Tensions flare again as S. Korea investigates Chinese cyberattacks

South Korea and China look set for a renewed clash over what South Korean authorities believe are Chinese cyberattacks on multiple local academic organizations, potentially the latest flare-up in tensions recently heightened by a tit-for-tat visa spat over stronger COVID travel curbs. Police opened a formal probe Wednesday to investigate hacking that had disrupted access to websites of at least 12 academic groups, a string of attacks that took place over the four-day Lunar New Year holiday endin

Jan. 25, 2023

[Newsmaker] No more 'Narco-Saints' busts as drugs trade goes digital

The Korea Herald is running a series of feature stories and interviews on the evolution and rise of drug crimes, insufficient support systems and young addicts’ stories in South Korea. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed. Former South Korean prosecutor Kim Hee-jun led a joint operation with the nation's spy agency for years in the late 2000s to capture a South Korean-Surinamese drug kingpin, serving as the basis for the popular Netflix series "Narco-Saints." Similar to t

Jan. 25, 2023

Bitter cold snap continues, heavy snow to follow

With accidents and facility damage reports continuing nationwide Wednesday, the nation's weather agency said the cold wave would ease from Thursday, but heavy snow is to follow. On Wednesday morning, when most areas of the country saw their lowest temperatures this year, the temperature in Seoul dropped to minus 17.3 degrees Celsius, the seventh lowest temperature in Seoul in the 21st century. Combined with the strong wind, the sensory temperature fell to minus 23.3 C. Damage caused by the

Jan. 25, 2023

Cold wave warnings issued across S. Korea; Seoul witnesses coldest day

Cold wave warnings were issued across South Korea on Wednesday as the country came under the grip of the season's coldest weather, authorities said. In Seoul, morning lows plummeted to minus 19.3 C, with an effective temperature of nearly minus 25.7 C, as of 6:29 a.m., the Korea Meteorological Administration said. A cold wave warning is issued when the morning low is below minus 15 C for more than two consecutive days, or when the temperature drops sharply and major damage is expected. Sinc

Jan. 25, 2023

14 rescued from capsized Hong Kong ship off Jeju Island

Fourteen crew members from a capsized cargo ship off southeastern Jeju Island were rescued in a joint search operation involving multiple coast guards as of early afternoon on Wednesday. Of the rescued people, nine remained unconscious as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Korea Coast Guard Region-Jeju, or the Jeju Coast Guard. Those rescued there were sent to Japan to get hospitalized, and Japanese authorities will take charge of investigating the cause of the accident, according to South

Jan. 25, 2023

Siberian cold wave sweeps S. Korea

A Siberian cold wave hit South Korea on Tuesday, causing temperatures to plunge across the country to the lowest points this winter, grounding flights and stranding traffic in some parts on the last day of the four-day Lunar New Year weekend. The most affected region was Jeju Island, where all 476 flights to and from the nation's southern island were axed, leaving some 43,000 passengers stranded, according to Jeju Regional Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "

Jan. 24, 2023

No mask mandate at schools, airports -- but still on buses, trains

Face masks or coverings will no longer be required indoors in Korea starting Monday, except in high-risk places such as hospitals and on public transportation like buses and trains. Places that will be mask-free include schools, kindergartens, child care centers and department stores. Also on the mask-free list are outdoor and indoor spaces at subway and train stations and airports. The requirement to wear face masks at virus-prone facilities such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, pharm

Jan. 24, 2023

Coldest day of season grips S. Korea on last day of Lunar New Year holiday

The coldest day of the season gripped South Korea on Tuesday, with morning lows dropping to minus 16.4 degrees C in Seoul and to minus 25.5 C in the northern county of Cheorwon, the state weather agency said. The lowest apparent temperature for Seoul was minus 25.5 C, while that of Cheorwon was minus 39.3 C, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. A cold wave warning is issued when the morning low is below minus 15 C for more than two consecutive days, or when the temperature drops s

Jan. 24, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases under 20,000 for third day amid holiday

South Korea reported 12,262 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, staying below 20,000 for the third consecutive day, health authorities said, due to fewer testing over the Lunar New Year holiday. The new cases, including 31 from overseas, brought the total caseload to 30,021,018, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. It marked a slight rise from 9,227 cases reported on the previous day, although it fell around 28,000 from a week earlier. South Korea, with a population of 51.6 million, saw

Jan. 24, 2023

5-year blueprint for multicultural families to be unveiled in March

With the growing number of multicultural families in the country, the government plans to announce a multicultural family policy road map in March, which will set the direction of overall policies regarding immigrants and their children from 2023 to 2027. The five-year plan will be announced within March after consultations with related ministries and approval from the Multicultural Family Policy Committee under the prime minister's office, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and F

Jan. 23, 2023

Cold wave to hit South Korea as Lunar New Year holiday comes to end

Cold wave alerts will be issued for most parts of South Korea on Monday, the third day of the four-day Lunar New Year holiday, according to the nation’s weather agency. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the cold wave warning will take effect for Seoul as of 9 p.m. The cold wave warnings are issued when the daily low falls below minus 15 degrees Celsius for more than two consecutive days, or when the temperature drops sharply and major damage is expected. The warnings will be

Jan. 23, 2023

Traffic builds up on highways as people return to Seoul from Lunar New Year holiday

Traffic on major highways started to build up nationwide Monday morning, as millions of South Koreans started to return to Seoul on the third day of the four-day Lunar New Year holiday. This year's holiday, one of the country's largest, started Saturday, with the annual exodus of people from Seoul and its surrounding areas to their hometowns for Lunar New Year, which fell on Sunday. With the extended holiday ending Tuesday, those same people began making their way back to the nation's capital

Jan. 23, 2023

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases drop to 9,227 cumulative cases top

South Korea reported 9,227 new COVID-19 cases Monday, the lowest number in more than three months, health authorities said, amid a slowdown in infections and less testing over the Lunar New Year holiday. The new cases, including 60 from overseas, brought the total caseload to 30,008,756, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The nation, with a population of 51.6 million, also reached the grim milestone of 30 million, three years after its first COVID-19 case was reporte

Jan. 23, 2023

Court rules in favor of police punishment for officer's verbal abuse

A South Korean court sided with the police agency's decision to punish a veteran police officer for verbally abusing a subordinate and having her run his personal errands, showed a court ruling Monday. Judges in the Seoul Administrative Court in December dismissed an officer's suit against the nation's chief of police to nullify a reprimand warning -- the lightest punishment on a six-tier scale -- handed down by the national police agency in March 2021. The court ruling indicated

Jan. 23, 2023

The lonely city: 4.5 percent of Seoul’s youth ‘disconnected’ from society

Approximately 4.5 percent of the youth population in Seoul have been cut off from society, a recent report by the metropolitan government said Wednesday, with many of them citing difficulties in finding jobs and personal relationships as the main culprit. The report by the Seoul Metropolitan Government surveyed 5,513 people aged between 19 and 39 living in the city, and found that 4.5 percent of them could be defined as “isolated” or “reclusive.” City officials defined &l

Jan. 22, 2023

Bill aims to boost blood donations for pets

Just like people, pets also lose large amounts of blood from accidents, diseases and surgeries, and therefore require blood transfusions. But, there is currently not enough donated blood in South Korea. That’s why keen attention is being paid to a bill recently proposed at the National Assembly that aims to set up a control tower within the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to oversee and facilitate blood collection for animals. Demand for blood transfusion for animals

Jan. 22, 2023

S. Korea reports 16,624 COVID-19 cases, lowest Sunday tally in 15 weeks

COVID-19 cases Sunday, the lowest number for a Sunday in 15 weeks, health authorities said, amid a slowdown in infections and less testing over the Lunar New Year holiday. The new cases, including 70 from overseas, brought the total caseload to 29,999,529, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The tally marked the lowest for any Sunday since Oct. 9, when the country reported 17,646 new cases. The country added 24 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 33,209. The numb

Jan. 22, 2023

Traffic slows as Lunar New Year holiday begin

Traffic on some highway sections slowed down Saturday as people hit the road to visit their hometowns or go on trips as the Lunar New Year holiday began. This year's extended Lunar New Year holiday runs from Saturday through Tuesday, with the nation celebrating its first such holiday without social distancing restrictions since the outbreak of COVID-19 three years ago. According to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC), some sections of the Gyeongbu Expressway, which links Seoul to the southea

Jan. 21, 2023

How much sebae money is enough?

One of the biggest traditions of the Korean Seollal holiday is sebae, or the act of bowing to your elders and wishing them a happy new year, after which older relatives share cash gifts. This long-held tradition has gone on in Korean households for generations. However, times are changing. The question of how much money it is appropriate to give or receive -- or whether anything should be given or received at all -- is a hard one to reach a consensus on. In a survey conducted by SK Communication

Jan. 21, 2023

[Photo News] How was holiday way home like for Koreans in the past?

Seollal is one of Korea's two main holidays along with Chuseok. Both kick off a mass movement of people going to visit their hometowns. The race to return home involves people competing for bus, train and air tickets online, as well as at ticket booths. Just a few years ago, however, people lined up at train stations and bus terminals, with thousands queueing up for tickets. Some even camped outside, while thousands more braved the expressways in their cars. With the network of expressways

Jan. 21, 2023