Mask mandate on public transportation to end Monday

The government's decision to lift the mask mandate on public transportation and pharmacies in open public spaces will go into effect this week amid a gradual COVID-19 virus downtrend. The removal of the mask mandate on public transportation, including subways, buses, taxis and planes, Monday comes 2 1/2 years after the government adopted the mask rule in October 2020. COVID-19 infections have been on the decline since the removal of most indoor mask mandates in late January. On Jan. 30, the

March 19, 2023

Ex-diplomat's suit against dismissal over sexual assault rejected

A former South Korean diplomat has lost a lawsuit seeking to reverse the foreign ministry's decision to fire him for sexually assaulting a female embassy employee when stationed in Ethiopia, sources said Sunday. The Seoul Administrative Court last month ruled against the plaintiff, surnamed Lee, in his lawsuit seeking to have the foreign minister overturn his dismissal. The ruling was finalized as Lee did not appeal. Lee was fired in July 2017 after he was found to have sexually assaulted t

March 19, 2023

Family of five found dead in Incheon

INCHEON -- Police launched an investigation Saturday after a family of five was found dead in their home in Incheon. Police received a call at 10:37 a.m. reporting that people were lying motionless in an apartment in the Michuhol Ward of the city, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, according to the Michuhol Police Station. The deceased were identified as the parents and their three young children. They were discovered by a relative who visited their home. Police suspect the father, who was in his 40s

March 18, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 for 3rd day

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 10,000 for the third consecutive day Saturday ahead of the lifting of the mask mandate for public transportation. The country reported 9,259 new COVID-19 infections, including 16 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,690,223, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest count is slightly up from the previous day's 9,065 and a 750 drop from 10,009 a week ago. The KDCA reported four deaths from COVI

March 18, 2023

Police apprehend subway protest leader

Park Kyeong-seok, the leader of the disability rights group that has been staging rush-hour subway protests, was taken into custody on Friday after refusing to turn up for police questioning 18 times. The police took the chief of Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination into custody at 11:50 a.m. outside the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in central Seoul during his press conference. Park held the press conference from inside a cage, with chains around his body, and called out to the polic

March 17, 2023

Seoul park renovation inspired by UK's Hyde Park: Mayor

Seoul's proposal to renovate World Cup Park, which involves building a giant spokeless Ferris wheel, was inspired by Hyde Park in London, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Friday. "I was deeply impressed by Hyde Park where sculptures, galleries and birds come together in the forest in the heart of the city to provide citizens with a place to rest," Oh said in a statement. "I promise that Seoul's parks will better harmonize with the surrounding area and be equipped with various tourist a

March 17, 2023

Mother's toxic return in 'The Glory' can be prevented in real life: Justice Ministry

The terrifying return of a mother depicted in Netflix‘s revenge drama “The Glory” can be prevented in real life, as long as the bullied protagonist Moon Dong-eun officially designates her mother as a perpetrator of domestic violence, said South Korea’s Justice Ministry on Friday. Under the revision of the Act on Registration of Family Relations effective in January 2022, a victim of domestic violence who managed to get away from their family may request that a perpetrat

March 17, 2023

Koreans remain cautious over 'new era' of Korea-Japan ties

Leaders of South Korea and Japan hailed a new era of bilateral ties strained for years over historic disputes on Thursday, with a list of agreements aimed at bolstering cooperation in the fields of security, economy and culture between the two countries. The agreements forged during a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida held in Tokyo, the first in 12 years, came just 10 days after South Korea unveiled a deal with Japan. On March 6, the Korean governm

March 17, 2023

Ex-president’s grandson apparently does drugs on YouTube livestream

Grandson of the late former President Chun Doo-hwan, Chun Woo-won, who recently made headlines for publicly accusing his family of various felonies, broadcast himself taking what appeared to be drugs early Friday. The 27-year-old started streaming himself on YouTube around 5:40 a.m., Korean time, at his New York home and apologized for what he said were his family’s crimes, with a vow to donate half of his assets to society. He also showed himself donating $52,265 to UNICEF. After reiterat

March 17, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 10,000 for second day

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 10,000 for the second consecutive day Friday, as the virus curve keeps steady with no dramatic upturn in daily numbers. The country reported 9,065 new COVID-19 infections, including 11 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,681,228, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The latest count is down from the previous day's 9,934 and a drop by more than 1,200 from 10,335 a week ago. The KDCA reported seven deaths f

March 17, 2023

[Graphic News] Only 4% of women view marriage, childbirth as essential: survey

Only 4 percent of single South Korean women in their 20s and early 30s view marriage and childbirth as essential, a survey showed, a development that illustrated the chronic decline in childbirths in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Meanwhile, 12.9 percent of single men in the same age bracket agreed that marriage and childbirth were essential for women, according to the survey conducted by the Korean Association for Social Welfare Studies. The survey showed that 53.2 of female respondents b

March 17, 2023

Live bullet found at Incheon airport terminal

A live bullet was discovered at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Thursday, just one week after two live rounds were found on a plane, delaying its departure from the country's primary airport. Airport police said they received a report at 4:23 p.m. that a live bullet was found in the departure hall on the third floor of Passenger Terminal 1. It was discovered by a cleaner who was segregating waste, they said. Authorities conducted a search of the area, but no additional bu

March 16, 2023

New 'maid cafe' stirs up debate

A new Japanese-style "maid cafe" opened in Seoul on Wednesday, sparking controversy, with some raising concerns that the cafe's costumes and theme of female servers being dressed as anime-style "maids" could be degrading and commercializing sex. Located in Mapo-gu, the so-called "maid cafe" welcomes customers with overly accommodating waitresses dressed in ruffled miniskirts and fishnet stockings. A total of 28 workers or "maids" serve food and drinks whil

March 16, 2023

Warm, dry days expected next week

The mostly sunny and dry weather is forecast to continue next week, with a chance of showers in the southern part of the country, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Thursday. The KMA warned of the possibility of disasters caused by the dry weather as forest fires have been breaking out in several places. The sunny weather is expected to continue until next week thanks to the high pressure above Korea, according to a regular briefing by the KMA on Thursday. However, between Friday aft

March 16, 2023

Yoon hints at keeping cap on weekly working hours below 60

President Yoon Suk Yeol views a workweek of 60 hours or longer as "excessive," the presidential office said Thursday, adding that he has ordered further adjustments to be made to proposed reforms to working time limits. The Ministry of Employment and Labor's plan unveiled earlier this month aimed to allow maximum working hours of up to 69 hours in a week. The president expressed regrets over the plan drafted without an "adequate legal cap" on how long a worker could work

March 16, 2023

Military to look into claims against officers by ex-president’s grandson

South Korea’s military said late Wednesday that it would look into claims made by the grandson of the late former President Chun Doo-hwan that his acquaintances, incumbent officers in the military, had used drugs inside the army. The military said that it would try to confirm such claims raised by the grandson, declining to further comment on the issue. The two military men are reportedly lieutenants of the country’s Department of Defense and the Air Force. The Ministry of Defense sa

March 16, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 10,000

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell below 10,000 Thursday, the lowest Thursday figure in two weeks, in a moderate decline in the virus trend. The country reported 9,934 new COVID-19 infections, including 11 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,672,163, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Thursday's count is down from 10,885 logged a week ago, and the lowest daily tally since 7,551 reported March 2, excluding the weekend and Monday figures that tend

March 16, 2023

[Graphic News] Facebook users in S. Korea dip below 10m: data

The number of Facebook users in South Korea fell to a record low last month as a growing number of young people opted to use Instagram and other social media platforms, industry data showed. Facebook had a combined 9.79 million South Korean monthly active users on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store as of last month, down 2.6 percent from a month ago, according to the data by Mobile Index. It is the first time that Facebook’s MAU in South Korea dropped below the 10-million thresh

March 16, 2023

'Room cafes' stipulated as inappropriate for teens

"Room cafes" have been stipulated as a business that teenagers must stay away from, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Wednesday. The designation was made in an amended administrative notice posted on Wednesday, which listed room cafes as a business that minors, those aged 19 and under, are banned from entering or being employed at. Under the notice, which was established in 2011, businesses deemed inappropriate for minors are defined as those that provide toilets, bedding

March 15, 2023

Police raid Defense Ministry over Yoon’s alleged ties to fortuneteller

South Korean police raided the Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a claim made by a former spokesperson for the ministry that a fortuneteller had been involved in the relocation of the presidential residence to Yongsan in central Seoul. Investigators from the cyber bureau of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency were sent to confiscate evidence, including vehicle entry records, to determine if the fortuneteller had visited the ministry's premises in Yo

March 15, 2023