Foreign COVID-19 patients on steep rise in Korea this year

The number of foreigners diagnosed with COVID-19 in South Korea has soared this year due mainly to the steady outbreaks of cluster infections at industrial workplaces, a government agency said Saturday. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, 1,747 foreign nationals have tested positive for the coronavirus here since the beginning of the year, accounting for 6.6 percent of all domestic cases in the same period. The growth of foreign COVID-19 patients was particularly steeper ov

Feb. 27, 2021

About 18,500 Koreans get COVID-19 vaccines on vaccination Day 1

About 18,500 people received a vaccination for COVID-19 in South Korea on the launch day of the nation's public vaccination campaign against the pandemic, a government agency said Saturday. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, 18,489 people across the country got their first shots of the two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine Friday. "On Friday, 18,489 medical workers, health care workers and nursing home patients received the AstraZeneca vaccine at community h

Feb. 27, 2021

S. Korea ratifies key UN labor conventions

South Korea's parliament on Friday ratified key International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions on workers' rights and forced labor, which have long stalled due to objections from businesses and conservative politicians. The nation joined the United Nations agency in 1991 but had not adopted four of its eight key conventions, lagging behind international standards in protecting labor rights. The National Assembly passed motions to ratify three of them -- No. 29 on forced labor, No. 87 on f

Feb. 26, 2021

Controversial bill on constructing new airport in Busan gets final parliamentary nod

A politically controversial bill on building a new airport in the second-biggest South Korean city of Busan got the final nod from the National Assembly on Friday. The bill nails down a multi-billion-dollar state project to build a new airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island of Busan, to handle growing air traffic demand and facilitate prosperity in the country's southeast region. The bill proposes special exemption for the compulsory preliminary feasibility study for the construction pr

Feb. 26, 2021

[Newsmaker] National Assembly calls on Myanmar military to restore democracy, release detainees

South Korea’s National Assembly called for restoration of democracy in Myanmar, condemning its military government for using violence and failing to uphold human rights. The parliament on Friday passed the Resolution Condemning Myanmar’s Military Coup and Urging Restoration of Democracy and Release of All Persons Arbitrarily Detained, criticizing the military government’s crackdowns on protests and expressing support for the democratic movement. The resolution defined Myanmar

Feb. 26, 2021

CIO head vows to maintain political neutrality

Kim Jin-wook, the head of the new powerful investigative agency, on Thursday vowed to remain politically neutral and not to give in to political pressure when it comes to investigations. In his first public debate since taking office last month, Kim, the inaugural chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), said he will try his best to listen to different opinions on contentious and divisive issues. "I will be impartial towards everyone with different op

Feb. 25, 2021

Parliamentary seeks to toughen punishment for child abuse homicide

The National Assembly is pushing for a law revision to strengthen the punishment of homicide by child abuse in the wake of a series of recent fatal abuse cases that shocked the nation. A subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a revision bill on child abuse crimes, under which those convicted of child abuse murder will be punished with at least seven years in prison, life imprisonment or the death penalty. Currently, those who commit child abuse that results

Feb. 25, 2021

Police raid SK Innovation again over battery dispute

Police raided SK Innovation Co. on Thursday in connection with the allegations that it stole electric vehicle (EV) battery technologies from its local competitor. According to the police, the national security investigation division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched a search operation at the company in central Seoul earlier in the day. The police have been investigating the case after they received a complaint in May 2019 from LG Chem Ltd. that SK Innovation poached talent from

Feb. 25, 2021

4th round of COVID-19 relief handouts may reach more than W19.5tr

South Korea's upcoming fourth round of COVID-19 relief handouts may amount to more than 19.5 trillion won ($17.6 billion), the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Thursday. The scale of the government's proposal for the new batch of pandemic relief fund has been tentatively set at around 19.5 trillion won, but the final amount could rise further during the National Assembly's review of the related bill, Rep. Yoo Dong-soo, a deputy chief of the DP's policy committee, indicated. "(The size of

Feb. 25, 2021

PM calls for active participation in COVID-19 vaccine program

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Thursday called on the public to actively participate in the government's public coronavirus vaccine program, as authorities move swiftly to make last minute preparations on the eve of the nationwide inoculation campaign. Earlier in the day, trucks and ships packed with the first of some 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines headed to long-term care hospitals and public health centers across the country. "Please have trust in the government

Feb. 25, 2021

Impeachment trial postponed for judge in power abuse case

An impeachment trial for Judge Lim Seong-geun has been rescheduled to a later date, the Constitutional Court said Thursday. The court originally planned to hold a pretrial preparation session Friday, two days before he retires as a judge, where both sides set forth their main arguments and a list of evidence, and discuss how to proceed with the upcoming trial. The court said it has yet to determine the date for the session. The National Assembly led by the ruling Democratic Party voted to imp

Feb. 25, 2021

Spring blossom, cultural festivals canceled or downsized over COVID-19 fears

Spring is just around the corner, but almost all spring blossom and cultural festivals across the country are likely to be called off for the second consecutive year amid little signs of a letup in coronavirus outbreaks, officials said Wednesday. Many local governments have already decided to cancel their annual spring flower festivals again this year due to fears of COVID-19 transmission, though some others are considering holding festivals on a sharply reduced scale or in a non-face-to-face m

Feb. 24, 2021

1st batch of COVID-19 vaccines shipped in S. Korea ahead of public inoculation program

Shipments of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines for South Koreans began Wednesday as health authorities gear up to launch a public inoculation program later this week. The inaugural shipments of vaccines developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca were made at a drug manufacturing plant of SK Bioscience Co. in Andong, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The delivery began as the country was preparing to begin a public vaccination program on Friday using AstraZeneca vaccines

Feb. 24, 2021

Google Korea reviews lowering planned in-app commission rate: lawmakers

The South Korean unit of US tech giant Google Inc. is considering lowering its planned commission rate for in-app purchases, lawmakers said Tuesday, amid complaints from local software developers over steep commission costs. According to lawmakers from the parliamentary committee on science and technology, Google Korea representatives have told committee members that they were persuading the company headquarters to lower its planned 30 percent commission on in-app purchases. Google has announ

Feb. 23, 2021

Conflict between doctors, govt. reignites over bill on disqualifying convicted doctors

A conflict between doctors on one side and the government and the ruling party on the other has become heated over a bill that would disqualify medical doctors convicted of felonies. An association of doctors threatened to carry out "a general strike" of angry doctors across the country if the bill is put to a full-floor vote at the National Assembly, while the government warned of stern actions if the strike is launched, especially as national COVID-19 vaccinations are set to begin l

Feb. 23, 2021

No relief money for violators of antivirus regulations: PM

Those who violate social distancing restrictions will not be eligible for an upcoming batch of emergency cash handouts, South Korea's prime minister said Tuesday. Chung Sye-kyun was warning of stern measures, including the so-called "one-strike, you're out" punishment, amid continued reports of some shops, restaurants and other businesses nationwide breaching a set of rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. "At invisible places, there are frequent cases of social commitme

Feb. 23, 2021

Moon’s top aide returns to work after offering to resign over personnel spat

President Moon Jae-in’s senior secretary for civil affairs and justice Shin Hyun-soo has withdrawn his resignation after the president turned it down last week, putting a tentative end to a weeklong dispute over possible internal conflicts within the presidential office. “Shin has returned to work, entrusting his future to the president’s decision,” said Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication, during a media briefing Monday, adding that he

Feb. 22, 2021

Homegrown COVID-19 vaccine may be available early next year: minister

South Korea could produce locally developed vaccines against the novel coronavirus early next year, the ICT minister said Monday, as the country seeks to prepare for a drawn-out fight against the pandemic. Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young said the government will continue to support development of local vaccines against the virus even though the country has secured enough vaccines from foreign pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. The country plans to roll

Feb. 22, 2021

Govt. to set up new investigative body for industrial disasters

The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday announced a decision to establish a new government body in charge of investigating fatal and serious industrial disasters, ahead of the enforcement of a new law aimed at increasing the punishment of business owners for on-duty deaths and employee injuries. In a report to the National Assembly, the ministry said it will establish the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters within its organization this year before spinning it off as an independen

Feb. 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Lawmakers condemn Myanmar military coup, call for democracy

South Korean lawmakers on Monday called for a restoration of democracy in Myanmar and raised concerns about atrocities against ethnic minorities, after the military junta took control in a coup. 　 Myanmar’s military on Feb. 1 overthrew the country’s democratically elected government and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A state of emergency was declared, rolling back efforts to end more than 50 years of military dictatorship and establish a democratic government through the

Feb. 22, 2021