New infections rebound to 400s, AstraZeneca vaccine rollout to continue

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 400 Wednesday on increased virus tests and a continued rise in cluster infections, stoking woes over a resurgence down the road. The country reported 469 more COVID-19 cases, including 452 local infections, raising the total caseload to 96,849, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload was sharply up from 363 on Tuesday. During the first two days of this week, the daily virus cases stayed in t

March 17, 2021

[Newsmaker] AstraZeneca vaccine rollout to continue in S. Korea: authorities

South Korean health authorities said Wednesday that the rollout of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will continue despite major European countries' decision to pause vaccinations to investigate reported side effects. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said in a press release that there is no evidence suggesting correlation between vaccines manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University and reports of blood clots in some recipients. A

March 17, 2021

Seoul sees signs of new spike amid softened social distancing

South Korean health officials on Tuesday announced special measures attuned to the spring season to beat back the spread of COVID-19. Son Young-rae, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s spokesperson, told a news briefing that about a month into eased social distancing, signs of a new surge of COVID-19 cases were growing in and around Seoul, which account for nearly 70 to 80 percent of recently diagnosed patients. For the whole of last week, Korea counted over 400 cases each day, which

March 16, 2021

[News Focus] South Korea fastest in female part-timer growth in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea posted the highest growth in the portion of part-timers of all employed women among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in recent years. In its analysis on the part-time employment of women by the Paris-based organization for 36 of its members, 20.8 percent of all Korean employed women had a part-time job status as of 2019, the latest year for which data was available. Compared to 2014, when the figure stood at 15.5 percent, this mark

March 16, 2021

S. Korean civic group extends COVID aid worldwide

Global Together, a South Korean civic group helping underprivileged countries with health care and education, said Monday it has donated face masks and coronavirus test kits to Uzbekistan. The group held a ceremony with the Uzbekistan Embassy here to mark the delivery. “With the current COVID-19 continuing, support for masks and diagnostic kits will greatly help overcome the COVID-19 crisis in Uzbekistan. Moreover, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Global Together, Korean stude

March 16, 2021

S. Korea to monitor reported side effects from AstraZeneca vaccines

South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that they will keep a close eye on reported side effects of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines whose rollout has been suspended in major European countries over reported blood clots after vaccine injections. A large number of European countries, such as Germany, Italy and France, halted the use of vaccines manufactured by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University over reports of blood clots in some recipients. International

March 16, 2021

Govt. moves to allow foreign workers to land parcel sorting jobs

The government is pushing to revise local immigration laws to allow migrant workers from overseas to land parcel sorting jobs amid growing concerns over the industry's manpower shortage and notoriously long work hours, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Justice recently preannounced a revision of an enforcement decree on the Immigration Control Act to give more occupational choices to foreign nationals residing in South Korea with H-2 work and visit visas, according to the officials. Unde

March 16, 2021

Worst sandstorm in 10 years blows into Korea

The worst sandstorm in 10 years from China blew over to South Korea early Tuesday, and is expected to affect mostly the western part of the country until Wednesday. Yellow dust that originates in the Mongolian Plateau, the Gobi Desert and northeastern China gets carried over to the Korean Peninsula by the north winds that are typically prevalent in March. The Korea Meteorological Agency said the yellow dust will gradually dissipate on Wednesday, but remnants could linger depending on the atmos

March 16, 2021

Govt. task force to summon LH officials over alleged land speculation

A government task force will soon summon officials of the state housing developer for questioning on allegations of land speculation, a task force official said Tuesday. Twenty employees of Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) are currently under investigation for allegedly using insider information to purchase land mainly in Gwangmyeong and Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, before the area was designated as a major public housing development site last month. "We are currently analyzing material t

March 16, 2021

Victims seek to clear their names in retrials over civilian massacre in Jeju

JEJU -- A local court on Tuesday held sentencing hearings in retrials of more than 330 former prison inmates over the bloody 1948-1954 suppression of a civilian uprising on Jeju Island. The Jeju District Court began the hearing at 10 a.m. for 335 former inmates convicted of violating the defense security law during the Jeju April 3 uprising, in the nation's largest-ever trial involving the largest number of defendants in a single case. The retrials, divided into 21 sessions, are set to continu

March 16, 2021

Greater Seoul area to adopt tighter curbs on virus-prone facilities, workplaces

The Seoul metropolitan area will implement more stringent antivirus measures on virus-prone facilities and expand testing on foreign workers at industrial complexes in the area to better contain the coronavirus, the health authority said Tuesday. Health authorities said they will closely monitor 30 multi-use facilities, including parks, amusement parks, department stores and markets, in the wider Seoul area until March 31 in response to growing concerns over a rising number of visitors in sprin

March 16, 2021

New infections in 300s for 2nd day, tighter curbs in store for greater Seoul

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 300s for the second day Tuesday on fewer tests over the past weekend, but toughened antivirus measures will be implemented for virus-prone facilities in greater Seoul amid fears of an infection resurgence. The country reported 363 more COVID-19 cases, including 345 local infections, raising the total caseload to 96,380, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The figure was slightly down from 382 on Monday. Over the

March 16, 2021

Almost all of S. Korea shrouded with yellow dust blowing in from China

Almost all of South Korea was blanketed Tuesday by a massive yellow dust storm originating from the inland deserts in northern China, the state weather agency said. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), almost all parts of the nation came under the influence of high levels of yellow dust that originated in the Inner Mongolian region in northern China and the vicinity of the Gobi Desert over the weekend and was moving south by riding the northerly wind. The latest yellow d

March 16, 2021

PM orders review of special holiday program for COVID-19 vaccinations

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday instructed health authorities to review ways of introducing a holiday program geared toward vaccinations against the new coronavirus. "There is a need to systematize a vaccine holiday to encourage the people to participate in the vaccination campaign with assurance," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a daily interagency meeting on the coronavirus response. Chung explained that regular side effects, such as experiencing a fever or achin

March 16, 2021

Korea to vaccinate 12 million against COVID-19 by June: minister

South Korea will vaccinate 12 million people against COVID-19 by the end of June, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said in a government meeting Monday morning. The minister said the next phase of the vaccination efforts put Korea closer to its hope of exiting the pandemic. “Our destination is clear: To get to herd immunity and return to normal life,” he said. President Moon Jae-in has promised to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to 70 percent of Korea’s 51 million-st

March 15, 2021

Family of late transgender soldier to continue legal battle for her reinstatement

The family of Byun Hee-soo, a transgender former soldier who was forcibly discharged from the Army last year, will press ahead with an administrative lawsuit she had filed against the Army before her death, an advocacy group said Monday. Byun's attorneys and family decided on Wednesday to apply for succession of the suit to "fulfill her dream (of serving the country as a transgender soldier) by winning the legal battle at all costs," the group working for Byun's reinstatement and res

March 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police seek another missing child in case of toddler’s death

A police investigation looking into who had left a 2-year-old girl alone in an empty house for months continues, after her death reported last week ignited a public uproar. The toddler named Boram was found dead on Feb. 10 in the southeastern city of Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province. Police arrested a 22-year-old woman surnamed Kim on charges of homicide and child neglect as they suspected she had left the child alone as she remarried. Recent DNA test results showed, however, that Kim’s

March 15, 2021

S. Korea reports 31 more cases of COVID-19 variants, total now at 213

South Korea on Monday reported 31 more new cases of major COVID-19 variants, including 12 local infections, prompting health authorities to stay on guard against the spread of the more transmissible strains here. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 24 people were confirmed to have been infected with the British variant, and seven tested positive for the South African strain, raising the total to 213. Among them, 12 were Korean nationals infected with the British varian

March 15, 2021

Ultrafine dust pollution continues, with yellow dust expected Tuesday

Authorities are under pressure as fine dust levels remain threateningly high in South Korea despite emergency measures to reduce air pollution. An ultrafine dust alert was issued in Seoul on Monday at 11 a.m., as the concentration level reached 76 micrograms per cubic meter, according to the Korea Environment Corporation. Similar alerts were issued for 13 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province, where ultrafine dust levels were as high as 81 micrograms per cubic meter. Alerts are issued when

March 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police conduct raids against local lawmaker, public servants amid LH scandal

Police on Monday raided the homes and offices of local public servants and a council member in a widening investigation into land speculation nationwide. Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency sent investigators to the home and office of a ruling Democratic Party council member of Siheung and the home and office of a Gwangmyeong municipal government employee. Siheung and Gwangmyeong, both south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, are at the center of a massive scandal sparked by allegations of land speculati

March 15, 2021