Janssen vaccines to arrive tomorrow, raising hopes for accelerated vaccination

Hopes are high that a US-supplied shipment of COVID-19 vaccines will give a much-needed push to South Korea’s vaccination campaign as the first batches are slated to arrive Saturday morning. One million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine are scheduled to arrive at Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province at 00:50 a.m. Saturday, health officials said Friday, following an announcement from the White House a day earlier. “The animating purpose behind t

June 4, 2021

S. Korea to raise guard against fire blight amid looming nationwide spread

South Korea's agricultural agency said Friday it plans to expand surveillance on fire blight amid growing concerns over the nationwide spread of the deadly disease for apple and pear trees. The move came as an apple farm in Andong, 268 kilometers south of Seoul, confirmed another case of fire blight, which marked the first infection to be reported from North Gyeongsang Province, according to the Rural Development Administration. North Gyeongsang Province accounts for around 60 percent of South

June 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] Baby girl remains in coma a month after adoptive father's abuse

A 2-year-old girl has been in a coma for nearly a month since her adoptive father abused her to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain. Doctors say she is unlikely to wake up given the extent of the trauma she suffered when her father, 36, allegedly slapped her face and knocked her down a total of four times at their home in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 8. An investigation revealed that the adoptive father had abused the girl multiple times prior to M

June 4, 2021

Man injured in land mine explosion in wetland

GOYANG -- A man had his ankle severed when a device presumed to be a land mine exploded in a wetland area in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on Friday, authorities said. The accident occurred at the entrance of Janghang Wetland at 9:50 a.m. during a cleanup operation by a social cooperative. The worker in his 50s was airlifted to a hospital. The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. The 7.6-kilometer-long wetland of the Han River estuary was last month included in the Ramsar li

June 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] Military investigators raid Air Force offices over sexual harassment case

Military prosecutors carried out a series of raids on the Air Force headquarters and other locations in connection with an investigation into the suicide death of a female noncommissioned officer following sexual harassment by a colleague. At around 10 a.m., investigators raided the police corps of the Air Force headquarters as well as the police squadron of the 15th Special Missions Wing that the victim was affiliated with, the defense ministry said in a release. Military prosecutors are loo

June 4, 2021

New cases in 600s for 3rd day, inoculation rate likely to be higher than expected

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases reached nearly 700 Friday on cluster infections in various settings, while health authorities remain upbeat about reaching the nation's vaccination goal earlier than expected, with vaccine hesitancy waning and more supplies expected to be shipped in down the road. The country reported 695 more COVID-19 cases, including 674 local infections, raising the total caseload to 133,289, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily cas

June 4, 2021

Young people back in COVID-19 vaccine limbo as access to leftover shots denied

Young people in Korea are finding themselves in a “COVID-19 vaccine limbo” yet again, as new eligibility guidelines block them from receiving leftover shots ahead of time. The government said Thursday that from now on, people younger than 60 years of age, who lack priority access to a vaccine, can no longer receive extra doses that eligible people did not show up for or were not fit to receive. The surprise U-turn in policy comes just a week after the launch of an online progra

June 3, 2021

S. Korea confirms 5 more 'breakthrough' infections, total now at 9

South Korea has confirmed five more cases of so-called breakthrough COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload here to nine, health authorities said Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said all the breakthrough infections were in those who had two doses of the vaccine by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. A "breakthrough case" is when a person tests positive for COVID-19 between the first and second doses of a two-dose regimen or a person tests pos

June 3, 2021

Sejong University records biggest jump in THE Asia rankings

Sejong University ranks as the 46th best in Asia, according to the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2021. It marked the first time in school history to crack the top 50 in the region, the university said Thursday. While other universities in Korea struggled to improve their scores from the British institute for higher education, the school said that Sejong University’s latest reputational jump recorded the biggest climb in Asia, up 32 places from last year’s 78th.

June 3, 2021

[News Focus] Korean population extends losses for 18 consecutive months

SEJONG -- South Korea’s population retreated to 2016 levels as of last month, with the demographic figure posting unprecedented negative growth over the past 1 1/2 years. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the nation’s population fell by 19,075 (8,685 for men and 10,390 for women) from 51.702 million in April to 51.683 million in May. It was at its lowest since October 2016 when the figure was 51.677 million. After peaking at 51.851 million in November 2019 -- which

June 3, 2021

New cases stay in 600s for 2nd day; vaccination drive on roll

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 600s for the second consecutive day Thursday due to continued cluster infections, while the country's inoculation drive gains pace on a smooth vaccine supply. The country reported 681 more COVID-19 cases, including 672 local infections, raising the total caseload to 142,157, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections remained in the 400s for the past three days partly due to fewer tests over the weekend.

June 3, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon’s goal to curb workplace deaths gets more elusive

President Moon Jae-in’s election campaign promise to halve the number of fatal industrial accidents during his term appears to be increasingly out of reach, data showed. In the first three months of this year, 238 workers died from industrial accidents, down 5.9 percent on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency released Wednesday. Some 49.2 percent of deaths occurred in the construction sector, followed by 18.

June 2, 2021

Rapper indicted over marijuana use

Kilagramz, a rapper who appeared on a popular hip-hop audition television show, has been indicted for marijuana use, prosecutors said Wednesday. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office referred the case of the 29-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Lee Jun-hui, to a court on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act last month. In March, the Korean American rapper was arrested at his home in southern Seoul for allegedly possessing and smoking marijuana, which is classified as an i

June 2, 2021

[Feature] Wheelchair woes still blight Seoul

Going to a new restaurant and eating out is not a big deal for most Seoulites, but it is a challenge for Lim Sung-hee, 42, who has used a wheelchair for about 20 years since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Many restaurants, coffee shops and convenience stores in Seoul remain inaccessible to her because of stairways and raised door thresholds. In her wheelchair, she can’t get over steps higher than 5 centimeters. To avoid frustration, Lim tries to visit only those restaurant

June 2, 2021

Govt. to expand in-person school classes this month amid concerns about education gap

Many South Korean students were found to have fallen behind in Korean, math and English, research showed Wednesday, confirming pandemic learning loss amid yearlong remote learning. The Ministry of Education unveiled the results of the educational achievement research, conducted together with the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation in November for around 3 percent of the country's high school second graders and middle school seniors. The results were the first official confirmation th

June 2, 2021

Congestion alert system to operate for beach visitors during summer

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to raise its guard against the new coronavirus at beaches here as more people are expected to travel locally during the summer season. Starting July, the country will operate a three-level alert system -- green, yellow and red -- to warn visitors of congestion at beaches, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The system will be applied to all 277 local beaches, compared to just 50 the previous year. The information will be available on popular p

June 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] Top court confirms acquittal of Olympic short track champion in sexual harassment case

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it has confirmed the not-guilty verdict for South Korean-born short track speed skater Lim Hyo-jun in a sexual harassment case. The top court has upheld the appellate court's decision to acquit Lim of sexually harassing a male teammate at South Korea's national skating team in June 2019. The 2018 Olympic gold medalist was accused of pulling down his male teammate's pants and exposing a body part, with female skaters present, during practice at a national train

June 2, 2021

New infections back to over 600; inoculation drive gains pace

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 600 for the first time in six days Wednesday due to continued cluster infections, while health authorities are ramping up efforts to speed up the nationwide vaccination campaign to slow down the spread of the virus. The country reported 677 more COVID-19 cases, including 654 local infections, raising the total caseload to 141,476, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload stayed in the 400s for

June 2, 2021

Sejong University’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management ranks 6th in world

Sejong Univeristy’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management is the sixth best in the world for its subject, according to ShanghaiRanking’s the 2021 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. It climbed three places from last year’s ninth place, maintaining the top spot among Korean universities for two consecutive years. ShanghaiRanking began to publish world university rankings by subject in 2009. More than 1,800 universities across 93 countries and regions are listed. To

June 1, 2021

Emotions soar as nursing homes, hospitals reopen for in-person visits

At a long-term care hospital in this city just south of Seoul, an elderly woman in a pink-toned blouse sat on a bed stroking her husband's face for the first time in 16 months. The two had been together for around 70 years before the husband was admitted to the hospital and COVID-19 restrictions forced them apart early last year "I couldn't see you even if I wanted to," the 87-year-old husband, surnamed Lee, said, as his eyes teared up. "When you miss your love, look at her pic

June 1, 2021