New cases top 20,000 for 1st time amid raging omicron spread

South Korea's daily virus cases on Wednesday exceeded 20,000 for the first time since the country reported its first virus case two years ago, due to the fast spread of the omicron variant. The country reported 20,270 new COVID-19 infections, including 20,111 local cases, raising the total to 884,310, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,787, up 15 from Tuesday. The fatality rate was 0.77 percent. The number of criticall

Social AffairsFeb. 2, 2022

Over 3 in 10 out-of-school children at risk of suicide: survey

More than three in 10 children out of school have been suffering depression, being at risk of possibly taking one's own life, a survey showed Wednesday. The National Youth Policy Institute (NYPI) found through a survey that 35 percent and 29 percent of out-of-school children were experiencing depression and anxiety, respectively, while 36.8 percent were exposed to suicidal risks. The survey was conducted from July to August on 5,937 students between fourth graders in elementary schools and hi

Social AffairsFeb. 2, 2022

Actor Park Bo-gum passes barber license exam during military service

Actor Park Bo-gum, currently serving in South Korea's Navy, has passed a state exam to become a licensed barber, military officials said Wednesday. Park, who has been fulfilling his mandatory military service since 2020, took the exam last month, the officials said. He is currently stationed in the Gyeryongdae military headquarters, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. Park is set to complete his military service in April. All able-bodied South Korean men must carry out compulsory service for about

DefenseFeb. 2, 2022

Policeman sentenced to 4 yrs in prison on charges of sexually assaulting colleague

A senior policeman has been sentenced to four years behind bars on charges of breaking into the house of a younger colleague and sexually assaulting her, officials said Wednesday. The 51-year-old police inspector in Seoul, only known by his surname Lee, was indicted in May last year, nearly two years after he broke into the colleague's house and sexually assaulted her in 2019. Charges against him also included sexually assaulting her on a separate occasion in 2018 while she was inebriated afte

Social AffairsFeb. 2, 2022

Korea to put stop to bear bile farming by 2025

Bear bile farming will be fully banned in Korea from 2026. The Ministry of Environment announced Wednesday, it would put a stop to breeding bears for bile farming by 2025. Korea is one of few countries that allow bear bile farming. As of 2021, there are 24 bear bile farms across the country with a total of some 360 bears. In bear bile farming, bears are kept in captivity to harvest their bile, a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, which is used by some tradit

Social AffairsFeb. 1, 2022

Number of full-time workers shrinks amid prolonged pandemic

The employment rate of the nation’s full-time employees working 40 hours a week has remained in the 50 percent rage for two consecutive years, raising concerns over deteriorating labor market amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a lawmaker said Monday.  The “full-time equivalent” employment rate for 2021 posted 58.8 percent, nearly unchanged from 58.6 percent estimated a year earlier, according to Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the main opposition People Power Party, citing

Social AffairsJan. 31, 2022

[Subway Stories] New subway names with corporate links, another pandemic effect

Starting in March, the signboards at Euljiro 3-ga and Sinyongsan stations in the Seoul Subway will become longer, with respective references to a certain company located at the station. The former will be renamed Euljiro 3-ga Shinhan Card Station and the latter Sinyongsan Amorepacific Station. The changes are the result of contracts worth 874 million won ($733,000) and 380 million won, respectively, which Seoul Metro has signed with the companies for the sale of naming rights. Under their thre

Social AffairsJan. 31, 2022

Washington’s pick of new envoy to Seoul: what’s the implication?

After more than a year wait, the Joe Biden administration has decided on a new US ambassador to South Korea, according to sources here. It will nominate Philip Goldberg, a career diplomat currently serving as US Ambassador to Colombia, to lead the US mission in Seoul at a critical moment on the Korean Peninsula. Observers are trying to determine what Washington’s selection would mean for the future of the 70-year alliance and its approaches to nuclear-armed North Korea, as well as how it

Foreign AffairsJan. 31, 2022

N. Korea confirms missile test of intermediate range Hwasong-12

North Korea announced on Monday it had employed a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile in its test a day earlier. “The test-fire of Hwasong 12-type ground-to-ground intermediate and long-range ballistic missile was conducted under a plan of the Academy of Defense Science, the Second Economy Commission and other related institutions,” said the North‘s official Korean Central News Agency.  “The launch was to verify the overall accuracy of the weapon syst

North KoreaJan. 31, 2022

[Hwang’s China and the World] Chinese thoughts on Belt and Road Initiative, its shine and shade

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), formerly known as One Belt One Road, was first initiated as Chinese President Xi Jinping presented “One Belt” in Kazakhstan in September 2013 and “One Road” in Indonesia the following October. One Belt represents the Silk Road Economic Belt that connects all the way from Central Asia to Europe through an overland route, while One Road stands for the Maritime Silk Road that stretches its branches to Southeast Asia and beyond.  It h

Foreign AffairsJan. 30, 2022

How do N. Koreans celebrate Lunar New Year?

The Lunar New Year or Seollal is one of the two most important and celebrated traditional holidays in South Korea. But, though both halves of the peninsula share many aspects of culture, nearly 77 years of division between the two Koreas have led to divergent holiday traditions. In North Korea, the significance of socialist holidays, including the birth anniversaries of the late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the national foundation day on Sept. 9, and the party foundation day on Oct.

North KoreaJan. 30, 2022

Moon says North Korea’s latest missile launch ‘breach of UN security council resolution’

President Moon Jae-in has said that North Korea’s launch of an “intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM)” on Sunday morning amounts to a “breach of UN Security Council resolutions" and a “challenge” to the international community’s efforts to ensure peace on the Korean peninsula. In an emergency National Security Council meeting, Moon made the remarks as he called on Pyongyang to stop adding pressure and tension and return to the dialogue table,

North KoreaJan. 30, 2022

N. Korea fires 1 apparent ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military

North Korea fired one apparent ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea's military said, in the recalcitrant regime's seventh show of force this year. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the northern province of Jagang bordering China at 7:52 a.m. It did not elaborate. Jagang Province is where the North conducted the launches of its self-proclaimed hypersonic missiles in September last year and on Jan. 5 and 11. "Our military is tracking a

North KoreaJan. 30, 2022

Rescuers retrieve one body, trying to find two buried workers in quarry

Rescuers discovered a body of a 28-year-old worker who was buried in a landslide in a quarry Saturday, fire department officials said. Rescue operations are under way to find the remaining two buried workers. The accident occurred at 10:08 a.m. when they were making holes for demolition work at the quarry in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, according to officials. Seven excavators were mobilized to find the buried workers, but rescue operations were hampered by huge amounts of soil. Authorities sa

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases top 17,500 as omicron rages

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases reached yet another record high Saturday, driven by a rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant, with a new nationwide virus response system coming into force. The country reported 17,542 new COVID-19 infections, including 17,349 local cases, raising the total to 811,122, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.   The daily count broke the record for the fifth consecutive day, spiking from 8,570 on Tuesday. The

Social AffairsJan. 29, 2022

Traffic begins to slow ahead of Lunar New Year holiday

Traffic on some highway sections began to slow Friday as people hit the road to visit their hometowns or go on trips during the Lunar New Year holiday despite the coronavirus pandemic. This year's Lunar New Year holiday runs from Monday to Wednesday and is extended by two days due to the preceding weekend. The government urged people to refrain from traveling during the holiday to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The nation reported a record 16,096 new cases Friday. As of 7:47 p.m., some se

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2022

S. Korea voices 'strong regret' over Japan's Sado mine heritage push

South Korea on Friday expressed "strong regret" over Japan's push to recommend a former gold mine associated with wartime forced labor as a candidate for a UNESCO World Heritage site and called for its retraction. Seoul's Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon called in Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Aiboshi Koichi to lodge a protest after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced plans to nominate the controversial mine on Sado Island for the 2023 UNESCO heritage list

Foreign AffairsJan. 28, 2022

Japan's Sado mine World Heritage push causes new setback in Seoul-Tokyo ties

  The already fraught ties between South Korea and Japan were dealt yet another setback Friday when Tokyo plowed ahead with the recommendation of a former mine linked to wartime forced labor as a UNESCO World Heritage candidate despite Seoul's objections.  After weeks of deliberation, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the plan to nominate the gold and silver mine on Sado Island for the 2023 heritage designation, considering its historical value.  The move furthe

Foreign AffairsJan. 28, 2022

NK confirms missile tests as Kim Jong-un visits munitions factory

North Korea on Friday confirmed it had test-fired an upgraded long-range cruise missile and a tactical guided missile this week, as its leader Kim Jong-un inspected a munitions factory for the first time in years.  The official Korean Central News Agency said it “conducted the test-firing for updating long-range cruise missile system and the test-fire for confirming the power of conventional warhead for surface-to-surface tactical guided missile” respectively on Tuesday and T

North KoreaJan. 28, 2022

Schools to administer rapid PCR, antigen testing methods

Schools in Korea are to administer rapid polymerase chain reaction and antigen testing methods to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among students and faculty.  “We are working on adding rapid PCR testing and rapid antigen testing methods at schools to prepare for the start of the new semester in March,” minister Yoo Eun-hye said at a meeting held at the Korea Institute of Educational Facility Safety on Thursday. For boarding schools, students are to be required to undergo rapi

Social AffairsJan. 28, 2022