New virus cases in 400s for 2nd day, upticks worrisome amid spring break

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for the second day in a row Tuesday amid sporadic cluster infections nationwide, with a potential resurgence looming amid loosened vigilance and increased spring travelers. The country reported 478 more COVID-19 cases, including 460 local infections, raising the total caseload to 106,230, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload had been hovering above 500 since Wednesday last week, before falli

April 6, 2021

Law against workplace bullying misses the mark, leaves many victims vulnerable: civic group

A legislative revision targeting workplace bullying has missed the mark, one civic group said Monday, as it would not protect subcontractors or address harassment by customers. Pro-labor civic group Gabjil 119 said Monday that the latest legislative revision, which passed in the National Assembly last month, was designed only to further protect directly employed workers from harassment by their employers. It would leave laborers and contract workers vulnerable, the group argues. Lawmakers la

April 5, 2021

Public opposes Chinatown in Gangwon province

Amid growing anti-China sentiment in South Korea, people are calling for the withdrawal of the construction of a tourist-focused Chinatown in Gangwon province. As of Monday, more than 410,000 people signed up to a petition against the construction of the tourist site on the website of presidential Blue House. This reflects growing anti-China sentiment in the nation as China attempts to rewrite history through its northeastern project -- to make all history within the Chinese border into Chinese

April 5, 2021

Confirmed cases drop to 400s due to fewer tests; around 1m vaccinated

With the number of new COVID-19 cases hovering in the 400s and 500s for weeks, the authorities have toughened basic quarantine rules, warning there will be zero tolerance for violations. As of midnight, the number of new COVID-19 cases increased by 473 to 105,752, the government’s central response team said Monday. Although the number dropped by 70 from the previous day’s 543, it is hard to say that the spread has slowed down because fewer COVID-19 tests are carried out on weekends

April 5, 2021

Police seek warrants for arrest of 2 LH officials in land speculation probe

INCHEON -- Police said Monday they have sought warrants for the arrest of two officials of the state housing developer, Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH), for the first time since they launched an investigation last month into allegations of land speculation by LH employees. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency said it requested a warrant on Friday for the arrest of an LH official suspected of using insider information to buy multiple plots of land, mostly in Gwangmyeong, southwest of Seoul, before

April 5, 2021

New virus cases back below 500 on fewer tests; tougher curbs under review amid potential upticks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back below 500 after six days on Monday on fewer tests over the weekend, but health authorities warned of enhanced social distancing rules amid growing concerns over a new wave of the pandemic. The country reported 473 more COVID-19 cases, including 449 local infections, raising the total caseload to 105,752, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload has been hovering above 500 since Wednesday. The country ad

April 5, 2021

2 S. Koreans killed in construction site accident

A wooden building collapsed during reinforcement work, killing two South Korean workers, in the southern city of Gwangju, police said Sunday.  On Sunday afternoon, four workers were buried under the wreckage of an old wooden house, an official at the Dongbu Fire Station said over the phone. Two of them were killed in the accident and the other two were transferred to a hospital for treatment, the official said. Police are investigating to determine the exact cause of the accident, he

April 4, 2021

Sogang University under fire for forcing students to sign COVID-19 pledge

Sogang University, one of Seoul’s elite schools, has come under fire for forcing students living in dormitories to sign a pledge that would hold them both financially and legally responsible when they are infected with COVID-19 from visiting high-risk areas. According to the school’s online student community, two dormitories started requiring its residents to sign the “agreement” after the first infection case was confirmed in one of the buildings on March 25. “I

April 4, 2021

[News Focus] Gyeonggi Province’s population falls for 1st time since 1980s

SEJONG -- Gyeonggi Province saw the number of its residents decline last month after posting continuous population growth since the early 1990s. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the population of Gyeonggi -- the most populous of South Korea’s 17 provinces and major cities -- fell by 5,921 (200 men and 5,721 women) in March to record 13.46 million people. Its monthly decline is noteworthy, given that Gyeonggi -- alongside Sejong -- had maintained a steady increase in its

April 4, 2021

New virus cases above 500 for 5th day, another potential wave worrisome

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases exceeded 500 for the fifth straight day on Sunday, putting health authorities on alert over another potential wave of virus infections amid spring weather. The country reported 543 more COVID-19 cases, including 514 local infections, raising the total caseload to 105,279, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added four more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,744. The daily virus cases have stayed above

April 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] After 2 years into 5G world, smartphone users still hungry for wider coverage, faster speeds

When 5G networks were first rolled out in South Korea in April 2019, telecom operators claimed that their ultrafast mobile speeds and low latency would usher in a new era for smartphone users and even power future technologies from autonomous vehicles to virtual reality (VR) content to cloud gaming. Fast forward to 2021, self-driving cars are still a way off and cloud games still work on previous 4G LTE networks. The next-generation networks have instead faced user disappointment due to slower

April 3, 2021

New COVID-19 cases hit over 500 for 4th day, raising warning of possible further hike

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases surpassed 500 for the fourth day in a row on Saturday, ringing an alarm bell over a possible resurgence across the nation in the midst of the spring season. The country reported 543 more COVID-19 cases, including 521 local infections, raising the total caseload to 104,736, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added three more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,740. The daily number has stayed over 500 s

April 3, 2021

Over 70% of S. Koreans willing to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots: poll

Over 7 out of 10 South Koreans are willing to receive coronavirus vaccine shots, a poll showed Friday. In a survey on 1,000 people aged 18 and above conducted on Wednesday and Thursday by Gallup Korea, 71 percent said they would like to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Among them, 50 percent said they will "definitely" receive vaccine shots. Only 23 percent were not willing to join the nationwide inoculation campaign, with 8 percent of them saying they will "never" get vacci

April 2, 2021

S. Korea reports 3 additional avian influenza cases from wild birds

South Korea's agriculture ministry said Friday that three additional avian influenza cases tied to wild birds have been reported in the country over the past seven days amid signs of a possible letup in the transmission of the disease among local farms. Since October last year, the country has reported a total of 232 cases of the H5N8 strain of bird flu from wild birds, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By region, Gangwon Province accounted for 62 cases, followe

April 2, 2021

Police seek to arrest ex-Gyeonggi Province official for alleged land speculation

Police sought an arrest warrant on Friday for a former public servant at the Gyeonggi provincial government over suspicions that he bought a piece of land for speculative purposes using undisclosed information. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency asked a court to issue the warrant for a former senior official at the investment promotion team of the government. It also requested the issuance of an order to ban him from selling his land pending investigation into the allegation. The man, whose name

April 2, 2021

Govt. reverses decision on fresh probe into deadly Cheonan ship sinking

A presidential commission decided Friday not to reinvestigate the 2010 deadly sinking of a South Korean warship by North Korea, overturning an earlier decision amid outrage among surviving crew and bereaved family members. In December last year, the Presidential Truth Commission on Deaths in the Military decided to revisit the case in which the warship Cheonan went down near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, on March 26, 2010, killing 46 sailor

April 2, 2021

New COVID-19 cases above 500 for 3rd day; virus curbs tightened in Busan

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 500s for the third straight day Friday, as cluster infections continued to emerge across the nation. Social distancing rules were tightened in some cities, including Busan and Jeonju. The country reported 558 more COVID-19 cases, including 533 local infections, raising the total caseload to 104,194, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added two more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the total to 1,737.

April 2, 2021

Gyeonggi Gov. Lee calls for clarification from Myanmar military over including two protesters on wanted list

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung has officially requested clarification from the Myanmar military regarding the inclusion of two representatives of the Myanmar Democracy Network in Korea on a list of wanted individuals following their meeting with him, the local government said Thursday. In a statement released March 25, the MDN said, “Through a state-run newspaper published on March 23, 2021, the Myanmar military identified the two representatives, Yan Naing Htun and Soe Moe Thu, as

April 1, 2021

[News Focus] Age gap seen in jobless payouts

SEJONG -- Recent data from a state-funded agency suggested that South Koreans in their 20s and 60s took the hardest hit by the novel coronavirus in terms of job security, with a noteworthy disparity among generations -- or somewhat by gender in the same age groups -- being posted. This is seen from a comparison of unemployment-benefit payouts to people who lost jobs or closed small businesses, offered by the Korea Employment Information Service. Its data provides the growth of the tally for be

April 1, 2021

Janssen's COVID-19 vaccine eligible for approval: panel

A South Korean panel of experts on Thursday recommended the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, saying it showed around 66 percent efficacy. The advisory board consisting of outside experts and officials of the country's drug safety agency announced its review on the efficacy and safety of Janssen's one-shot regimen. The panel's review is the second step of three separate independent evaluations before the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety gives the final approv

April 1, 2021