S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases rebound to over 260,000

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections rebounded to over 260,000 during the 24 hours of Monday, the government reported Tuesday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country’s daily COVID-19 cases came to 266,135, up 138,945 from the previous day’s 127,190. The total caseload rose to 14,267,401. The country’s daily coronavirus cases jumped, largely as more people received COVID-19 tests after the weekend. The number of COVID-19 tests du

April 5, 2022

Convenience stores, internet cafes placed under plastic ban

The Ministry of Environment on Tuesday issued specific guidelines for the restriction on the use of plastic products, specifying that all types of food service businesses, including convenience stores and internet cafes, come under the ban. The government has banned restaurants, cafes, food stalls and bars from giving out single-use products for customers dining in. Single-use products are only available for takeout or delivery services. The latest guideline says that all types of food serv

April 5, 2022

[Newsmaker] UN warns Earth 'firmly on track toward an unlivable world'

BERLIN (AP) -- Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world's top body of climate scientists said Monday, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed "a litany of broken climate promises" by governments and corporations, accusing them of stok

April 5, 2022

[Reporter’s Notebook] Disgruntled young men and their adulation for billionaires

Working class heroes or underdog stories are a beloved topic in pop culture. Take John Lennon’s 1975 song “Working Class Hero” in which he sings “There’s room at the top they are telling you still.” The next line goes, “But first you must learn how to smile as you kill.” In the 2017 single “Mic Drop,“ BTS sings, “Who says my spoon is dirty” ”I don’t care, when I grab the mic, I have several gold spoons.”

April 5, 2022

Seoul to expand late night bus service later this month

The Seoul city government will expand late night bus routes later this month in line with the country's gradual return to normalcy from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Tuesday. The routes for night buses operating from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be increased to 14 from nine, with 100 buses to run on the lines, up 28 from now, according to the city government. The N65 route, currently running from Gaehwa-dong in western Seoul to Siheung-dong in southern Seoul, will also become

April 5, 2022

S. Korea's daily infections jump to over 260,000

South Korea's new coronavirus cases jumped to over 260,000 on Tuesday as the spread of the omicron variant slowed down after peaking out last month. The country reported 266,135 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload to 14,267,401, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's tally marked a sharp climb from 127,190 reported Monday. The number of new daily cases usually shrinks at the beginning of the week due to less testing over the weekend. The number

April 5, 2022

Yoon’s transition team says ending COVID-19 restrictions in two weeks ‘hasty’

Ending social distancing in two weeks may be “hasty,” a COVID-19 adviser on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee said Monday, raising concerns over the government’s intention to dial back protocols. Dr. Jung Ki-suck, one of the COVID-19 experts on the presidential transition committee, said during an interview with a public broadcaster that “lifting restrictions completely two weeks from now seems a bit hasty.” On keeping mask mandates indo

April 4, 2022

[Feature] Our personal takeaways from the COVID experience

Past the omicron peak, South Korea now has over 14 million accumulated coronavirus cases, which means in this country of 52 million, more than 1 in every 4 have gotten COVID-19 at least once.  A vast number of them must have had that experience in the past several weeks, as the country’s virus curve hit over 620,000 daily cases on March 17.  But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. People who have recently recovered shared with The Korea Herald some of the positive t

April 4, 2022

Kakao to build S. Korea’s 1st K-pop arena in Seoul

South Korean IT giant Kakao and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have signed an agreement to build the country’s first and largest arena dedicated to staging K-pop performances, officials said Monday. Called Seoul Arena, the multicultural complex will begin construction in June and is expected to be completed in October 2025. Seoul Arena will be built in Seoul’s northern Dobong-gu and will be capable of accommodating more than 20,000 concertgoers for a single event. According to

April 4, 2022

S. Korea‘s daily COVID-19 cases drop to lowest in 6 weeks

South Korea reported the lowest COVID-19 daily cases in around six weeks for the 24 hours of Sunday, according to the country’s health authorities on Monday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country’s daily COVID-19 infections reported for Sunday reached 127,190, bringing the total caseload to 14,001,406. This daily figure was the lowest since Feb. 22, when the country reported 99,562 COVID-19 cases. The noticeable decrease Sunday was largely d

April 4, 2022

Education Ministry earmarks W600b for ‘education recovery’

The Education Ministry said Monday it will inject 600 billion won ($492.69 million) into its “education recovery” project to provide academic and psychological support for students that have had to cope with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. With the social distancing rules in Korea expected to take a new turn in the gradual return to normalcy, the ministry is set to draw up a new guideline for infectious disease control and prevention at schools. “This week, we will have a

April 4, 2022

Over 12,000 migrant workers to arrive in S. Korea in H1: govt.

More than 12,000 migrant workers will enter South Korea in the first half of this year to relieve labor shortage in farming and fishing areas, the justice ministry said Monday. Of the total of 12,330 migrant workers invited to the country, 100 from the Philippines first arrived here on Monday, with 200 more expected to come by Wednesday. The 300 Filipino workers have been invited by the Yanggu county government in the eastern Gangwon Province ahead of the busy farming season. Last week, the just

April 4, 2022

S. Korea's daily infections fall to 6-week low; concerns linger amid eased restrictions

South Korea's new coronavirus cases dropped to the lowest tally in six weeks Monday, but there are lingering concerns of another spike over the eased virus curbs. The country reported 127,190 new COVID-19 infections, including 15 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 14,001,406, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily tally marked the lowest number since the 99,562 cases on Feb. 22. The death toll from COVID-19 came to 17,453, up 218 from Sunday, t

April 4, 2022

Seoul to actively consider building new crematoriums amid rising COVID-19 deaths

The Seoul city government will actively consider building new crematoriums in addition to adding furnaces to existing ones in an effort to meet soaring cremation demand from rising COVID-19 deaths, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Sunday. Oh made the remark to reporters during a visit to Seoul Memorial Park, a crematorium on the southern outskirts of Seoul, saying the demand for cremation is difficult to meet even though the facilities have been in operation at full capacity. "Workers in the

April 3, 2022

South Korea looks to end social distancing once and for all

Social distancing may come to a complete end in South Korea in two weeks’ time, according to top officials, over prospects that the ongoing omicron wave is leveling off and receding. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said during a government COVID-19 meeting Friday that there would be “a bold shake-up of the remaining social distancing practices” that are due to expire on April 17. In a news briefing held the same day Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said the countr

April 3, 2022

Daily infections below 300,000 for 3rd day

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 300,000 for the third consecutive day Sunday as the spread of the omicron variant slowed down after peaking out last month. The country reported 234,301 new COVID-19 infections, including 22 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,874,216, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea has seen a downward trend in daily cases in recent weeks, with a record high of over 620,000 on March 17 falling

April 3, 2022

Spy agency detects 99 cases of attempted industrial spying for five years

The National Intelligence Service has detected a total of 99 cases of attempted industrial espionage over the past five years, which would have cost domestic companies about 22 trillion won ($18 billion), the agency said Saturday. Technologies and trade secrets targeted in the cases from January 2017 to February 2022 involved display devices (19 cases), semiconductors (17), electric and electronic products (17), automobiles (9), shipbuilding (8), information and communications (8) and machine

April 2, 2022

Worker killed in explosion at Hyundai Heavy shipyard

ULSAN -- A worker was killed Saturday in an explosion at a shipyard of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in the southeastern port city of Ulsan, police said. The employee in his 50s, hired by a subcontractor, was cutting steel plates with oxy-fuel gas when the blast occurred at 7:48 a.m. at a plant of the world's largest shipbuilder in the city, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul. He fell unconscious and was sent to a hospital, but he was declared dead, according to police. Other workers at the sce

April 2, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 300,000 for 2nd day

South Korea's new daily COVID-19 cases remained below 300,000 for the second consecutive day Saturday as the omicron variant was spreading at a slower pace after peaking out last month. The country reported 264,171 new COVID-19 infections, including 68 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 13,639,915, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. South Korea has seen a downward trend in new cases in recent weeks, with an all-time high of over 620,000 on March 17 dippin

April 2, 2022

Widow of late authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan to continue husband’s trial

Lee Soon-ja, the widow of South Korea’s late authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan, will take on legal proceedings involving a civil case against Chun, as she decided to inherit her late husband’s assets. Lee, however, will not be entitled to pay the penalty that Chun failed to pay during his life, which amounts to 95.6 billion won ($78.6 million), or 43 percent of the 220.5 billion won that the court ordered him to forfeit. Under the current law in South Korea, forfeiture cannot be

April 1, 2022