[News Focus] Women, young workers hit harder by COVID-19 on jobs

SEJONG -- Data on government payouts for people who have lost their jobs indicates that men and women in their 20s in South Korea were hit hardest by the pandemic over the past 1 1/2 years. In addition, the novel coronavirus dealt a worse blow to women than men in terms of job security, data held by the Korea Employment Information Service showed. The monthly tally of recipients of unemployment benefits reached 712,400 in May. This marked a 67.4 percent increase from 425,390 in December 2019,

June 29, 2021

Businesses plan to hire 24% more workers through Sept.: labor ministry

Businesses with five or more permanent employees plan to hire 24 percent more workers in the six-month period ending in September than they did in the same period last year, the labor ministry said Tuesday. The companies planned to hire 296,000 people in the second and third quarters, up 58,000, or 24.2 percent, from the corresponding period last year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said, citing a survey of around 32,000 businesses with five or more permanent employees. The increase is l

June 29, 2021

Arrivals from 21 countries to be exempt from quarantine-free policy

South Korea's health authorities said Tuesday arrivals from India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and 17 other countries will not be allowed to skip a mandatory 14-day quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated amid the growing concerns over the global spread of the Delta variant. The country earlier announced its plan to allow arrivals who have been vaccinated abroad to enter South Korea without going through self-isolation starting next month. They are still required to visit South Ko

June 29, 2021

[Newsmaker] Ex-Busan mayor gets 3 yrs for workplace sexual assault

BUSAN -- A court sentenced former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don to three years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting female employees at work, broadening the interpretation of injury to include psychological trauma. The Busan District Court convicted him of sexually assaulting two female employees using his power and injuring one of them. He was arrested in court. "This is a workplace sexual assault case in which the accused used his superior position" for his crime, Judge Ryu Seung-woo

June 29, 2021

New virus cases in 500s for 2nd day, further upticks in store amid vaccinations

South Korea's daily new virus cases remained in the 500s for the second day in a row Tuesday on fewer tests, but the loosened vigilance against the pandemic may trigger a further rise in new infections amid a steady increase in cases of COVID-19 variants. The country reported 595 more COVID-19 cases, including 560 local infections, raising the total caseload to 156,167, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest figure was up 94 from the previous day. The country a

June 29, 2021

In Korea’s online vaccine hunts, the tech-savvy and time-rich are often at ‘unfair’ advantage

Fifty-six-year-old Yun Mi-sun has never really felt like she was out of touch with the digital world. She has always been quite handy with the technology in her life: She knows her way around her brand new Samsung smartphone, and when she drives, she routinely relies on the car’s built-in navigation system. That was until she tried to book a leftover vaccine for herself. Being in her mid-50s, she is not eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine yet under Korea’s age-based vaccination scheme

June 28, 2021

[Best Brand] NLCS Jeju offers top-notch college preparatory education

North London Collegiate School Jeju, a boarding school for students aged 4 to 18, has been at the center of South Korea’s education scene, providing elite college preparatory education for those wanting to grow as global citizens. The international school on Jeju Island is one of the most successful and academically respected institutions across Korea and across Asia. The school has consistently ranked high on the list of global schools that offer International Baccalaureate programs an

June 28, 2021

SPEP nurtures global talent with customized training

As a global education firm, Speaking Proficiency Enhancement Program provides competency development programs and human resource consultations to both local and overseas companies and institutions. The firm focuses on helping customers improve English fluency, and offers comprehensively customized curriculums to suit each customer’s field and job standards. SPEP accurately diagnoses necessary capabilities, such as fluent foreign language skills, communication skills, business etiquette

June 28, 2021

[Best Brand] Seoul Cyber University becomes 1st online school with three grade As from Education Ministry

Seoul Cyber University received the highest grade -- class A -- from the Education Ministry’s 2020 certification and competency evaluation for online universities. With the latest recognition, the school became the only institution in the country to have scored class A for a third time, following previous evaluations in 2007 and 2013. Seoul Cyber University was previously recognized as the No. 1 brand among online universities selected by workers in 2018. The school won first place as th

June 28, 2021

S. Korea braces for rising variant cases, total nearing 2,500

South Korea has confirmed 267 more cases of four kinds of contagious variants of the new coronavirus, including 73 cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant, health authorities said Monday. The caseload of such infections reached 2,492, with the number of Delta cases tallied at 263, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Of the newly confirmed cases, there were 196 local infections and 71 imported cases. Of them, 189 cases were the Britain-originated varian

June 28, 2021

LH employees suspected of founding company to speculate in property: task force

A government task force said Monday it is looking into allegations employees of the state housing developer, Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), founded a company to handle speculative property transactions. Nam Gu-jun, the task force chief, told reporters that "several dozen" people, including LH employees, their relatives and acquaintances, are suspected of taking part in the scheme. "We've confirmed that a large amount of land was purchased using insider information, and we ar

June 28, 2021

Civic groups demand state antitrust regulator look into 'unfair' Coupang Eats contract terms

Civic groups filed a complaint with the state antitrust regulator Monday to review "unfair" contract terms of Coupang Eats, a major food delivery platform, following the death of a restaurateur, who had been under stress over a bad reviewer. Several civic groups, including the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, took the case to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), slamming the delivery giant for lack of protective measures for businesses from malicious reviews and outr

June 28, 2021

[Newsmaker] High school senior found dead after 6-day search

A high school student was found dead on a hill in Bundang in Gyeonggi Province, Monday morning, six days after he went missing on June 22. Police suspect that Kim Hwi-seong, 18, took his own life. He was found lying down with a plastic bag over his head, and there were no signs of external injuries. Police suspect that he suffocated to death, but said they will determine the exact cause of death after an autopsy by the National Forensic Service, upon the agreement of his family. Kim, a senior

June 28, 2021

Gangwon Province marks 71st anniversary of Korean War

The regional government of Gangwon Province in the northeastern part of South Korea hosted a ceremony on Friday to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. The ceremony took place near the Peace Dam in Hwacheon County, and its theme was “Precious sacrifice, engraved deeply in the heart.” Some 220 local and foreign guests attended, including veterans, Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon and former members of the US House of Representatives. “To

June 28, 2021

Incheon to host 2nd international ocean forum this week

INCHEON -- Maritime industry experts and businessmen from home and abroad will gather in the western port of Incheon this week to attend a forum on the industry's future, organizers said Monday. The two-day Incheon International Ocean Forum (IIOF) 2021 is to kick off at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, just 40 kilometers west of Seoul, on Wednesday under the theme of "The World Calls, The Ocean Waves." It will be hosted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Incheon metropolitan

June 28, 2021

Police arrest 17 operators of illegal sports gambling sites

BUSAN-- Two illegal sports gambling rings, together worth 900 billion won ($797 million), have been busted, leading to the arrests of 17 suspects, the Busan police agency said Monday. The agency said its cybercrime investigation team has apprehended 38 people and put 17 of them under arrest for having illegally operated sports gambling sites. Seventeen users of the gambling sites were also booked on charges of violating the National Sports Promotion Act, it said. Police are still tracking down

June 28, 2021

New virus cases back under 500s ahead of implementation of eased distancing rules

South Korea's daily new virus cases fell back to the 500s on Monday for the first time in five days on fewer tests over the weekend. But health authorities have been keeping tabs on the trend of new virus infections amid concerns over a steady rise in cases of the highly contagious Delta variant and others ahead of the implementation of eased social distancing measures later this week, The country reported 501 more COVID-19 cases, including 472 local infections, raising the total caseload to

June 28, 2021

Capital area to be under Level 2 with eased measures in new four-tier distancing scheme

Health authorities on Sunday announced that the greater Seoul area, home to half of the country's population, will be under Level 2 with eased virus curbs in the new four-tier social distancing system to be enforced next month. Seoul, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital, and Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, will be placed under Level 2, the second-lowest in the four-tier system, from Thursday, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. Virus cases f

June 27, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Korea too undervaccinated to withstand delta variant’

A major theme of Korea’s health policies for the second pandemic summer is “a return of normal life.” Political leaders and health officials promised this summer will be “closer to normal” -- business will reopen fully and people will be able to mingle more and wear masks less often. Korea may be treading a risky path with its rush to get back to normal as the delta variant -- called “the most able and fastest and fittest” of all COVID-19 variants

June 27, 2021

Vaccination rate nears 30% amid delta variant concerns

Korea’s first dose vaccination rate reached 29.8 percent as of Saturday, health officials said Sunday. So far, nearly 15.3 million people across the country have received their first jabs since the vaccination drive kicked off on Feb. 26. Of them, 4.6 million, or 9 percent of the population, have been fully inoculated. Health authorities aim to administer the first rounds of COVID-19 vaccine shots for 70 percent of the population or 36 million people by September, aiming to have 70 perc

June 27, 2021