S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases over 60,000 for 5th day, as virus continues to spread

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases stayed above 60,000 for the fifth consecutive day Saturday amid lingering concerns of another surge as the government mulls easing the indoor mask mandate. The country reported 62,738 new COVID-19 infections, including 61 from overseas, bringing the total to 27,674,163, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Friday's tally is slightly higher than the previous day's 62,734 and over 9,000 higher than a week earlier, KDCA data showed. T

Dec. 10, 2022

Seoul International School marks 50th anniversary with new head

Seoul International School, a major international school in Korea located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a new head. An experienced educator who has lived in diverse cultures, SIS head James Gerhard presented a multifaceted vision to maintain SIS’ reputation. Gerhard has been in the education field for about 28 years, and has a doctorate in education. He taught high school economics and government in New York before moving on to teach Ame

Dec. 9, 2022

Truckers vote against continuing strike, decide to return to work

South Korean truckers voted to return to work after 16 days of striking, with a majority of union members voting against continuing the demonstration. The Cargo Truckers Solidarity union has been on strike since Nov. 24, calling for the government to make permanent a minimum freight rate system that is to expire this year. They held an emergency meeting on Thursday and decided to vote on whether to continue the strike. “If the union members decide (to cancel the strike), we will return to

Dec. 9, 2022

Escaped bear’s apparent killing people sparks legitimacy of breeding farms

A couple in their 60s who owned a bear breeding farm were found dead in an apparent attack by the bears they own, the police said on Friday. Bear breeding faces criticism for violating animal rights, but the government is not able to provide other options at the moment, as it would take many more years to build adequate facilities. On Thursday night, police found the bodies of the couple at the entrance of the farm after receiving a missing person report from their daughter at 9:45 p.m. It was d

Dec. 9, 2022

S. Korea's new COVID-19 cases over 60,000 for fourth day as virus continues to spread

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases continued their weekly climb Friday, as the government mulls adjusting the indoor mask mandate even as the virus spreads. The country reported 62,734 new COVID-19 infections, including 50 from overseas, bringing the total to 27,611,555, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Friday's tally is slightly lower than the previous day's 65,253, but up by more than 9,700 from the same day a week earlier, and more than 9,000 higher than two

Dec. 9, 2022

Striking cargo truckers vote to end weekslong walkout

Striking cargo truckers voted Friday to end their weekslong walkout after their collective action incurred massive supply disruptions across industries and prompted the government to issue back-to-work orders. In a plenary vote conducted in the morning, nearly 62 percent voted in favor of ending the strike while about 38 percent objected, according to the results of the vote released by the North Jeolla branch of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union. The vote was participated by 3,574 of the uni

Dec. 9, 2022

W3.9b worth of designer knock-offs seized by Seoul police

Seoul on Thursday announced that 110 manufacturers and sellers of counterfeit designer goods have been booked on criminal charges. According to the city's Special Judicial Police Bureau for Public Safety, more than 5,000 pieces of counterfeit designer goods valued at 3.9 billion won ($2.5 million) have been confiscated. Manufacturing, selling, or holding onto counterfeit goods is punishable by imprisonment of less than seven years, or a maximum fine of 100 million won. Those booked were fou

Dec. 8, 2022

Competition for college entrance heats up as Suneung answers released Friday

As the answers to this year’s Suneung, or the college scholastic ability test, are set to be released Friday, competition for college entrance is expected to heat up. But local education experts on Thursday said that the scores for Suneung don’t carry much weight now since universities weigh the scores differently in their college admissions. “Universities differ in terms of how much they take Suneung into account when it comes to college entry, so students and parents need to

Dec. 8, 2022

Medics at Itaewon disaster site say control unit was absent

Medical staff dispatched to the Itaewon disaster site on Oct. 29 said they faced difficulties saving lives during critical hours due to no control unit giving orders, and instead conducting rescue operations and treatment on their own, reports showed Thursday. According to reports by doctors and nurses who provided medical assistance at the scene, the head of the Yongsan Public Health Center came nearly two hours after the disaster started. The medical team from Seoul National University Hospita

Dec. 8, 2022

Steps taken to expel controversial pastor from Christian Council of Korea

Jeon Kwang-hoon, a right-wing pastor who once served as the president of the Christian Council of Korea, has been expelled from the national evangelical alliance. The council, a member of the World Evangelical Alliance, convened on Tuesday and labeled Jeon of Sarang Jeil Church as a pseudo-religious figure based on a study by CCK’s committee on pseudo-religions. The study was launched after several requests last year and was published last month. The report said that most of the 15 claim

Dec. 8, 2022

Yoon sticks to hard-line stance with 2nd back-to-work order

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday approved the Cabinet's request to issue another order mandating striking truckers to return to work, sticking to his hard-line stance against unionized workers, amid his favorability rating hitting a five-month high. The decision was made during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting where ministers agreed to impose legal means to push an end to the strikes. Supply disruptions across the nation have ground factories to a halt, hindering exports of goods from So

Dec. 8, 2022

‘Bring my child back’: American fathers cry foul

On a late November afternoon, John Sichi was walking on a treadmill on a street in Seoul. The exercise equipment featured signs on both sides that read “I miss my children so much” in Korean. Next to it stood life-size photos of two toddlers -- a girl and a boy. It was the American father’s way of expressing his frustration with the South Korean authorities, whose inaction he said is preventing his children from returning to him, their custodial parent. “I had no more w

Dec. 7, 2022

Public fury continues over 9-year-old's death in school zone

Despite public outrage, Seoul police said on Wednesday that they do not consider a drunk driving car accident that killed a 9-year-old in a school zone last week a hit-and-run. On Sunday, Police filed an arrest warrant for the suspect in his 30s, who ran over a student who was heading home from Seoul Eonbok Elementary School in Gangnam district on Friday afternoon. After hitting the child, the suspect just drove off, according to witness testimonies and CCTV footage. The suspect’s blood

Dec. 7, 2022

Narcotics control tower under gov't review to tackle growing drug-related offences

As a rapid rise in drug-related offences is catching South Korea off guard, eyes are on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s final decision to abolish or formalize an official organization overseeing narcotics-related matters in the country. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is currently putting the final touches on transitioning a temporary narcotics division to an official organization called the Deputy Director General for Narcotics Safety Planning, with the aim of making it a m

Dec. 7, 2022

Single-member households hit record high in 2021

The proportion of one-person households in South Korea hit a fresh record last year, data showed Wednesday, as more young people delayed marriages. One-person families accounted for 33.4 percent of the total last year, up from 31.7 percent the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked a sharp rise from just 20 percent tallied in 2005. The agency said the portion of single-member households is expected to hit 39.6 percent in 2050. Households consisting of a single memb

Dec. 7, 2022

Korea may lift indoor mask mandate in January

South Korea's pandemic response authorities proposed on Wednesday to lift the nationwide indoor mask mandate as early as January next year, with plans for policy talks and forums beginning this month. "As long as conditions (regarding the gravity of coronavirus) are met, (the eased mask rules) will come into effect at least in January, or March at the latest," Peck Kyong-ran, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said in a briefing in Seoul Wednesday. Pe

Dec. 7, 2022

New rules push major firms to tap more female outside directors

The number of female outside directors at major South Korean companies has risen sharply over the past year due to a tougher law, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. A total of 219 firms belonging to the country's top 30 business groups had a combined 120 women outside directors as of end-September, up 38 from a year earlier, according to the Leaders Index. The figure accounted for 15.4 percent of the 780 C-suite positions offered by the major companies, up from 10.6 percent from a year ear

Dec. 7, 2022

[Graphic News] 17% of women in South Korea experience career break following marriage

Around 17 percent of South Korean women experienced a career break following their marriage this year, with child-rearing among the top reasons, official government data showed. The number of women aged 15-54 who had stopped working after marriage had come to 1.39 million as of April, slightly down from 1.44 million tallied a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea. The decrease came in line with a fall in marriages in South Korea. The number of married women in the age group came

Dec. 7, 2022

Cabinet defers another back-to-work order as truckers' strike loses steam

A return-to-work order for cargo truckers dedicated to carrying steel and oil was not on the table during a Cabinet meeting held Tuesday, as the striking truckers appear to be losing steam, and as cement supply across the country returns to a normal level. At the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reiterated the administration's stance that the government will "not compromise with unlawful acts and take stern action against any violations by law and principle." But the orders

Dec. 6, 2022

Plan for 2nd presidential office in Sejong to roll out next year

South Korea is looking to map out plans by 2023 to build the second presidential office in the administrative city of Sejong, the office of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced Tuesday. This is part of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's policy road map to elevate Sejong, a city that is 120 kilometers south of Seoul, to the nation's de facto administrative capital. Currently, Yoon's office is located in Yongsan-gu, center of Seoul. The government also pledged to set up measures an

Dec. 6, 2022