[Newsmaker] 'Anti-Nth Room' legislation, an unfulfilled promise?

In late 2019, South Korea was shocked by an online sex crime ring that blackmailed over 70 young women, many of them minors, into filming explicitly sexual content to be sold for profit on Telegram chat rooms. The ensuing public outrage resulted in a series of legal changes, collectively known as the “anti-Nth Room” legislation.  The case, widely referred to as “Nth Room” after one of the chat rooms where the illicit content was shared and men paid to join, is the

July 11, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 15,000 amid resurgence woes

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell to below 15,000 on Monday due mainly to fewer tests over the weekend amid rising concerns about a recent resurgence in infections. The country added 12,693 new COVID-19 infections, including 180 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,524,583, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The KDCA reported 18 deaths from the virus, putting the death toll at 24,661. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent. The number of critica

July 11, 2022

Osstem Implant sues ex-employee, family in embezzlement scandal

Dental implant maker Osstem Implant Co. has launched a compensation suit against its former employee accused of embezzling company funds worth 221.5 billion won ($171 million) and his family, sources said Monday. Osstem Implant sued the former employee in charge of managing corporate funds, only identified by his surname Lee, and his wife, sister, sister-in-law and her husband, demanding compensation worth 1 billion won, they said. Lee has been indicted on charges of embezzling company funds bet

July 11, 2022

Is South Korea heading toward another omicron wave?

South Korea is warily eyeing its latest bump in cases as omicron’s new and likely more elusive subvariant, BA.5, begins to dominate. For two consecutive days on Sunday, the number of cases counted daily topped 20,000 -- a mark that has not been passed since mid-May in the aftermath of the spring omicron wave. Over the most recent seven-day period, 17,467 cases were reported per day on average, marking a 92 percent jump from 9,092 cases seen in the prior period. Lee Ki-il, the vice min

July 10, 2022

Meth overdose likely behind deaths of a patron and a staff at Gangnam bar: police

Meth overdoses could be the cause of the two deaths – just hours apart – of a patron and a staff member of a late-night bar in Seoul’s Gangnam, police investigating the case said Sunday.  On July 5, at around 8 a.m., a man in his 20s was found unconscious in his car at a park in southern Seoul. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  About two hours later, a woman in her 30s was found dead at her home. The deceased was an employee of a bar in Gan

July 10, 2022

Korean Air plane makes emergency landing in Azerbaijan after engine defect

ISTANBUL/SEOUL -- A Korean Air plane that departed from Turkiye made an emergency landing in Azerbaijan after a defect was found in one of its engines, the Seoul-based firm said Sunday. The Incheon-bound KE9956 aircraft with 215 passengers and 10 crew members aboard landed at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in the capital of Baku, about 1 1/2 hours after taking off from Istanbul at 6:25 p.m. on Saturday (local time). A vibration sensor message emerged from the No. 2 engine on the right, and

July 10, 2022

New COVID-19 cases above 20,000 for 2nd day

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 20,000 for the second consecutive day Sunday amid growing concerns about a resurgence in infections nationwide. The country added 20,410 new COVID-19 infections, including 250 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,511,845, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The KDCA reported 19 more deaths from the virus, putting the death toll at 24,643. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent. The number of critically il

July 10, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases back above 20,000 in 1 1/2 months

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back above 20,000 for the first time in 45 days Saturday, putting authorities on alert over a possible uptick amid the summer vacation season. The country added 20,286 new COVID-19 infections, including 223 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,491,435, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Saturday's tally is up 963 from the previous day and nearly double the 10,712 reported a week ago. It also marks the first time the dai

July 9, 2022

S. Korea to introduce new anti-epidemic measures amid COVID-19 resurgence

The South Korean government announced Friday that it would introduce anti-epidemic measures for the inter-seasonal resurgence of COVID-19 next week. During a COVID-19 response meeting on Friday, Lee Ki-il, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, officially confirmed that the country is going through a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lee added the government is currently consulting with medical experts for anti-epidemic measures to counter the resurgence that has re

July 8, 2022

Justice Minister Han tests positive for COVID-19 after US trip

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon has tested positive for COVID-19, the Ministry of Justice announced Friday. According to the ministry, Han received a PCR test on Thursday after he arrived at Incheon Airport from his eight-day visit to the US, which included a meeting with the director of the FBI. The ministry noted Han would work from home until Wednesday next week, following the country‘s mandatory seven-day self-quarantine rule applied to those infected with COVID-19. Han had visited

July 8, 2022

S. Korea's 1st monkeypox patient discharged from hospital after recovery

South Korea's first reported monkeypox patient has been discharged from a hospital after recovering following self-isolation treatment, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Friday. The South Korean, who was admitted to Incheon Medical Center upon arriving in the country from Germany on June 21, left the hospital Thursday after doctors concluded there was no virus infectivity. The isolation treatment of the person, whose identity was withheld, lasted 15 days. "The

July 8, 2022

Apology letters to have less impact in court

A letter of apology will have a smaller impact in court, beginning in October this year, according to the Sentencing Commission, an independent agency affiliated with the Supreme Court, Thursday. An apology letter is a widely used measure in court, through which defendants can show that they are sorry for their offending behavior and fully understand the seriousness of their wrongdoings. However, while apology letters have been widely regarded as an effective measure to improve defendants&l

July 7, 2022

W3.6tr in early education funds to be reallocated for semiconductor training

Some 3.6 trillion won ($2.8 billion) earmarked in the Education Ministry budget for early childhood, elementary and secondary education will be reallocated for higher and lifelong education, such as nurturing semiconductor talent, the ministry said Thursday. The revamped education subsidy plans were put forward “in consideration of the changing education environment,” the ministry said in a statement. The extra budget will be used to strengthen research and training at universiti

July 7, 2022

[Newsmaker] Monkeypox feared to trigger fresh wave of homophobia

The COVID-19 pandemic is not quite over yet, but the world is on alert for the next virus: monkeypox.  To date, more than 6,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 58 countries, with over 80 percent of the cases in Europe, according to the World Health Organization.  Korea confirmed its first case of the virus on June 22. The first patient is a Korean citizen who returned from a trip to Germany and showed symptoms of fever, sore throat, lethargy and skin lesions, the Korea Dise

July 7, 2022

Abortion ruling prompts variety of reactions from states

The US Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had provided a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, although the timing of those laws taking effect varies. Some Republican-led states will ban or severely limit abortion immediately, while other restrictions will take effect later. At least one state, Texas, is waiting until after the Supreme Court issues its formal judgment in the case, which is

July 7, 2022

3 fishing boats catch fire at Jeju port, 3 seriously injured

JEJU -- Three fishing boats docked at a port on the southern island of Jeju caught fire Thursday, leaving three people seriously injured, firefighting authorities said. The fire started in one boat at Hallim Port at 10:17 a.m. and is believed to have spread to two others, according to the Coast Guard and firefighters. Three people were rescued from the sea reportedly with serious injuries and were transported to a hospital, officials said. Coast Guard rescuers and six patrol ships were battling

July 7, 2022

Presidential office says it is paying close attention to probe into ex-spy chiefs

The presidential office said Thursday it is paying close attention to the prosecution's investigations into two former spy chiefs accused of mishandling two separate cases involving North Korea. The investigations were launched after the National Intelligence Service on Wednesday filed complaints against its former Directors Park Jie-won and Suh Hoon. Park is accused of deleting intelligence-related reports on North Korea's killing of a South Korean fisheries official at sea in Septemb

July 7, 2022

Soongsil University to open employment support program for young job seekers

Soongsil University is starting an employment support program for its students and young locals with a goal to help them start their careers in industries of their choice upon graduation. The university announced Thursday a program dubbed “Job Go,” running from July 18 to Aug. 5 will be available for current and former Soongsil University students as well as any young local job seeker. It will be available to 60 students on a first-come, first-served basis. The program includes thr

July 7, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 18,000 for 3rd day amid resurgence woes

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 18,000 for the third straight day Thursday, as the nation embarks on a summer vacation season amid the eased social distancing restrictions. The country added 18,511 new COVID-19 infections, including 194 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,451,862, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's tally is similar to the 18,147 on Tuesday and the 19,371 on Wednesday but nearly doubled from the 9,591 a

July 7, 2022

‘Let Mother Nature do her job’

The American West is battling a “biblical” explosion of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets. Italy’s Sardinia has been hit by what has been described as the worst locust outbreak in 60 years. It seems the world is under an invasion of insects.  And South Korea has its own problem.  An outbreak of tiny flies called “lovebugs” has brought an onslaught of complaints from residents in the northwestern part of Seoul and adjacent city of Goyang, Gyeonggi Provinc

July 6, 2022