S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall to lowest Thursday tally in 31 weeks

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Thursday tally in 31 weeks as the country has seen a gradual downward trend and has taken steps to fully regain pre-pandemic normalcy. The country reported 16,862 new cases, including 45 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,213,928, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It fell from the previous day's 20,420 new cases and was a marked decline from 35,086 cases a week earlier. Thursday's figure

Feb. 2, 2023

Appellate court rules against local temple claiming ownership of Buddhist statue stolen from Japan

DAEJEON -- An appellate court on Wednesday ruled against a Buddhist temple in a civil suit it filed to claim a 14th century statue taken away to Japan centuries ago, and stolen and brought back to South Korea a decade ago. The 50.5-centimeter-tall Buddhist statue from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) was one of the two bronze statues Korean thieves stole from Kannon Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, in October 2012. Claiming its ownership, Buseok Temple in Seosan, 98 kilometers southwest

Feb. 1, 2023

[Korean Dilemma] What ChatGPT means for Korea

Just a couple days ago, I spoke to ChatGPT, the revolutionary artificial intelligence chatbot everyone is gushing about. Yes, it was beyond impressive watching the bot produce concise pieces of writing on any given topic with relevant info extracted from mostly English-language sources on the web within seconds. It even spilled out a nice short story about AI and aliens as soon as I asked for it. It may soon be practically pointless for humans to write simple articles, solve math problems or wri

Feb. 1, 2023

Ex-President Park's aide acquitted of hindering Sewol probe

Lee Byung-kee, the former presidential chief of staff under the Park Geun-hye administration, was acquitted Wednesday on charges of obstructing lawmakers' probe into the cause of the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014. The Seoul Central District Court ruling indicated that the allegations against Lee's involvement in the obstruction lacked evidence. Lee and eight other officials were indicted in May 2020 on charges of hindering the probe as lawmakers tried to look into the whereabouts of the

Feb. 1, 2023

Remains of ‘Mr. Sunshine’ to return home after 100 years

The remains of Korean independence fighter Whang Ki-hwan, the real-life inspiration for 2018 hit TV drama “Mr. Sunshine,” are set to return home some 100 years after he passed away in New York. The Korean patriot, whose English name was Earl K. Whang, inspired the drama series' producers to create the character Eugene Choi (played by Lee Byung-hun), a Korean American US Marine Corps officer who returns to Korea and ends up helping his compatriots thwart a looming Japanese invasi

Feb. 1, 2023

[History through The Korea Herald] War orphans, the Holts and seeds borne from tragedy

"History through The Korea Herald” revisits significant events and issues over the seven decades through articles, photos and editorial pieces published in the Herald and retell them from a contemporary perspective. – Ed. When the dust from the 1950-53 Korean War settled, orphans were left to fight for survival. It was then a Christian couple from the US -- Harry and Bertha Holt -- stepped in to play a key role in arranging the babies to be adopted by foreign parents. The Holts

Feb. 1, 2023

Mask-wearing does not harm your lungs: experts

Researchers sought to quell concerns that microplastics from disposable masks could cause lung damage, saying their study did not show that simply wearing masks and breathing through them is potentially harmful. "It is not the wearing of the mask itself that causes lung damage, but the microplastics that remain after disposing of the mask," said Yoo Byung-ah, an official at the Korea Institute of Toxicology. "Microplastics cannot be inhaled in one's lungs just by wearing and

Feb. 1, 2023

[Herald Interview] Top attorney calls for stronger protection of foreigners, fairer trials

In the face of an increasingly globalized labor workforce and a looming demographic cliff, South Korean legal professionals are calling for stronger protection of immigrants' and refugees' human rights in the country. "Refugees' and immigrants' human rights issues have gained ground in this society," Lee Jong-yop, president of the Korean Bar Association told The Korea Herald in a recent interview at the KBA headquarters in Seoul. During his tenure, Lee created a legal aid team for refu

Feb. 1, 2023

Seoul hikes taxi fares after 4 years

Seoul taxi fares rose for the first time in four years beginning from 4 a.m. Wednesday through a basic rate hike, amid rising fuel costs and inflation, according to the taxi drivers' association. The ordinary taxi's initial charge for the first 1.6 kilometers is now set at 4,800 won ($3.90), up 26.3 percent from 3,800 won applied for the first 2 kilometers four years ago. The initial charge would cover a ride from Seoul Station to the Myeong-dong shopping district, for instance. When moving from

Feb. 1, 2023

‘D.P.’ actor Song Duk-ho faces draft dodging probe

Actor Song Duk-ho is under investigation by a joint investigation team of the prosecution and the Military Manpower Administration on allegations that he illegally evaded military service through a broker, media outlets reported Tuesday. The joint investigation team suspects that the actor had contacted a military broker and asked for help demonstrating false symptoms of epilepsy during a military examination. After submitting an allegedly fraudulent report of his diagnosis, Song was deemed unfi

Feb. 1, 2023

[Newsmaker] New visas, faster entries: Immigration changes in 2023

South Korea has recently rolled out a series of changes for foreign visitors and residents in the country, ranging from new visas to giving young children access to automated immigration gates at airports. The measures are intended to draw more foreigners, from tourists to long-term workers, after a period of pandemic-induced strict border controls. Introduction of new visas Two new visa types will be made available to visitors, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced last mont

Feb. 1, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases rise to over 20,000 after eased indoor mask rules

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rose to over 20,000 on Wednesday as the government eased indoor mask-wearing restrictions in an effort to fully restore pre-pandemic normalcy amid a recent overall downward trend. The country reported 20,420 new cases, including 28 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,197,066, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The daily count rose from about a seven-month low of 7,416 on Monday to 19,629 on Tuesday. Wednesday's fi

Feb. 1, 2023

PM hints at earlier lifting of visa restrictions on China

  Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Tuesday South Korea might lift short-term visa restrictions on entrants from China earlier than a new deadline set by the end of February if convincing evidence of declining COVID-19 spread is given. The decision could be made depending on the virus situation here as Korea has just eased indoor mask mandate and both China and Korea had family gatherings to celebrate Lunar New Year holiday. "(The government and health experts) can start reviewing plans

Jan. 31, 2023

Human rights still violated at foreign detention centers: Korean lawyers

Facilities in South Korea which temporarily detain foreigners subject to deportation have been gradually improved compared to the past, but are still short of fully protecting human rights, the Korean Bar Association and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said as they wrapped up a joint investigation. Since October last year, a special committee on refugees and foreigners under the KBA conducted in-depth interviews with foreigners and employees at several Immigration Processing Center

Jan. 31, 2023

Mosque protesters to stage another pork feast

Residents of Daehyeon-dong, Daegu opposing the construction of a mosque in the area will hold another “meat feast” on Thursday, despite the Supreme Court's earlier ruling that enabled the project to continue. The “Daegu Anti-Mosque Committee,” residents against a mosque in their neighborhood, said Monday they will hold a protest where they will consume boiled pork and beef soup. The town adjacent to Kyungpook National University became a hot spot for conflict after t

Jan. 31, 2023

[Korean Dilemma] Rigid thinking fuels never-ending test attempts

Sixteen-year-old Koh Yoo-jin spends her winter break at a math hagwon from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. In the evening, she does her homework and studies other subjects until 1 a.m. Like her peers, she finished learning everything on the high school math curriculum before graduating from middle school, and has since been working on endless drills to prepare herself against “killer questions” in "Suneung," or the College Scholastic Ability Test. Studying for the multiple-choice S

Jan. 31, 2023

[Newsmaker] Facebook or Twitter? Choice reflects young Koreans' politics

Liberals in their early 20s are more likely to use Twitter, while conservatives in the same age group prefer Facebook, according to a local study released Tuesday. Two out of 5 South Koreans aged between 19 and 24 are on their smartphones for more than five hours a day, according to an online poll of 2,214 people of this age group conducted in July last year by the state-funded National Youth Policy Institute. They mostly use YouTube, KakaoTalk, Instagram and Facebook and come across a lot of fa

Jan. 31, 2023

Plan needed to attract foreign workers: PM

  A greater stream of foreigners to South Korea could be a breakthrough from the aggravating population structure caused by a sharp increase in senior citizens coupled with a record-low fertility rate, Prime Minster Han Duck-soo said Tuesday, urging an action plan to attract foreign workers. "Now is the time to start discussing (creating) an independent government body to seek collaboration with foreign countries and attract more foreigner workforces." Han said, adding that these

Jan. 31, 2023

S. Korea’s corruption perception ranking inches up

South Korea’s anti-corruption watchdog said Tuesday that Korea ranked 31st out of 180 countries around the world in a survey that gauged the perceived levels of public sector corruption. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said in its analysis of the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index that the country's latest corruption perception ranking and score rose by one spot and one point from No. 32 and 63 points, respectively, from the 2021 index. This is the sixth consecutive yea

Jan. 31, 2023

Counseling center opens for Itaewon residents, merchants

The Yongsan District Office said Tuesday that it would operate a Korean-language counseling center in February to assist people who are suffering from trauma after the Itaewon disaster. The center will provide mental and psychological evaluations, counseling and additional group sessions if necessary. Every Wednesday, a psychiatrist from Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital will visit to provide counseling sessions. "Merchants and residents near Itaewon are being hit hard by the depressi

Jan. 31, 2023