Booster shots for adults can be administered three months after their primary vaccination, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, amid rising concerns over a surge in COVID-19 infections. The decision to cut the dosage interval between primary vaccination and booster shots for people aged 18 or older was announced as the country's daily new coronavirus infections surpassed 7,000 for the third straight day amid worries about the omicron variant, while the number of serious COVID-19 cases showe

Presidential nominees launch coronavirus countermeasure teams to appeal

President Moon Jae-in will share the nation’s democratic achievements at a summit hosted by US President Joe Biden on Tuesday night. During the two-day virtual “Summit for Democracy,” 110 countries will share opinions on how to guard against authoritarianism, eradicate corruption and promote respect for human rights. China and Russia were excluded. In the first part of the plenary session, Moon plans to share South Korea’s democratic achievements and outline the nati

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday slammed the main opposition party's campaign chief for refusing to hold talks over his own proposal to spend 100 trillion won ($85 billion) to support small business owners and self-employed people hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The DP criticized Kim Chong-in, the campaign chief of People Power Party (PPP)'s presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol, for stepping back from an idea he floated for the government to allocate 100 trillion won to compensate damag

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday congratulated Germany's new Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his official inauguration, saying he hopes to work closely with the new German leader to move relations between the two countries forward. Moon and Scholz met in late October in Rome, where Moon held a bilateral summit with then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who stepped down after 16 years in office, on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting. "I am pleased we met in Rome in October and anticipate closer

The Seoul city government will hold a town meeting with foreign residents later this week to listen to their suggestions to make the city a better place to live in, officials said Thursday. The event will be held at the Seoul Global Center in central Seoul at 2 p.m. Friday and be livestreamed through YouTube (youtu.be/03E15JUmGc8). The number of on-site participants will be limited due to antivirus restrictions, officials said. Officials from the Seoul office of the International Organization

Sim Sang-jeung, the presidential candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party, pledged Thursday to raise troops' wages to the minimum wage level by 2030. Currently, the monthly wage for sergeants is set at 676,000 won ($576) for next year, which is half the 2017 minimum wage of 1.35 million won. Next year's minimum hourly wage has been set at 9,160 won, which translates to a monthly wage of 1.91 million won. Sim said at the National Assembly that she also plans to let troops use their mob

The ruling Democratic Party has begun looking into delaying the introduction of the "vaccine pass" system for children aged 12 to 18 and changing the types of facilities that require the pass after strong protests from students and parents, multiple party officials said Wednesday. Under rules that took effect Monday, the list of facilities requiring visitors to present a vaccine pass -- proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result -- has expanded to include restaurants, cof

South Korea is not considering a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing and the country is still undecided on the matter, a senior presidential official said Wednesday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, made the remarks when asked about the US government's announcement to stage a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics due to China's human rights abuses. The official said the US informed South Korea of the diplomatic boycott, and Seoul has not de

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, on Wednesday welcomed the opposition campaign chief's proposal to spend 100 trillion won ($84.9 billion) to support small business owners and self-employed people hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We have been the stingiest nation in the world when it comes to supporting small business owners, passing over duties to people that are supposed to be handled by the state," Lee said during his campaign event for small a

Presidential candidates show off their digital engagement with AI avatars

President Moon Jae-in pledged Wednesday to provide a variety of support for an initiative to create jobs through joint cooperative projects between local governments, businesses and residents. The government has pushed for the initiative to create "mutually beneficial local jobs" in an attempt to build an economy in which workers and businesses can grow together by creating new jobs with labor and management cooperating and upholding the value of people and labor. In congratulatory

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, said Wednesday he will increase the government's investment in startups to 10 trillion won ($8.50 billion) by 2027 and help create 300,000 annual jobs in new technologies and industries. If elected, Lee said he will also improve the financial, tax and regulatory system for small businesses and offer them tailored assistance to support their growth to mid-sized and large firms. "Fair growth in which businesses large an

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party, is leading his rival Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party by 8.2 percentage points in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Wednesday. Yoon earned 45.3 percent support against Lee's 37.1 percent in the survey of 1,036 adults conducted Monday and Tuesday by Realmeter. Yoon gained 1.6 percentage points from the previous Realmeter survey released on Nov. 29, while Lee added 2 points. The poll

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), on Tuesday defended his election pledge to provide low-interest loans for youths, saying there are "good debts." "Whether they are national debts or personal debts, it is a foolish thought to say all debts are bad," Lee said at a lecturing event at Seoul National University. "If using your future assets in advance is more valuable, I think it is right to do it." Lee's election pledge of