By Nam Hyun-woo, Anna J. Park
When 2021 began, hopes were high that Korea and the world would be able to get over the COVID-19 pandemic, as the vaccination drive would begin. However, another year has passed without dramatic progress in returning to pre-pandemic life.
While the country has been struggling with social distancing, quarantines and other new measures that have instead become the new normal of the pandemic, many significant political, social and economic events have also taken place in Korea.
Here are the top 10 news topics that The Korea Times found most important this year.
1. Unlikable presidential candidates
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) each selected Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol as their respective presidential candidates for the next presidential election in March 2022.
However voters' expectations for the new government remain pessimistic, because the candidates and their family members have been under investigation for allegations of misconduct. These allegations include: Lee's alleged link to a land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province; Lee's son's alleged gambling practices; Yoon's alleged instigation of a PPP lawmaker's complaint filed at the prosecution against liberal politicians; Yoon's wife's alleged falsifying of her job qualifications; and Yoon's mother-in-law's alleged illegal running of a nursing hospital.
As the parties focus on exchanging accusations, the personal attacks have overshadowed substantive debates over policies, future strategies and ways of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, while the percentage of people saying they don't support either of the candidates has been increasing in recent polls.
2. Failed attempt at 'Living with COVID-19'
Korea's hopes to get away from pandemic social distancing restrictions and gradually return to "normal" life was thwarted in just 45 days, as daily new infections have soared to nearly 8,000.
After the country's vaccination drive got off to a slow start on Feb. 26, the inoculation rate has risen, with 81.5 percent of the entire population receiving at least two doses as of Dec. 15. Based on this figure, the country started ambitiously easing COVID-19 restrictions on Nov. 1, lifting all limitations on operating hours for most multi-use facilities, as well as easing the limits on the number of people allowed at private gatherings.
However, the combination of the eased measures, the spread of both the Delta and new Omicron variants as well as seasonal effects, led to the doubling of daily new infection cases to 3,000 two weeks after the scheme was introduced. The number has kept rising and currently approaches 8,000.
The country suffered setbacks in securing hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, as the number of critically ill patients also soared. The situation drove the government to reintroduce stricter social distancing measures on Dec. 16, resuming limitations on operating hours for multi-use facilities and the number of people permitted at private gatherings.
3. Former presidents Chun, Roh die
Former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo died in consecutive months, after tainting Korea's modern history with their military coup to seize power and bloody suppression of a pro-democracy movement.
Chun, a former chief of the Army Security Command, took control of the government after staging a military coup in 1979, and became president the year after. During this process, Chun's military junta brutally cracked down on pro-democracy movements across the country, focusing especially on one in Gwangju where hundreds of civilians died or went missing.
After leaving office, Chun was sentenced to death for treason, murder and bribery, and released on a presidential pardon. Until his death on Nov. 23, Chun denied his involvement in the bloody suppression and remained unrepentant, making him one of the most detested public figures in South Korea's modern history.
Roh, also an Army general and co-conspirator in the 1979 coup, became Chun's successor in 1988.
Along with Chun, Roh was put on trial for his role in the coup and other charges, for which he was sentenced to 17 years in jail, and released on a presidential pardon. Until he died on Oct. 26, Roh also did not apologize to his victims by himself, but his son made an apology on his behalf.
Reflecting the son's apology, the government held a state funeral for Roh, and President Moon Jae-in offered his condolences to the bereaved family. However, Chun was not granted this privilege.
4. Balancing act between US, China tested
As the rivalry between the U.S. and China kept escalating this year, President Moon Jae-in's strategy to seek a balance between the two superpowers was also put to the test.
Moon resumed his summit diplomacy this year, including visits to the U.S. and Australia and attendance at the G7 Summit in the U.K., and faced indirect pressure to join the Washington-led campaign to contain Beijing's growing influence. Korea has also been mentioned as a potential additional member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), the Five Eyes and other U.S.-led international networks. Most recently, the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics has tested Moon's balancing act.
So far, Seoul has not been making any announcements on its participation in the groups, saying the country was not officially invited. Regarding the Beijing Olympics snub, Moon said that his government is not considering a diplomatic boycott, which was seen as a step leaning toward China.
Korea's relations with Japan also remain chilly, as the new Fumio Kishida cabinet also dodged talks with the Moon administration. The two countries' relations have been at a low ebb since Japan began restricting the export of key industrial materials to Seoul in 2019, in an apparent retaliation against the Korean Supreme Court's order for Japanese companies to provide compensation for surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.
5. Real estate scandals
Since September, a large-scale scandal over a 2015 land development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has been hot news in Korea, as suspicions continue that DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is linked to the scandal.
The scandal triggered a public uproar and questions over how a newly established small asset management firm could take charge in the lucrative project of developing Daejang-dong, raking in profits worth more than 1,000 times its original investment. Since the project was carried out when Lee was Seongnam mayor, the main opposition PPP has accused him of "masterminding" the scheme.
The prosecution has been investigating the case and put four key figures of the scandal on trial, but has yet to find evidence connecting Lee or other high-ranking officials to the scandal. During the process, two people connected to the city-run developer Seongnam Development Corp. (SDC), one a former employee and the other an incumbent, committed suicide.
Before the Seongnam scandal, the Korea Land & Housing Corp. (LH) came under fire in March, as dozens of employees at the state-run agency allegedly used confidential information to buy real estate in lands subject to massive land development projects, thus raking in huge gains.
These scandals resulted in public distrust in the government's housing and real estate policies, which became one of the most critical factors that led President Moon and the ruling DPK to shed public support.
6. Chronic sex crimes
Korea has been struggling with chronic sex crimes, including the cases of female military officers committing suicide after being sexually abused.
In August, a Navy chief petty officer killed herself after being sexually harassed by a senior noncommissioned officer. Her death comes three months after the suicide of another female Air Force master sergeant, who had accused her colleague of sexual abuse as well. These consecutive cases sparked a national outcry over the military's insensitivity to sexual violence, and caused the Air Force chief to resign and Minister of National Defense Suh Wook to apologize.
Outside of the military, Korea witnessed unnerving stalking murder cases.
On Dec. 15, prosecutors sought the death penalty for Kim Tae-hyun, who is in an appeals trial after brutally killing a female online gamer he had stalked as well as two of her family members in March. In November, Kim Byung-chan was arrested for stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death at her studio apartment, after stalking her for nearly a year. Also in December, Lee Seok-joon was arrested after allegedly killing his former girlfriend's mother and seriously injuring her younger brother at their home.
Including them, police have disclosed the identities of 10 major crime suspects this year ― the largest number since 2016. Also included on the list were Kim Young-joon and Choi Chan-wook, who illegally spread sex video clips of males, including minors.
7. Opposition wins by-elections by landslide
In the April 7 by-elections to pick the Seoul and Busan mayors, the PPP's Oh Se-hoon and Park Heong-joon bagged landslide victories over the ruling party candidates.
As the by-elections were seen as a preview of the presidential election next year, the PPP took an early lead over the DPK in the race to the presidency.
The by-election results were interpreted as reflecting negative public sentiment over the Moon government's real estate policies, which failed to stabilize Korea's skyrocketing housing prices, coupled with the LH speculation scandal and a rental property controversy involving presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Sang-jo.
Along with the real estate policies, the election was understood as an expression of public anger against the Moon administration's double standards on the issue of fairness, including Kim's case and the President's protection of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who has been criticized for ethical lapses involving his family. Regarding the two cases, the administration was criticized for double standards.
8. End of zero-range interest rates
Amid growing concerns over asset price inflation and the burden of household debt, the Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its key interest rates two times this year, ending the era of zero-level interest rates.
In August, the central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent. Three months later, in late November, it once again increased the interest rate to 1 percent.
The central bank had maintained zero-range interest rates for 21 months since March of last year during the pandemic, in order to stimulate the stricken market. Yet soaring asset prices, as well as the burden of household debt made the central bank hike the key interest rate.
9. Global supply chain disruptions
The world has witnessed a crisis of the global supply chain, which particularly wreaked havoc on export-driven economies, including Korea's.
The supply chain disruptions are attributed to a variety of factors, ranging from extensive shortages of workers, soaring costs of shipping and the explosive demand for durable goods across countries amid the pandemic. This combination of factors resulted in a global squeeze on the part of supply chains.
The Korean economy, which is susceptible to changes in the external macro environment, was hit directly by the global logistics disruptions, as both the public and business sectors suffered from a severe shortage of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), semiconductors and raw materials.
10. Real estate polarization
The local real estate market recorded an unprecedented hike in prices, deepening the polarization of assets in the country.
Data compiled by the Korea Real Estate Board showed that the prices of apartments nationwide rose by 12.25 percent from the start of the year until the first week of December.
This increase is more than double last year's increase of 5.59 percent, and the highest-ever since the data started being compiled in 2012. Experts view that this year's real estate price increase will log the highest annual increase rate in history, exceeding the record in 2006. This situation in turn exacerbates the already severe economic polarization in the country, between homeowners and renters.
When 2021 began, hopes were high that Korea and the world would be able to get over the COVID-19 pandemic, as the vaccination drive would begin. However, another year has passed without dramatic progress in returning to pre-pandemic life.
While the country has been struggling with social distancing, quarantines and other new measures that have instead become the new normal of the pandemic, many significant political, social and economic events have also taken place in Korea.
Here are the top 10 news topics that The Korea Times found most important this year.
 |
| Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, left, and ruling Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung / Korea Times file |
1. Unlikable presidential candidates
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) each selected Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol as their respective presidential candidates for the next presidential election in March 2022.
However voters' expectations for the new government remain pessimistic, because the candidates and their family members have been under investigation for allegations of misconduct. These allegations include: Lee's alleged link to a land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province; Lee's son's alleged gambling practices; Yoon's alleged instigation of a PPP lawmaker's complaint filed at the prosecution against liberal politicians; Yoon's wife's alleged falsifying of her job qualifications; and Yoon's mother-in-law's alleged illegal running of a nursing hospital.
As the parties focus on exchanging accusations, the personal attacks have overshadowed substantive debates over policies, future strategies and ways of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, while the percentage of people saying they don't support either of the candidates has been increasing in recent polls.
 |
| A medical worker collects a sample from a police officer at a COVID-19 testing site in front of Seoul Station, Dec. 21. Yonhap |
2. Failed attempt at 'Living with COVID-19'
Korea's hopes to get away from pandemic social distancing restrictions and gradually return to "normal" life was thwarted in just 45 days, as daily new infections have soared to nearly 8,000.
After the country's vaccination drive got off to a slow start on Feb. 26, the inoculation rate has risen, with 81.5 percent of the entire population receiving at least two doses as of Dec. 15. Based on this figure, the country started ambitiously easing COVID-19 restrictions on Nov. 1, lifting all limitations on operating hours for most multi-use facilities, as well as easing the limits on the number of people allowed at private gatherings.
However, the combination of the eased measures, the spread of both the Delta and new Omicron variants as well as seasonal effects, led to the doubling of daily new infection cases to 3,000 two weeks after the scheme was introduced. The number has kept rising and currently approaches 8,000.
The country suffered setbacks in securing hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, as the number of critically ill patients also soared. The situation drove the government to reintroduce stricter social distancing measures on Dec. 16, resuming limitations on operating hours for multi-use facilities and the number of people permitted at private gatherings.
 |
| Chun Doo-hwan, right, and his successor Roh Tae-woo, hold hands as they stand trial, Aug. 26, 1996, for their roles in the 1979 military coup and brutal suppression of a pro-democracy movement in Gwangju in 1980. Korea Times file |
3. Former presidents Chun, Roh die
Former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo died in consecutive months, after tainting Korea's modern history with their military coup to seize power and bloody suppression of a pro-democracy movement.
Chun, a former chief of the Army Security Command, took control of the government after staging a military coup in 1979, and became president the year after. During this process, Chun's military junta brutally cracked down on pro-democracy movements across the country, focusing especially on one in Gwangju where hundreds of civilians died or went missing.
After leaving office, Chun was sentenced to death for treason, murder and bribery, and released on a presidential pardon. Until his death on Nov. 23, Chun denied his involvement in the bloody suppression and remained unrepentant, making him one of the most detested public figures in South Korea's modern history.
Roh, also an Army general and co-conspirator in the 1979 coup, became Chun's successor in 1988.
Along with Chun, Roh was put on trial for his role in the coup and other charges, for which he was sentenced to 17 years in jail, and released on a presidential pardon. Until he died on Oct. 26, Roh also did not apologize to his victims by himself, but his son made an apology on his behalf.
Reflecting the son's apology, the government held a state funeral for Roh, and President Moon Jae-in offered his condolences to the bereaved family. However, Chun was not granted this privilege.
 |
| President Moon Jae-in poses with U.S. President Joe Biden during their summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., in this May 21 photo. Yonhap |
4. Balancing act between US, China tested
As the rivalry between the U.S. and China kept escalating this year, President Moon Jae-in's strategy to seek a balance between the two superpowers was also put to the test.
Moon resumed his summit diplomacy this year, including visits to the U.S. and Australia and attendance at the G7 Summit in the U.K., and faced indirect pressure to join the Washington-led campaign to contain Beijing's growing influence. Korea has also been mentioned as a potential additional member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), the Five Eyes and other U.S.-led international networks. Most recently, the U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics has tested Moon's balancing act.
So far, Seoul has not been making any announcements on its participation in the groups, saying the country was not officially invited. Regarding the Beijing Olympics snub, Moon said that his government is not considering a diplomatic boycott, which was seen as a step leaning toward China.
Korea's relations with Japan also remain chilly, as the new Fumio Kishida cabinet also dodged talks with the Moon administration. The two countries' relations have been at a low ebb since Japan began restricting the export of key industrial materials to Seoul in 2019, in an apparent retaliation against the Korean Supreme Court's order for Japanese companies to provide compensation for surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.
 |
| The Daejang-dong area in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Yonhap |
5. Real estate scandals
Since September, a large-scale scandal over a 2015 land development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has been hot news in Korea, as suspicions continue that DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung is linked to the scandal.
The scandal triggered a public uproar and questions over how a newly established small asset management firm could take charge in the lucrative project of developing Daejang-dong, raking in profits worth more than 1,000 times its original investment. Since the project was carried out when Lee was Seongnam mayor, the main opposition PPP has accused him of "masterminding" the scheme.
The prosecution has been investigating the case and put four key figures of the scandal on trial, but has yet to find evidence connecting Lee or other high-ranking officials to the scandal. During the process, two people connected to the city-run developer Seongnam Development Corp. (SDC), one a former employee and the other an incumbent, committed suicide.
Before the Seongnam scandal, the Korea Land & Housing Corp. (LH) came under fire in March, as dozens of employees at the state-run agency allegedly used confidential information to buy real estate in lands subject to massive land development projects, thus raking in huge gains.
These scandals resulted in public distrust in the government's housing and real estate policies, which became one of the most critical factors that led President Moon and the ruling DPK to shed public support.
 |
| Kim Tae-hyun, who was arrested for killing a female online gamer he had stalked, as well as two of her family members, takes off his face mask before talking to reporters at Dobong Police Station in Dobong District, Seoul, April 9. Korea Times file |
6. Chronic sex crimes
Korea has been struggling with chronic sex crimes, including the cases of female military officers committing suicide after being sexually abused.
In August, a Navy chief petty officer killed herself after being sexually harassed by a senior noncommissioned officer. Her death comes three months after the suicide of another female Air Force master sergeant, who had accused her colleague of sexual abuse as well. These consecutive cases sparked a national outcry over the military's insensitivity to sexual violence, and caused the Air Force chief to resign and Minister of National Defense Suh Wook to apologize.
Outside of the military, Korea witnessed unnerving stalking murder cases.
On Dec. 15, prosecutors sought the death penalty for Kim Tae-hyun, who is in an appeals trial after brutally killing a female online gamer he had stalked as well as two of her family members in March. In November, Kim Byung-chan was arrested for stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death at her studio apartment, after stalking her for nearly a year. Also in December, Lee Seok-joon was arrested after allegedly killing his former girlfriend's mother and seriously injuring her younger brother at their home.
Including them, police have disclosed the identities of 10 major crime suspects this year ― the largest number since 2016. Also included on the list were Kim Young-joon and Choi Chan-wook, who illegally spread sex video clips of males, including minors.
 |
| Volunteer workers count ballots for the Seoul mayoral by-election at Gyeonggi Commercial High School in Jongno District, Seoul, April 7. Korea Times file |
7. Opposition wins by-elections by landslide
In the April 7 by-elections to pick the Seoul and Busan mayors, the PPP's Oh Se-hoon and Park Heong-joon bagged landslide victories over the ruling party candidates.
As the by-elections were seen as a preview of the presidential election next year, the PPP took an early lead over the DPK in the race to the presidency.
The by-election results were interpreted as reflecting negative public sentiment over the Moon government's real estate policies, which failed to stabilize Korea's skyrocketing housing prices, coupled with the LH speculation scandal and a rental property controversy involving presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Sang-jo.
Along with the real estate policies, the election was understood as an expression of public anger against the Moon administration's double standards on the issue of fairness, including Kim's case and the President's protection of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who has been criticized for ethical lapses involving his family. Regarding the two cases, the administration was criticized for double standards.
 |
| Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol speaks during a press conference at the BOK headquarters in central Seoul, Nov. 25. Courtesy of BOK |
8. End of zero-range interest rates
Amid growing concerns over asset price inflation and the burden of household debt, the Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its key interest rates two times this year, ending the era of zero-level interest rates.
In August, the central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent. Three months later, in late November, it once again increased the interest rate to 1 percent.
The central bank had maintained zero-range interest rates for 21 months since March of last year during the pandemic, in order to stimulate the stricken market. Yet soaring asset prices, as well as the burden of household debt made the central bank hike the key interest rate.
 |
| Containers are seen stacked up at the port of Oakland, California, in this photo taken in November. AP-Yonhap |
9. Global supply chain disruptions
The world has witnessed a crisis of the global supply chain, which particularly wreaked havoc on export-driven economies, including Korea's.
The supply chain disruptions are attributed to a variety of factors, ranging from extensive shortages of workers, soaring costs of shipping and the explosive demand for durable goods across countries amid the pandemic. This combination of factors resulted in a global squeeze on the part of supply chains.
The Korean economy, which is susceptible to changes in the external macro environment, was hit directly by the global logistics disruptions, as both the public and business sectors suffered from a severe shortage of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), semiconductors and raw materials.
 |
| A view of apartments and other buildings in Seoul / Yonhap |
10. Real estate polarization
The local real estate market recorded an unprecedented hike in prices, deepening the polarization of assets in the country.
Data compiled by the Korea Real Estate Board showed that the prices of apartments nationwide rose by 12.25 percent from the start of the year until the first week of December.
This increase is more than double last year's increase of 5.59 percent, and the highest-ever since the data started being compiled in 2012. Experts view that this year's real estate price increase will log the highest annual increase rate in history, exceeding the record in 2006. This situation in turn exacerbates the already severe economic polarization in the country, between homeowners and renters.
