Male admissions for nursing schools exceed 20% for 1st time in S. Korea

Men have taken up more than 20 percent of admissions for nursing universities in South Korea for the first time this year, data showed Monday. According to Jongro Academy, one of the country's leading educational institutions for college admissions, 2,249 male students entered nursing universities in 2021, accounting for 20.5 percent of the total 10,993. The tally was up by 161, or 7.7 percent, compared to 2,088 enrollments last year. This marked the first time the proportion of male admissions

Sept. 27, 2021

New cases in 2,000s for 2nd day amid jitters over further upticks

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases remained in the 2000s for a second day Monday amid concerns the daily caseload may sharply increase as more people get tested after the extended holiday. The country reported 2,383 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,356 local infections, bringing the total caseload to 303,553, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload touched a fresh high of 3,272 on Saturday before slightly falling to 2,771 on Sunday. But health au

Sept. 27, 2021

[News Focus] Number of foreigners in Korea up for 1st time in 20 months

SEJONG -- The number of foreigners in South Korea climbed last month, in the first monthly increase since COVID-19 hit the nation in early 2020, immigration data showed. According to the Korea Immigration Service, the tally for foreign nationals -- both long-term and short-term visitors -- reached 1.976 million as of August, up 2,858 from a month earlier. This is the first time in 20 months that the tally has grown on-month. After peaking at 2.52 million in December 2019, the figure has decli

Sept. 26, 2021

Worker at facility accommodating Afghan evacuees confirmed to have coronavirus

A South Korean worker of a state-run facility currently used by hundreds of evacuees from Afghanistan as a temporary shelter was confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus Sunday, the Ministry of Justice said. According to the ministry, the employee of the National Human Resources Development Institute in the nation's central county of Jincheon tested positive for the virus. The worker reportedly was not in charge of duties related with the Afghan evacuees. Following the infection, the in

Sept. 26, 2021

Korea to take greater steps toward normal from October

South Korea will begin to move past restrictive COVID-19 measures and return to normality in about a month’s time, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday. Speaking with provincial and municipal broadcasters, Kim pointed to late October as when life can begin to return to normal in Korea -- a shift in pandemic control strategy also described as “living with COVID-19.” “About 80 percent of adults aged 18 and above are expected to become fully vaccinated before October

Sept. 26, 2021

PM Kim says no change in plan for phased recovery to normal life despite virus surge

South Korea will still be able to carry out its plan for a phased return to normal life, starting in late October, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Sunday, despite the recent surge in new coronavirus infections. Kim made the remarks at a forum, as the country is seeking to accelerate a return to normal life on the back of progress in the vaccination campaign, with small businesses suffering deepening economic woes due to prolonged social distancing curbs. "By late October, 70 percent of the

Sept. 26, 2021

Daily new cases fall below 3,000 amid lingering woes over spreading virus

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases dropped below 3,000 on Sunday amid spiraling woes over the wide spread of the virus across the country due to the variants and the mass migration during the Chuseok holiday. The country reported 2,771 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,735 local infections, bringing the total caseload to 301,172, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Still, the figure is the second largest since the outbreak of COVID-19 in January last year in the

Sept. 26, 2021

Military reports 9 COVID-19 cases

Eight service members and an Army civilian employee have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,732, the defense ministry said Saturday. Seven of them -- one airman, two Marines, three soldiers and an Army civilian employee -- were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 during or after a vacation, while the others were found to have been infected after developing symptoms, according to the ministry. The infections were re

Sept. 25, 2021

Daily virus cases in Seoul exceed 1,000 for first time

Daily coronavirus cases in Seoul surpassed 1,000 for the first time following this week's Chuseok holiday, health authorities said Saturday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 1,222 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed during the 24 hours before midnight. Of them, 1,217 were local infections and five were imported cases. The number is far higher than the city's previous record high of 907 cases announced Friday. The city added three more deaths from COVID-19, raising th

Sept. 25, 2021

S. Korea to begin inoculating pregnant women, younger children next month

South Korea is poised to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant women and younger children starting next month as part of its inoculation campaign. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) will announce the list of fourth-quarter vaccine recipients next Monday to achieve its goal of herd immunity by November. The country's vaccination campaign started Feb. 26 with some virus-vulnerable groups and front-line medical workers being prioritized for inoculations. A total o

Sept. 25, 2021

S. Korea's daily virus cases exceed 3,000 for first time

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases on Saturday exceeded 3,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic as people returned home from the Chuseok holiday. The country reported an all-time high number of daily cases for the second consecutive day by adding 3,273, including 3,245 local infections, raising the total caseload to 298,402, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Saturday's daily caseload jumped 839 from the previous day's record high of 2,43

Sept. 24, 2021

Man indicted for killing two women while under surveillance

The prosecution on Friday indicted a 56-year-old man on charges of killing two women while he was under a location monitoring program for sexual offenses. The suspect named Kang Yoon-seong turned himself in to the police in southern Seoul on Aug. 29 and confessed to murdering two acquaintances for money issues. According to investigators, he killed one woman while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and slew the other while on the run after cutting off the device. The Seoul Dongbu District P

Sept. 24, 2021

Virus tally records new daily high after Chuseok holiday

Chuseok outbreak worries became a reality as the number of newly-confirmed COVID-19 cases reached a record high of 2,434 Thursday after millions were on the move during the three-day holiday earlier in the week. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country on Friday reported 2,416 local infections and 18 imported cases from the previous day. By region, Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon had 1,747 cases or 72.3 percent of the total. The new high number of daily i

Sept. 24, 2021

Child sexual offenses rise gradually amid weak punishments: report

The number of convicted child sexual abusers has been growing steadily over the past few years in South Korea amid lenient penalties against such crimes, a judicial report showed Friday. According to the Supreme Court report submitted to Rep. Lee Tahney of the ruling Democratic Party, a total of 1,675 people have been found guilty of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses by district courts from 2016 to June this year. By year, 111 were convicted in 2016

Sept. 24, 2021

Daily virus cases in Seoul exceed 900 for first time

Daily coronavirus cases in Seoul topped 900 for the first time in the wake of the Chuseok holiday, health authorities said Friday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 907 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed during the 24 hours before midnight. Of them, 903 were local infections and four were imported cases. The number is far higher than the city's previous record high of 808 cases, which was set on Sept. 14. The total caseload reached 94,728 in the capital, with a popul

Sept. 24, 2021

Daily new cases touch new high of 2,434 on surge after holiday

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases reached an all-time high of 2,434 on Friday, breaking the previous record of 2,221 on Aug. 10, as mass migrations during the Chuseok holiday caused the rapid spread of the virus across the country. Health authorities had expected the surge in daily virus cases after millions of South Koreans travelled to their hometowns during Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, which ran from Monday to Wednesday. The authorities said confirmed cases may furthe

Sept. 24, 2021

Defector caught trying to return to N. Korea

Police said Thursday that they have launched a probe into a female North Korean defector for seeking to cross the inter-Korean border to return to North Korea. The woman, who is in her 60s, was taken into custody by the police near Tongil Bridge in the western border city of Paju around 3:40 a.m. on Sept. 13 after telling a military solider on duty that she wanted to return to North Korea. It remains unclear why she sought to return to the communist homeland. Tongil Bridge is the gate to t

Sept. 23, 2021

Population movement up 5% during this year's Chuseok holiday

The population movement during this year's Chuseok holiday period increased 5 percent from a year earlier, Seoul's transport ministry said Thursday, apparently due to eased virus curbs for family gatherings.  The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said a total of 32.76 million people traveled between Friday and Wednesday to celebrate Chuseok, the Korean harvest celebration. Daily average population movement reached 5.46 million during that period, up 5.1 percent from a year ea

Sept. 23, 2021

Police officers to go undercover to chase online sexual predators

A revision bill will take effect this week to allow a police officer to go undercover when investigating online sex crimes against minors, police said Thursday. The Korea National Police Agency (KNPA) said investigators can hide or disguise their identities to approach potential offenders to secure criminal evidence under the revised Act of the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses, which will go into effect Friday. With a court warrant, undercover operatives can also use fake id

Sept. 23, 2021

S. Korea vows to join global efforts to improve situation in war-torn Afghanistan

South Korea will join international efforts to help Afghanistan overcome the humanitarian crisis and other hardships in the wake of the Taliban takeover, the foreign ministry said Thursday. Ham Sang-wook, deputy foreign minister for multilateral affairs, made the remark during a virtual ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 nations (G-20) held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. In the meeting, Ham voiced concerns over the current situation in Kabul and called for concer

Sept. 23, 2021