S. Korea's employment rate of university grads ranks low among OECD: report

South Korea ranks low among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in terms of the employment rate for university graduates due mainly to a severe mismatch between their majors and job openings, a report showed Thursday. The employment rate for South Koreans aged 25-34 with university diplomas came to 75.2 percent in 2020, the 31st lowest among 37 comparable OECD member countries, according to the report from the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). Th

Nov. 18, 2021

USFK begins COVID-19 inoculation program for affiliated children

The US Forces Korea on Wednesday started inoculating children in its affiliated community with a pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at three of its bases, its officials said. The vaccination program for children aged 5 to 11 started at the medical facilities in Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and Camp Walker in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of the capital, the USFK said. The vaccination came after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized the

Nov. 17, 2021

Korea reviewing emergency approval for Merck’s COVID-19 pills

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is looking at data on the COVID-19 antiviral pill from Merck for emergency use approval, the result of which, he said, is anticipated to be out sometime next month, Kim Gang-lip, who heads the ministry said Wednesday. Merck is one of two companies that Korea has entered an advance purchase deal with for their oral medicines, the other being Pfizer. Pfizer, as of Wednesday, has yet to submit an emergency approval application. Kim said the ministry was aimi

Nov. 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ex-lawmaker’s home, Hana Bank head office searched in Daejang-dong scandal

South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday searched ousted lawmaker Kwak Sang-do’s home and former office as well as Hana Bank’s head office as they pressed on with an investigation into alleged bribery and corruption in the Daejang-dong land development scandal. The raid on Kwak’s home and former office came around a week after Kwak was officially expelled from the National Assembly and lost his immunity from arrest on Nov. 11. In early October, Kwak, who was affiliated with the

Nov. 17, 2021

Korea to shorten wait for COVID-19 boosters as breakthrough hospitalizations rise

South Korea will shorten the wait for COVID-19 booster shots as the daily count of new cases rose above 3,000 and breakthrough infections continued to send people to hospitals. 　Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told a government meeting on Wednesday that the six-month wait for a booster will now be cut to four months for people who are older than 60 and residents of long-term care facilities. People aged 50 and up will be eligible for booster doses five months after their primary vaccine series.

Nov. 17, 2021

Seoul reports record daily COVID-19 cases

Daily coronavirus cases in Seoul topped 1,400 for the first time Wednesday, two weeks after the nation drastically eased social distancing rules. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 1,436 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the capital over the past 24 hours, the highest since the start of the pandemic early last year. Of them, 1,432 were local infections, and four were imported cases. The total caseload reached 134,949 in the city with a population of more than 9.58 mil

Nov. 17, 2021

'Face-to-face phishing' on rise: police

Voice phishing scammers are getting increasingly bold lately as many of them prefer to directly meet fraud victims to extort money, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Wednesday, releasing the results of its recent crackdowns. The NPA said its wholesale crackdowns on voice phishing criminals, conducted for eight months this year between February and June, and between August and October, netted 19,634 roundups, of which 1,845 suspects were put under arrest. By type of phishing crimes busted b

Nov. 17, 2021

Half of S. Koreans have negative opinion about online classes amid pandemic: survey

More than half of South Koreans think an increase in online classes by schools is the biggest setback among changes in lifestyle caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey showed Wednesday. The poll released by Statistics Korea showed 50.5 percent of those surveyed said they negatively assessed a rise in online education, and 14.8 percent said online classes will likely accelerate down the road. South Korea has ordered schools to conduct online classes full-time or run them along with in-person

Nov. 17, 2021

Gimhae city withdraws virus test program of foreign children amid xenophobia concerns

The government of the southeastern city of Gimhae on Wednesday withdrew a mandatory virus test program of foreign children registered at the city's daycare centers amid a backlash over xenophobia and rights violations concerns. A government memo obtained by Yonhap News Agency showed the municipality, located 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, ordered 93 daycare centers to cooperate with preemptive tests of foreign children under their care on Monday and Tuesday. The city government explained

Nov. 17, 2021

Metaverse ceremony to virtually celebrate homecoming of late independence hero Kim Gu

A metaverse event on Wednesday will conjure up late national independence hero Kim Gu in the virtual space to welcome him back home from China, 76 years after his little-celebrated homecoming amid complex post-independence politics. The Seoul Museum of History said the event, set to be held on the Zepeto platform later in the day, will virtually recreate Kim as a metaverse avatar as well as the surroundings of a building used as a home for Kim when he returned from China on Nov. 23, 1945, to ho

Nov. 17, 2021

New COVID-19 cases spike to second-largest figure of 3,187

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases spiked to surpass the 3,000 mark Wednesday, just shy of an all-time high, health authorities said, deepening concerns over medical capacity amid the continued surge in critical cases. The country reported 3,187 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,163 local infections, raising the total caseload to 402,775, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Wednesday's figure, a sharp hike from 2,125 cases the previous day, is the second-

Nov. 17, 2021

2.9 magnitude earthquake hits off S. Korea's southeastern coast: KMA

A 2.9 magnitude earthquake struck off South Korea's southeastern coast early Wednesday, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred at 1:39 a.m. in waters about 35 kilometers off the city of Ulsan, some 415 km southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was at a depth of 19 km, and the quake's tremor was recorded at Level 1 on the seismic intensity scale, which means most people would not have felt it. According to the KMA, the quake w

Nov. 17, 2021

S. Korea to cut dosage interval for COVID-19 booster shots on senior citizens

South Korea will cut the dosage interval between primary vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for senior citizens in a move to curb breakthrough infections and serious cases amid worries over virus upticks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday. Booster shots for people aged 60 or older and nursing hospital patients can be administered four months after they received their last dose, while those in their 50s can get extra jabs five months after their primary COVID-19 vaccination,

Nov. 17, 2021

Seoul hospitals overwhelmed, but Korea committed to staying open

Just two weeks after South Korea began an official return to normal, a bed shortage is looming, prompting the government to organize an emergency meeting with hospitals. But even as hospitals scramble to make room for COVID-19 patients, the government is intent on keeping the country open, pursuing instead policies to boost travel and spending. Senior officials of the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday morning held an emergency teleconference with directors of hospitals in Seoul and n

Nov. 16, 2021

[News Focus] Korea to top OECD gender pay gap, again

SEJONG -- South Korea looks set to keep its undesirable No. 1 position in the pay gap between male and female employees in 2020 among the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to the organization, Korea posted 31.5 percent in the gender wage gap last year. This means that women earned 31.5 percent less than men on average, a gap that is likely to surpass those of other members, based on previous years’ data. According to the OECD’s def

Nov. 16, 2021

Chief of privacy protection watchdog apologizes after agency's mistaken personal info leak

The chief of the state watchdog on personal information protection has apologized for the recent leak of personal information of 181 petitioners involved in a Facebook personal data breach case. The Personal Information Protection Commission mistakenly sent the personal information of all 181 petitioners to 19 of them earlier this month. The commission has been arbitrating between the petitioners and Facebook over the social networking service's unauthorized leak of their personal data. "

Nov. 16, 2021

26 caught for allegedly smuggling illegal drugs from Southeast Asia

Twenty-six people have been apprehended on charges of smuggling illegal drugs from Southeast Asia and distributing them across the country, police said Tuesday. Police also caught 45 others who purchased drugs from the dealers of a drug trafficking ring. Of the total of 71 suspects, 22 were formally arrested. The dealers were found to have smuggled methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids and other narcotics from unidentified Southeast Asian countries from May last year to August by hiding them

Nov. 16, 2021

Conversion of industrial urea solution for vehicle use impossible: state lab

A proposed conversion of industrial-use urea or urea solution into vehicle-use solution is impossible right now, a state-run laboratory said Tuesday, dashing hopes for an early end to the nation's acute shortage of the chemical compound. The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) under the Ministry of Environment said it has tentatively concluded it is difficult to convert industrial urea or urea solution for use by diesel-fueled vehicles to cut emissions. South Korea has been mak

Nov. 16, 2021

S. Korea posts 1st decline in foreign population since 2006 amid pandemic

South Korea saw its foreign population shrink by 3.2 percent in November last year from the previous year, the first such decline at least since 2006 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the interior ministry said Tuesday. According to a report by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of foreign residents, defined as foreign nationals residing in the country for more than 90 days or naturalized Koreans and their children, stood at 2.15 million in November in 2020, compared with 2.22 millio

Nov. 16, 2021

Serious COVID-19 cases hit fresh high amid few signs of virus slowdown

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients in South Korea hit an all-time high on Tuesday as the daily caseload hovered over 2,000 for the seventh consecutive day amid eased antivirus curbs. The country reported 2,125 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,110 local infections, raising the total caseload to 399,591, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of patients in serious condition came to the highest ever figure of 495, breaking the previous record o

Nov. 16, 2021