On August 16th, during a meeting of high prosecutors, the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) announced that they would take stern action against increasing narcotic and organized crimes. During the first half of this year, the total number of drug offenders was 8,575, a 13.4% increase compared
In August, Korea suffered from one of the heaviest rainfalls in decades. There were losses of life and damage to property, including several basement dwellings. Therefore, on August 16th, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration announced the first housing supply measures of 2.7 million houses in five years
South Korea and the United States (U.S.) military resumed large-scale field exercises from August 22nd to September 1st, rebranded as Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS). The joint exercise used to be conducted as a computer simulation-based training exercise, but this year’s military drill will include an o
Recently, BA.5, one of the most contagious Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has been spreading rapidly. In addition, as South Korea confirmed its first case of BA.2.75, a new highly-mutated subvariant of the virus – nicknamed “Centaurus” – concerns have gro
The Seoul government has revealed that discussions on extending late-night taxi hours will start after the local election on June 1st. Recently, while the late-night taxi shortage intensified as the demand surged after social distancing rules were lifted, the number of taxi drivers decreased due to
With the start of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s term on May 10th, the presidential office moved to the Ministry of National Defense compound, and the presidential residence transferred to the residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Yongsan. Consequently, the Ministry of National Defense moved t
To prevent serious accounting scandals, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) decided to strengthen its supervision of companies with a high risk of accounting fraud and announced the 2022 Accounting Screening and Inspection Operation Plan on March 27th. As economic uncertainty continues, companie
Farmers’ opposition to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has continued to grow since the previous government. With a free trade agreement (FTA) between countries in the Asia-Pacific area led by Japan, the CPTPP accounts for 15.2% of global trad
With Myongji University on the verge of shutting down, students, as well as entering freshmen, have been voicing their concerns over the impending closure of the university. Myongji Educational Foundation, the private educational foundation of Myongji University, is currently facing potential bankru
Reservations to receive the Novavax vaccine in Korea were officially opened on February 21st via the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination reservation system website (ncvr2.kdca.go.kr). The vaccine, also referred to as “Nuvaxovid” and “NVX-CoV2373,” was developed by Novavax, Inc., an Ameri
While the South Korean art industry is flourishing with an approximate ₩915.7 billion market size, two pillars of the industry, galleries and auction houses, are at odds. As Frieze, the worldwide art fair, and the Korea International Art Fair (KIAF), Korea’s largest art fair, will be co-hosted
While former South Korean presidential elections had weighty topics, politicians claim that debatable issues are absent in the 2022 presidential election. Instead, candidates have targeted specific groups with “small but certain happiness” pledges. Examples include the tattoo legalization as promise
On October 25th, the KT internet service was paralyzed for 89 minutes. This event received a lot of criticism since it happened due to a careless inspection system of the company. The network outage occurred around lunchtime on October 25th when they were exchanging a network communication path sett
On October 29th, the Korean government announced that they were securing 270,000 doses of oral vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The United States pharmaceutical company, Merck, developed the oral vaccine called Molnupiravir, and the Korean government completed the contract with them
On September 24th, the Korean Netflix drama Squid Game ranked top on the “Today’s Top 10 Global Drama” ranking on Netflix. It is the first record for an Asian drama, and Squid Game also topped the ranking of 14 countries around the world within a week after it was first released on September 17th. S
The power of the military law system is going to be curtailed as the National Assembly passed a revision to the Military Court Act on August 31st. The revision is a reflex of public opinion. Since the current military law system lets military organizations conduct the whole process from investigatio
On August 31st this year, the National Assembly approved a bill that mandates the installation and operation of closed-circuit TV cameras in operating rooms. There have been growing calls for providing legislative protection to patients against medical malpractice or negligence after several controv
On July 12th, the minimum wage for 2022 was set at 9,160 won, which is an increase of 440 won from 8,720 won. Following this new wage increase, the salary based on five workdays a week and eight work hours a day (a total of 209 hours) will be 1,914,440 won. A formal meeting was held that day, and th
On July 26th, Getbols (Korean tidal mudflats) were registered as a United Nations Educational, Scientific , and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in recognition of their value to biodiversity conservation. This is the 2nd World Natural Heritage Site in Korea after Jeju Volcanic Isla
A confirmed case of African Swine Fever (ASF) infection was found at a pig farm in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do. According to the authorities on May 5th, two suspected cases at a pig farm were confirmed. The pig farm owner found two pigs dead when he entered the breeding farm to feed them. The confirmed cas