Who will get COVID-19 vaccine first? The debate begins

As South Korea gears up for COVID-19 vaccinations, with the first batch of vaccines to be shipped here next month, the government is weighing whom to push to the front of the line. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday outlined the groups that would be granted priority: seniors aged 65 and above, those aged 19 or above who have health conditions, health care workers, child care workers, emergency dispatchers, police, firefighters and service members. The agency said the i

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

More snow hits S. Korea, threatening rush hour traffic

The capital area began to see snowfall Tuesday afternoon as weather authorities warned of a bigger flurry around evening rush hour. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the snowfall will be heaviest from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the capital and central regions, with the greater Seoul area receiving up to 3 centimeters of snow and the adjacent areas of Gangwon Province receiving up to 5 cm. "We expect there to be traffic congestion as the heavy snowfall will occur around evening rush ho

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Govt. urged to increase rewards for medical workers fighting COVID-19

A local medical workers' union on Tuesday called for greater government attention to increasing financial compensation for frontline health workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic, saying insufficient remuneration for nurses, in particular, threatens the operations of public hospitals and other hub-hospitals for COVID-19. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union held a news conference in front of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul to call for immediate measures to expa

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Evangelical church emerges as new hotbed of coronavirus infection in S. Korea

An evangelical church in a central city has emerged as a new hotbed of infections amid a downturn in the daily number of coronavirus cases in the country, health authorities said Tuesday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said a total of 576 cases across the nation were linked to BTJ Center for All Nations in Sangju, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as of midnight. Out of 2,800 people who visited the center between Nov. 27 and Dec. 27, 126 people have tested positive for

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Prospects appear murky for early release of seized S. Korean oil tanker in Iran

The prospects for the early release of a South Korean oil tanker and its sailors seized by Iran appeared murky Tuesday, as Tehran's emphasis on a judicial process over the vessel's alleged oil pollution has dampened Seoul's hope for a diplomatic solution. During his visit to Tehran since Sunday, Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with senior Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Kamal Kharrazi, the head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, and his

Foreign AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Two former executives acquitted in humidifier cleaner deaths case

A court on Tuesday acquitted the former heads of SK Chemical Co. and the consumer goods company Aekyung Industrial Co. in a deadly humidifier sterilizer case. The Seoul Central District Court found both Hong Ji-ho, the former CEO of SK Chemical, and Ahn Yong-chan, the former CEO of Aekyung Industrial, not guilty of professional negligence resulting in death. They were accused of manufacturing and selling Humidifier Mate, a humidifier sterilizer that includes harmful chemicals, in the early 200

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Seoul Library added 15,000 Korean, foreign e-books, available for free

The Seoul Metropolitan Library added 15,000 Korean and foreign books in the digital format and 3,000 audiobooks to its catalog, making them available for free for registered users. Any registered user can log on to the library’s website or mobile app, browse through available e-books and click on the “borrow” button. One can borrow up to five e-books at the same time and download them or read them from a web browser for up to 14 days. The newly added books are subscription

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Seoul detention center reports 7 more COVID-19 cases, 5 of them among female inmates

A detention center in southeastern Seoul, the center of recent mass COVID-19 outbreaks, has reported seven more confirmed cases from its latest round of mass testing, the justice ministry said Tuesday. The additional seven cases were confirmed at the Dongbu Detention Center on Monday during its eighth round of mass testing conducted on all inmates and center officials. Two of the new cases involved male inmates while the remaining cases involved female inmates, according to the ministry. Addit

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Revised traffic law to allow police, firefighters to act promptly

Drivers of emergency vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks and ambulances will not be punished for running traffic lights or crossing the median when carrying out their official duties, according to the revised Road Traffic Act. The new act became effective Tuesday, the National Fire Agency and the National Police Agency said in a joint press release. The law was revised to ensure that emergencies are handled promptly -- meaning, for example, that fire trucks arrive within five minutes a

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

S. Korea nears deal to buy Novavax COVID-19 vaccines

South Korea is close to striking a deal to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for 10 million people from US drugmaker Novavax, according to informed sources Tuesday. The Seoul government has been negotiating with Novavax to secure its vaccines as early as in the second quarter of this year, sources with knowledge of the issue said. In August 2020, Novavax signed a development and supply deal with Korean bio firm SK Bioscience Co. to supply vaccines in global markets. The government earlier said it ha

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

NK’s congress nears end with signs of military parade

North Korea’s rare party congress appears to be nearing its end, with officials reviewing a draft resolution on the policy goals laid out by the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and with key officials receiving invitations to “celebrations” of the congress, which could mean a military parade. 　 The delegates gathered for the ongoing eighth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party discussed a draft resolution for “thoroughly implementing the tasks set forth in the

North KoreaJan. 12, 2021

N. Korean officials seen wearing masks at party congress after days of no-mask sessions

North Korean officials participating in the ongoing party congress were seen wearing face masks in their latest meetings for the first time since its opening last week, raising questions over its standards on antivirus guidelines. Photos released by state media on Tuesday showed North Korean officials in blue face masks at the seventh-day session of the party congress as they were participating in consultative meetings the previous day. The delegates were seen sitting in close proximity, but m

North KoreaJan. 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] Public outcry grows over group killing, torturing stray cats

Public outrage is growing in South Korea over a group of people shown brutally killing and torturing stray cats in videos and then encouraging such acts in a mobile chat room, leading the police to launch an investigation into the case Monday. In an open online chat room named “Gore Professionals” on the country’s top messenger app, KakaoTalk, anonymous users reportedly shared pictures and videos that showed stray cats being brutally killed and tortured. They also reportedly

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Foreign ministry seeks probe into top envoy in Nigeria over alleged unfair hiring

The foreign ministry has filed a complaint with the prosecution seeking a probe into allegations that the South Korean ambassador in Nigeria was involved in the unfair hiring of a former embassy employee, officials said Tuesday. A local newspaper reported that the ministry filed the complaint after finding substantial grounds to believe that Ambassador Lee In-tae gave undue favors to the Korean employee in the course of recruitment in 2019. The embassy staff member in question quit the job aft

Foreign AffairsJan. 12, 2021

[News Focus] Small businesses to launch legal challenge to social distancing rules

Small business owners are taking legal action against the government, calling the social distancing rules unfair and saying the restrictions have greatly diminished their chances of economic survival. On Monday, a group representing coffee shop owners in South Korea announced that around 200 of its members would lodge a suit against the government later this week demanding compensation for business lost as a result of the government’s social distancing rules. In the suit, to be filed wi

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] S. Korea investigating 3 suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Tuesday it is investigating three suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu from poultry farms. The latest suspected case of the malign H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported from a duck farm in Goseong, 466 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. There were also suspected cases from Muju, 241 kilometers south of Seoul, and Namyangju, just north of the capital city. South Korea has confirmed

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

New sentencing guidelines subject biz owners to up to 10 1/2 yrs in prison for workplace deaths

New sentencing guidelines will subject business owners to up to 10 1/2 years behind bars in the event of their employees' deaths owing to lax safety or health protection measures, the top court said Tuesday. According to the Supreme Court, its Sentencing Commission fixed the guidelines on workplace disaster cases during its online meeting held a day earlier. The new guidelines call for jail sentences between one and two and a half years for business owners for on-duty deaths at their workplace

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021

Xi congratulates NK leader on election as 'general secretary,' calls for stronger ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message congratulating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on his election as general secretary of the ruling party and called for strong relations between the two countries, Pyongyang's media said Tuesday. Xi noted that Kim's election "fully showed the trust, support and expectation of all the WPK members and other Korean people for him," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, referring to the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. He also expressed his

North KoreaJan. 12, 2021

S. Korea in talks to buy additional vaccines of different platform: PM

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Tuesday that the government is working to purchase additional coronavirus vaccines of a different platform to better ensure the safe inoculation of the public. "The government has been working to purchase an additional quantity of vaccines of another platform and has seen substantial progress," Chung said during an interagency meeting on the COVID-19 response held at the government complex in Sejong, 120 kilometers south of Seoul. Chung said the gov

PoliticsJan. 12, 2021

S. Korea identifies remains of another Korean War soldier

South Korea has identified the remains of a soldier killed in the 1950-53 Korean War through DNA analysis after they were recovered from a former battle site, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The identification of the remains of Ssg. Ban Cheol-hwan was possible as his 70-year-old daughter, Ban Gyeong-ah, registered her DNA sample with the government last month, according to the ministry. Ban's remains were excavated in the northeastern county of Inje in 2016. The identification marks the 158

Social AffairsJan. 12, 2021