New cases bounce back above 1,800 despite stepped-up vigilance

South Korea‘s daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 1,800 on Saturday, though the country tightened its vigilance with the extension of stringent virus curbs amid few signs of the situation improving. The country added 1,823 COVID-19 cases, including 1,762 local infections, raising the total caseload to 209,228, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload is up from 1,776 cases reported Thursday and 1,704 on Friday. The country add

Aug. 7, 2021

Police seek arrest warrant for labor leader over July 3 rally

Police on Friday sought an arrest warrant for the leader of a labor umbrella group on charges of holding a mass rally last month in violation of COVID-19 rules. Yang Kyung-soo, chief of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, has been booked on charges of holding the rally in downtown Seoul on July 3 in defiance of a COVID-19 ban by the city government and the police. Around 8,000 people attended the event, according to the KCTU, to demand improvements to labor conditions. Sources told Yonh

Aug. 6, 2021

Patients on life support at ‘all-time high’ as fourth COVID-19 wave drags on

South Korea’s fourth wave of COVID-19 is far from reaching its peak and intensive care units equipped to handle COVID-19 patients are rapidly filling up, the authorities warned Friday. Unlike in past waves, those in critical condition are mostly under the age of 60. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s deputy chief, Kwon Jun-wook, told a briefing Friday that Korea was facing its largest, and possibly its longest, surge in infections and it was still “far from p

Aug. 6, 2021

Paralyzed nursing assistant recognized as country's 1st industrial accident victim related to COVID-19 vaccination

A nursing assistant who suffered paralysis following vaccination for the coronavirus was recognized as a victim of industrial disaster Friday in the first such case in South Korea. The state-run Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service, under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, concluded that the nursing assistant should be eligible for various state benefits and financial compensation under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, saying her health conditions were closely

Aug. 6, 2021

New cases over 1,700 for 3rd day; virus curbs extended for 2 weeks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 1,700s for the third straight day Friday amid few signs of a slowdown, triggering the extension of the toughest level of virus restrictions for two additional weeks. The country added 1,704 COVID-19 cases, including 1,640 local infections, raising the total caseload to 207,406, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest caseload is slightly down from 1,725 cases reported Wednesday and 1,776 cases Thu

Aug. 6, 2021

Korea doubles down on November herd immunity pledge, but prospects dim

South Korean political and health leaders are standing firm on their goal of getting to COVID-19 herd immunity in November, which has been marked as a point of return to normalcy, after reaching a vaccination threshold of 70 percent of the population. So far the term herd immunity has been loosely thrown around by those in political circles and public health offices alike. But the concept has been largely understood as some degree of a return to normal life and retirement from the excruc

Aug. 5, 2021

8 in 10 job seekers in favor of four-day workweek: survey

The idea of implementing a four-day workweek is gaining favorable views among South Koreans, reflecting the heightened perception of work-life balance and diverse work patterns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday, In a survey of 4,155 job seekers by human resources service Saramin, 83.6 percent of respondents said they have a positive view of a four-day workweek. The top reason for favoring a four-day workweek was work-life balance (72.4 percent). The idea of work-life balance

Aug. 5, 2021

More than 100 nations gather in Rome for food futures

SEJONG -- The Pre-Summit of the United Nations Food Systems Summit was held in Rome from July 26-28, in preparation for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, slated for this September in New York. The pre-summit was held to coordinate and elaborate on ideas discussed and raised over the past two years to transform food systems, said the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea. Heads of state and ministers from more than 100 countries and executive directors of the UN agencies part

Aug. 5, 2021

Korea wavers on carbon neutrality

The Presidential Committee on Carbon Neutrality unveiled Thursday three options for reducing carbon emissions by 2050, but only one of them achieves carbon neutrality. Depending on which road map the country decides to follow, net emissions in 2050 could vary from zero to 25.4 million metric tons. “The committee established the vision of a safe and sustainable carbon neutral society from the climate crisis and reviewed the scenarios based on five principles: accountability, inclusivene

Aug. 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul logs 20th tropical night this summer: KMA

Seoul's temperature again remained above 25 C overnight, bringing the total number of tropical nights the city experienced this summer to 20, the state weather agency said Thursday. The capital logged a minimum temperature of 25.6 C between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). A tropical night occurs when the temperature does not fall below 25 C during the nighttime. The nighttime low was 27.4 C on the southern Jeju Island and 26.

Aug. 5, 2021

Top court confirms dismissal of request to cancel construction permit of two unfinished nuclear reactors

The Supreme Court said Thursday it has confirmed the appellate court's ruling to dismiss a request to cancel the nuclear watchdog's permit to build nuclear power reactors in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan. The cancellation request was filed by Greenpeace Korea and some Ulsan residents in September 2016, who claimed that the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) allowed the construction of Shingori No. 5 and Shingori No. 6 reactors "without considering the unique hazards of

Aug. 5, 2021

Govt. makes next year's minimum wage of 9,160 won official

The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday published an official notice of next year's minimum hourly wage of 9,160 won ($8.00). The Minimum Wage Commission, a tripartite panel composed of representatives of labor, business and the general public, set the rate on July 12 in a 5.1 percent increase from this year. Following a legally mandated period of review, during which three business groups filed objections, the ministry said it rejected the complaints and upheld the commission's decis

Aug. 5, 2021

New cases over 1,700 for 2nd day, toughest virus curbs likely to be extended again

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 1,700s for the second straight day Thursday as the toughest level of virus restrictions in the greater Seoul area is highly likely to be extended again amid little signs of a letup. The country added 1,776 COVID-19 cases, including 1,717 local infections, raising the total caseload to 205,702, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally marked a sharp rise from 1,219 cases Monday and 1,202 cases T

Aug. 5, 2021

'MZ generation' accounts for 35.5% of Seoul's population

The "MZ generation," a Korean term referring to millennials and Generation Z, accounted for 35.5 percent of Seoul's population last year, the city government said Wednesday. The cohort of people born between 1980 and 1994 (millennials) and between 1995 and 2004 (Generation Z) numbered 3.43 million, the largest of all age groups, according to a study by the city government. Compared with the general population, the MZ generation appeared to put less priority on getting married and hav

Aug. 4, 2021

272 members of Cheonghae unit presumed to have contracted delta variant: authorities

All of the 272 service members of the anti-piracy Cheonghae unit who contracted the coronavirus are presumed to have come down with the highly transmissible delta variant, as the unit was conducting missions in waters off Africa, health authorities said Wednesday. The members of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit were airlifted home last month, cutting short their missions in Africa after 271 of them tested positive for COVID-19. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 64 of the

Aug. 4, 2021

Level 4 rules could stay in place for Seoul as COVID-19 stays strong

South Korea could maintain the strictest level of social distancing in the greater capital region throughout August, as the fourth wave of infections shows little signs of subsiding. The country on Wednesday reported 1,725 new COVID-19 cases, 1,664 locally transmitted and 61 imported from overseas, raising the cumulative total to 203,926, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest addition is sharply up from 1,200 cases reported a day earlier and 1,218 cases repo

Aug. 4, 2021

2 in 5 job seekers indebted as pandemic drags on: survey

The amount of debt held by job seekers in South Korea has surged as COVID-19 pandemic remains strong and affects employment landscape, data showed Wednesday. According to a survey of 1,498 job seekers from local human resources service Saramin released Wednesday, 40.5 percent of respondents said they have outstanding debt to pay back. Their average amount reached 32.87 million won, up 2.68 million won from the same survey done a year earlier. The surveyed amount for this year is up by more tha

Aug. 4, 2021

New cases spike to over 1,700; almost 40% of population gets 1st jabs

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases sharply bounced back to the 1,700s on Wednesday as the highly transmissible delta variant weighs on the country's virus fight during the summer vacation season. The country added 1,725 COVID-19 cases, including 1,664 local infections, raising the total caseload to 203,926, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally marked a sharp rise from 1,218 cases Monday and 1,200 cases Tuesday. Daily cases usually fall o

Aug. 4, 2021

Korea’s Health Ministry dodges question on vaccine responsibility

Ministry of Health and Welfare spokesperson Son Young-rae told a briefing Tuesday that it was “not appropriate, nor helpful, to seek accountability” for the limited availability of vaccines in Korea and the consequent deaths at this point. More than 93 percent of critical and fatal cases of COVID-19 in the last two months were among people who weren’t vaccinated, according to Son. In the briefing, he was asked if he thought things would have been different had vaccines been

Aug. 3, 2021

Korea confirms first two cases of delta plus

Korea on Tuesday reported its first two cases of delta plus, a new variant of COVID-19, both of which were “breakthrough infections” affecting vaccinated people. Lee Sang-won, the head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s epidemiological investigations team, told a briefing that both delta plus patients had been fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. One of them is a man in his 40s who had no recent history of overseas travel, but sought

Aug. 3, 2021