The ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government on Monday agreed to sharply expand the scale of relief funds for struggling small business owners in the wake of the recent upsurge in COVID-19 infections. The consensus was reached during a high-level consultative meeting between the two sides earlier in the morning, Rep. Koh Yong-jin, a DP spokesman, said in a briefing. "(The two sides) agreed to provide ample support to small merchants by increasing the size of assistance to the maxim

President Moon Jae-in and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) both saw their approval ratings climb for the second straight week, according to a new poll released Monday. In the survey conducted by Realmeter on 2,519 people over the age of 18 from July 12-16, Moon's job approval rating was recorded at 45.5 percent, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous week. The result marked Moon's highest performance in public polls since the 45.6 percent figure in the third week of October last year, acco

Defense Minister Suh Wook on Monday named a Navy colonel as a special prosecutor for the investigation into the death of an Air Force sexual harassment victim, the defense ministry said. The appointment of Col. Ko Min-sook -- the first of its kind since the founding of the country's armed forces -- came as the bereaved family has raised complaints that the ongoing probe is not thorough enough. The master sergeant, surnamed Lee, took her own life in May, about three months after being sexually

A total of 247 sailors of South Korea's 301-strong Cheonghae unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday, in the worst-ever mass infection among service members. An additional 179 members have newly tested positive after 68 were confirmed to have been infected as of Sunday, the JCS said. The unit first reported six COVID-19 cases last week and conducted virus tests on all of its members. "Test re

SEOUL/TOKYO -- President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan this week, as no satisfactory accomplishment is expected in proposed summit talks, Cheong Wa Dae announced Monday. Moon had considered a trip to Tokyo for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday. South Korea and Japan had consultations on the possibility of holding the first face-to-face summit between Moon and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on the occasion. The two sides "had meaningful discussions on progress

An additional 61 service members of South Korea's anti-piracy naval unit in waters off Africa have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total caseload on their destroyer to 68, officials said Sunday. The figure is feared to rise further, as the test results of about 200 service members of the 300-strong Cheonghae Unit are expected to be available in the coming days. "Until now, we've received the test results on 101 service members, and 68 tested positive, with 33 negative,&q

The Ministry of Education will use a supplementary budget to alleviate classroom crowding in order to bring more students back into school buildings come September amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry's document has shown. According to the document shared with Yonhap News Agency by Rep. Lee Eun-ju of the minor opposition Justice Party on Thursday, the ministry asked education officials nationwide to use the supplementary budget, 6.36 trillion won ($5.5 billion) in total, to solve the proble

Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul, has established a new five-year plan for the preservation and peaceful use of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified inter-Korean border area, officials said Sunday. The plan calls for the provincial government to invest 170 billion won ($149 million) from 2021 to 2025 in various projects to lay the grounds for a long-term national vision of turning the 4-kilometer-wide zone bisecting the peninsula into a peace, ecology and tourism belt. The D

Former legislator and opposition presidential contender Yoo Seong-min criticized the ongoing political argument over whether to hand out another round of COVID-19 relief grants to all Koreans or to only those in the lower 80 percent of the income brackets. Based on the national health insurance premiums, the monthly income of a four-person household in the lower 80 percent income bracket is 9.75 million won at the upper bound, which is 117 million won in annual income (before tax), Yoo wrote on

President Moon Jae-in stressed Friday that this weekend will be a watershed for South Korea's battle against the rapidly spreading coronavirus, especially the delta variant. He asked the people to refrain from making trips or having gatherings during the period. "The spread of the delta variant is scary," he wrote on his social media accounts. "But we cannot let our lives be swayed by the virus." In particular, he added, this weekend will be a "crossroads" in the

The alternative holiday bill passed by the National Assembly last month will be newly applied only to national holidays, the government said Friday. Public holidays, like Buddha's Birthday and Christmas, will be excluded from alternative holidays, the Ministry of Personnel Management said. The Assembly approved legislation on June 29 to increase alternative statutory holidays by designating a substitute holiday for all public holidays that fall on weekends. But the bill delegates the actual de

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has ordered chiefs of South Korea's overseas diplomatic missions to prioritize the protection of citizens in South Africa and other countries struggling with political unrest and COVID-19 outbreaks, his office said Thursday. Chung made the call during Wednesday's virtual meeting with the diplomats, during which they discussed a range of issues, including the deepening unrest in South Africa sparked by the recent incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. The

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will participate in a virtual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on COVID-19 this week, his office announced Thursday. New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to chair the emergency summit of APEC member states on Friday. In the session, Kim is expected to speak about South Korea's role in regional efforts to overcome the coronavirus crisis. Other participants will reportedly include US President Joe Biden, Chinese Presid

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered the mobilization of an aerial refueling and transport aircraft to provide swift medical support for the South Korean troop members abroad infected with COVID-19, his office said. The president issued the message in connection with the report that six crew members in a mission aboard the country's naval destroyer operating off the coast of Africa have tested positive for the virus. They belong to the anti-piracy and counterterrorism Cheonghae Unit, of wh

The support rating for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the front-running presidential contender, dived below the 30 percent level for the first time in four months over a series of allegations raised against his wife and mother-in-law, the latest poll on major hopefuls showed Thursday. The fall diminished Yoon's opinion poll lead over runner-up Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung to within the poll's margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. According to the poll by Realmeter, the support ra