news highlight

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  Free flu shots available from next week amid rising cases SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - Free flu shots will be available starting next week, as influenza cases rise sharply nearly a month earlier than usual, along with a resurgence of coronavirus infections, which have become a seasonal illness. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday, the first round of flu shots will be available to children and pregnant women starting from Sept. 21. Children aged 6 months to under 9 who are receiving their flu shot for the first time mu September 14, 2026
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  Korean Gen Z takes to streets to protest U.S. call for Hormuz support SEOUL, September 12 (AJP) - On most Saturdays, Gwanghwamun Square belongs to tourists, families, street performers and the assortment of political groups that regularly claim a patch of downtown Seoul for their causes. This Saturday brought another one: opposition to President Donald Trump’s repeated demands that South Korea help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the United States confronts Iran. Many in the crowd were not the veteran anti-American or progressive activists f September 12, 2026
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  Recent missing-person cases cast shadow over Jeju tourism SEOUL, September 11 (AJP) - Jeju was long celebrated as the "island of three absences," or Sammu in Korean, a traditional expression meaning there were no thieves, no beggars and no front gates because residents had little reason to fear one another. That image of trust and safety is now being shaken as a botched missing-person investigation, revelations of falsified police case records and a wave of crime fears raise concern that the resort island's reputation could b September 11, 2026
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  Seoul issues new dress code for govt job interviews: come casual SEOUL, September 11 (AJP) - South Korea's government agency in charge of managing the civil service has drawn attention after announcing that applicants who show up for government job interviews wearing neckties will be told to take them off. The Ministry of Personnel Management said Thursday that it will begin strongly discouraging suits at national civil service interviews from October, instead urging applicants to come in casual clothing including jackets, shirts, knitwear, September 11, 2026
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  South Korean Navy training squadron embarks on 130-day voyage SEOUL, September 11 (AJP) - A South Korean Navy squadron carrying about 140 cadets on Friday embarked on a roughly 130-day voyage to seven countries across the Pacific Ocean for practical naval training and to strengthen defense cooperation abroad. About 390 people, including cadets, crew members and support personnel, boarded the 4,500-ton training ship Hansando. The ship is scheduled to return to Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province on Jan. 22 next year after a roughly 50,000-kil September 11, 2026
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  Coast Guard rewards officers for Chinese fishing boat crackdown SEOUL, September 11 (AJP) - The Korea Coast Guard said Friday it awarded a record amount in bonuses to officers involved in a crackdown on illegal Chinese fishing near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea. A total of 18 million won ($13,348) was awarded to six officers who helped seize eight Chinese fishing vessels during a government-wide joint operation near Yeonpyeong Island on Aug. 11. The six officers, members of the West Sea Five Islands Special Guard Unit under the Ce September 11, 2026
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  Seoul bus strike looms next week as wage talks stall SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - A full-scale strike by bus drivers in Seoul is increasingly looming, as they threatened again on Thursday to proceed with their planned strike next week. The union, affiliated with the Korean Automobile Workers' Federation, has held a dozen rounds of wage talks with the city's bus operators since March. But the two sides have still been unable to narrow their differences over the workweek hours used to calculate wages as well as a proposed pay i September 10, 2026
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  Dozens of foreign envoys evade punishment through diplomatic immunity SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - Some 49 foreign diplomats assigned to South Korea have effectively avoided punishment for their involvement in criminal or other offenses over the past five years due to diplomatic immunity. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a parliamentary committee on Thursday, 10 cases were reported in 2022, followed by 13 in 2023, 10 in 2024, 13 in 2025 and three in the first seven months of this year. These cases ranged from traffic September 10, 2026
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  One crew member found dead in Pohang, with five still missing SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - A crew member who went missing after a tugboat capsized off Busan last week has been found dead on a beach in Pohang, coastguards said on Thursday. His body was discovered around 8:50 a.m. the previous day by a sanitation worker on a beach in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, after apparently being swept ashore. It took more than 12 hours to confirm his identity through digital forensic analysis of a cellphone and smartwatch found with the body, alo September 10, 2026