day Friday, marking a moderate downtrend amid the slowing omicron wave. The country added 7,227 new COVID-19 infections, including 111 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,312,993, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Friday's tally is down from 7,497 the previous day and Wednesday's 8,992. Daily infection numbers have declined at a steady clip to stay below 10,000 since June 10, after h

North Korea's new suspected COVID-19 cases remained below 20,000 for the sixth consecutive day, according to its state media Friday. More than 11,010 people showed symptoms of fever over a 24-hour period until 6 p.m. the previous day, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing data from the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters. It did not provide information on whether additional deaths have been reported. As of June 15, the death toll stood at 73, with a fatali