Peter Chung Soon-taick to take over as new archbishop of Seoul

Peter Chung Soon-taick will officially assume the role of the new archbishop of Seoul on Wednesday, succeeding Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, who served in the post for nearly a decade. Chung's installation ceremony and Mass will be held at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul at 2 p.m., according to the Archdiocese of Seoul. During the ceremony, the 60-year-old archbishop will accept pastoral staff symbolizing the authority of the pastoral office from his predecessor Yeom and take a seat in

Dec. 8, 2021

Seoul reports new record high of 2,901 daily COVID-19 cases

Seoul's daily coronavirus cases reached a record high of 2,901 on Wednesday as the country's total surpassed 7,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, officials said Wednesday. Seoul's total was up 781 from the previous day and up 628 from the previous high of 2,273 logged Friday, according to the Central Disease Control Headquarters. Of the total, 2,890 were local infections and 11 were from overseas. Seoul saw its daily virus figure exceed 2,000 every day except for Sunday in the p

Dec. 8, 2021

S. Korea on course to log warmest year in 2021: weather agency

South Korea's average temperature in the January-November period reached an all-time high of 14.4 degrees Celsius, making this year likely to be the warmest year ever, the state weather agency said Wednesday. The 11-month average temperature marks the highest since 1973 when the country beefed up weather observation networks across the nation, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. With the average daily temperature in December projected to be warmer than previous years, the yea

Dec. 8, 2021

New cases, critical patients set new records as infections soar

South Korea's new coronavirus cases hit an all-time high on Wednesday as infections continued to surge around the country amid waning immunity and colder weather. The country confirmed 7,175 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 489,484, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily tally was up by 2,221 from a day earlier, the biggest daily jump since the pandemic began early last year. The previous record of 5,352 was set on Saturday. The av

Dec. 8, 2021

S. Korea's daily COVID-19 cases surpass 7,000 for 1st time: PM

South Korea's daily COVID-19 cases have surpassed 7,000 for the first time, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Wednesday, amid concerns over the omicron variant and the rising number of critical virus patients. "In the capital area, where 80 percent of total cases are reported, we continue to add hospital beds with active cooperation from the medical community, but still it is tough to catch up with the pace of rising virus cases," Kim said at the government's COVID-19 response meeting

Dec. 8, 2021

Hundreds being traced over omicron outbreak tied to church

The count of COVID-19’s omicron variant in South Korea rose by 12 in one day to 36 on Tuesday, with three of those cases traced to Seoul for the first time. Out of the 12 additional cases, three were “imported” cases involving recent travelers from South Africa and the rest were tied to an outbreak at a church in Incheon. Seoul said in a news briefing its first three omicron cases were identified among university students. The three students are among some 400 people who w

Dec. 7, 2021

Hena? Hyena? Reason enough to change passport name, says panel

A Korean woman on Tuesday won the Ombudsman board’s support to change the English spelling of her name on her passport, after she said she was bullied by classmates over it. Currently, her passport reads “Ha Hena,” but she wants it to be spelt as “Ha Hannah,” so her name doesn’t sound like the word “hyena.” According to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the state-run panel ruled that the Foreign Ministry should reconsider its earl

Dec. 7, 2021

Korea announces second child death from COVID-19

South Korea on Tuesday announced its second child death from COVID-19. Sources familiar with the matter told The Korea Herald that the 6-year-old boy was rushed to a hospital emergency room Saturday because of “continued fever and breathing difficulties.” The sources said the boy, who had a “brain-related condition,” developed a fever of 37.8 degrees Celsius on Nov. 25 before testing positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 2. For the first two days since his diagnosis he was

Dec. 7, 2021

‘Oraegage’: Seoul’s longest-running shops add charm to city

In Seoul’s ever-changing forest of high-rises, some shops remain unaltered by the upheavals around them, adding character to their corners of the city. In appreciation of the time they have served the community, and to introduce these unique shops to travelers, on Tuesday the Seoul Metropolitan Government designated 13 new “oraegage” located in southeastern Seoul. The term oraegage is ambiguous. In Korean, it literally means “old shop” and also suggests a wish f

Dec. 7, 2021

Punishment recommendation ceiling for child abuse homicide raised to 22 1/2 years

The Supreme Court has raised the maximum recommmended sentence for those convicted of child abuse resulting in death to 22 1/2 years in prison amid calls for tougher punishment for such heinous crimes, sources said Tuesday. The highest court's sentencing commission held a meeting Monday and raised the standard sentence for the crime to 4-8 years in prison, with up to 15 years of imprisonment possible for aggravated cases, from the current 4-7 years in prison and up to 10 years for aggravated ca

Dec. 7, 2021

COVID-19 cases in schools go up, vaccine plan for youths on way

South Korean authorities are speeding up an inoculation plan for students as schools across the nation saw a significant spike in COVID-19 infections after returning to full-scale, in-person classes. From Nov. 29 to Sunday -- the second week since schools have fully reopened -- 1,450 students in Seoul tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a report from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education released Tuesday. The cases marked a 33 percent increase from the 1,090 infected studen

Dec. 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul agrees to accept foreign vaccination records

South Korea is devising a system to accept foreigners’ overseas vaccination records, a government official confirmed to The Korea Herald on Tuesday. “We’re drafting a ‘vaccine status form’ for foreign nationals vaccinated abroad,” an official at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The plan will leave more people in the country eligible for booster shots, with more details to be announced Thursday, the official added. The comments came j

Dec. 7, 2021

Activists, police clash over military radar installation in Busan

The Air Force launched a surprise operation to install an anti-missile radar on a mountain in the southeastern city of Busan, sparking angry protests from residents concerned about potential health hazards from the radar's electromagnetic waves. Police were trying to disperse a group of protesters on Mt. Jang in the city, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, where the Air Force began installing a Green Pine land-based radar at around 6 a.m. Minor clashes broke out during the standoff. The Air Fo

Dec. 7, 2021

Seoul reports first Omicron cases in 3 foreign students

Three foreign students attending universities in Seoul have been confirmed to be infected with omicron, officials said Tuesday, signaling the highly contagious COVID-19 variant's penetration into the capital. One foreign student each from Seoul National University (SNU), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) and Kyunghee University has been confirmed to have contracted the omicron variant, according to the Seoul city government.All of the three were found to have visited a church in Inche

Dec. 7, 2021

Seoul reports jump in student COVID-19 cases

A total of 1,450 students from kindergarten to high school tested positive for COVID-19 in Seoul last week, up 360 from 1,090 a week earlier, after the full resumption of in-person classes, the city's education office said Tuesday. The increase came in the second week since all kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools returned to full-fledged in-person classes on Nov. 22 in line with the country's "living with COVID-19" scheme aimed at gradually bringing the country back

Dec. 7, 2021

New cases below 5,000 for 2nd day; critically ill patients at record high

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 5,000 for the second straight day Tuesday, but the number of critically ill patients hit a fresh high as concerns about a surge fueled by the omicron variant continued to put heath officials on edge. The country added 4,954 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total caseload to 482,310, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients hit a record high of 774, up 47 from a day ag

Dec. 7, 2021

Almost all youth COVID-19 patients not fully vaccinated: education minister

Almost all of the children and teenagers confirmed to have COVID-19 in the past two weeks were found to have not completed their vaccination, the education minister said Monday. Of a total of 2,990 youths who tested positive, 99.8 percent, or 2,986, had only received the first jab of a COVID-19 vaccine or none, Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during a meeting with superintendents of education offices across the country. One in five coronavirus patients is aged 18 or under, with a daily average of 56

Dec. 6, 2021

Omicron’s growing presence puts Korea on alert

The growing presence of omicron is putting disease control authorities on alert in Korea, with the tally rising by 12 in one day to 24 on Monday. Korea now has 24 known omicron cases -- six of them recent travelers from Nigeria and South Africa along with 18 people they came in contact with after returning. Omicron cases were first detected here on Wednesday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said in a government meeting concerning the COVID-19 response Monday that “all resources will be dire

Dec. 6, 2021

Korea sticking to plan to expand ‘vaccine pass’ to youths

Despite some hiccups, the Korean government will go forward with its plan to implement a “vaccine pass” system for school pupils aged 12 to 18 from February. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said teenagers born between 2003 and 2009 will be allowed to go to private cram schools, cinemas and cyber cafes only if they are fully vaccinated from February. Alternatively, those who have not been fully vaccinated will have to show a recent negative COVID-19 test result for

Dec. 6, 2021

Pandemic risk in greater Seoul area at highest level for 2 weeks

The risk level of the pandemic in South Korea's capital area over the past week has been at the highest level for two weeks in a row, health authorities said Monday. Earlier, South Korea introduced a new five-tier assessment system to evaluate the risk level of COVID-19 on a weekly basis that is used to decide whether to further ease virus restrictions under its three-phase "living with COVID-19" scheme, which began on Nov. 1. If the risk level reaches the fourth degree or higher, th

Dec. 6, 2021