Even before the government hands out its third tranche of COVID-19 relief funds, the ruling party raised the issue of additional relief for the entire nation. It mentioned relief for all people ahead of Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections three months away. From Jan. 11, the third round of coronavirus relief funds totaling 9.3 trillion won ($8.5 billion) will be doled out to 5.8 million small businesses suffering damage from shutdowns and suspension measures for virus mitigation.　 Lee Nak-yo

In the early morning of New Year’s Day, President Moon Jae-in flew on an airborne early warning and control aircraft to inspect the South Korean military’s combat readiness in what his aides described as a show of his commitment to national security. The E-737 Peace Eye plane with Moon aboard flew over the country and its territorial waters for about two hours Friday. Later, Moon praised soldiers for training day and night to maintain a high level of military readiness and thanked t

Dozens of elderly COVID-19 patients residing in nursing homes or hospitals died last month without receiving proper treatment. When coronavirus infections broke out there, the government put all the facilities under cohort isolation. But that was all. It could not transfer patients to hospitals that treat critical coronavirus cases due to a shortage of available sickbeds. Negative pressure isolation units and respirators are essential in treating critical coronavirus patients. Medical workers

Ruling party head Lee Nak-yon made the headlines on New Year’s Day by raising the need to set free two former conservative presidents jailed for corruption charges. Speaking to reporters Friday after paying respects at the National Cemetery in Seoul, Lee said he would ask President Moon Jae-in “at an appropriate time” to grant pardons to ex-Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. He added that the ruling Democratic Party of Korea should play an active role in the lead-up t

President Moon Jae-in is entering the twilight of his presidency in the new year. The coronavirus pandemic and prosecution reform dominated the headlines last year. South Korea once boasted of its response to COVID-19, but late last year the number of cumulative confirmed cases exceeded 60,000 and the death toll reached 900. Korea tightened its social distancing rules to slow the spread of the virus, but it is difficult to predict when everyday life will resume. The Moon regime put up a hel

The basic plan for electricity supply for the period of 2020 to 2034, which was fixed by the government earlier this week, is flawed in many respects. It turns a blind eye to economic efficiency, contradicts the carbon neutrality goal and runs the risk of disrupting a stable supply of electricity. What has made the plan so flawed is the ill-conceived policy pursued obstinately by President Moon Jae-in’s administration to phase out nuclear power generation in South Korea. The latest bluepr