Omicron surge sparks shortage fears of home test kits

The rapid spread of COVID-19 has demand for at-home test kits rising at an alarming rate, with major convenience store chain CU temporarily ceasing distribution to franchises. According to local reports Monday, CU stores across the country have been unable to order new stock of at-home kits since Friday. This is believed to be due to a spike in sales during the Lunar New Year holiday last week, a CU official was cited as saying. CU reported a 700 percent increase in sales of at-home test kits

Feb. 7, 2022

Military reports 150 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Monday reported 150 additional COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its domestic personnel to 6,277. The new cases included 75 from the Air Force, 20 from the Navy, 20 from the Marine Corps, 21 from units under the direct control of the defense ministry and 14 from the Army. Currently, 1,975 military personnel are under treatment. Meanwhile, three more sailors of the Navy's 304-strong Cheonghae unit operating in waters off Africa tested positive, bringing

Feb. 7, 2022

Bear with me: Animal rights awareness in Korea takes strides

Late last month, the Ministry of Environment announced that all bear farming will be outlawed in Korea as of Jan. 1, 2026, and the currently farmed bears will be relocated to shelters for protection by 2025. The decision follows decades of controversy on the practice, which started in 1981 due to high demand for the bear bile used in traditional medicine. “The declaration to cease bear breeding is particularly meaningful because the government, the agricultural industry and civil societ

Feb. 7, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases above 35,000 for 3rd day as omicron's spread picks up

South Korea's new COVID-19 infections stayed at more than 35,000 cases for three days in a row Monday despite fewer tests over the weekend, as the highly infectious omicron variant rages across the country following a major holiday. The country reported 35,286 new COVID-19 infections, including 35,131 local cases, raising the total to 1,044,963, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The accumulated virus caseload surpassed a grim milestone of 1 million the previo

Feb. 7, 2022

South Korea pushes to treat COVID-19 like flu

After just more than two years of the pandemic, South Korea is considering changing the current quarantine system to manage COVID-19 like a seasonal flu, as severe cases decline despite the rapid increase in the spread. Earlier on Friday, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said it would fully review the possibility of switching to a medical system similar to seasonal flu while evaluating the capacity of the medical system, the final severity rate and the fatality rat

Feb. 6, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit fresh high of nearly 40,000 amid omicron wave

South Korea's daily virus cases hit another high Sunday, exceeding 38,000, as the highly transmissible omicron variant rages across the country following a holiday season. The country reported 38,691 new COVID-19 infections, including 38,502 local cases, raising the total to 1,009,688, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The accumulated virus caseload surpassed 1 million on Sunday, two years after the country reported its first COVID-19 case. The daily tally s

Feb. 6, 2022

New cases hit fresh high of over 36,000 amid relentless omicron spread

South Korea's daily virus cases exceeded 30,000 for the first time to hit another all-time high of over 36,000 on Saturday amid fast spread of the omicron variant after a holiday season. The country reported 36,362 new COVID-19 infections, including 36,162 local cases, raising the total to 971,018, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest figure is a whopping increase of nearly 9,000 from the previous daily record of 27,443 reported on Friday. New infections ha

Feb. 5, 2022

Rescuers retrieve body of missing worker from collapsed construction site in Gwangju

Rescue workers on Friday retrieved the body of one more construction worker from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in the southern city of Gwangju, with three more people still trapped or missing from the accident last month. The body was pulled from a heap of concrete debris on the 27th floor of the high-rise building in the city, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, the third person found dead and retrieved from the accident site. The exterior walls of the 39-story building unde

Feb. 4, 2022

Seoul to introduce new subway trains with free phone chargers, wider seats for pregnant women

Seoul's subway operator will introduce brand new trains equipped with free mobile phone chargers and wider seats for pregnant women starting later this month, officials said Friday. Seoul Metro, the operator of the capital's vast subway system, will put five new trains comprising 40 passenger cars into operation on Line 5 starting this month and add 20 more trains to the line by the end of this year, officials said. The new trains make less noise and offer wireless phone chargers for the firs

Feb. 4, 2022

S. Korea sees new daily high of 27,443 COVID-19 cases

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections on Thursday hit a fresh high of 27,443 amid the omicron wave, government data showed Friday. The government also announced Friday that it has decided to extend the current social distancing restrictions for two more weeks until Feb. 20. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the daily cases went up by 4,536 from the previous day’s 22,907. The cumulative total for confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country also reached 934

Feb. 4, 2022

[Weekender] How South Korea went from ‘test, trace, treat’ to ‘let it spread’

South Korea is determined to go easy on omicron, which is behind the ongoing record surge in COVID-19 patients, in the hope that the new dominant variant will not be as bad as the ones that came before. But is this reckless?　 The rationale for the shift to the omicron response plan is that the new variant is less threatening than its predecessor, delta, the government says. Messaging from health officials surrounding omicron has been consistently hopeful. Son Young-rae, spokesperson for th

Feb. 4, 2022

Probe under way over alleged embezzlement by head of independence fighters' association

Police have opened an investigation into embezzlement allegations raised against the head of a state-funded association of national independence fighters and their descendants, officials said Friday. Kim Won-wung, a former three-term lawmaker who heads the Heritage of Korean Independence, is facing allegations that he misappropriated a total of 45 million won ($37,465) last year of the business proceeds from a cafe his organization operates inside the National Assembly compound. He allegedly

Feb. 4, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases hit fresh high of 27,443 as omicron surges

South Korea's daily virus cases on Friday hit another all-time high with infections exceeding 27,000 for the first time amid the fast spread of the omicron variant after a holiday season. The country reported 27,443 new COVID-19 infections, including 27,283 local cases, raising the total to 934,656, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The previous daily record was 22,907 reported on Thursday. The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,836, up 24 from Thursday. The

Feb. 4, 2022

Confusion on day of Korea’s big shift to omicron plan

From Thursday onward, Korea has begun its transition to the omicron response that entails a reduced governmental role in controlling the spread of the coronavirus and patient management, but a lot of the foretold changes are yet to be implemented in practice. Despite announcing that select primary care doctor offices would take on rapid antigen testing and both remote and in-person care of nonhospitalized patients, the list of clinics providing these services had not yet been disclosed as of

Feb. 3, 2022

Seoul's daily COVID-19 infection cases exceed 5,000 for 1st time

The daily COVID-19 tally in Seoul has surpassed 5,000 for the first time, setting an all-time high for the second consecutive day, officials said Thursday. The Seoul city government reported 5,218 new cases Wednesday, up 1,009 from the previous high of 4,209 tallied the previous day. The latest tally was 1,789 higher than 3,429 recorded a week ago. Of the total, only 27 were cases of travelers from abroad. The proportion of omicron variant among new weekly infections rose to 60.5 percent la

Feb. 3, 2022

Working age population predicted to fall by 3.2m in 2020-2030: report

South Korea is predicted to see its working age population shrink by a whopping 3.2 million during the 2020-2030 period amid the country's graying demographics, a government labor report showed Thursday. The estimate of people aged 15-64 would represent a turnaround from a growth of 1.17 million between 2010 and 2020 and 2.66 million during the previous decade, the labor ministry said in a report illustrating the seriousness of the country's low birthrate and fast-aging population. People age

Feb. 3, 2022

3 in 10 Seoul women support nonmarital pregnancies: report

Almost three out of 10 women in Seoul believe they can have babies outside marriage, a city government report showed Thursday. According to the report, 28.1 percent of women and 31.6 percent of men living in the capital said they can have children even if they are not married. About six in 10 women and men said they can live together with their partners before marriage. The report was based on various surveys conducted on Seoul residents between 2018 and 2021. There were about 9.79 million

Feb. 3, 2022

Over 200,000 tourists visit Jeju during Lunar New Year

JEJU -- Tourist arrivals on the southern resort island of Jeju surged over 30 percent from a year ago during the just-ended Lunar New Year holiday, industry data showed Thursday, amid mounting concern about the spread of the omicron variant. According to the data from Jeju's tourism association, 203,437 visitors arrived on Jeju during the extended holiday, which ran from Saturday to Wednesday, marking an increase of 32.9 percent from 153,132 visitors during last year's Lunar New Year holiday.

Feb. 3, 2022

‘Rent a puppy for a day’

South Korea’s pet scene is evolving, with over 10 million of the country’s 51 million population owning companion animals. Various businesses cater to pet owners or their beloved animal friends, ranging from high-end clothing to pet funeral services.  Amid a growing interest in pets, however, there are illegal businesses renting out puppies or kittens for those who want the pet experience, minus the responsibility or commitment to a long-term relationship. For them, pets are no

Feb. 3, 2022

Omicron drives daily virus caseload to over 20,000 for 2nd day

South Korea broke its single-day COVID-19 case record again Thursday with infections topping 20,000 for the second day in a row, as holiday gatherings and travel fueled omicron's fast spread. The country reported 22,907 new virus infections, including 22,773 local cases, raising the total to 907,214, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The previous daily record was 20,270 reported on Wednesday. The death toll from COVID-19 came to 6,812, up 25 from a day earli

Feb. 3, 2022