S. Korea reports 68,551 new COVID-19 cases

South Korea reported 68,551 new coronavirus cases Saturday as the highly contagious omicron subvariant BA.5 continued to spread. The tally is 1.66 times the number of cases a week ago but similar to the 68,632 new infections reported the previous day. Saturday's cases, including 293 from overseas, raised the country's total caseload to 19,146,180, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The daily caseload more than doubled to 73,582 on Tuesday from 26,299 a day earlier and rose

July 23, 2022

S. Korea is slow on consuming COVID-19 pills

South Korea is slow on consuming COVID-19 pills, yet the government earlier announced that it would secure additional pills in the future, government data showed Friday. The government expects that its increased number of one-stop COVID-19 treatment centers -- where people can take virus tests, get in-person medical care services and receive antiviral drugs -- would increase accessibility to COVID-19 pills. However, the COVID-19 pill use was still low. According to government data, the count

July 22, 2022

S. Korea’s daily cases reach 68,000, up 9.5 times from four weeks ago

South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases on Thursday reached 68,000, up nearly 10 times than four weeks ago, fueled by the spread of a highly contagious new omicron strain, BA.5. The number of critically ill patients also surpassed 100 for the second straight day, government data showed Friday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 68,632 COVID-19 infections on Thursday. The daily tally is 9.5 times higher than 7,218 cases reported four weeks ago. The f

July 22, 2022

Talks to end 51-day shipyard strike enter crucial phase

GEOJE -- The 51-day sit-in protest by subcontract workers at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) shipyard on the southeastern coast entered a crucial phase Friday, as labor and management were struggling to strike a last-minute deal before the shipyard's two-week summer holiday begins this weekend. If both sides fail to reach an agreement during the day, the sit-in will likely drag on for a very long period of time, dealing a fatal blow to the world's fourth-largest

July 22, 2022

Campus rape suspect referred to prosecutors with added charge of filming rape scene

INCHEON -- Police referred a university freshman accused of raping a schoolmate and causing her to fall to her death to the prosecution Friday for potential indictment with an additional charge of filming the rape scene, officials said. "I am sincerely sorry," said the 20-year-old student of Inha University in Incheon, west of Seoul, as he was transferred to the prosecution, without responding to questions from reporters, including on whether and why he did not help her immediately aft

July 22, 2022

Mass COVID-19 outbreak following school field trip

A school field trip to Jeju Island resulted in a mass infection of COVID-19 for a high school based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. A total of 159 high school students and faculty members tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday. According to the North Jeolla Province Education Office, some 440 high school students and 20 faculty members went to Jeju Island from July 12 to 15. Though this trip is usually only taken by first graders, this year, second graders joined in as they could n

July 21, 2022

OECD Working Group on Bribery voices 'serious concerns' over prosecution reform laws

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Working Group on Bribery has voiced "serious concerns" that the recently enacted prosecution reform laws could hamper the country's capacity to investigate and prosecute foreign bribery. The Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions, tasked with monitoring the implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and other instruments, voiced the opinion in a statement Wednesday after adopting it d

July 21, 2022

Two-day int'l ocean forum opens in Incheon

An international ocean forum kicked off in the western port city of Incheon on Thursday to seek ways to further promote the maritime industry. The two-day Incheon International Ocean Forum (IIOF) 2022 opened at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, about 30 kilometers west of Seoul, under the theme of "The World Calls, The Ocean Waves," bringing together maritime industry experts and businessmen from across the world. The forum is hosted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Incheon m

July 21, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 70,000 for 3rd day as subvariant spreads

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 70,000 for the third straight day Thursday due to the spread of a highly contagious omicron subvariant. The country reported 71,170 new COVID-19 infections, including 320 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 19,009,080, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload more than doubled to 73,582 on Tuesday from 26,299 a day earlier and rose to 76,402 on Wednesday. The KDCA said it expected the omicron suvari

July 21, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Herald Interview] We need more ‘Attorney Woos,’ says Florida’s first publicly autistic attorney

  The hit drama series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” presents the story of rookie lawyer Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), who is on the autism spectrum.  Showing Woo tackle difficult cases as she grows as a lawyer, while overcoming adversity and prejudice, the 16-part legal drama from television channel ENA was the most watched non-English TV show on Netflix during the week of July 11-17. For most viewers in Korea, where the show is set, the life and career of the

July 20, 2022

S. Korea to boost COVID testing, beds as cases expected to peak at 300,000

Health authorities estimate that the new omicron wave would peak at around 300,000 COVID-19 cases a day, the government said Wednesday. The government added that it would expand the country’s medical capacity to cope with the increasing number of infections and severe cases. ”The number of daily COVID-19 infections, at its peak, is expected to come to some 300,000,“ said Lee Ki-il, second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, during a COVID-19 response meeting

July 20, 2022

[Reporter’s Notebook] Time to uncover discrimination around us

Cable channel ENA’s hit legal drama series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” offers a glimpse of what it might be like to work with a person who has autism spectrum disorder. The main character is an autistic genius named Woo Young-woo (played by Park Eun-bin), who, after graduating from a top law school with honors thanks to her photographic memory, embarked on a career as an attorney at a big law firm. The series follows the rookie lawyer as she tackles one case after another

July 20, 2022

New infections stay above 70,000 as subvariant spreads

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 70,000 for the second straight day Wednesday as a highly contagious omicron subvariant is spreading fast amid eased virus curbs. The country reported 76,402 new COVID-19 infections, including 429 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,937,971, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. On Tuesday, the daily caseload more than doubled to 73,582 from 26,299 a day earlier. Daily infections stood at 41,310 on Saturday and 4

July 20, 2022

Violent crimes up in Q2 on eased COVID-19 restrictions: data

The number of violent crimes in the second quarter of the year jumped 14 percent compared with a quarter earlier, data showed Wednesday, partially on the back of eased social distancing measures. A total of 367,412 crimes occurred in the April-June period, compared with 322,346 cases in the previous three months, according to the data compiled by the National Police Agency (NPA). The number of arrests made in the second quarter came to 284,503, up 22.1 percent on-quarter, the NPA said. By the ty

July 20, 2022

Young students learn importance of environmental activism through Action for Clean Environment Fellowship

Action for Clean Environment (ACE), a global non-profit organization aiming to facilitate global environmental activism, completed the 2022 Fellowship for Young Leaders Program with a ceremony held on Saturday in Seoul.  According to the organizers, 11 students ranging from second to eleventh grade participated in the program this year. The program, lasting three weeks, comprised of three main sessions; active team debate on the issue of pollution: touring Sikmulsung Dosan, essay writing

July 19, 2022

Death penalty revisited

Last Thursday, the Constitutional Court kicked off open hearings on the constitutionality of the death penalty, which is stated in law but has not been carried out for over two decades here. The country currently has 59 men on death row, but the last time anyone was executed was Dec.30, 1997, when 23 were hanged. Categorized as “abolitionist in practice” by Amnesty International, South Korea has made its stance clear, casting its vote in favor of the resolution for a moratorium o

July 19, 2022

Most suicide victims showed signs prior to death but went unnoticed: report

Most suicide victims showed warning signs before taking their own lives, according to a Ministry of Health and Welfare report. The report, released Tuesday, reviewed 801 cases of suicides involving South Koreans ages 19 and older between 2015 and 2021. The report found that 94 percent of suicide victims exhibited signs that included talking about dying or wanting to die; making preparations such as sorting through their belongings and cleaning out their surroundings; withdrawing from friends

July 19, 2022

Korea to lift school limits in chip expert push

The government will lift restrictions on universities to train 150,000 people with expertise in the semiconductor industry over the course of 10 years, the Ministry of Education’s road map showed Tuesday. The announcement comes less than a month after President Yoon Suk-yeol called for special measures to boost the semiconductor industry, including training the next generation of talent. The local chip industry has repeatedly pointed out shortage of manpower to be a problem as many expe

July 19, 2022

Campus safety upped after Inha University murder

The Education Ministry said it will tighten access to campuses at night and increase the number of closed-circuit TVs at Inha University in Incheon in response to the recent death of a student. “We are deeply sorry about the death of a student at Inha University, which happened on Friday,” the Education Ministry issued an official statement Monday. “We will do our best to ensure the safety of the university campus.” The ministry proposed increasing the number of close

July 19, 2022

S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections double on-week to over 70,000

South Korea‘s new coronavirus cases doubled again Monday from the previous week to surpass 70,000, amid a resurgence of infections fueled by the highly contagious new omicron strain BA.5. In figures released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday morning, the country reported 73,582 additional cases. That was more than double from a week earlier, when the country posted 37,360 cases. The figure is up more than fourfold from 18,147 cases two weeks ago. It is also

July 19, 2022