Top 10 Korean news of 2021

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- The following are the top 10 South Korean news stories of 2021 as selected by Yonhap News editors. ▲ Entering 2nd year, pandemic far from over The COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage after the first South Korean case was confirmed on Jan. 20 in 2020. Since July, the country has been struggling to contain the fourth wave of the pandemic, with records for daily infection cases being broken at an alarming pace. Critically ill patients and deaths also continue to set grim records, putting a strain on the country's already overwhelmed healthcare system. More than 80 percent of the country's 52 million people have been fully vaccinated since the country started vaccinations on Feb. 16. Waning immunity, however, has led to rising breakthrough infections, especially among the elderly, who are prone to become seriously sick and suffer from COVID-19 complications, and a shortage of intensive care unit beds nationwide. Health authorities have recently ramped up efforts to have older adults get booster shots to shore up vaccine effectiveness. Facing a tsunami of new cases, the government rolled back its plan for a gradual return to normalcy Thursday and tightened social distancing rules again. On Dec. 1, the country's first known cases of the omicron variant were confirmed, fueling concerns about the spread of the variant and economic damage, and dampening hopes that the pandemic is going to end anytime soon. ▲ Disgruntled 'MZ generation' emerges as major sociopolitical demographic The so-called "MZ generation," a term referring to young people born between 1980 and the early 2000s, was one of the biggest news topics covered in 2021, with their collective voice of socioeconomic disenfranchisement becoming increasingly palpable amid runaway housing prices and low employment rates. The number of young people in search of employment reached a record high of 874,000 in August, while those unable to find a job for over three years soared to 100,000. Amid scarce job opportunities, many of them turned to stock and house purchase investments by taking steep loans, with new credit loans by those in their 20s and 30s climbing to 38.7 trillion won in the first half of the year. The generation also emerged as a major political force, siding with and delivering landslide wins to the main opposition party in the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections due to their frustration with the ruling bloc's policy failures and sense of betrayal from controversies connected to supposedly double moral standards. The MZ generation was also seen as a major force behind the election of Lee Jun-seok as the first 30-something chairman of a mainstream political party in June and the nomination of former Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol as the main opposition party's presidential candidate. ▲ KOSPI opens era of 3,000 on individual buying The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened the era of 3,000 points by exceeding the 3,000 mark during trading on Jan. 6 and ending at 3,031.68 points on the following day. It was the first time for KOSPI to end at above 3,000 points in 65 years since the country's stock market opened in March 1956, and in 38 years since the KOSPI was adopted in January 1983. KOSPI closed at above 1,000 points on March 31, 1989, and above 2,000 points on July 25, 2007. In the past decades, the main index advanced helped by an ample liquidity amid low interest rates and increased stock purchases by individual investors in Asia's fourth-biggest economy. Individual investors rushed to the stock market for bargain hunting in March last year when the index plunged to 1,400 points due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have purchased about 70 trillion won worth of stocks this year until early December, offsetting foreigners' and institutions' net selling. Individuals were the main force behind the era of 3,000 points, as they learned that there came a rebound following a sharp drop in the index during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 financial crisis, according to bourse reports. Individuals' investments have expanded the size of the local stock market, but some of them took loans from financial institutions for stock purchases, raising worries over debt delinquency. ▲ Home prices soar despite regulations South Korea's home prices continued to rise this year despite heavy taxes, increased supply plans and tougher lending rules. The country's home prices rose an average of 8.9 percent from January to October, already exceeding a 5.36 percent growth for the whole of last year, according to data from Korea Real Estate Board. In the first 10 months, housing prices jumped 11.61 percent in the greater Seoul area, far higher than a growth rate of 6.57 percent for the provincial areas during the same period. In the greater Seoul area, home prices in the neighboring Incheon and Gyeonggi Province soared 15.17 percent and 14.77 percent, respectively, outpacing a 5.6 percent growth in Seoul. That's because potential home buyers turned to Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, as they didn't have much financial room to buy a home in the capital city following a sharp price hike in 2020. Great Train Express (GTX) higher-speed commuter rail networks under construction also made them look to the neighboring areas to find relatively low-priced homes. GTX lines are a new generation of high-speed railways that can reach a maximum speed of 180 kilometers per hour and, in some cases, halve commuting times from parts of Gyeonggi to Seoul. There are four GTX lines being developed through the Gyeonggi and Seoul regions. To curb rising home prices, the government continued to strengthen taxes and other regulations, but many young generations, mainly in their 30s, purchased homes despite high prices due to panic buying, as they expect home prices will rise further. In February, the government announced it will ease building regulations and support redevelopment projects in urban areas to increase the number of new homes by up to 836,000 nationwide in the next four years. ▲ Politically-sensitive probes emerge ahead of presidential election The presidential candidates of both the ruling and the main opposition parties have been accused of involvement in politically-sensitive scandals, ending up subject to investigation by the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). Lee Jae-myung, presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, has been accused by the main opposition party of being the mastermind behind the scandal surrounding a 2015 apartment development project in Seongnam, south of Seoul, when he served as the city's mayor. Prosecutors are probing the case in which previously unheard-of asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu reaped astronomical profits by allegedly colluding with key city authorities who then worked for Lee. Yoon Suk-yeol, presidential nominee for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), and his wife are also under separate investigation for their alleged connections to a political meddling scandal and an alleged stock manipulation case, respectively. The CIO is looking into whether Yoon colluded with the opposition party to attempt to investigate pro-government figures when he was prosecutor-general last year. Kim Keon-hee, Yoon's wife, is under investigation in connection with a stock manipulation case surrounding Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea. ▲ Appalling cases of child abuse, stalking murders A succession of serious child abuse cases shocked the nation following the notorious case last year of 16-month toddler Jung-in, who died of child abuse by her adoptive mother. A couple was given 30-year and 12-year prison terms, respectively, on charges of abusing a 10-year-old niece to death in February, including water torture-like violence. The same month, a father was accused of beating his newborn baby with his ringed hand, while another man was arrested in April on charges of beating his adopted toddler to death. Kim Tae-hyun, 25, was sentenced to life imprisonment in October on charges of stabbing to death a woman he had been stalking, her mother and younger sister in Seoul in March. Two women were killed in connection with stalking cases in Seoul in November and December, respectively, sparking strong criticism of police that they failed to provide due protection for stalking victims. ▲ Military draws public ire for sexual abuse scandals, poor meals South Korea's military received public opprobrium for sexual abuse scandals, poorly served meals for draftees and other unfortunate events throughout 2021, leading Defense Minister Suh Wook to deliver public apologies. In April, the military came under fire after soldiers posted photos of their meals on social media, claiming service members, especially those under COVID-19 quarantine, were being poorly fed. Trainees at a boot camp also complained about excessive virus-related rules, including limited access to restrooms. In response to such criticism, the military belatedly came up with a set of measures, including raising the average daily meal cost for service members by 14 percent starting July to 10,000 won (US$8.45). In May, an Air Force noncommissioned officer took her own life after being sexually abused by a colleague. Just a few months later, a Navy member also took her life in August after claiming she was sexually harassed. The defense ministry has since launched a series of task forces and meetings to address recurring sex crimes in barracks, including a government-civilian panel, but whether the military is capable of overhauling itself is still being questioned. In February, a North Korean man was caught after crossing into South Korea via the eastern border. An investigation carried out by the Joint Chiefs of Staff showed he was caught on military surveillance cameras along the east coast multiple times, but soldiers failed to notice him. ▲ Korean pop culture sweeps globe Korean pop culture, led by K-pop superstars BTS, the global phenomenon "Squid Game" and the Oscar-nominated "Minari," made its strong presence felt in the world. BTS' "Butter," its second English-language song, released in May, stayed for 10 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. The South Korean boy group added two more chart-toppers, "Permission to Dance" and "My Universe," totaling a combined 12 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's main singles chart. The septet's rising global popularity and record-shattering feat continued in its four sold-out concerts at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles held in November and at the annual American Music Awards, where it took home three prizes, including the top honor of the artist of the year. On the cinematic scene, the immigration film "Minari," directed and written by Korean American Lee Isaac Chung based on his childhood experience, came into the spotlight. In particular, veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung, who played an eccentric grandmother in "Minari," won best supporting actress at this year's Academy Awards, becoming the first South Korean to win an acting Oscar. "Squid Game," a dystopian Korean-language Netflix original series, became the most-watched Netflix content of all time with more than 1.65 billion hours of viewing in the first four weeks after its release in September. The nine-part series is about contestants competing in deadly Korean children's playground games to win 45.6 billion won (US$38.5 million) in prize money. It has racked up a number of prizes and nominations from major awards events in the U.S., including the Gotham Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. ▲ South Korea launches first homegrown space rocket South Korea launched its first homegrown space rocket KSLV-II, also known as Nuri, from the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung on Oct. 21. The rocket flew to a target altitude of 700 kilometers but failed to put the dummy satellite into orbit, as its third-stage engine burned out sooner than expected. Nevertheless, the launch is considered significant progress in the country's rocketry and space technology, as Nuri successfully completed all flight sequences using domestic technologies. South Korea, a relative latecomer to the global space development race, has recently ramped up efforts in its space program, with a plan to launch its first lunar orbiter next year. The country has invested nearly 2 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) in building the three-stage Nuri since 2010. The Ministry of Science and ICT, and the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute plan to lift off Nuri again next May, with aims to improve its 75-ton thrust engines to 82-ton ones and increase the weight of the payload atop the rocket. ▲ Former Presidents Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan die Former Presidents Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan, who were widely criticized for their roles in staging a military coup and then bloodily quelling a pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju in 1980, died about a month apart. Roh died on Oct. 26 at the age of 89 after a long battle with prostate cancer and other chronic illnesses. On Nov. 23, Chun died of Alzheimer's and multiple myeloma at his home in western Seoul. He was 90. The two were classmates at the Korea Military Academy and formed a close friendship before Roh helped Chun take power in a military coup on Dec. 12, 1979. The following May, Chun ordered a crackdown on a pro-democracy civil uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju, leaving more than 200 dead and 1,800 others wounded, according to conservative official data. By 1987, pro-democracy rallies had spread nationwide, prompting Roh to accept calls for a direct presidential system, which led to his election through a direct vote. Both former presidents were convicted and jailed in connection with their roles in the coup and Gwangju crackdown before being released on a presidential pardon in 1997. Roh was given a state funeral in recognition of his efforts to atone for his past wrongdoing, but Chun was not granted one, because he failed to apologize for his actions. (END)