Trade union head arrested over rally as Oct. strike looms

Police on Thursday arrested the head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions for organizing a rally in Seoul in defiance of COVID-19 rules. Officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on early Thursday morning arrested Yang Kyung-soo, head of the KCTU, at the labor group’s office in Jung-gu, central Seoul. Dozens of officers were dispatched to the scene for the arrest, which took around 40 minutes. Some KCTU members attempted to block police when they entered the building, bu

Sept. 2, 2021

[News Focus] 70-somethings set to outnumber people up to 9

SEJONG -- South Koreans in their 70s are expected to outnumber those aged under 10 for the first time within the next year amid an aged society and record-low birthrates, government data showed. A decade ago in August 2011, the number of people aged between 70-79 was 2.72 million, which came to 57.9 percent of those aged up to 9, at 4.69 million, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety. In August 2021, the ratio of those in their 70s to that of those under 10 surged to 96.7 perc

Sept. 2, 2021

New cases under 2,000, eased virus curbs eyed for Chuseok

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 2,000 on ThursUS, as the country is planning to unveil revised distancing guidelines later this week that may potentially include allowing family gatherings during the Chuseok holiday. The country added 1,961 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,927 local infections, raising the total caseload to 255,401, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number marked a slight drop from the 2,025 tallied WednesUS. Dai

Sept. 2, 2021

Health workers call off planned strike after last-minute deal with gov't

South Korea's unionized health workers called off their planned strike on Thursday, hours before the unionized workers were set to go on a nationwide strike. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) said it reached an agreement with the government in their last-ditch talks held the day before. The decision to call off the planned strike came after midnight as union members took time to discuss the tentative agreement with the government. The sides were said to have agreed on the need

Sept. 2, 2021

Central region suffers extensive property damage after heavy rain

  Over 200 millimeters of rain battered the central province of South Chungcheong on Wednesday, leaving eight people displaced and about 40 houses and commercial properties submerged.    According to the provincial government, 224 mm of rain fell in Hongseong, 157 kilometers south of Seoul, and adjacent Yesan for three to four hours beginning at 3 a.m.    In Asan, another South Chungcheong town, 74.5 mm of rain fell per hour between 2 and 3 a.m.    Casual

Sept. 1, 2021

Moderna delays once again threaten Korea’s vaccine rollout

South Korea said Wednesday that any further delay in deliveries from Moderna could jeopardize the country’s goal to reach 70 percent first-shot rate by mid-September. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s head of vaccine planning committee, Hong Jeong-ik, told reporters in a closed-door briefing that without the additional supply from Moderna, vaccinating 70 percent of the Korean population with at least one dose of a vaccine by the Sept. 18 deadline “

Sept. 1, 2021

Korea becomes 14th in world to legislate carbon neutrality act

Korea became the 14th country in the world to legislate a carbon neutrality act after the National Assembly on Tuesday passed the related bill. The other countries that have legislated commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions include Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The bill, which requires the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by 35 percent or more from the 2018 levels, was approved with 109 lawmakers voting in favor and 4

Sept. 1, 2021

Remains of 1st Korean Catholic martyrs recovered 2 centuries after deaths

JEONJU -- The remains of three people known as the first Korean Catholic martyrs have been recovered in Wanju two centuries after their deaths, the Diocese of Jeonju said Wednesday. The remains were identified as those of Paul Yun Ji-chung and James Kwon Sang-yeon, who were beheaded in 1791, and Yun's younger brother Francis Yun Ji-heon, who was quartered in 1801, the diocese said during a press conference in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul. They were found in March in Wanju, just outsid

Sept. 1, 2021

1.5m doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Romania to land in S. Korea

South Korea said Wednesday 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines will come from Romania starting this week as part of a vaccine cooperation program with the eastern European country. Romania will send 1.05 million Pfizer doses and 450,000 from Moderna, according to health authorities. The first shipment of 526,500 Pfizer doses will arrive Thursday, followed by the remaining half and the Moderna shots on Sept. 8. The government bought the Pfizer doses from Romania, and the Moderna shots will b

Sept. 1, 2021

Prosecution busts biggest-ever drug smuggling attempt

BUSAN -- South Korean prosecutors said Wednesday they have busted the nation's largest-ever drug trafficking attempt with an arrest of a man in his 30s in the southern port city of Busan. The Busan District Prosecutors Office said it has arrested and indicted a 34-year-old man on charges of smuggling over 400 kilograms of methamphetamine from Mexico. The prosecution said the volume of methamphetamine seized from the suspect totaled 404.23 kg, the largest amount in the nation's history of drug

Sept. 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] A majority of Koreans support ban on raising dogs on short leash

Dogs living outside on a short leash are a common sight in Korea, but the majority of people here feel such practices should be banned by law, a survey shows. Private animal welfare research institute Aware recently published survey results on the public perception of animal welfare policies. It surveyed 2,000 adults in 17 cities nationwide on laws and awareness of animal protection. According to the survey, 82.5 percent of respondents agreed that raising animals tied to short ropes or locke

Sept. 1, 2021

S. Korea alert against lambda variant, toughens measures against Peru, Chile arrivals

South Korea has adopted tougher measures to block the inflow of the lambda variant of the novel coronavirus as the country is struggling to contain the spread of variant cases amid the fourth wave of the pandemic, according to health authorities. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced Tuesday that arrivals from Peru and Chile will go through a mandatory seven-day quarantine at designated facilities starting Sept. 10. The arrivals from the two countries will receive th

Sept. 1, 2021

Nearly 1 in 4 recognized victims of toxic humidifier sterilizer products dead: civic group

Almost 1 in 4 people recognized as victims of deadly humidifier sterilizer products in South Korea have died, a civic group said Wednesday. Marking the 10th anniversary of the humidifier sterilizer scandal, the Asian Citizen's Center for Environment and Health released a report showing that a total of 7,535 people -- 1,687 deceased and 5,848 survivors -- had reported they were victims of toxic humidifier sterilizer products as of Aug. 20. Of the total, 4,120 had been granted damage relief as

Sept. 1, 2021

New infections spike to over 2,000 again, delta cases rising at alarming pace

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 2,000 on Wednesday, with the more transmissible delta strain rising sharply ahead of a major holiday this month. The country added 2,025 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,992 local infections, raising the total caseload to 253,445, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally marked a sharp rise from 1,487 on Monday and 1,372 on Tuesday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for 57 consecutive days.

Sept. 1, 2021

Number of delivery workers hits new high in 2020 amid pandemic

SEJONG -- The number of delivery workers in South Korea swelled nearly 12 percent in the second half of last year to hit a record high amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 390,000 carriers as of the end of December last year, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The tally covers mailmen, door-to-door couriers, food delivery workers, newspaper deliverers, and carriers of milk and other bev

Sept. 1, 2021

[Newsmaker] 'It is regrettable that I failed to kill more'

The Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for a 56-year-old sex offender surnamed Kang, who is suspected of murdering two women, saying he could flee. Kang with 14 prior criminal convictions, including sex crimes, is accused of murdering women in their 40s and 50s before and after damaging his electronic anklet on Friday. On Monday, police applied for an arrest warrant and the prosecution immediately filed it with the court. Kang attended the court for the arrest warrant hearing Tuesday m

Aug. 31, 2021

[News Focus] Tally for foreigners in Korea slides to 62-month low

SEJONG -- The tally for foreigners staying in South Korea has continued to drop for more than a year after peaking at 2.52 million in December 2019 in the aftermath of the pandemic. The number of foreign nationals -- both long-term and short-term visitors -- posted 1.974 million as of July, down more than 6,000 from 1.981 million a month earlier, according to the Korea Immigration Service. This marked the lowest in 62 months since the figure stayed at 1.949 million in May 2016. On a yearly b

Aug. 31, 2021

Breakthrough cases top 3,000; people in 30s most vulnerable

South Korea has reported more than 3,000 cases of COVID-19 among those who have been fully vaccinated, data showed Tuesday, with people in their 30s being the most vulnerable age group for reinfection, even after vaccination. The country reported 3,128 cases of such infections as of Monday last week, accounting for 0.04 percent of the 7.7 million people who have received the full-dose vaccine regimen, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The rate of breakthrough

Aug. 31, 2021

Food poisoning victims sue 'gimbap' franchise

Over 130 people have lodged a damages suit against a restaurant franchise that sells "gimbap," or seaweed rice rolls with vegetables, over food poisoning. Park Young-saeng, an attorney at Jungjin law firm, said Tuesday that he filed a damages suit the previous day with the Suwon District Court in Seongnam, a Gyeonggi Province city just south of Seoul, on behalf of 135 victims of food poisoning incidents at two stores of a gimbap chain in the city. The victims have requested a total o

Aug. 31, 2021

Health workers urged to scrap planned strike amid prolonged pandemic

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol urged unionized health workers Tuesday against launching their planned strike later this week, expressing concerns that the move could strain the country's health care system and fight against the pandemic. On Friday, the Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) voted to go on strike starting Sept. 2 to demand better working conditions and the expansion of public health infrastructure amid concerns of a workforce shortage at hospitals as the country battle

Aug. 31, 2021