Daily virus cases stay below 4,000 for 3rd day amid lingering omicron woes

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the third straight day Tuesday amid tightened social distancing rules, but health authorities are on high alert after the first omicron-linked deaths were reported a day earlier. The country added 3,024 new COVID-19 infections, including 2,889 local infections, raising the total caseload to 645,226, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was down 105 from a day earlier and down 841 compared wi

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Foreign travelers to S. Korea expected to have fallen below 1m last year

The number of foreign tourists who visited South Korea last year is expected to have fallen below the 1 million mark due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The data from the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) showed 877,000 foreigners visited the country from January to November, down 64.3 percent from a year earlier. Considering that only 94,000 foreigners visited the country in November, it is certain the yearly tally of foreign tourist arrivals fell below 1 million for the first ti

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

Aging S. Korea moves to issue conditional licenses for elderly drivers

Last month, a speeding car driven by an 80-something person rammed into another car and plowed into a grandmother and her granddaughter walking nearby in the southern port city of Busan, resulting in the death of the two pedestrians. Months earlier, multiple people were injured after a five-vehicle crash caused by a 73-year-old driver in the southeastern city of Changwon. Both drivers claimed their cars began suddenly accelerating without their control, but the accidents renewed safety concern

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2022

[Graphic News] Workplace bullying still serious: survey

　Three out of 10 workers believe that workplace bullying is still serious, even though an anti-workplace harassment law has been in place for more than two years, a survey showed.  　According to the survey conducted on 1,000 office workers, 28.9 percent of respondents said they experienced workplace harassment as of September, down 16.5 percentage points from the corresponding rate of 45.4 percent tallied in June.  　But 32.5 percent of respondents said bullying is a serious problem

NationalJan. 4, 2022

S. Korean military launches branch dedicated to enhancing military space power

The South Korean military launched a new coordinating body to develop military space capabilities, as well as to plan and execute joint space operations, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced Monday “The Joint Chiefs of Staff established the Military Space Branch on Jan. 1 as a dedicated organization to lead our military’s development of military space capabilities,” the JCS said in a press statement, adding that the branch would play the role of “control

DefenseJan. 3, 2022

Defector refled to N. Korea 14 months after jumping border fence: MND

A defector who had previously jumped over the inter-Korean border fence has refled to North Korea after 14 months, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed Monday. The announcement came one day after the South Korean military said an unidentified person had moved into North Korea across the Military Demarcation Line on Saturday. The government said the man, who had escaped North Korea by jumping over the 3-meter fence along the eastern inter-Korean border, redefected to Nort

North KoreaJan. 3, 2022

Non-face-to-face therapy gains traction during pandemic

Lee Kyung-ran, who has been working as a therapist for the past 15 years, has ditched face-to-face consultations thanks to a growing demand for phone and virtual sessions after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since late 2019, she has been offering therapy sessions through Naver eXpert, a service launched by the country’s largest portal Naver. Naver eXpert provides a wide range of one-on-one online consultations and classes from experts including lawyers, accountants and asset con

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

[Newsmaker] Daily COVID-19 cases remain below 4,000 for second day

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases remained below 4,000 for the second straight day as of midnight Sunday, but the number of critically ill patients continued to surpass 1,000. Two deaths in connection with the omicron variant of the coronavirus were reported on Monday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, South Korea added 3,129 new COVID-19 cases during Sunday, raising the total to 642,207. It was down from that of the previous day, which recorded 3,833 cases

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

[Election 2022] Feuding, gaffes, falling support put opposition campaign in crisis

Leaving just 66 days before the presidential election, the entire leadership of the main opposition People Power Party’s campaign committee resigned Monday, amid unending internal strife, constant gaffes and falling support. After the campaign chief Kim Chong-in announced earlier in the day that he would carry out a complete reform of the election committee, the party said all politicians holding a leader position at the election camp would resign from their posts, including all of the

PoliticsJan. 3, 2022

[Hwang’s China and the World] Korea’s future diplomacy -- ‘pragmatic’ or ‘strenuous’?

The tension of the upcoming presidential election is not as heated as usual, as COVID-19 keeps people from gathering. Although the surface seems relatively calm, the candidates are somehow preparing their own policies. The diplomatic security policy might attract less attention than the domestic circumstance, however, it might be more urgent, requiring prompt action. While domestic politics is about dividing and distributing the interest pie among the inside powers, international politics is u

Foreign AffairsJan. 3, 2022

Celltrion's COVID-19 candidate treatment shows safety in clinical trial

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its antibody treatment candidate against COVID-19 has shown safety in its clinical trial. Celltrion said it has enrolled 24 healthy volunteers in its global phase one clinical trial and confirmed the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of CT-P63. Separately, Celltrion said that CT-P63 has maintained strong neutralizing ability against the omicron variant during pseudo-virus testing conducted by the U.S. National Institutes

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

Man arrested for assaulting Mongolians

A man has been taken into custody for assaulting three Mongolian men, according to Seoul police. The suspect, who was not identified, is being questioned for his part in an assault that occurred around 3:20 a.m. on Sunday near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. Police believe other people took part in the attack, and are trying to track them down. The incident follows other assaults that have taken place involving Korean and Mongolian nationals in an apparent tit-for-tat. Early last mo

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

NK is one year closer to perfecting nuclear weapons due to Biden’s policy: Bolton

A former national security adviser to Donald Trump slammed Joe Biden’s foreign policy, saying North Korea is a year closer in perfecting its nuclear and ballistic missile technology as a result of Biden’s diplomacy on Pyongyang -- or lack thereof. 　 In an op-ed published by Washington-based news outlet the Hill on Sunday, John Bolton identified Iran and North Korea as the Biden administration’s nuclear proliferation failures in 2021. 　 Bolton, who championed a hawkish policy

North KoreaJan. 3, 2022

[Herald Interview] Sanctions give NK ‘justification’ for nukes: senior diplomatic official

Washington should ease sanctions on North Korea with a “snapback” clause, as current measures only give Pyongyang justification for nuclear armament, says the head of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. “The original purpose of sanctions is to make a country a normal state so that they stop further provocation or give up nuclear weapons. Punishment for doing wrong is incidental,” said Hong Hyun-ik, chancellor of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy, in an intervie

Foreign AffairsJan. 3, 2022

COVID-19 infections declining among students

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among young students has been on the decline in accordance with their rising vaccination rate, the beginning of winter break and a downward trend in the nation's total infections, the government said Monday. According to the education ministry, the daily average of virus infections among kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school students from last Thursday to Sunday was 487.3. The daily average for students peaked at 963.9 from Dec. 9-15 before dec

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

Budget carriers reschedule int'l flights due to omicron variant

South Korea's low-cost carriers said Monday they have delayed or reduced their flights on international routes due to the spread of the omicron variant. Air Seoul Inc., a budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., has delayed its planned flights to Guam from Jan. 29 to March 27. Air Seoul has offered one flight a week, respectively, on the routes from Incheon to Qingdao and Yantai in China since the summer of 2020 to meet business travel demands. Jeju Air Co., the country's biggest low-cost

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

6 Afghan evacuees find jobs in S. Korea: justice ministry

Six Afghan evacuees airlifted to South Korea from Afghanistan taken over by the Taliban last year have found jobs, the justice ministry said Monday. The six recently got employed at a manufacturer in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, and other companies, while another person was admitted to a graduate school in an unidentified regional city. Accordingly, a total of 20 evacuees from seven households will start leaving their temporary residences in the southwestern city of Yeosu early this m

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

Upcoming extension of vaccine pass to big grocery stores inflames protests

The upcoming expansion of South Korea's vaccine pass requirement to big box and department stores is inflaming protests that the measure represents discrimination against unvaccinated people and a breach of their right to basic needs. Under a revised vaccine pass scheme announced Friday, people will be required to present proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result to shop at discount or department stores measuring 3,000 square meters or more, starting Jan. 10. The fresh addition o

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

2 omicron-linked deaths reported in S. Korea: officials

Two deaths in connection with the omicron variant of the coronavirus were reported in South Korea on Monday, reportedly the first deaths in the country linked to the highly transmissible variant, officials said. Health authorizes in Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul, said two recently deceased coronavirus patients in the city, both in their 90s, have posthumously tested positive for the omicron variant. The patients, who died last Monday and Wednesday, respectively, both tested positive f

Social AffairsJan. 3, 2022

PPP launches campaign overhaul as Yoon's support drops

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Monday promised a sweeping overhaul of its campaign committee and shed a feminist politician unpopular among young male voters as the party scrambled to stop the declining support of its presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol. The party's floor leader, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, and its chief policymaker, Rep. Kim Do-eup, also offered to leave their positions in a demonstration of their commitment to overhauling the campaign plagued by factional feuding. The

PoliticsJan. 3, 2022