S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 200,000; govt. to ease virus curbs

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 200,000 on Wednesday, continuing the downward trend after last month's peak, with the government set to further ease virus curbs to regain normalcy. The country added 195,419 more COVID-19 infections, including 37 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,830,644, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest tally is a drop from Tuesday's 210,755, marking a steady decline in the virus curve from the March 17 peak

April 13, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Feature] Not everyone is ready to unmask

Omicron appears to be losing its grip in South Korea, raising hopes for a return to pre-pandemic life. For many Koreans, this would entail a farewell to face masks, a daily nuisance that they had to get used to for the past two years.  But not all are happy to ditch their masks. Some say masks are one of the good things that came out of the pandemic in a society obsessed with looks.  “After two years (of wearing masks), it doesn’t bother me too much to wear one for a l

April 13, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases bounce back to more than 200,000

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to more than 200,000 on Tuesday after falling to the lowest level in seven weeks a day earlier amid the government's efforts to return to normalcy. The country reported 210,755 new COVID-19 infections, including 33 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,635,274, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The public health agency reported 171 new COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, raising the death toll to 19,850. The nu

April 12, 2022

Korea-Sweden Arts and Culture Society’s leader meets with Swedish Speaker of Parliament

Swedish Speaker of Parliament Andreas Norlen and his wife Helena Norlen, on an official visit to Korea at the invitation of National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, met with President Lee Sang-kyun of the Korea-Sweden Arts and Culture Society (KOSACS) to share views on cultural ties and exchanges between the two countries. President Lee said at the meeting, “Artistic and cultural exchanges between countries awaken citizens’ cultural sensibilities and passions, while providing th

April 12, 2022

‘Bill to benefit criminals’: Legal experts slam Democratic Party of Korea’s prosecution reform push

Top legal scholars and societies have hit back at the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s push to strip the prosecution completely of its investigative powers, warning the move will end up benefiting criminals and hurting victims. Last week the Democratic Party leadership said the party would legislate the prosecution reform bill before the end of Moon Jae-in administration in early May. During a session Tuesday, the party agreed on reform of the prosecution -- “complete forfeiture

April 12, 2022

Education Ministry waters down on self-testing measure for students

School quarantines will be relaxed starting from Monday next week, with students advised to test themselves once a week using self-testing kits, the Ministry of Education announced Tuesday. The Education Ministry has decided to reduce the frequency of recommended self-testing to once a week from twice a week for kindergarteners, elementary and middle school students. Since the semester began in March, students were advised to test themselves twice a week using rapid antigen testing kits. Ho

April 12, 2022

Korea finds first case of omicron recombinant variant, XL

The first case of an omicron recombinant variant, XL, was discovered in South Korea, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced Tuesday. The XL patient, who tested positive on March 23, was boosted with a third dose, had no recent travel history and showed a mild disease course, said Lee Sang-won, the head of the KDCA’s epidemiological analysis team, during a briefing Tuesday. XL is one of about 17 different combinations of omicron’s two sublineages BA.1 and BA.2 t

April 12, 2022

Forest fire extinguishing rate reaches 95% in Gangwon border town

Firefighting authorities on Tuesday mobilized all available manpower and equipment to contain the main fires in the northeastern border town of Yanggu hit by a large-scale forest fire for the third day. According to the Korea Forest Service (KFS), the fire extinguishing rate reached 95 percent as of 6:30 a.m. in Yanggu, 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul and about 20 km south of the border with North Korea. Authorities deployed 30 helicopters and 788 firefighting personnel shortly after sunrise t

April 12, 2022

Incheon Int'l Airport becomes world's No. 2 in cargo handling

WASHINGTON -- Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to South Korea, became the world's second-busiest cargo airport in 2021, up one notch from the previous year, a trade body said Monday. Incheon International Airport handled 3.23 million tons of international cargo, up 18.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Airports Council International (ACI). The airport, some 40 kilometers west of Seoul, ranked third in the world in terms of international cargo handling in 2019 and 2020

April 12, 2022

[Herald Interview] What would Yoon presidency mean for migrant workers?

Domestic news is all about President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and his plans for the next five years at South Korea’s helm. But Udaya Rai, who leads Migrants’ Trade Union in Korea, finds little clues as to how the country would be different for his fellow migrant workers who fill the “3D” jobs -- dirty, dangerous and difficult -- which are often shunned by locals. The president-elect’s image as being anti-foreigner and his apparent lack of interest in their rights doe

April 12, 2022

Koreans set to get a year younger as Yoon seeks to ditch ‘Korean age’

The transition committee for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that it would amend laws to use international age instead of “Korean age” to reduce social and economic costs associated with allowing more than one way to count age. Under the Korean age system, Koreans are 1 year old at birth, and they get a year older on New Year’s Day regardless of their birth date. The system is widely used, though official records usually follow the international norm that starts at

April 11, 2022

Education Ministry sticks to midterm exam plans against protests, presidential transition team

The Ministry of Education will go forward with restricting students confirmed with COVID-19 from taking the upcoming midterm exams, sticking to its original plans despite protests from students and parents. Students who had been confirmed with COVID-19 amid the pandemic were restricted from taking exams at school and given scores based on the average of their past exam records. For the upcoming midterm exams slated for the end of this month, it is likely that a significant number of students

April 11, 2022

S. Korea begins discussion on ending restrictions as cases fall

The South Korean government said Monday that discussions on scrapping COVID-19 restrictions have begun as the omicron wave continues to recede. “(The government) has started a discussion over what to do with overall COVID-19 restrictions, including a mask mandate and social distancing measures,” Son Young-rae, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said Monday. Son added that the government is looking into a post-omicron scheme as well. As COVID-19 figures have tren

April 11, 2022

[From the Scene] In Seoul square, gathering remembers pandemic’s fallen

On the streets of Seoul’s central Gwanghwamun Square on Friday, Koreans gathered in remembrance of the pandemic’s victims. People grieving lost loved ones opened up and shared their stories in one of the capital city’s busiest districts during the afternoon rush hour, and the crowd grew larger as more people passing by stopped to listen. It was one of the first such events to take place in public. COVID-19 has kept patients cut off from visits at hospitals up to their final

April 11, 2022

Decorated US Korean War veteran passes away at age 97

Retired US Army Col. William E. Weber, a highly decorated Korean War veteran noted for his dedicated efforts to help American people remember the 1950-53 conflict, called "The Forgotten War," has passed away. He was 97. Weber reportedly died at his residence in Maryland on Saturday (local time). During the war, Weber served as a member of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team and joined key missions, including the Incheon Landing Operation, to repel North Korean invaders. He lost h

April 11, 2022

[Subway Stories] Thrift shops, hipsters and Chinese god of war at Dongmyo

  The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring the city’s subway stations and surrounding areas. -- Ed. 　 Dongmyo Station on Subway Lines No. 1 and 6 takes its name from a shrine for a Chinese god of war -- Guan Yu.  Most visitors, however, are indifferent to the pavilions that stand behind the shrine’s stoned wall, and do not seem to question why the Han Dynasty warrior, later deified as a god in China, is enshrined there.  Wha

April 11, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 100,000 for first time in 7 weeks

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 100,000 for the first time in seven weeks on Monday, as the omicron wave is slowing after reaching its peak in mid-March. The country added 90,928 new COVID-19 infections, including 21 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,424,598, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's tally marks the first drop to five digits since the Feb. 22 count of 99,562. It is also nearly a two-month low after the 90,438 registere

April 11, 2022

2 dead in gosiwon fire in Seoul

A fire broke out at a low-cost accommodation facility in Seoul early Monday, leaving two dead, officials said. The two men in their 50s and 70s were found with severe burns in the corridor on the second floor of the "gosiwon," tiny one-room occupancies, in Yeongdeungpo district and sent to a nearby hospital but died, according to officials. Seventeen others in the building escaped by themselves without sustaining any injuries. Firefighters were putting out small fires after containing

April 11, 2022

S. Korea’s COVID-19 cases continue downward trend, govt. may lower infectious disease level soon

S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections remained below 200,000 for the second straight day as of midnight Saturday. As the omicron wave shows a clear downward trend, the government noted it will soon announce a post-omicron scheme, along with a decision on downgrading the infectious disease level of COVID-19. 　 According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency‘s report Sunday, the country added 164,481 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Saturday, bringing the to

April 10, 2022