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Welcome to Arirang News.

This is Key Kim

And we start with our top headlines at this hour

1.

We start with President Moon Jae-in's special address to mark his fourth year in office.

He looked back over the past four years... and explained his policy goals and tasks for his final year as president.

President Moon says his final year in office will be the most important as the government still has the task of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

He thanked the public for showing solidarity and coping the situation,... saying that there will be light at the tunnel as the government speeds up its vaccination campaign.

Moon said continued efforts will be made to procure more vaccines... and that the government is aiming to give first shots to the entire population by the end of September... and achieve herd immunity before the current target of November.

On the economy -- he noted that data showed a recovery, and highlighted that some international organizations are forecasting over four percent growth.

Moon vowed all efforts to achieve that goal,... adding that the government will be focusing on job creation... and providing support for promising industries.

The president also pledged to smoothly implement housing supply measures as planned,... while at the same time rooting out real estate speculation and carrying out reforms to make transactions more transparent.

He said it was a shame that his administration hadn't yet managed to stabilize the housing market.

Moon also said his final year will be the last opportunity to establish lasting peace on the Peninsula.

He said now it's time for action,... after a long period of deliberation.

The President welcomed the U.S. policy review on North Korea -- saying it is a realistic and practical direction that focuses on diplomacy.

He vowed continued coordination with the U.S.,.. and to seek ways to resume dialogue between Pyeongyang and Washington as well as between the two Koreas... during his upcoming summit with President Biden.

2.

South Korea on Monday began accepting COVID-19 vaccine reservations,...for the next group of senior citizens -- those between the ages of 65 and 69.

This is the second of the three-stage reservation program,...which covers people between 60 and 74,...who will be getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The first reservation round took place four days ago,... for the oldest group -- those between 70 and 74.

After this second round,... the final group,... those between 60 and 64,...can book their shots from Thursday.

The actual inoculations will take place from May 27th to mid-June,...in phases,...starting with the oldest people.

In the meantime, South Korea has announced its preliminary review on Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine,...which was largely supportive of approving it.

And the country reported 4-hundred-sixty-three new cases on Monday.

That brings the figure back into the four-hundred range for the first time in a week,...partly due to fewer tests being conducted during the weekend.

Among the new cases,...the majority of the 4-hundred-36 cases were locally transmitted.

Of those,.. more than 60 percent were reported in the capital region.

The virus has claimed 1 more life, raising the death toll to one-thousand-eight-hundred-75.

3.

Severely ill patients who showed adverse reactions after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, but couldn't get compensated due to lack of causal link... can now get support on their medical bills.

South Korea's COVID-19 Vaccination Management Task Force announced Monday that they'll be temporarily helping out from next Monday.

People who got the shot or their guardian may visit the community health center to apply for the support.

4.

NASA has criticized China for failing to meet responsible standards after debris from a Chinese rocket likely plunged into the Indian Ocean Saturday night,... just west of the Maldives.

In a statement Sunday,... NASA explained that China and other spacefaring nations need to minimize the risks to people and property on Earth when it comes to re-entries of space objects.

It added this is crucial to maximize safety, stability, security, and the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

China's space agency said most of the rocket, a Long March 5B, burned up in the atmosphere.

CNN and other media outlets say it's not yet clear if any debris fell on land.

The roughly 30-meter-long stage is among the largest ever pieces of space debris to fall on Earth.

Late last month, China launched a piece of its new space station into orbit using the rocket, which weighed almost 20 tons.

5. Lastly to local bourse,

South Korean stocks closed a bit higher than the week before.

Korea’s benchmark KOSPI gained 52 – point – 1 – 0 points

to close at 3 thousand- 2 hundred - and 49 – point – 3 – 0.

KOSDAQ also gained 14 – point – 5 - 0 points,

closing at 9 – hundred – 92 - point 8 - 0 .

Moving to weather forecast,

The rain that started in the central regions will spread to the southern provinces. On and off rain will fall all day in northern and central regions, while the south will receive showers through tomorrow morning.

But dry weather alerts remain in place for the east of the country including Daegu and Busan, while air quality will be good nationwide.

Bright skies return to the capital tomorrow with a big rise in afternoon temperatures, but southern regions including Daegu will be wet and chilly through the first half of the week with readings to remain way below the seasonal norms.

The current temperatures are:

_______ degrees in Seoul

_______ degrees in Pyeongchang

_______ degrees in Busan

And _______ degrees on Jejudo Island

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