Subsidies needed to address poverty among older adults: lawmaker

More government support is required to address poverty among the nation’s older adults, a lawmaker said Thursday. According to the most recent data from Statistics Korea revealed by Rep. Ko Young-in of the Democratic Party, the poverty rate for people aged 66 and older was 45 percent in 2019 as compared with 10.72 percent for people under 66. When the nation’s population was divided into 10 income brackets, almost half of senior citizens were in the bottom two, with 29.42 percent

Oct. 7, 2021

[News Focus] Share of Koreans aged 40 or over surges

SEJONG -- The 40-and-older population in South Korea has surged by nearly 10 percentage points in a decade in terms of their percentage of the entire population, government data showed. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the number of those aged 40 or above posted 29.67 million as of September. This took up 57.4 percent of the total population of 51.66 million. This was a 9.6 percentage point increase from the 47.8 percent in September 2011 for the age groups -- from those in th

Oct. 7, 2021

Umbrella union renews threat to go on general strike

A major umbrella labor union on Thursday renewed its threat to go on a general strike later this month in an effort to put a spotlight on labor issues ahead of next year's presidential election. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country's two umbrella labor organizations, said it will stage a strike and a massive rally on Oct. 20 as "the first step to break the solid system of exploitation." The KCTU aims to launch a walkout involving all its 1.1 million me

Oct. 7, 2021

New cases in 2,000s for 2nd day, resurgence in wider Seoul worrisome

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 2,000s for a second day in a row Thursday following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,427 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,400 local infections, raising the total caseload to 325,804, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections rebounded to over 2,000 again Wednesday after falling below the 2,000 mark Monday and T

Oct. 7, 2021

Car accidents involving unlicensed teenagers rise by 34%: data

Car accidents involving unlicensed teenagers soared by 34 percent between 2018 and 2020, road traffic data showed Thursday. According to a Korea Road Traffic Authority report submitted to Rep. Kang Deuk-gu of the ruling Democratic Party, teenagers caused 833 accidents last year while driving without a license, a sharp jump from 618 and 689 accidents in 2018 and 2019, respectively. More than 3,100 people suffered injuries and 63 died in the total of 2,140 accidents involving unlicensed teenage

Oct. 7, 2021

Delta variant cases account for almost all new variant cases in S. Korea

South Korea has confirmed 3,213 more cases of four major contagious variants of the new coronavirus over the past week, including 3,209 of the highly transmissible delta variant, health authorities said Wednesday. The number of new delta variant cases accounted for 99.9 percent of new variant cases reported last week, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally indicates the delta variant is the dominant strain of coronavirus in South Korea, making it more diff

Oct. 6, 2021

Land development scandal takes center stage in Labor Ministry audit

Ruling party lawmakers on Wednesday raised pressure on the opposition bloc and the son of Rep. Kwak Sang-do for receiving unreasonably large severance pay in relation to a growing land development scandal. During the annual parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor held Wednesday, lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea pressed Labor Minister An Kyung-duk to provide answers on whether the amount Kwak’s son received from his former employer had been reasonable.

Oct. 6, 2021

Daily cases again exceed 2,000, with breakthrough infections 20% of total

The daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases again topped 2,000 after three days below that mark, officials said Wednesday, with breakthrough infections accounting for more than 20 percent of the total. Breakthrough infections refer to cases in fully vaccinated individuals. As of Tuesday at midnight, the number of new cases had increased by 2,028 in the previous 24 hours, for a cumulative total of 323,379 cases to date. Of the new cases, 2,002 were locally acquired. Of South Korea’s pop

Oct. 6, 2021

New infections back in 2000s after long weekend

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases surged to over 2,000 again after three days on Wednesday following a long weekend, amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic ahead of another extended weekend. The country added 2,028 more COVID-19 cases, including 2,002 local infections, raising the total caseload to 323,379, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections rebounded after falling below the 2,000 mark on Monday and Tuesday on fewer tests. South K

Oct. 6, 2021

Rotary International holds conference in Gyeongju

International Rotary, a nonprofit international volunteer organization, held its 2021 Rotary International President Conference and training session at the K Hotel in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Themes of the conference were disease prevention and treatment as well as the environment, and the event was attended in person by Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta. The speakers included former Environment Minister Kim Myung-ja, Ehwa Womans University professor Choe Ja

Oct. 5, 2021

9 out of 10 S. Korean adults received at least one vaccine shot

Nine out of 10 South Korean adults have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, helping the country to get closer to a goal of creating herd immunity, the health authority said Tuesday. A total of 39.7 million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 77.4 percent of the country's 51.3 million population or 90 percent of those aged over 18, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of fully vaccinated people stood a

Oct. 5, 2021

[Seoul Struggles 12] Ginkgo berries, the bane of autumn

Autumn is here, and so are the minefields of rotting ginkgo berries. Ginkgo trees are the most commonly found trees lining Seoul’s streets, accounting for nearly 35 percent out of 305,086 street trees planted throughout the city. The female trees, about a quarter of ginkgo trees in Seoul, produce berries from mid-September, and through early November, they produce berries that fall and rot on the ground. Ko Yoon-ho, a 29-year-old resident of Nowon-gu, northern Seoul, says that autumn i

Oct. 5, 2021

Environment Ministry’s deal with platform service providers could cause monopoly: lawmaker

Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party on Tuesday denounced a memorandum of understanding signed by the Ministry of Environment, Kakao Mobility and T Map Mobility, claiming that the deal could result in a monopoly of electric car charger information. On July 29, the Environment Ministry and the two platform service providers inked the MOU to provide smart service of electric car chargers for the public by sharing information on electric vehicles and their owners over the next five years.

Oct. 5, 2021

New cases slightly under 1,600 on fewer tests, holiday-linked

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,600 on Tuesday on fewer tests during an extended weekend, but new infections may rise down the road due to increased tests. The country added 1,575 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,557 local infections, raising the total caseload to 321,352, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Daily infections slightly fell from 1,673 cases on Monday after the nation reported more than 2,000 cases on a daily basis since Sep

Oct. 5, 2021

Bali to reopen direct flights from China, Japan, South Korea

Indonesia’s tourist spot Bali will start allowing direct arrivals from China, Japan and South Korea as a receding Covid-19 outbreak lets the country ease restrictions further. Foreign visitors from New Zealand, Qatar and United Arab Emirates can also enter the country through the island’s Ngurah Rai International Airport starting from Oct. 14, said Luhut Panjaitan, coordinating minister for investment and maritime affairs who’s overseeing the pandemic response. Only Jakarta an

Oct. 4, 2021

[Us and Them] Islamophobia emerges in Korea

Muneer Ahmad, 47, who has run Islamic Book Center in Yongsan, Seoul, has rarely experienced hatred or discrimination because of his religion or religious clothing in his 20 years in South Korea. Most of the time he encounters reasonable Koreans. Even when he walks in religious clothing with his wife, who wears a hijab headscarf, most people “just feel strange,” but do not “feel offended.” “When I talk about my culture or religion, first of all, Koreans are not to

Oct. 4, 2021

[News Focus] Korea to rank bottom in youth population in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea is likely to become the country whose portion of the youth population is the lowest among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the coming months. There is also a possibility that Korea will rank the world’s bottom in the portion of youth population, unofficially. According to the Paris-based organization, Korea recorded 12.2 percent in the percentage of youth population -- or those aged between 0-14 -- of the entire population 

Oct. 4, 2021

KOICA’s clean water project in Ethiopia gains international attention

The Korea International Cooperation Agency’s project on improving water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is gaining global attention, after it was featured in renowned international journals. The government agency dedicated to providing grant aid programs said Monday that its official development assistance project has been introduced in the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in June and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in July. For si

Oct. 4, 2021

First booster shot appointments open up

Starting Tuesday, the first appointments for COVID-19 booster shots will open up as the nation continues to cope with the more contagious delta variant. “As the delta variant spreads and the number of breakthrough infections goes up while the vaccination effect is decreasing over time after the basic inoculation, the need for an additional jab is increasing,” Jeong Eun-kyeong, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said Monday. According to the Korea Disea

Oct. 4, 2021

1 Libyan national killed in triple-vehicle crash in S. Korea

INCHEON -- A triple-vehicle crash in South Korea's western port city of Incheon has killed a Libyan national and injured six others, police said Monday. The accident happened at 1:41 a.m. when a Chevrolet Camaro collided with the rear end of the Avante compact ahead on a four-lane road near a beach in Incheon, said Kim Hyun-ki, a police officer handling the case. The Chevrolet Camaro crossed the center line after the first impact and collided with a Kia Morning minicar coming from an opposite

Oct. 4, 2021