Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister nominee Park Soon-ae denied the allegation she had inappropriately included her husband in studies. Park, a former professor at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration, has been accused of inappropriately including her husband in researches and academic journals. The Education Ministry released a statement Thursday, denying the allegation. “The studies were more than just joint authorship between the nomine

A tripartite panel tasked with determining next year's minimum wage has agreed not to apply different rates to different industries, maintaining the current system, officials said Friday. The Minimum Wage Commission, which is composed of 27 representatives, nine each from labor, business and the general public, met at the government complex in Sejong for its fourth plenary session this year to negotiate next year's minimum wage. A differentiated minimum wage was adopted in 1988, when t

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained below 10,000 for the eighth day in a row Friday, as the spread of the coronavirus is apparently slowing down. The country added 7,198 COVID-19 infections, including 68 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,263,643, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country reported nine COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 24,416. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent. The number of critically ill patients c

The government will extend the current seven-day quarantine mandate for COVID-19 patients for four more weeks because rolling back the obligation could accelerate a resurgence of the virus, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday. The current level of virus spread is within the country's capacity to manage, but infection concerns linger and the number of COVID-19 deaths has not sufficiently reduced, Han said in a virus response meeting. "If the quarantine obligation is eased, the timing of

Why Koreans like to use reference to drugs when food is so good

Chungjeong Apartment, one of the oldest apartment buildings in South Korea, will be torn down, as part of plans for redevelopment in central Seoul, the Seoul city government said Thursday. The city has looked to redevelop the area for about 40 years, but projects have been put off because of disputes over compensation. With the fate of the building decided, delayed plans for the redevelopment area, which includes part of Seodaemun-gu and Jung-gu, are expected to proceed. The five-story buil

The abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is “definite,” its new minister said Thursday. 　 “Things have changed over time, and the abolition of the ministry will clearly come,” Gender Equality Minister Kim Hyun-sook told reporters at a press event in central Seoul, though she said that there has not yet been detailed discussion on its abolition. Kim is a former lawmaker who has been in office for a month. Abolishing the ministry was one of the biggest

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained below 10,000 for the seventh consecutive day on Thursday as the country moves toward returning to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country added 7,994 COVID-19 infections, including 90 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,256,457, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added eight COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 24,407. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent. The number of critically ill p

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s unusual tendency of mixing English words into official comments has sparked controversies in South Korea, with some accusing the country’s leader of toadyism toward the US and the West in general. The most recent case of Yoon’s supposed preference for English expressions occurred during a meeting with leaders of the ruling People Power Party, when he suggested a name change for the recently opened Yongsan Park, formerly a site for the US Forces Korea

City gives go-ahead for a one-day festival, organizers applied for six-day event

Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul and an expert on Dokdo issues, on Wednesday, said that Dokdo islets were absent from the online maps provided by embassies of major countries. The Dokdo islets are controlled by South Korea but also claimed by Japan. The dispute has been a cause of much tension between Seoul and Tokyo, as well as between the people of the two countries. Seo argued that the countries that have stationed their diplomats in their embassies

The United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees, Fabian Salvioli, on Wednesday called for justice for victims of violations witnessed during Japanese colonial and Korean War times, as well as accountability from perpetrators. At a press conference held Wednesday in Seoul, the UN expert discussed the “preliminary impressions” from his June 8-15 visit, and was careful not to bring a special focus to specific subjects or victims. &l

Police statistics show five-month performance of anti-stalking law

A Seoul court on Wednesday began a hearing to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for former Industry Minister Paik Un-gyu over allegations that while in office he forced the heads of energy-related state firms to step down. Paik, the former Moon Jae-in administration's first minister of trade, industry and energy, is under suspicion of having forced the resignation of heads of 13 state-run energy companies who were appointed under the preceding Park Geun-hye government, shortly after

A paid sick leave system guaranteeing 60 percent of the minimum wage as sick pay will go into effect next month for a one-year trial in six cities across the nation, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Wednesday. The minister made the remarks during a government COVID-19 response meeting, saying the system will be tested in six cities across the nation, including the Jongno district in central Seoul, starting July 4. "The government will kick off the sick pay trial project early next month,