NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in has pledged to do his utmost to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and help the nation return to pre-pandemic normalcy as well as promoting an economic recovery. In his address before the National Assembly on Monday, the president said the nation has been faced with continuing crises throughout his term, noting mounting tensions with North Korea and a trade dispute with Japan. Moon also described the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change as grave challenges that could determine the fate of the nation.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says South Korea posted a relative poverty rate of 16.7 percent between 2018 and 2019 and ranked fourth among 37 member countries studied. This figure indicates that one in six South Koreans earns an income below 50 percent of the median income. Only Costa Rica, the U.S. and Israel record a higher rate of relative poverty than South Korea. The relative poverty rate refers to the percentage of people with an income below 50 percent of the median income.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport says four government agencies will move to Daejeon to fill in the space left by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and its three affiliated organizations that relocate to Sejong. The four agencies include the Korea Meteorological Administration, the Korea Meteorological Institute, the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute and the Korea Intellectual Property Strategy Agency. Among them, the Korea Meteorological Administration will be the first one to leave Seoul by year’s end. The ministry plans to wrap up all necessary administrative procedures within October for their relocation.