The National Assembly is pushing for a law revision to strengthen the punishment of homicide by child abuse in the wake of a series of recent fatal abuse cases that shocked the nation. A subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a revision bill on child abuse crimes, under which those convicted of child abuse murder will be punished with at least seven years in prison, life imprisonment or the death penalty. Currently, those who commit child abuse that results

Police raided SK Innovation Co. on Thursday in connection with the allegations that it stole electric vehicle (EV) battery technologies from its local competitor. According to the police, the national security investigation division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched a search operation at the company in central Seoul earlier in the day. The police have been investigating the case after they received a complaint in May 2019 from LG Chem Ltd. that SK Innovation poached talent from

South Korea's upcoming fourth round of COVID-19 relief handouts may amount to more than 19.5 trillion won ($17.6 billion), the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Thursday. The scale of the government's proposal for the new batch of pandemic relief fund has been tentatively set at around 19.5 trillion won, but the final amount could rise further during the National Assembly's review of the related bill, Rep. Yoo Dong-soo, a deputy chief of the DP's policy committee, indicated. "(The size of

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday called on the public to actively participate in the government's public coronavirus vaccine program, as authorities move swiftly to make last minute preparations on the eve of the nationwide inoculation campaign. Earlier in the day, trucks and ships packed with the first of some 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines headed to long-term care hospitals and public health centers across the country. "Please have trust in the government

An impeachment trial for Judge Lim Seong-geun has been rescheduled to a later date, the Constitutional Court said Thursday. The court originally planned to hold a pretrial preparation session Friday, two days before he retires as a judge, where both sides set forth their main arguments and a list of evidence, and discuss how to proceed with the upcoming trial. The court said it has yet to determine the date for the session. The National Assembly led by the ruling Democratic Party voted to imp

Spring is just around the corner, but almost all spring blossom and cultural festivals across the country are likely to be called off for the second consecutive year amid little signs of a letup in coronavirus outbreaks, officials said Wednesday. Many local governments have already decided to cancel their annual spring flower festivals again this year due to fears of COVID-19 transmission, though some others are considering holding festivals on a sharply reduced scale or in a non-face-to-face m

Shipments of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines for South Koreans began Wednesday as health authorities gear up to launch a public inoculation program later this week. The inaugural shipments of vaccines developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca were made at a drug manufacturing plant of SK Bioscience Co. in Andong, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The delivery began as the country was preparing to begin a public vaccination program on Friday using AstraZeneca vaccines

The South Korean unit of US tech giant Google Inc. is considering lowering its planned commission rate for in-app purchases, lawmakers said Tuesday, amid complaints from local software developers over steep commission costs. According to lawmakers from the parliamentary committee on science and technology, Google Korea representatives have told committee members that they were persuading the company headquarters to lower its planned 30 percent commission on in-app purchases. Google has announ

A conflict between doctors on one side and the government and the ruling party on the other has become heated over a bill that would disqualify medical doctors convicted of felonies. An association of doctors threatened to carry out "a general strike" of angry doctors across the country if the bill is put to a full-floor vote at the National Assembly, while the government warned of stern actions if the strike is launched, especially as national COVID-19 vaccinations are set to begin l

Those who violate social distancing restrictions will not be eligible for an upcoming batch of emergency cash handouts, South Korea's prime minister said Tuesday. Chung Sye-kyun was warning of stern measures, including the so-called "one-strike, you're out" punishment, amid continued reports of some shops, restaurants and other businesses nationwide breaching a set of rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. "At invisible places, there are frequent cases of social commitme

Cheong Wa Dae heaves big sigh of relief, brushing off lame-duck speculation

South Korea could produce locally developed vaccines against the novel coronavirus early next year, the ICT minister said Monday, as the country seeks to prepare for a drawn-out fight against the pandemic. Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young said the government will continue to support development of local vaccines against the virus even though the country has secured enough vaccines from foreign pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. The country plans to roll

The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday announced a decision to establish a new government body in charge of investigating fatal and serious industrial disasters, ahead of the enforcement of a new law aimed at increasing the punishment of business owners for on-duty deaths and employee injuries. In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry said it will establish the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters within its organization this year before spinning it off as an independen

South Korean lawmakers on Monday called for a restoration of democracy in Myanmar and raised concerns about atrocities against ethnic minorities, after the military junta took control in a coup. 　 Myanmar’s military on Feb. 1 overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A state of emergency was declared, rolling back efforts to end more than 50 years of military dictatorship and establish a democratic government through the

President Moon Jae-in's senior secretary for civil affairs and justice is likely to stay in the job at least for the time being despite his resignation offer that has grabbed public attention, according to Cheong Wa Dae on Monday. Having returned from a four-day leave, Shin Hyun-soo has "entrusted" a decision on his letter of resignation to the president, Chung Man-ho, Moon's senior secretary for public communication, told reporters. Shin was quoted as saying that he would do his bes