COVID-19 infection rates among teenagers outpaces those for adults in S. Korea

The rate of COVID-19 infection among those aged 18 and under has surpassed that of adults, according to government data. Amid the increasing number of new coronavirus infections among young people, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae asked parents to get their children vaccinated. The minister’s request came as concerns over children’s infections have mounted, particularly after the government allowed all schools across the country to resume full-time in-person classes this month. Yo

Nov. 26, 2021

Life sentence commuted to 35 years for adoptive mother in toddler murder case

An appellate court on Friday reversed a local court’s ruling of life imprisonment for an adoptive mother who murdered her toddler daughter, to a sentence of 35 years in prison, citing lack of proof for “such a heavy sentence.” The court upheld the lower court’s ruling of a five-year prison sentence for the adoptive father, holding him responsible for child abuse in the highly publicized case. The Seoul High Court admitted that the mother, surnamed Jang, is guilty of m

Nov. 26, 2021

S. Korea may introduce toughened antivirus measures next week

The South Korean government has decided to postpone announcing an emergency COVID-19 response plan until Monday, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Friday. The minister’s announcement followed a government meeting on Thursday, where health authorities discussed the possibility of reintroducing toughened measures to contain the resurgence of the coronavirus. They, however, failed to come to a conclusion and have delayed the announcement. On Friday, the country reported 3,901 new COVID

Nov. 26, 2021

Left out: Vaccinated foreigners in S. Korea face ‘discrimination,’ restrictions

Daniel, a 33-year old Canadian working as a university professor in Seoul, had no other option but to spend 10 days alone at home in July after returning from a three-month trip to Canada. “I went to Canada in April to attend my grandmother’s funeral and spent much time with relatives and friends, while receiving both shots of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine there. The thing is, when I was getting ready to return to Korea, I was told by the Korean Embassy in Toronto that I wasn’t elig

Nov. 26, 2021

900 victims of 1980 Gwangju crackdown file damage suit against govt.

Some 900 victims of the brutal crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju launched a damage suit against the government Friday, a law firm said, days after the death of former President Chun Doo-hwan, accused of ordering the crackdown. LKB & Partners said it has filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs who were subject to brutal violence by soldiers during the democracy protests in May 1980 in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, to demand the govern

Nov. 26, 2021

Daily cases stay below 4,000, critical cases hit record high

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the second straight day Friday, but critical cases rose to a record high amid worries the virus could quickly spread under eased social distancing rules. The country reported 3,901 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,882 local infections, raising the total caseload to 432,901, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number was down from 3,938 on Thursday. It was also down from 4,115 reported Wednesday, whic

Nov. 26, 2021

‘No room to add more ICU beds at Korean hospitals,’ says Health Ministry

Hospitals in South Korea are running at near-full capacity and cannot add any more beds, the government said Thursday as the number of patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 hit a record level. Ministry of Health and Welfare spokesperson Son Young-rae told reporters in a closed-door briefing that securing additional intensive care beds was “probably difficult.” As a result of recent orders from the government for hospitals to make room for COVID-19 patients, more than 100 e

Nov. 25, 2021

[Newsmaker] Dog meat consumption to be put to test

Two months after President Moon Jae-in said South Korea should consider banning dog meat consumption, the government is to officially launch a consultative body to discuss the matter. 　 Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum held a meeting Thursday and announced the decision to launch a consultative body to discuss dog meat consumption. The body, consisting of representatives of concerned groups, experts and government officials, will hold discussions from December to April.　   “The controv

Nov. 25, 2021

Supreme Court rules imports of childlike sex dolls should be banned

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday imports of childlike sex dolls should be banned, because they could lead to the perception of children as sexual objects and increase the danger of potential sex crimes against minors. The ruling overturned lower courts' decisions that imports of child sex dolls should be allowed, like those of adult dolls. In 2019, the top court allowed imports of adult sex dolls on grounds that they are sex toys used in private life, an area in which the state should not inter

Nov. 25, 2021

Jobs for wage workers gain 3.6% in Q2

The number of jobs for wage workers in South Korea expanded nearly 4 percent in the second quarter amid signs of the economy's recovery from the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. The number of paid employee jobs had reached 19.6 million as of the end of June, up 3.6 percent, or 681,000, from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. By age, the number of jobs for those in their 60s swelled 15.4 percent on-year, or 392,000, marking the highest incre

Nov. 25, 2021

Cargo truckers launch 3-day strike to demand freight rate hike

Unionized truck drivers launched a three-day general strike Thursday to protest rising transport costs and demand a hike in freight rates, raising fears of a nationwide logistics crisis. The Cargo Truckers Solidarity (CTS), composed of self-employed truck drivers and those working for companies, said its members across the country commenced the general strike at the beginning of the day to demand an extension of the "Safe Trucking Freight Rates System" designed to prevent dangerous dr

Nov. 25, 2021

Seoul reports new daily record high of 1,760 COVID-19 infections

The city of Seoul reported 1,760 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the most the capital has reported since the onset of the pandemic, health officials said. The total, which tallied all new cases confirmed in Seoul a day earlier, is 25 cases more than the previous record high of 1,735 posted just a day ago. It also marks a steep rise from the daily tally of 1,429 from a week earlier. Of the total, only three were imported cases. The capital city has been constantly renewing its daily COVID-19 infe

Nov. 25, 2021

Police to adopt new weapons to cope better with violence amid criticism over botched violence response

Police will introduce a multiple-shot stun gun, a less lethal pistol and other new weapons to cope better with violence, officials said Thursday, amid heavy criticism over a bungled police response to a recent knife attack. The new stun gun allows three consecutive shots and logs records of time and location of the use, while the less lethal gun uses special bullets with one-tenth of the killing power of ordinary pistols, according to the officials. The current police stun guns, all imported f

Nov. 25, 2021

Daily cases fall below 4,000; critical cases, deaths at record highs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 4,000 on Thursday, a day after hitting an all time-high of 4,115. But critical cases and deaths climbed to fresh highs, fueling worries about the virus spread ahead of another pandemic winter. The country reported 3,938 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,917 local infections, raising the total caseload to 429,002, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Critically ill patients hit an all-time high of 612, up 26 from the p

Nov. 25, 2021

Police disclose identity of stalking murder suspect

Police on Wednesday disclosed the identity of a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend with a knife at her studio apartment in central Seoul last week. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency identified the suspect as 35-year-old Kim Byung-chan and disclosed a photo of his face and other personal information following a police committee's decision in the afternoon. Kim was arrested Saturday in the southeastern city of Daegu, a day after the murder. The case sparked public fury, as it was known

Nov. 24, 2021

KLES program helps city-run business to resolve conflicts among labor unions

Ansan Urban Corp., a corporation run by the local government of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, is resolving labor-management conflicts and improving workplace culture with the aid of the Korea Labor and Employment Service. The service, a state-run organization under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, offers a wide range of services to help local firms solve a range of labor-involved issues. Ansan Urban Corp. is one of several companies that have successfully improved their labor-management relat

Nov. 24, 2021

KLES helps local baby food firm to solve workforce issue

In South Korea, many firms located outside of Greater Seoul suffer difficulties in recruiting young employees, as they continue to move to the capital and nearby areas to find jobs. Ercohs, a baby food company based in Daejeon, faced the same problem in the past. The company had to deal with problems caused by its aging workforce as well as a high turnover rate for young workers. Due to the high turnover rate for young workers, employees who stayed at the company were burdened with additio

Nov. 24, 2021

S. Korea reports first COVID-19 fetal death

A Korean woman had a stillbirth after being confirmed with COVID-19 and the deceased fetus tested positive, officials said Wednesday. It is the first COVID-19 death in Korea in a child under the age of 19. “The route of infection has not been confirmed,” authorities said. “It was a stillbirth case before birth registration, so we decided to separate it from the confirmed cases.” The mother’s gestation period was 24 weeks and she was not vaccinated against COVID-

Nov. 24, 2021

Victims of Chun's 1980 Gwangju crackdown file damage suit against govt.

Victims of the brutal crackdown on a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju have launched a damage suit against the government, a lawyer's group announced Wednesday, a day after the death of former President Chun Doo-hwan accused of ordering the crackdown. Lawyers for a Democratic Society said it has filed the suit on behalf of 70 people who were subject to brutal violence by soldiers during the democracy protests in May 1980 in Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul, a

Nov. 24, 2021

Police to reinforce training on use of police gear following bungled violence response

Police will reinforce training of its workforce on the use of stun guns and other weapons to enhance their ability to deal with violent criminal scenes, officials said Wednesday amid public fury over a bungled police response to a knife attacker. The plan came after criticism that police officers failed to stop a knife-wielding man from seriously wounding a neighbor over a noise dispute earlier this month even though they were deployed at the scene and were in possession of a stun gun and a gu

Nov. 24, 2021