Police to detain stalking suspects in high-risk cases to better protect victims

Police will take stalking suspects into custody in high-risk cases as part of efforts to bolster victim protection, officials said Wednesday, after facing criticism for failing to provide due protection to victims in two recent stalking murder cases. The measure was announced as part of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's plan to strengthen its response capability against stalking crimes after two people were recently killed in stalking cases that had been reported to police. Last week, a 2

Dec. 15, 2021

2 arrested for allegedly locking up 12-year-old girl for sex

Two men have been arrested for allegedly locking up an elementary school girl for over 10 hours for sex, police said Wednesday. The two unidentified men, both in their early 20s, were suspected of locking up the 12-year-old at a residential "officetel" building in Shindang-dong, central Seoul, for about 11 hours from 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The girl was discovered after her mother filed a missing report with police. Police believe the two had sex with the juvenile during the lockup. The s

Dec. 15, 2021

Seoul's daily COVID-19 infection cases exceed 3,000 for 1st time

The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Seoul surpassed 3,000 for the first time on Wednesday, setting a grim milestone for the capital since the onset of the pandemic, according to officials. The city reported 3,166 new cases, 265 higher than the previous record of 2,901 on Dec. 7. The latest tally was 1,104 larger compared to Tuesday's figure of 2,062. Of the total, only nine were cases of travelers from abroad. Seoul has seen an alarming rate of increase in infection cases following last

Dec. 15, 2021

New COVID-19 cases surge to record high; govt. to restore tougher virus curbs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases and critically ill patients surged to fresh record highs Wednesday, with the government tipped to restore toughest virus curbs to contain the spread of infections. The country added 7,850 new COVID-19 infections, including 7,828 local infections, raising the cumulative caseload to 536,495, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Wednesday's figure broke the previous record high of 7,174 cases last Wednesday. Daily virus cases hav

Dec. 15, 2021

No overnight aftershocks reported following Jeju earthquake

No overnight aftershocks were reported following a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that struck off South Korea's southern island of Jeju the previous day, officials said Wednesday. The earthquake occurred at 5:19 p.m. in waters about 41 kilometers off the island's southwestern city of Seogwipo, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). According to KMA, a total of 13 aftershocks occurred after the earthquake. The last one with a 1.3 magnitude took place at 10:36 p.m. Tuesday near th

Dec. 15, 2021

PM hints at return of social distancing as cases rise to new high

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday the government was considering implementing stronger social distancing measures as infections continue to surge, and will announce them soon. As of Tuesday midnight, the number of new daily cases marked 7,850, the highest since the pandemic broke out. The number of severely ill patients increased by 58 from the previous day, reaching the high 900s. The number of new confirmed cases has been increasing sharply after surpassing 4,000 for the first ti

Dec. 15, 2021

4.9 magnitude earthquake hits coast off Jeju

A powerful 4.9-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday afternoon struck the southwestern coast off Jeju Island, causing panic as it marked one of the strongest earthquakes in South Korea’s recent history. The Korea Meteorological Administration said in an emergency alert that the earthquake was observed 32 kilometers southwest of Seogwipo, Jeju Island, at 5:19 p.m. Tuesday. The epicenter is suspected to be 17 kilometers below sea level, with a latitude of 33.15N and a longitude of 126.24E, acco

Dec. 14, 2021

Despite record deaths, Korea hesitates to reimpose restrictions

As deaths and hospitalizations continue a record-breaking streak, the South Korean government says it has yet to decide if COVID-19 restrictions will be brought back. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s spokesperson Son Young-rae told Tuesday’s news briefing that it “may need to evaluate” if reintroducing restrictions is necessary. He denied accusations that the government was “delaying restrictions,” explaining, economic implications also had to be taken

Dec. 14, 2021

Education ministry to improve vaccine pass application measures at cram schools

The education ministry on Tuesday promised to come up with measures to improve its plan to place cram schools under the government vaccine pass system amid strong opposition from students and parents, officials said. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae held a meeting with representatives of the Korea Association of Hakwon (KAOH), a cram school industry trade group, and agreed to present measures related to the vaccine pass expansion by the end of the year. Starting February, the government plans

Dec. 14, 2021

Seoul police to reinvestigate all ongoing stalking cases to bolster victim protection

Police in Seoul were ordered to look into all pending stalking and sexual offense cases again to see if the victims are under sufficient protection, officials said Tuesday, after recent two deaths were blamed on failures to provide due police protection. The order, issued by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, came after criticism of police rose after a 26-year-old man, surnamed Lee, killed his former girlfriend's mother and seriously injured her younger brother at their home in southern Seou

Dec. 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Student vaccine pass mandate may be adjusted

Though South Korea is to go ahead with its controversial “vaccine pass” plans for teenagers, details of the scheme may be adjusted. The government’s decision to expand the vaccine certification system to those aged 12 to 18 from Feb. 1 has been met with criticism from many students and parents. Faced with opposition, the Ministry of Education is considering making some adjustments regarding the expansion of the vaccine pass system. “Though we have announced that t

Dec. 14, 2021

Vaccine pass system malfunctions for 2nd day despite addition of emergency servers

The government's digital vaccine pass system malfunctioned for the second day on Tuesday, leading to a number of access failures during lunch time despite the addition of emergency servers to deal with heavy user traffic. COOV, a government smartphone application that authenticates users' vaccination status by QR codes, along with affiliated third party programs, such as Naver and Kakao talk, has been plagued with major connection issues since Monday, the first day of the government's vaccine p

Dec. 14, 2021

Double murder suspect says 'sorry' for fatal robbery crime

INCHEON -- A 52-year-old double murder suspect made a feeble apology on Tuesday as he appeared in public for the first time after his arrest for allegedly killing a woman for money and murdering an accomplice. Kwon Jae-chan stood in front of reporters as he was transferred from Incheon Michuhol Police Station in Incheon, west of Seoul, to a local prosecutors office for further investigation of his double murder, robbery and corpse abandonment charges. "I'm sorry," Kwon said feebly wh

Dec. 14, 2021

Ex-civil servant sentenced to 12 yrs in prison for blackmailing, raping coworker for 20 months

JEONJU -- An appeals court has raised the prison sentence to 12 years for a former civil servant convicted of raping a coworker and using a video of the crime to blackmail her into having sex with him against her will for 20 months, officials said Tuesday. The 27-year-old had been sentenced to nine years in prison, but the Gwangju High Court upped the sentence by three years, saying he "maliciously made the victim suffer to fulfill his sadistic and perverted sexual desires." Accordin

Dec. 14, 2021

S. Korea extends overseas travel advisory through Jan. 13

South Korea has extended its special advisory against overseas travel for another month due to the global spread of the new omicron variant of COVID-19, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. In the advisory, the ministry recommended citizens to cancel or postpone non-essential trips abroad until Jan. 13, while asking those overseas to take measures to prevent exposure to the virus, such as refraining from going to large-scale events. The travel advisory was first issued in March and has been exte

Dec. 14, 2021

New COVID-19 cases below 6,000 for 2nd day; critical cases and deaths at record highs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 6,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but critical cases and deaths hit record highs amid concerns over the spread of the new omicron variant. The country added 5,567 new COVID-19 infections, including 5,525 local cases, raising the total caseload to 528,652, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.  Daily infections soared to a record high of 7,174 cases on Wednesday and remained above 7,000 for the following two

Dec. 14, 2021

COVID-19 vaccine pass system causes inconvenience for businesses, customers on 1st day

Cafe and restaurant owners and customers alike voiced complaints Monday as the government began enforcing the COVID-19 vaccine pass system in earnest in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Following a one-week trial period, the country officially began its vaccine pass system Monday, requiring all visitors to cafes and restaurants to present a certificate proving they have completed their COVID-19 vaccination or tested negative. Businesses can be fined 1.5 million won (US$1,270) or susp

Dec. 13, 2021

Coffee shops play top health official’s audio message for indoor mask mandate

With daily COVID-19 caseload hitting new records, some 8,000 coffee chain shops and restaurants here are playing in-store audio announcements from one of the top public health officials recommending indoor masking. “Hello. This is the Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Gang-lip. Please remind yourself to wear a mask before and after eating or drinking and while talking,” the voice announcement rang out, interspersed every 30 minutes between Christmas jazz licks played at a Star

Dec. 13, 2021

Could he have been saved? Questions ensue in death of 6-year-old

South Korea’s second known child to die of COVID-19 had a chronic health condition, and he was considered to be at risk. He had been sick for about a week before he was officially diagnosed on Dec. 2. And yet he was not immediately given a bed at a hospital, instead isolating at home for two days until he was taken to the emergency room. When he got to the ER on Dec. 4, he had breathing difficulties and a fever that wouldn’t go down. He was placed on a respirator immediately in an

Dec. 13, 2021

Rising deaths, hospitalizations test Korea’s return to normal

After South Korea’s brief freedom from COVID-19 restrictions, deaths and hospital admissions are all rising, putting Moon Jae-in administration’s goal to bring country back to normal by early next year to a test. The country will decide this week whether to roll back social distancing and other restrictions of the past. Pandemic of the unvaccinated? In the past week the number of deaths per day has averaged 57, nearly five times what it was in the last week of October. Eighty d

Dec. 13, 2021