A civic group and labor union on Thursday called on food delivery platforms to allow users to choose reusable containers when they order takeout. “Food deliveries have soared in the past year and eight months, but there are no countermeasures against delivery waste,” Green Korea and Riders Union said during a press conference held in front of Baedal Minjok headquarters in Seoul. “Currently, the...

Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, or K-ETA, became effective as of Wednesday, requiring passport holders from visa-exempt countries to obtain K-ETA approval to enter the country. Overseas visitors now need to fill out an online application on the website of K-ETA to submit personal and travel information at least 24 before boarding a flight or ship bound for Korea. Applicants need to pay 10...

Korea became the 14th country in the world to legislate a carbon neutrality act after the National Assembly on Tuesday passed the related bill. The other countries that have legislated commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions include Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The bill, which requires the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions in 20...

Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon filed an objection on Tuesday after the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials’ review committee decided Cho should face charges of abuse of power in connection with a hiring decision. Cho’s legal representative, Lee Jae-hwa, filed the official request with the chief of the CIO on Tuesday, arguing that the previous day’s review comm...

Nearly 7 out of 10 Koreans agree with the government’s plan to grant long-term visas for Afghan evacuees, a survey showed Monday. The government evacuated 390 Afghan nationals, including people who worked for Korean organizations and their families, and plan to grant them long-term stay visas. According to Realmeter’s survey, 68.7 percent of the respondents said they “empathize with” the govern...

A public debate over whether Korea should accept Afghan refugees continues to heat up with the government granting special stay permits for Afghans here while airlifting nationals who worked for Korea in the war-torn country. Since the Taliban took control of Kabul earlier this month, opinions are split over whether Korea should help Afghan nationals. A national petition against the idea of tak...

Korea will become the 14th country in the world to legislate a carbon neutrality act, if it is so enacted by the National Assembly, and lay the foundations for future measures, Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae said Tuesday. “The carbon neutrality act will serve as a basis for putting carbon neutrality at the center in regards to planning the national budget and coming up with new policies,” Ha...

More than 4,000 people have been apprehended at illegally operating nighttime entertainment businesses over the last seven weeks, the National Police Agency said Monday. According to police, 635 cases of illegal activities have been uncovered after conducting on-site inspections of 56,699 businesses across the country from July 3 until Sunday. Police said there were 3,566 people who violated th...

The reservation rate for COVID-19 vaccines among people between the ages of 18 and 49 has been lower than expected, creating an obstacle in the government’s plan to achieve herd immunity by November. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, the vaccine reservation rate for the age group, about 15.37 million people, was 61.3 percent as of Thursday at midnight. Online reservations f...

Heavy rains that swept both Japan and China this week is expected to affect Korea as early as this weekend and throughout next week. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the rain is forecast to begin in the regions of Jeju Island and southern coastal areas from the early hours on Saturday and expand throughout the country. “The North Pacific high pressure that caused the heavy ...

Gangwon Province will achieve carbon neurality in 2040 and lead South Korea into a more eco-friendly future, says Choi Moon-soon, the province’s governor. Speaking on the sidelines of JeongSeon Forum 2021, which aims to develop solutions to achieve carbon neutrality and weather the climate crisis, Choi said that new technologies coupled with the province’s natural assets will help make the goal ...

In search of solutions to achieve carbon neutrality, the JeongSeon Forum 2021 kicked off its three-day journey Thursday at High1 Grand Hotel Convention Tower in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province. Back for its fourth edition this year, the forum, hosted by Gangwon Province, Jeongseon County and Gangwon Tourism Organization invited experts, scholars, and business representatives from both in and outside...

In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Kazakhstan, coming up next year, a bust of poet Abai Qunanbaiuly was recently installed at Seoul Cyber University. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Lee Sang-kyun, chair of the Shinil Education Foundation, unveiled the sculpture together on Tuesday at Seoul Cyber University, which is run by the foundatio...

As schools reopened for the second semester, Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon has hinted at expanding in-person classes to more students even with the toughest social distancing measures in place. “If the distancing level (in Seoul) comes down to Level 3 by Sept. 3, we can allow in-person classes for all students. Even if Level 4 continues, we can still have in-person classes for two-...

Moderna has pledged to put utmost efforts to increase the COVID-19 vaccine supply to South Korea for August and September and move up the supply schedule for September, the Korean government said Tuesday. The announcement came after a Korean government delegation of four high ranking officials visited the US pharmaceutical and biotechnology company’s headquarters over the delay in shipments of M...