Jeju mulls increasing minimum resident visa investment to W1.5b

JEJU -- The provincial government of Jeju said Friday it will push to raise the minimum investment required of foreigners under its real-estate investment immigration policy to 1.5 billion won. Under the current property investment immigration system, foreigners who invest 500 million won (about $419,000) or more in condominiums or other resort facilities on the southern resort island are eligible to receive a resident visa. The visa can be upgraded to a permanent residence visa after five year

Jan. 21, 2022

Hanjin chief borrowed money from man at center of corruption scandal, but no illegality found: sources

Prosecutors have found Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air, borrowed and repaid 3 billion won ($2.5 million) from a man at the center of a far-reaching development corruption scandal but concluded there was no illegality in the transaction, sources said Friday. The transaction was detected as the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office looked into bank accounts of Kim Man-bae, who is at the center of the corruption scandal involving a lucrative apartment development project i

Jan. 21, 2022

Daily cases over 6,000 for 2nd day amid omicron woes

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed over 6,000 for a second straight day Friday amid concerns over the spread of the omicron variant ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.   The country added 6,769 new COVID-19 infections, including 6,482 local infections, raising the total caseload to 719,269, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Health authorities are on high alert over a possible spike in infections as many people travel for family reunions

Jan. 21, 2022

Govt. to lower age of eligibility for COVID-19 treatment pills from 65 to 60: PM

The government will lower the age of eligibility for COVID-19 treatment pills from 65 to 60 to better contain the spread of the omicron variant, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday. Kim announced the measure during a COVID-19 response meeting held a day after President Moon Jae-in said omicron has become the dominant strain in the country. The first batch of Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 treatment pills arrived in the country last week to be administered first to those with compromised immune sys

Jan. 21, 2022

Worker killed in POSCO steel mill accident

A worker died at a plant of South Korea‘s top steelmaker POSCO on Thursday after being hit by a coal-moving vehicle, police said. The 38-year-old worker, affiliated with a service provider for the company, was run over by a vehicle charging coal at a POSCO steel mill in the southeastern city of Pohang at around 9:47 a.m. while on duty. He was sent to a nearby hospital, but pronounced dead, according to the Pohang Nambu Police Station and the company. “I offer my deepest apologie

Jan. 20, 2022

Omicron to engulf Korea faster, cause sharper rise

Omicron is spreading through South Korea at a faster pace with the potential to cause a sharper rise than earlier projections, according to an expert advising the government. Dr. Jung Jae-hun, a preventive medicine specialist and COVID-19 adviser to the prime minister, said Thursday the omicron wave is “feared to be worse than previously thought.” Three weeks ago, all of the scenarios modeled by Jung’s team showed more than 10,000 cases a day and up to 2,000 intensive care a

Jan. 20, 2022

Two men sentenced to 3 years in prison over selling illegal abortion pill, abetting infanticide

Two men, who were convicted of selling illegal abortion pills and helping two cases of infanticide, have been sentenced to three years in prison, according to the Daejeon District Court, Thursday. The court also banned the two men from getting child-related careers for three years. In January, 2020, the two men, who are in their 30s, sold illegal abortion pills online to a woman in her 20s. However, the woman gave birth in her bathroom after the abortion pills failed. She then asked the two m

Jan. 20, 2022

80-something man arrested for murder of wife

A man in his 80s who is believed to have murdered his wife over suspicion of a possible relationship with another man has been arrested, police said Thursday. The case has been sent to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation. According to the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station, the man is alleged to have murdered his wife on Jan. 12 at home. The man reportedly called his son and confessed to the crime. The son reported the case to police, and police arrested him at the scene.

Jan. 20, 2022

[Newsmaker] Both sides appeal court’s decision on vaccine pass enforcement

The government and opponents of vaccine pass measures both appealed the court ruling that suspended some parts of the vaccine measures, each claiming the ruling is insufficient.　 “In consideration that we are in a crisis now due to COVID-19 pandemic, the minister has directed an immediate appeal against the case for the Seoul Metropolitan Government,” the Ministry of Justice said Wednesday. “As a ministry of judicial affairs, we will actively respond to lawsuits related to

Jan. 20, 2022

School girls seek online buddies to help each other starve

Some young South Koreans, mostly girls, are looking for “pro-anorexia” friends on social media to encourage each other’s dangerous weight loss.  A search with the hashtags #pro-ana on Twitter return a host of tweets, most made apparently by young girls. They announce one’s resolve to fast or seek “pro-ana” buddies.  Pro-ana is a combination of the prefix “pro-,” meaning supporting or approving of, and “ana,” short for anorex

Jan. 20, 2022

Teen brothers get jail terms in grandmother murder case

DAEGU -- Two underage brothers were sentenced to prison terms of up to 12 years Thursday for killing their caretaker grandmother and assisting in the murder out of rage over her scolding. The Daegu District Court sentenced the 19-year-old elder brother to a prison term of minimum 7 years to maximum 12 years for murdering his grandmother at their home in Daegu in late August last year. He was also ordered to wear a GPS tracker for 10 years. Under the Juvenile Act, courts can give an unfixed ter

Jan. 20, 2022

HIV fight on hold for over 2 years

Concerns are growing as HIV testing has been suspended at most local health centers across Seoul to prioritize the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. All 25 local health centers in the capital used to provide free and anonymous sexually transmitted infection and HIV tests until 2019. Nearly two years into the pandemic, however, HIV and STI testing capacity has been drastically reduced with many locations having stopped testing all together. “We understand that seven community health cen

Jan. 20, 2022

Seoul city to increase low-carbon buildings and electric cars to achieve carbon neutrality

The Seoul city government will renovate worn-out buildings into low-carbon ones and increase the proportion of electric cars in the city by 2026 as part of efforts to respond to climate change, officials said Thursday. The measures were announced as part of a five-year project from 2022 to 2026 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Last year, South Korea finalized its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, as the nation started tackling the challenge of simultaneously responding to climat

Jan. 20, 2022

Daily cases jump to over 6,000 for 1st time in nearly month amid omicron woes

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases jumped to over 6,000 for the first time in 27 days Thursday amid growing worries over the spread of the omicron virus variant ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.   The country added 6,603 new COVID-19 infections, including 6,357 local infections, raising the total caseload to 712,503, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Health authorities are on high alert over a possible spike in infections as many people trave

Jan. 20, 2022

Appellate court upholds life sentence for stalking murderer of three women

An appellate court on Wednesday upheld life sentence of a South Korean man who murdered three women in the same family. While upholding the lower court’s ruling, the Seoul High Court also insisted the 26-year-old murderer Kim Tae-hyun should be sentenced to life in prison without parole. “Although the judicial authority’s opinion has no binding force to parole decisions, the court should clarify its opinion regarding the opportunity of parole,” the court said. “Th

Jan. 19, 2022

S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases surpass 5,000 for the first time in 20 days

South Korea’s daily coronavirus cases surpassed 5,000 for the first time in 20 days as the omicron variant began to spread rapidly. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s announcement on Wednesday, the country added 5,805 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Tuesday, raising the total to 705,902. The figure was 1,733 up from that of the previous day. The figure went over 5,000 for the first time in 20 days since it reached 5,034 on Dec. 30. The number

Jan. 19, 2022

S. Korea's spy agency detects malware infection in over 100 local IoT devices

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Wednesday it has identified more than 100 sets of Internet of Things (IoT) equipment in the country that have been infected with malware. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it has detected the Mozi botnet infection after cooperating with Russian authorities in December last year. It has found a total of around 12,000 devices exposed to the malware in 72 countries. The infected equipment, which can be used in distributed denial-of-service (

Jan. 19, 2022

Heavy snow covers parts of South Korea

Heavy show fell in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces on Wednesday, prompting authorities to issue alerts over potential traffic disturbances and frozen roads. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Seoul received 3.5 centimeters of snow while Gangwon Province‘s Seoraksan and the southeastern Ulleung Island saw heavy snow of 18.5 centimeters and 19.5 centimeters, respectively, as of 2 p.m. The weather agency lifted a heavy snow alert, which indicates that snow of at le

Jan. 19, 2022

Military reports 70 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 70 additional COVID-19 cases, including 69 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,727. Of the new cases, 53 are from the Army, 12 from the Air Force, two from the Navy, two from the Marine Corps, and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. The Army infection count included 29 trainees at the KATUSA training academy located in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, according to an inf

Jan. 19, 2022

HDC Hyundai Development raided in connection with Gwangju apartment building collapse

Investigators on Wednesday raided the headquarters of HDC Hyundai Development Co. in connection with a recent accident at its construction site in Gwangju that left one worker dead and five others missing. Officials from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the National Police Agency conducted a joint raid of the real estate developer's headquarters in central Seoul to search for evidence in connection with the accident that occurred on Jan. 11. Search operations have continued for a week

Jan. 19, 2022