New cases in 1,300s on fewer tests; virus curbs extended for a month

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell back to the 1,300s on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, while health authorities extended the tough virus curbs ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,375 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,351 local infections, raising the total caseload to 261,778, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload fell to a five-week low for any Monday, when new cases usually remain lower than other w

Sept. 6, 2021

Number of medical tourists to Korea dips 76.5% in 2020 amid pandemic

The number of medical tourists to South Korea tumbled nearly 77 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Roughly 117,100 foreign patients visited South Korea last year, down a whopping 76.5 percent from some 497,500 a year earlier, according to the data from the local medical community. The data is based on statistics gathered by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Seoul Asan Medical Center, one of South Korea's five major hospitals,

Sept. 6, 2021

Moderna misses deadline again, but vaccine goal still in sight

South Korea received 1.26 million more doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Sunday, a key supply for the country to continue on with its nationwide vaccination scheme. With the latest shipment arriving at Incheon Airport on Sunday afternoon, Moderna fell some 2.8 million doses short of the 7.01 million promised by the first week of September. The country is set to receive 2.55 million more doses Monday afternoon, a day late, but this is still more than 250,000 doses short of the amount pr

Sept. 5, 2021

[News Focus] Seoul No. 1 in jobless rate among 17 major regions

SEJONG -- Seoul has the highest unemployment rate among the nation’s eight major cities and nine provinces, a government agency’s latest data showed. According to Statistics Korea, the jobless rate for residents in Seoul reached 5.2 percent during the second quarter of this year, which far outstripped the nationwide average of 3.9 percent. Compared to 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 (a quarter before COVID-19 initially hit South Korea), the nationwide unemployment rate cl

Sept. 5, 2021

Distancing rules extended, but eased for fully vaccinated people

Fully vaccinated people will be allowed to have larger private gatherings starting Monday as Korea inches toward herd immunity. The government on Friday announced its decision to extend the current social distancing rules -- Level 4 in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon and Level 3 for the rest of the country -- for four weeks until Oct. 3. But health authorities made a few adjustments to the guidelines in consideration of the prolonged distancing restrictions and the increasing number of

Sept. 5, 2021

Over 30m S. Koreans received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine: KDCA

Over 30 million South Koreans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Sunday, health authorities said, as the vaccine rollout is gaining speed among the general public. Slightly more than 30 million people have been inoculated with their first vaccine shots as of 11:15 a.m., accounting for around 58 percent of the country's 52 million population, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. A total of 17.7 million, or 34.6 percent of the total population, hav

Sept. 5, 2021

Number of women expected to top that of men in S. Korea in 2030

South Korea's female population is forecast to surpass that of males in nine years, a government report showed Sunday. The total number of women reached 25.86 million last year, accounting for 49.9 percent of the country's entire population of 51.82 million, according to the report compiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The ratio of males to females in the South Korean population fell to 100.4 in 2021 from 101.4 tallied in 2000. The ministry said the sex ratio will likely hit

Sept. 5, 2021

S. Korea to ease attendance caps in schools despite extended social distancing measures

More South Korean students will be allowed to take in-person classes starting Monday as attendance cap restrictions in schools have been eased despite the extended distancing measures. The Ministry of Education reaffirmed Thursday it will allow schools to expand in-person classes even under the Level 4 distancing scheme, the most stringent set of rules, as planned. The ministry decided to ease the attendance caps in steps last month as schools began their fall semesters, citing the need to res

Sept. 5, 2021

Women are most frequent target of online hate speech in S. Korea: watchdog survey

Over 8 out of 10 South Koreans have encountered hate speech against women online, a survey showed Sunday. According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) survey on 1,200 people aged 15 and older from May 20-25, 80.4 percent of the respondents said they have read malicious online comments targeted at women. Hate speech against people from certain regions, feminists and the elderly came after at 76.9 percent, 76.8 percent and 72.5 percent, respectively. Other online targets

Sept. 5, 2021

New virus cases dip to 1,400s on fewer tests; tough restrictions extended

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell to the 1,400s on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, while health authorities extended the tough restrictions ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,490 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,461 local infections, raising the total caseload to 260,403, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally is down from 1,804 on Saturday and 1,709 on Friday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for

Sept. 5, 2021

Questionable vaccines administered to 140 people at Seoul hospital

As many as 140 people were given questionable Pfizer vaccines that had passed or were nearing the recommended inoculation deadline after thawing at a general hospital in Seoul last week, health officials said Saturday. According to the officials, Korea University Guro Hospital in southern Seoul used Pfizer vaccines that came close to or exceeded the inoculation deadline after thawing during its inoculation work conducted from Aug. 26-27. About 140 people received the questionable vaccines tha

Sept. 4, 2021

1 more Afghan 'special contributor' arrives in S. Korea

One more Afghan, who was on South Korea's list of people to be evacuated from the war-torn Afghanistan, arrived here Saturday, the justice ministry said. The Afghan, whose identity was withheld, landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 8 a.m. The person flew in from India with help from Korean diplomats following a business trip there. The person is among hundreds of Afghans brought here by South Korea and labeled as "special contributors" for their contribu

Sept. 4, 2021

Watchdog says law mandating higher education for foreign teachers discriminatory

The current law requiring only foreigners to have a higher education qualification to teach at local cram schools, or hagwon, is discriminatory, the state human rights watchdog said Saturday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said it is discriminatory for private teaching institutes to require foreign nationals aspiring to become hagwon instructors to have a college degree or higher, while only requiring their local counterparts to have a junior college degree or higher. T

Sept. 4, 2021

New virus cases rise above 1,800 amid tight vigilance

  South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose above 1,800 on Saturday, though the country kept tight vigilance with the extension of stringent social distancing measures ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,804 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,776 local infections, raising the total caseload to 258,913, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally is up from 1,709 reported Friday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for the la

Sept. 4, 2021

Three cases of mu variant found in Korea

Three cases of the new coronavirus variant mu have been found in South Korea, officials said Friday. The mu variant was first identified in Colombia in January and has since been detected in about 40 countries, including Peru, Chile and the US. It was added to the World Health Organization’s watchlist last month. The confirmed patients in Korea were immigrants from Mexico, the US and Colombia who arrived in May, June and July, respectively. There are no locally transmitted cases yet.

Sept. 3, 2021

Gathering rules are slightly eased from Monday: PM

Slightly eased social distancing rules will take effect starting Monday to alleviate the difficulties of small-business owners and the self-employed hit hard by the prolonged pandemic. On Friday, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said that business hours of restaurants and cafes in the Seoul metropolitan area will be extended by one hour to 10 p.m., starting next week and to last four weeks. The current social distancing rules -- Level 4 in Greater Seoul and Level 3 in most other areas -- will be e

Sept. 3, 2021

Families of forced labor victims withdraw request to seize Mitsubishi Heavy assets

The families of four forced labor victims have withdrawn a request to seize what was believed to be assets of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in South Korea, legal sources said Thursday. The families recently filed the withdrawal request with the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Court, just south of Seoul, through the law firms representing them, the sources said, after finding that the assets did not directly belong to the company. Last month, the families asked the court to seize bond

Sept. 2, 2021

Police reveal details of ex-con arrested for double murder

The personal information of Kang Yoon-sung, 56, the suspect in the murder of two women, was disclosed by police on Thursday. Under the law, police can disclose a suspect’s face, name and age online when there is enough evidence to believe it is in the public interest, and for the prevention of repeat crimes. Police said Kang caused social unrest by killing two victims within days using the same method. “We decided to disclose the suspect’s personal information for the pub

Sept. 2, 2021

1m Moderna doses arrive Thursday

Some 1 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine arrived Thursday. But concerns remain that if more shipments do not come in on schedule, the nation’s vaccination plan could face setbacks ahead of the Chuseok holiday. Just over 1 million doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived at Incheon International Airport on Thursday, out of the 7.01 million doses that Moderna promised to supply by this week. Of the promised doses, 1.01 million arrived Aug. 23 and the remaining 4.98 million are

Sept. 2, 2021

Groups call for reusable takeout containers

A civic group and labor union on Thursday called on food delivery platforms to allow users to choose reusable containers when they order takeout. “Food deliveries have soared in the past year and eight months, but there are no countermeasures against delivery waste,” Green Korea and Riders Union said during a press conference held in front of Baedal Minjok headquarters in Seoul. “Currently, the only way consumers can save disposable waste is by not receiving disposable spoon

Sept. 2, 2021