Schools to remain open despite danger signals

Schools are to remain open and hold in-person classes despite the surge in COVID-19 cases related to schools. A total of 1,185 people, including students and staff at schools in Seoul, have been confirmed with COVID-19 since schools fully reopened last week, marking an increase from the 1,018 confirmed cases in the previous week, according to the data provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. From Nov. 22 through Sunday, 1,090 students in Seoul tested positive for COVID-19. Mor

Nov. 30, 2021

Consideration of Cho Min’s university admission to take more time

Korea University’s deliberation on the admission of the ex-justice minister’s daughter is to take more time, after her high school was barred from providing her school transcript record to the university. On Monday, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it ordered the Hanyoung Foreign Language High School to withhold their transcript of ex-Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s daughter, Cho Min. Though Rep. Hwangbo Seung-hee of the main opposition People Power Party claimed

Nov. 30, 2021

[What’s your say] Murderers’ attorney

An attorney-turned-presidential candidate is under attack for having represented in court heinous murderers, including his nephew. What does a lawyer’s case history tell you about the person? Before entering politics, Lee Jae-myung was a lawyer – a human rights lawyer according to his own words. Now he is South Korean liberal faction’s presidential candidate. To reach the top office, he must beat conservative standard-bearer Yoon Seok-youl, who was until this March the count

Nov. 30, 2021

One-fifth of Seoul youths experienced digital sex crime risks: poll

Approximately one-fifth of Seoul youths have been exposed to digital sex crime risks, according to a Seoul city government survey Tuesday. In the survey on 4,012 students in Seoul aged between 12 and 19 conducted in July, 21.3 percent said they have been exposed to the risks of digital sex crimes through online chat applications or social media. Of those, 56.4 percent said they were sent sexual messages or images, and 27.2 percent said they were constantly heckled online for in-person meetings

Nov. 30, 2021

Korea's near-century-old 1st western restaurant to shut down due to pandemic

A near-century-old restaurant in Seoul, believed to be the first to serve western-style cuisine in Korea, has announced it will shut down due to the pandemic after nearly a century of business. Seoul Station Grill, which opened on Oct. 15, 1925, on the second floor of the old Seoul Station building, is known for introducing pork cutlet and hamburger steak to Koreans for the first time during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45. "Our business has suffered greatly fro

Nov. 30, 2021

Daily virus cases below 4,000 for 3rd day; critical cases hit record high amid new variant woes

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the third straight day Tuesday, but the number of critically ill patients hit a fresh high amid concerns over the global spread of the new virus variant. The country reported 3,032 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,003 local infections, raising the total caseload to 447,230, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country reported the highest daily cases of 4,115 to date on Nov. 24. South Korea added 44 m

Nov. 30, 2021

Home care becomes COVID-19 default

As infections surge and the capacity for beds reaches its limit, the government decided that COVID-19 patients should be treated at home -- with hospital treatment the exception. “New confirmed patients, critically ill patients and deaths are all increasing, and the capacity for beds is getting tighter,” President Moon Jae-in said at the COVID-19 special quarantine inspection meeting Monday. It is the first such meeting in the Seoul metropolitan area since July 12. He said Korea c

Nov. 29, 2021

Education office’s online cartoon attacked for ‘praising NK’

The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education deleted a cartoon after it drew controversy for praising North Korea. The education office uploaded a cartoon on social media Friday, based on a story sent in by an elementary school teacher. The story was about what happened in class when they introduced what school life is like for North Korean students. In the cartoon, a teacher character talks about a typical school day for North Korean children, explaining that the students go home or eat lu

Nov. 29, 2021

S. Korea's female population rises 1.1% over 5 years

South Korea's female population expanded slightly over 1 percent over the past five years to surpass the 25 million mark in 2020, census data showed Monday. The number of women in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 25.16 million last year, up 275,000 from five years earlier, according to the 2020 census by Statistics Korea. The average age of South Korean women came to 44.2 years last year, 2.6 years older than in 2015. The median age of married South Korean women who tied the knot for th

Nov. 29, 2021

Stalking murder suspect appears in public, timidly apologizes

A 35-year-old stalking murder suspect timidly apologized Monday as he appeared before the public eye for the first time since he was arrested and had his identity disclosed on suspicions of stalking and brutally killing his ex-girlfriend. Kim Byung-chan stood in front of reporters and photographers as he was taken from Seoul Namdaemun Police Station to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for a further investigation and indictment on the stalking murder charges. Kim repeatedly said,

Nov. 29, 2021

Daily virus cases below 4,000 for 2nd day amid new variant woes

South Korea's new coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the second straight day Monday due largely to fewer tests, but the high number of critically ill patients remained worrisome amid concerns about the new virus variant. The country reported 3,309 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,286 local infections, raising the total caseload to 444,200, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Monday's tally was down from 3,928 reported Sunday and 4,068 on Saturday. The cou

Nov. 29, 2021

Korea bans foreign arrivals from eight African countries over omicron

South Korea is implementing tougher entry rules for arrivals from eight African countries in response to omicron, a new and potentially more contagious variant of COVID-19 first identified in South Africa and Botswana, starting Saturday at midnight. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency called an emergency meeting Saturday evening with 13 ministries and announced that all foreigners who have been in the newly listed African countries will be refused entry to Korea. The travel restr

Nov. 28, 2021

Suneung answers to be released Monday

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation will release the answers for this year’s Suneung, or college scholastic ability test, on Monday, after reviewing 1,014 complaints filed against this year’s exam questions. The institute, which organizes the standardized exam required for university application, will post the answers on its website on Monday at 5 p.m. The 1,014 complaints submitted more than double the 411 complaints made last year. The institute received objections

Nov. 28, 2021

S. Korea to restrict visa issuance, arrivals from 8 African countries over new virus variant

South Korea said Saturday that it will restrict visa issuance and arrivals from eight African nations, including South Africa, starting the next day to block the inflow of the new Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. It said South Africa and seven other nearby countries -- Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi -- will be re-listed as closely watched nations, subject to visa restrictions and tougher quarantine requirements. All arrivals from those regions m

Nov. 28, 2021

Daily cases drop below 4,000; deaths, critical cases hit record highs

South Korea's new coronavirus cases dropped below 4,000 on Sunday, but the number of deaths and critically ill patients hit fresh highs, spawning concerns about the further spread of COVID-19 under eased virus restrictions meant for a gradual return to normal life. The country reported 3,928 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,893 local infections, raising the total caseload to 440,896, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally was down from 4,068 on Saturday b

Nov. 28, 2021

[Photo News] Black Friday shopping spree

On Black Friday, which refers to the day after Thanksgiving in the US, stores there typically offer goods at highly discounted prices. In recent years, retailers have tended to prolong the duration of the promotion, cutting prices before Thanksgiving even starts. Korean online shoppers have bought enormous amounts of products directly from foreign websites in the past few days. Due to the Black Friday shopping spree, packages containing a variety of goods shipped from the US were piling up at

Nov. 27, 2021

[Weekender] Exam skills won’t help you survive ‘Squid Game’

In the Netflix smash hit “Squid Game,” there is a line that resonates with most South Koreans: While boasting that she is street-smart and capable, the self-proclaimed silver-tongued Mi-nyeo says, “I’m totally smart. I just never studied.” The line stems from the widespread belief -- not just here but in many other parts of the world -- that being brainy and doing well on school exams are not necessarily the same. But in a country where 12 years of schooling can

Nov. 27, 2021

Ex-justice questioned over suspicion of helping clear Lee of election law breach

Prosecutors on Saturday questioned a former Supreme Court justice suspected of having helped clear Lee Jae-myung, now the ruling Democratic Party's presidential nominee, of an election law violation charge last year in return for a post-retirement job. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office brought in Kwon Soon-il, sources said, as investigators are accelerating a probe into a high-profile urban development corruption scandal involving an asset management firm, called Hwacheon Daeyu A

Nov. 27, 2021

Military reports 9 more COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported nine additional COVID-19 cases Saturday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 2,273. Among the new cases, a draftee of an Army unit in Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul, and another in Pocheon, 50 km northeast of Seoul, tested positive before and after their return to the units from vacation, respectively. An officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul contracted the virus after a family member was infected. The other cases include an of

Nov. 27, 2021

Daily cases bounce back above 4,000, deaths hit record high

South Korea's new coronavirus cases rose above 4,000 with the numbers of deaths and critically ill patients hitting fresh record highs Saturday, deepening worries about the further spread of COVID-19 under a phased scheme for a gradual return to normal life. The country reported 4,068 new COVID-19 cases, including 4,045 local infections, raising the total caseload to 436,968, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The number was up 167 from 3,901 on Friday but down fro

Nov. 27, 2021