New infections fall to 1,400s; eased virus curbs ahead

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases fell to the 1,400s on Sunday, as health authorities plan to apply eased distancing rules for a gradual return to normal life. The country added 1,420 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,403 local infections, raising the total caseload to 342,396, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally fell from 1,618 cases reported on Saturday, and 1,684 on Friday and 1,940 on Thursday. The daily infection count has stayed in th

Oct. 17, 2021

Key figure in land development scandal to return from US on Monday

A key figure in a sprawling land development scandal is expected to return home from the United States early next week, legal sources said Saturday. Attorney Nam Wook, who left for the US in mid-September before the investigation into the case began, will arrive in Seoul as early as Monday, they said. Nam played a key role in the residential development project in Seongnam, south of Seoul. The project was initiated in 2015 under then Mayor Lee Jae-myung, who is now the ruling Democratic Party'

Oct. 16, 2021

[Weekender] Separating recyclables from trash is harder than it seems

Plastic waste and disposable packaging are overflowing as coronavirus concerns prompt more South Koreans to shop online and order delivery food or takeout coffee. According to the Ministry of Environment, the amount of plastic waste generated last year increased by 20 percent compared with the previous year. Paper waste increased by 25 percent on-year. Korea introduced a garbage volume-rate system in 1995, meaning people have to pay for garbage bags as an incentive to minimize trash. The cou

Oct. 16, 2021

Cold wave alerts issued for most of S. Korea

Cold wave alerts were issued for most of the country Saturday as an Arctic air mass brought an unseasonably chilly weather, the state weather agency said. The Korea Meteorological Administration said that cold wave warnings will take effect for about a dozen central cities and counties at 9 p.m. while Seoul and most other parts of the country will be under cold wave advisories. It will be the first time in 17 years that a cold wave alert has been issued for Seoul in October. The cold wave adv

Oct. 16, 2021

New COVID-19 cases remain in 1,600s as authorities set to relax virus curbs

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases stayed in the 1,600s for the second consecutive day Saturday, as the government plans to relax social distancing rules, starting next week, ahead of a gradual return to normal life. The country added 1,618 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,594 local infections, raising the total caseload to 340,978, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest tally was down from 1,684 cases reported on Friday and 1,940 on Thursday. The daily in

Oct. 16, 2021

Prosecutors raid Seongnam City Hall over land development scandal

Prosecutors raided Seongnam City Hall in connection with a land development corruption scandal, Friday, the day after a court dismissed a request for an arrest warrant for the key suspect. A team of prosecutors and investigators searched the offices, seizing documents and other materials. Seongnam City was responsible for licensing and approving various urban development projects in Daejang-dong, a district in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The city also oversaw the Seongnam Development Corpo

Oct. 15, 2021

Police investigating cyberattack against dating app for wealthy users

The South Korean police are probing into a suspected hacking attack against a matchmaking app that led to a personal data leak. The police on Friday said the investigation has been underway since late September, after the GoldSpoon app, which has 130,000 users, found evidence of unauthorized access to its internal network.  The GoldSpoon, a dating app designed for wealthy and high-income individuals, on Tuesday informed users that the company had suffered cyberattacks, which could be rans

Oct. 15, 2021

Ransomware suspects nabbed in intl. probe involving S. Korea

Key members of an international criminal organization suspected of carrying out massive ransomware attacks on South Korean companies and universities in 2019 have been arrested in a joint investigation by South Korea and a few other countries, police here said Friday. The joint investigation, which also involved Ukraine's police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States and Interpol, busted four members of the unnamed criminal organization, including its money laundering chief,

Oct. 15, 2021

1,000 food delivery workers to join one-day general strike next week

About 1,000 food delivery workers will walk off the job next week as part of a general strike called by one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, union officials said Friday. Delivery workers of South Korea's leading food delivery services, Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo, designated Wednesday next week as "No-delivery Day" and will take part in the general walkout called by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), official said. They plan to call for the

Oct. 15, 2021

Social distancing rules to be extended for two weeks: PM

The current social distancing rules will be extended for another two weeks, with some easing of the restrictions, officials said Friday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, “We would like to take a step closer to daily recovery while reducing the risk of infection by easing quarantine rules centered on those who have been vaccinated.” Starting next week, up to eight people will be able to gather in the Greater Seoul area at any time, as long as four in the group are fully vac

Oct. 15, 2021

NK defector sentenced to prison for breaking into police station for online streaming

A North Korean defector has been sentenced to six months in prison for breaking into a police station in Seoul and pouring flour over an officer as part of streaming online, judicial sources said Friday. The 24-year-old, whose identity was withheld, climbed over a wire fence into Gwanak Police Station in southern Seoul in June, charged toward the officer on duty and dumped flour over him, saying he would test police capability to respond to an infiltration. The defector was also charged with d

Oct. 15, 2021

New virus cases slow down, eased distancing rules to be applied for 2 weeks

South Korea's daily new COVID-19 cases stayed in the 1,000s for the seventh straight day Friday as the government announced eased social distancing rules ahead of a gradual return to normal life. The country added 1,684 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,670 local infections, raising the total caseload to 339,361, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily number of COVID-19 cases has stayed in the quadruple digits since July 7. The country added eight more

Oct. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Korea to hold safety review of Moderna vaccine

South Korea’s top health agency said Thursday that it would be evaluating the age recommendations for the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in the wake of recent decisions by some European countries and Japan, which are now discouraging its use in some young people. Hong Jeong-ik, head of the KDCA’s vaccination management division, told a news briefing that the national advisory committee on immunization practices and a panel of outside experts would be conducting a safety revi

Oct. 14, 2021

Korea’s NIH chief sets 85% as vaccine threshold for ‘beating delta, ditching masks’

Kwon Jun-wook, the Korea National Institute of Health’s director, said Thursday that he sees a full vaccination rate of 85 percent as the threshold for defeating COVID-19’s delta variant, even without wearing face masks and other social distancing restrictions in place. During a televised briefing, Kwon said, “An 85 percent fully vaccination rate roughly translates to an 80 percent herd immunity, by which point, theoretically, even the delta variant can be beaten without the

Oct. 14, 2021

[Herald Design Forum 2021] ‘Designing user experience the way forward’

Designers should have a grasp on artificial intelligence to build a system that is fully aware of what users want in advance, said Yong Kim, chief product officer at Woowa Brothers, which runs delivery app Baemin, at this year’s Herald Design Forum on Thursday. “Users shouldn’t have to tell their apps what they want, when they want it. They should be given choices they like and that will be the new human-machine interface,” Kim said. Kim referred to GPT-3, a language-ge

Oct. 14, 2021

Court upholds suspension of ex-top prosecutor Yoon

A South Korean court on Thursday upheld the Justice Ministry’s disciplinary action against former top prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl during his term and declared that the two-month suspension was a light penalty given his offenses. The Seoul Administrative Court rejected the suit filed by Yoon, who stepped down from the position in March, against then-Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, affirming the legitimacy of his two-month suspension from duty as prosecutor general. Thursday’s ruling cam

Oct. 14, 2021

IAP president participates in global conference of prosecutors general

The chief of the International Association of Prosecutors took part in the 31st Meeting of the Coordination Council of Prosecutors General of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Nursultan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 23, to discuss ways to cooperate on issues like terrorism, drugs, corruption, environment and cybercrime. The meeting was held offline for the second year due to the COVID-19 situation. All prosecutors general from the nine member countries atten

Oct. 14, 2021

Umbrella union to hold large-scale rally during next week's one-day general strike

A major umbrella labor union said Thursday it will hold a large-scale rally in central Seoul next week when its members walk off their jobs for a one-day general strike to call for the enhancement of labor rights. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, said it will push ahead with its plan to stage a strike on Wednesday next week. The KCTU said its members from Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and the city of Incheon, we

Oct. 14, 2021

Korea Herald Partners with Pioneer Academics in English essay contest

Strong writing is an essential element of communication and a key component of leadership. To promote such writing, Korea Herald recently announced the 2021 Korea Herald –Pioneer Academics Essay Contest, an ambitious collaboration with the research program leader Pioneer Academics, to encourage Korean high school students to advance their writing skills and critical thinking. Mr. Nicholas Lee, representing Korea Herald, sees the collaboration with Pioneer Academics as empowering, and is pl

Oct. 14, 2021

Afghan teen evacuees share joys of new life in Korea

JINCHEON -- Clad in a taekwondo uniform, a 13-year-old Afghan girl says she is happy with her newfound freedom in South Korea. She can participate in all sorts of social activities, which were limited only to boys in her home country, and is glad she can do taekwondo without wearing a hijab. “I want to learn Korean and work here,” she told reporters at a press briefing organized by the Ministry of Justice. Another evacuee, a 15-year-old boy, hopes to make Korea his new home,

Oct. 14, 2021