New COVID-19 cases fall to lowest Saturday tally in 3 months

South Korea's new coronavirus cases declined to the lowest tally for a Saturday in three months as the country seeks to return to pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 19,431 new COVID-19 infections, including 59 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,953,135, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The figure is the lowest Saturday tally since July 2, when the cases hit 10,708. The latest virus wave, triggered by the spread of a highly contagious omicron varia

Oct. 8, 2022

[Newsmaker] What is ‘daengdaengi?’ Government’s use of Hangeul slang stirs controversy

The National Institute of Korean Language’s use of slang words on its recent social media post has stirred controversy, questioning whether it is right for the state-run language regulator to use a distorted version of the language. To mark the upcoming Hangeul Day on Sunday, the institute had posted an image to announce its special event on its Twitter account last month. In the posted image, it asked the followers what their views are on using the so-called “Yaminjeongeum.”

Oct. 7, 2022

Korea urged to join race for foreign talent: report

South Korea needs to bring in more professional foreign workers to cope with a continuous decline in the working-age population, a think tank said Friday. According to a report published by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, educators, researchers, engineers, artists and highly-skilled workers accounted for a mere 10 percent of last year’s total 406,669 foreign nationals with employment visas. The rest were mostly low-skilled workers in agriculture, construction and

Oct. 7, 2022

First hydrogen charging station in central Seoul opens

The first hydrogen charging station in central Seoul opened up Friday, the Environment Ministry said. In recent years, the Korean government has been proactive in efforts to encourage the hydrogen economy as hydrogen is an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuel. The new station, located at the Seosomun branch of the Seoul Metropolitan Government office, can charge up to 40 hydrogen powered vehicles a day, using 200 kilograms of hydrogen. It runs based on mobile app reservations. D

Oct. 7, 2022

Methodist pastor fights against punishment after blessing LGBT people

Behind doors closed to the press, the Korean Methodist Church’s court heard an appeals case brought by one pastor to reverse the church's decision to suspend him from his duty for two years at its headquarters in Seoul on Thursday. His sin? Blessing gay people at the Incheon Queer Culture Festival in 2019. “From September 2019 until now, (my action) has been reviewed for three years and we are now finally waiting for the ruling. What I wanted to do from the very beginning was to

Oct. 7, 2022

Response to teenagers cartoon leads to 'Streisand effect'

On Sept. 18, a teenager’s cartoon satirizing President Yoon Suk-yeol won a top prize at a local cartoon contest. No major news outlets gave it major coverage. The work was displayed for three days until Monday at the Bucheon International Comics Festival. It drew some attention, and mixed comments, on social media. Then on Tuesday, a day after the exhibition’s end, the work was thrust into the national spotlight when the Culture Ministry issued a “strong warning” against

Oct. 7, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 30,000 for 2nd day

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases were below 30,000 for the second straight day Friday, as the virus wave continued to show signs of slowing down. The country reported 22,298 new COVID-19 infections, including 54 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,933,756, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's count is down from 28,648 cases a day earlier and lower than the weekly average of 23,538, showing that the virus wave has subsided since it peaked at

Oct. 7, 2022

Subway murder suspect indicted on charges of revenge killing

    Prosecutors on Thursday indicted Jeon Joo-hwan, the suspect in the shocking murder of a female subway worker inside a ladies' restroom at a subway station in Seoul last month, on charges of revenge killing.    Jeon, a 31-year-old former employee of Seoul Metro, is accused of stabbing a female colleague in her 20s to death in a ladies' room at Sindang Station on Sept. 14.    The case shocked the nation, as it was revealed the killing took place one day before

Oct. 6, 2022

Book ‘Secrets of Vine's Management’ focuses on human growth

The book "Secrets of Vine's Management" looks into the importance of focusing on the growth of human resources. The book, written by business adviser Diana Hong, focuses on the growth of Vine Group, a business based in Seoul with some 10 subsidiaries across different industries such as education, platform services, hotel, dining and more. The book is the first in a series which looks into the success of different individuals and businesses in Korea. "Running a business is like v

Oct. 6, 2022

International Youth Fellowship invites students to the 22nd English speech contest

The 22nd IYF English Speaking Contest will be held on Nov. 12, with applications open until later this month. The event is hosted by the International Youth Fellowship and sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Seoul Metropolitan City and the National Council of Youth Organizations in Korea. Middle and high school student applicants must submit their scripts by Oct. 15, and university student applicants by Oct. 22. Common themes for all participants are: "My dream," "Moving momen

Oct. 6, 2022

Woman murdered by husband even after several reports of domestic violence

A woman in her 40s, who was suffering from continuous domestic violence, was murdered by her husband in the street on Tuesday, once again raising alarm over the country's measures for protecting victims. The victim had reported her situation to police multiple times, but restraining orders and separation measures were not effective enough. The suspect, a 50-year-old man, was arrested later Tuesday, and has reportedly claimed that he cannot remember the incident because he was drunk. The vic

Oct. 6, 2022

Main parties to lock horns over abolition of Gender Ministry

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has begun the official process of shutting down the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but turbulence is expected, as the main opposition party remains against the abolition. According to the plans set out by the Yoon administration, the ministry would be shut down and its focus on youth, family and gender equality would be transferred to a bureau under the Ministry of Health and Welfare under the name of "Population Family Gender Equality Division.&qu

Oct. 6, 2022

Supreme Court recognizes honor killing threat victims as refugees for the first time

The Supreme Court has recognized the need to grant refugee status to a Pakistani couple facing a threat of honor killing, upholding a lower court's ruling. This the first case in which refugee status has been granted to people at risk of being a victim of honor killing. The husband, who was studying in Korea, returned to Pakistan in 2016, met a woman and promised to get married. But the couple faced opposition from the woman’s family. The wife testified that she had been kidnapped, be

Oct. 6, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 30,000 amid concerns over reinfection

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 30,000 Thursday, slightly down from a week ago, amid concerns over rising reinfection rates ahead of the winter flu season. The country reported 28,648 new COVID-19 infections, including 82 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,911,497, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's count is down from 30,861 cases a week ago and more than halved from 72,620 four weeks ago, showing the virus wave has subside

Oct. 6, 2022

Phishing scams cost victims W1.76t over past 5 yrs: data

Phishing scams in South Korea have caused more than 1.76 trillion won ($1.24 billion) in damage over the past five years, with less than 30 percent of the stolen money being retrieved, government data showed Thursday. Phishing is a process in which victims are conned into sharing their personal passwords or security codes via phone calls, messages or emails, allowing fraudsters to access their bank accounts. Money transfer scams, in which victims are deceived by scammers mostly impersonating inv

Oct. 6, 2022

Proud to be Korean? More people say no

Nearly 1 in 5 Koreans say they are not proud of their nationality, and 1 in 3 say they are not willing to fight for the country, according to the World Values Survey, a global research project conducted by social scientists on Wednesday. To a question asking if they feel proud of their nationality, 18.6 percent of Korean respondents said “no,” showed the cross-national, five-year study conducted between 2017 and 2022. In the previous WVS, carried out between 2010 and 2014, 9 percent

Oct. 5, 2022

Coding education heats up following ‘digital talent’ roadmap

Public resources for computer programming education remain short, while illegal practices are common place in private programming education, a Ministry of Education inspection showed. The Education Ministry conducted a nationwide inspection of 501 private institutions teaching programming in September, and found 154 violations at 86 institutions which involved false tuition fees, operating an unregistered curriculum, running false or exaggerated advertisements, and other violations. Of the ins

Oct. 5, 2022

Hangeul Party held in Vietnam to spread value of Korean characters

Hangeul Party, an event aimed at promoting the Korean writing system, was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from Sept. 27 to Friday. The event was hosted and organized by nongovernmental organizations Hangeul Planet and Global Hope, and sponsored by The Korea Herald. At the event, 370 students who major in Korean language at six Vietnamese universities -- Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, HCMC University of Economics and Finance, University of Foreign Languages-Information Technology,

Oct. 5, 2022

Don Spike referred to prosecution on drug charges

Police referred Don Spike, a well-known K-pop composer and TV celebrity, to the prosecution on Wednesday on charges of purchasing and using methamphetamine on multiple occasions this year, officials said. The 45-year-old, whose real name is Kim Min-su, was apprehended at a hotel in southern Seoul last week on charges that he had purchased methamphetamine with an accomplice on a total of eight occasions since December and used them at hotels in Seoul with two women on three occasions since April.

Oct. 5, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit around 35,000 amid rising reinfections

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit around 35,000 on Wednesday, a rebound from the previous day but down by more than 1,000 from a week ago, with a rise in reinfections adding to concerns ahead of the winter season. The country reported 34,739 new COVID-19 infections, including 69 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,882,894, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's count is up from 16,423 reported the previous day, but it's a drop from

Oct. 5, 2022