[Newsmaker] Death penalty sought for adoptive mother over toddler’s murder

Prosecutors again demanded death penalty for the adoptive mother in a highly publicized child abuse case that led to the death of a 16-month-old baby girl. At the Seoul High Court on Friday, prosecutors asked for the highest criminal penalty for the defendant, surnamed Jang, who was indicted in December on charges of fatally abusing her adopted daughter named Jeong-in from March to October 2020. The child was found to have suffered severe abdominal injuries and internal bleeding due to Jang&rs

Nov. 5, 2021

S. Korea secures 60m Pfizer vaccine doses for 2022

South Korea on Friday signed a deal with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. to buy 30 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to be administered next year, bringing the total amount to 60 million, health authorities here said. The deal is a follow-up to an earlier deal signed in August that secured 30 million doses and had an option for an additional 30 million doses, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The contract is part of South Korea's plan to secure enough

Nov. 5, 2021

Over 20 rallies to occur in Seoul on first weekend after easing of gathering curbs

The center of Seoul is expected to be crowded with nearly 4,000 demonstrators taking part in more than 20 rallies of varying sizes on the first weekend after the easing of gathering restrictions under the government's "living with COVID-19" scheme, police said Friday. Before this month, rallies and demonstrations, except for one-person protests, were banned across Seoul as part of authorities' anti-coronavirus campaign. With the launch of the "living with COVID-19" strategy

Nov. 5, 2021

Cheong Wa Dae launches task force to tackle supply shortage of urea water solution

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has launched a task force to tackle supply shortages of urea water solution (UWS), a key material used in diesel vehicles to reduce emissions, an official said Friday. "We will establish a comprehensive response system like we have for material, components and equipment sectors so that we can utilize various channels to check cooperation in industrial and logistics communities, and diplomatic efforts with urea production countries, like China," sa

Nov. 5, 2021

Ex-YG Entertainment head denies charges in whistleblower blackmail case

The former head of K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment on Friday denied allegations of threatening a whistleblower in an attempt to block an investigation into a drug scandal involving a singer-rapper with the company. Former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk has been indicted for allegedly threatening and coercing a whistleblower who testified to police about drug suspicions surrounding B.I, a former member of YG's boy band iKON, in August 2016. In a court trial held in Seoul, Yang told a judg

Nov. 5, 2021

S. Korea to ease entry restrictions on migrant workers later this month: labor ministry

South Korea plans to partly lift restrictions on arrivals of migrant workers prompted by the pandemic later this month, as the country has begun to take steps to return to normalcy, the labor ministry said Friday. The government will allow all entry of foreign workers from 16 countries that send labor force to the country under the Employment Permit System, including Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand and China, the ministry said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting held at the government compl

Nov. 5, 2021

New infections over 2,300 for 3rd day amid eased virus curbs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,300 for the third consecutive day Friday, four days after the country relaxed its virus restrictions nationwide in line with its "living with COVID-19" scheme. The country reported 2,344 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 375,464, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. New cases slipped a bit from the previous day's 2,482, but a jump from 2,124 recorded last Friday, the KDCA said. Of the total,

Nov. 5, 2021

[News Focus] Almost half of salaried women lack regular status

SEJONG -- Recent employment data has raised the possibility that nonregular employees could make up the majority of salaried female workers in South Korea as soon as 2022, should current trends continue. According to Statistics Korea, nonregular employees -- such as temporary workers and part-timers -- accounted for 4.49 million of South Korea’s 9.47 million salaried women in August. The state-run agency publicizes the yearly data each August. The data shows job security for women has qu

Nov. 4, 2021

Ex-boxer sentenced to 6 months in prison for sexual harassment

A former world champion boxer was sentenced to six months in prison Thursday on charges of sexually harassing a woman at a Seoul restaurant earlier this year. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence to the 58-year-old man, surnamed Moon, and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual offender treatment program. Moon was indicted on charges of inappropriately touching a body part of a woman who was dining at a table beside his at a restaurant in southern Seoul in June. Moon

Nov. 4, 2021

2 suspects of Daejang-dong scandal arrested

Two key suspects in a land development scandal were arrested early Thursday as investigators continue to delve into one of the largest-ever land development scandals in South Korea. The Seoul Central District Court on early Thursday issued arrest warrants for Kim Man-bae, owner of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management, and Nam Wook, a lawyer who is suspected of involvement in the scandal. The two have been under investigation on suspicion of breach of trust and bribery in connection to the scandal.

Nov. 4, 2021

Concerns rise as cases surge among teens, elderly

The number of new COVID-19 patients continues to top 2,000 daily, with more than half being teenagers and senior citizens, casting a pall over the nation’s plans for a step-by-step transition to normalcy. At Wednesday midnight, the number of new daily cases that day marked 2,482, with 2,457 of them locally transmitted. Among them, 29.5 percent were aged 60 or older and 22.4 percent were teenagers or younger. Over the past week, the daily average of confirmed patients under the age of 1

Nov. 4, 2021

Number of nonwage workers down 0.4% in 2021

The number of nonwage workers, such as the self-employed, in South Korea inched down 0.4 percent in 2021 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. There were 6.61 million unsalaried workers as of August, down 292,000 from the same period in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number accounts for 23.9 percent of the country's employed people, down 0.6 percentage point over the cited period. It contrasts with a 1.9 percent on-y

Nov. 4, 2021

Seoul city, coffee stores experiment with cafes without disposable cups

The Seoul city government will launch a tumbler rental program this week in collaboration with a group of nearby coffee shops as part of a joint experimental project to drive out disposable cups from cafes, officials said Thursday. Under the "multiuse cup experimental project," set to kick off Saturday, about 20 coffee shops around Seoul City Hall in central Seoul will lend reusable tumblers to customers taking out coffee or other beverages, the city government said. Those tumblers

Nov. 4, 2021

New cases over 2,400 for 2nd day; deaths reach 10-month high amid eased restrictions

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed above 2,400 for the second consecutive day Thursday as the country relaxed its virus restrictions nationwide in line with its "living with COVID-19" scheme. The country reported 2,482 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload to 373,120, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. New cases slipped a bit from the previous day's 2,667, which marked the fourth largest ever and the first time since Sept. 30 that daily infe

Nov. 4, 2021

Korean War remains of 3 British troops to be buried at UN cemetery

The remains of three British troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War will be buried at the UN Memorial Cemetery in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan later this month, the veterans affairs ministry said Thursday. The defense ministry's excavation agency discovered the remains at two former battle sites in Paju, 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul, between 2016-2017, and identified them as those of the fallen British troops through a joint examination with US experts. The troops are

Nov. 4, 2021

Lawmaker grilled over Yoon Seok-youl’s alleged election meddling

Rep. Kim Woong of the main opposition People Power Party was grilled on Wednesday by the anti-corruption agency about the high-profile election meddling scandal surrounding presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials summoned Kim, a prosecutor-turned-opposition lawmaker, for continued questioning as a suspect, which notably came just one day after the interrogation of current public prosecutor Son Jun-sung. Rep. Kim is accused of collud

Nov. 3, 2021

UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities a ‘great success’: organizer

The fifth UNESCO International Conference on Learning Cities was a “great success” despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, its chief organizer told the Korea Herald. The four-day international event began on Oct. 27 and was held at Songdo Convensia in Yeonsu-gu under the theme of “From emergency to resilience: Building healthy and resilient cities through learning.” “I believe the fifth international conference on learning cities was a great success th

Nov. 3, 2021

23 Thais busted for alleged distribution, use of illegal drugs: police

A total of 23 Thai nationals have been apprehended in a recent crackdown of a drug trafficking ring targeting migrant workers in South Korea, police said Wednesday. Seventeen of them were drug traffickers and six were users, the Seoul Dongjak Police Station said. All but three drug users have since been formally arrested, the police said. The ring's head of drug distribution is suspected of having smuggled a total of 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine from Thailand to South Korea via internati

Nov. 3, 2021

Man fined in retrial over illicit filming of woman in leggings

An appellate court has upheld a 700,000 won ($595) fine for a man charged with illegally filmed a woman in leggings in a retrial of the case after the Supreme Court overturned a not-guilty verdict for him. The case drew media attention as a district court and an appeals court were divided over whether secretly filming women in leggings constitutes a sexual crime, and the Supreme Court ruled it does because footage could be maliciously edited and shared online. The man, whose identity was withh

Nov. 3, 2021

Gyeonggi considering construction of new bridge over western Han River

UIJEONGBU -- Gyeonggi Province is considering building a new bridge connecting Goyang and Gimpo, two western satellite cities of Seoul separated by the Han River, officials said Wednesday. The city of Gimpo on Friday proposed the construction of a 1.4-kilometer bridge, named Yangchon Bridge, to meet growing transport demand between the two cities and disperse traffic concentrated on existing Ilsan Bridge, they said. If constructed, it will be the 30th bridge over the Han River. Gimpo and Go

Nov. 3, 2021