[Newsmaker] Navy officer found dead in Yellow Sea after going missing while on duty

A Navy officer was found dead Saturday after going missing while on duty aboard a patrol boat off the western border island of Baengnyeong, military authorities said. 　 The chief petty officer disappeared at around 10 p.m. on Friday in waters south of the island in the Yellow Sea, as the 450-ton patrol killer he was aboard was sailing for night guard operations, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). 　 After hours of search operations, the authorities found the man at around 10 a.m. Satur

Jan. 9, 2021

FM calls for Japan not to respond excessively to court ruling on ‘comfort women’

South Korea's foreign minister on Saturday requested that Japan refrain from responding excessively concerning a local court’s ruling that ordered Tokyo to provide compensation for its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women. 　 Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha made the remark during a 20-minute phone call with her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 　 The phone call came after South Korean victims of wartime sexual enslavement won their f

Jan. 9, 2021

Daily virus cases drop to one-month low amid concern over COVID-19 variant

South Korea‘s new coronavirus cases dropped to the lowest level in a month on Saturday, but authorities are vigilant over chains of cluster infections coupled with looming concerns over a COVID-19 variant. 　 　The country added 641 more COVID-19 cases, including 596 local infections, raising the total caseload to 67,999, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 　 　It was the lowest daily figure since Dec. 8, when the country added 594 additional cases. The natio

Jan. 9, 2021

Overseas Koreans Foundation launches support program for Korean adoptees abroad

The Overseas Koreans Foundation has launched a support program to help South Korean adoptees living in foreign countries. The program is for Korean adoptees under the age of 45 living outside Korea, and their children and grandchildren, the Overseas Koreans Foundation said Tuesday in an announcement on its website. The purpose of the program is to promote the rights of Koreans adopted overseas and help them settle down in the countries where they live by offering legal support and advice for

Jan. 8, 2021

Child rapist Cho Doo-soon applied for welfare grants

Cho Doo-soon, one of Korea’s most notorious child rapists, and his wife applied for basic livelihood grants and pension for senior citizens, according to local news reports. Cho, 68, who was released from prison on Dec. 12 after serving a reduced sentence of just over a decade for kidnapping, beating and raping a young girl, now lives with his wife in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and is unemployed. After news surfaced that Cho is seeking welfare benefits, posts were made on the presidenti

Jan. 8, 2021

Photos, physical details banned in matchmaking ads

Matchmaking advertisements in South Korea can no longer display personal information such as a person’s height and weight, or any photos of the face. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Friday that an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Brokers Business Management Act was in effect. Under the amended enforcement decree, photos of users’ faces cannot be revealed in public through any type of advertisement that is visible to the general public. This includes

Jan. 8, 2021

S. Korea past the peak of 3rd COVID-19 wave: officials

South Korea is thought to have passed the peak of the third COVID-19 wave thanks to tough social distancing guidelines as the country reported the lowest number of cases since Jan. 2 on Friday, officials said. Korea saw 674 new COVID-19 new cases – 633 locally transmitted and 41 imported from overseas – raising the total number of cases recorded in Korea to 67,358. The daily number of new cases has stayed below 1,000 for four days in a row, continuing to show signs of slowing down.

Jan. 8, 2021

S. Korea investigating 2 more suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Friday it has confirmed the country's 48th case of highly pathogenic bird flu from a poultry farm, with the spread of the disease among wild birds further straining the country's antivirus fight. The latest case of the malign HN58 strain of bird flu came from a duck farm in Yeongam, 384 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea issued a standstill order on all poultry farms in the region for

Jan. 8, 2021

[Newsmaker] Indoor sports facilities dissatisfied with 'nonsensical' COVID-19 exceptions

Business owners expressed discontent and dissatisfaction toward the government for making “unrealistic” and “nonsensical” exceptions to let indoor sports facilities operate in a limited capacity. Starting Friday, indoor sports facilities were allowed to reopen their doors with a cap of nine children at a time, an exception the government made to address the gap in child care. Indoor sports facility owners are frustrated with the response, as the revised rules do not add

Jan. 8, 2021

Seoul court orders Japan to compensate sex slavery victims

For the first time in history, a Seoul court has ruled that the Japanese government is liable to pay compensation for wartime sex slavery, ordering it to give 100 million won ($91,340) to each victim. The Seoul Central District Court said at 9:55 a.m. on Friday that “State immunity cannot be applied to crimes against humanity” in regards to the suit that 12 victims had filed against the Japanese government. The case began when the 12 so-called comfort women, including the late Ba

Jan. 8, 2021

Busan announces separate economic relief package for city

The Busan Metropolitan Government will provide economic relief for industries in the city that have been affected by the social distancing measures that were extended due to the third wave of COVID-19. Beneficiaries will include artists, the transportation industry and the tourism industry. Busan’s acting Mayor Byun Seong-wan said 154,000 businesses and individuals would receive a combined 220 billion won ($208 million) from city, district and county resources. This is separate from the

Jan. 8, 2021

94% of Koreans feel ‘tired’ amid pandemic

Collective exhaustion with coronavirus restrictions is mounting in South Korea amid a prolonged fight against the pandemic, with nine in 10 Koreans saying they feel “tired.” According to a poll of 837 adults from Jan. 6-7 by a job search engine Incruit, 94.1 percent of the respondents said their fatigue had accumulated due to the protracted pandemic. The biggest reasons they felt fatigued about the pandemic was that they had to refrain from meeting their families and friends (12.2

Jan. 8, 2021

Seoul has coldest day in 35 years

Cold air from the North Pole gripped the nation on Friday, pushing the mercury down to minus 29.1 degrees Celsius on a mountain peak in Gangwon Province and minus 21.7 degrees in northwestern Seoul. The capital’s official overnight low, measured in Jongno-gu, hit minus 18.6 degrees, the lowest since Jan. 5, 1986. In Gangwon Province, the cold spell froze the Soyang River and Bukhan River in Chuncheon, as well as a waterfall on the Hantan River in Cheorwon. Seawater icicles even formed on

Jan. 8, 2021

Denial of citizenship for foreign man caught drunk driving legitimate: court

The government’s decision to deny a naturalization application of a foreign national who was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol was legitimate, according to a local court’s ruling. The Nepalese man, who married a Korean woman in 2014, applied for naturalization in May 2018. He was convicted of drunk driving and given a fine in November 2019 while his application was being reviewed. The Justice Ministry denied the application in February 2020, citing his failure t

Jan. 8, 2021

Local furniture maker under probe over alleged slush fund, bribery

Police have raided the headquarters of South Korea's leading furniture maker Hanssem Co. this week as part of a probe into its alleged slush fund creation and graft charges, an official said Friday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent investigators to the compound in western Seoul the previous day to search for potential evidence. Having combed a computer server room and offices in charge of budget operation and public relations, they secured documents and other materials, according to th

Jan. 8, 2021

Ultrafine dust density falls to record low for December

Last month saw a record-low ultrafine dust density for December in South Korea, the government said Friday, citing outcomes from its seasonal management system for air pollution. The Ministry of Environment said last month's national average density of ultrafine dust particles was 24 micrograms per cubic meter, the lowest level for December since relevant record-keeping began in 2015. Ultrafine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 2.5, are a class one carcinogen. Un

Jan. 8, 2021

S. Korea past 3rd peak of pandemic, tougher curbs in place against foreign arrivals

The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic appears to be slowly declining after a peak amid tough social distancing guidelines, but health authorities remain guarded against a more transmissible virus variant, officials said Friday. The country added 674 more COVID-19 cases, including 633 local infections, raising the total caseload to 67,360, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Friday's caseload was the lowest since Jan. 2, when the figure stood at 657 due largely t

Jan. 8, 2021

Optimism waning on continued reports of new COVID-19 variant

Authorities were on alert as South Korea identified three new cases of a more contagious COVID-19 variant from the UK on Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said in a press briefing Thursday that three individuals had been confirmed infected with the variant first identified in the UK. The three belong to the same family as another patient, who was found to have the UK variant earlier after arriving in Korea from Britain in mid-December. With the addition of the three new

Jan. 7, 2021

Top court acquits teacher who posted political comments on social media

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed the appeal of a high school teacher and acquitted the man who had been indicted on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act. Identified by the surname Ko, the teacher had shared controversial posts on social media ahead of parliamentary elections in March and April of 2016. The teacher at a public high school on the island of Jindo, South Jeolla Province, who also serves as the branch president of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers&ls

Jan. 7, 2021

Foreign arrivals required to present negative COVID-19 test results

Foreigners arriving at South Korean airports are required to present negative coronavirus test results to be allowed into the country, starting Friday, as the country seeks to contain the influx of new variants of the coronavirus reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Foreign nationals must now show the results of a polymerase chain reaction coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of their departure for Korea, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Foreigners a

Jan. 7, 2021