Gangwon wages war against pool parties

The provincial government of Gangwon began a major crackdown on COVID-19 rule violations in hotels and guesthouses on the eastern coast Tuesday, as young people flock to pool parties and other gatherings over the peak summer holiday season. The biggest hotel in northern Gangneung has been suspended for 10 days from Sunday, after authorities walked in on a pool party attended by dozens of people Saturday night. Gangneung Mayor Kim Han-geun said in a CBS radio interview Tuesday morning that the

Aug. 3, 2021

Incheon airport's cumulative cargo handling tops 50m tons

Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to South Korea, has handled more than 50 million tons of cargo since its opening 20 years ago, its operator said Tuesday. The cumulative amount of cargo handled at the airport, west of Seoul, exceeded the 50 million ton mark last Tuesday as a Korean Air plane transported 70 tons of cargo to Atlanta, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp. and the land ministry. The airport's cumulative cargo handling topped 10 million tons in 2006, 2

Aug. 3, 2021

New cases stay in 1,200s for 2nd day, no signs of letup amid 4th wave of pandemic

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 1,200s for the second day in a row Tuesday due to fewer tests amid the fourth wave of the outbreak across the country. The country added 1,202 COVID-19 cases, including 1,152 local infections, raising the total caseload to 201,203, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally marked a decline from 1,442 cases Sunday and 1,219 cases Monday. Daily cases normally fall over the weekend and rise later i

Aug. 3, 2021

Korea’s scarce COVID-19 vaccines not going to people who need them most

Korea’s scarce COVID-19 vaccines are not reaching people who most need the protection, while people at lower risk are getting first dibs on the jabs, experts say. Dr. Eom Joong-sik, an infectious disease specialist at Gachon University Medical Center, a government-designated COVID-19 hospital in Incheon, said people who are medically frail or otherwise at risk have fallen through the cracks in the national vaccine rollout. “People whose health conditions put them

Aug. 2, 2021

Pool parties, secret hangouts taunt semi-lockdown

Virus or not, a growing number of people have been caught attending parties in violation of COVID-19 rules, with some business owners opting to open and pay a fine than not open at all. South Korea has experienced a surge in COVID-19 infections in recent weeks, with more than 1,000 new cases daily since July 7. To contain the outbreak, which has been blamed on increased travel during the summer vacation season and the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, authorities have placed the ca

Aug. 2, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police to summon KCTU head for holding mass rally in violation of Level 4 virus rules

Police in the coming days will summon the head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions as they investigate the umbrella labor group’s rally last month for violating COVID-19 rules. Yang Kyung-soo, head of the KCTU, is scheduled to appear at Seoul Jongno Police Station by 2 p.m. on Wednesday for questioning, according to police on Monday. The timing of the meeting was reportedly at the request of Yang. Police asked Yang to appear for the investigation three times last month, but Yang

Aug. 2, 2021

No. of households with minors falls below 5m in 2019: data

The number of households with children under 18 years old fell below 5 million for the first time in 2019 amid a chronically low birthrate, data showed Monday. The number of households with children under 18 came to 4.87 million in 2019, down from 5.04 million the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Such households made up 23.3 percent of the total 20.9 million households in 2019, down 1.3 percentage points from 2018, the data showed. As of Nov. 1, 2019, the num

Aug. 2, 2021

New infections dip on fewer tests; COVID-19 cases top 200,000

The daily caseload has remained above 1,000 since July 7 due to outbreaks centered in the greater Seoul area. Authorities, however, have been on high alert over a nationwide resurgence amid increasing travel during the summer vacation season and the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. "In order to spend summer vacations safely, we request that people meet in small family groups in uncrowded areas," KDCA chief Jeong Eun-kyeong said in a press briefing. To slow down the rec

Aug. 2, 2021

Number of seniors living alone soars 36% over 5 years

SEJONG -- The number of seniors living alone has surged nearly 36 percent over the last five years amid the country's rapid population aging, data showed Monday. A total of 1.66 million South Koreans aged 65 and older lived by themselves in 2020, up 35.8 percent from five years earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The number accounted for 21.2 percent of local household members aged 65 and older, which numbered 7.85 million last year. In particular, the number of seniors livi

Aug. 2, 2021

More young Koreans without access to COVID-19 shots end up in hospitals

Patients at Korea’s COVID-19 hospitals are getting younger and a growing share of them are ending up in intensive care amid a sluggish vaccine campaign. Currently, the age restrictions for vaccination bar anyone under 55 from getting a shot. By Saturday’s end, slightly over 61 percent of 324 patients currently ailing with critical COVID-19 -- meaning they are on life support or artificial respiration -- nationwide were aged 59 and below. The count of severely or critic

Aug. 1, 2021

Korea ranks 26th of 34 OECD members in Q1 employment

SEJONG -- South Korea’s employment rate has remained behind most members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, regardless of the pandemic situation. The percentage of people aged 15-64 who are in work has continued to stay under the OECD average since before COVID-19 hit the globe. And its lackluster ranking continued throughout 2020. While the average of 34 OECD members reached 66.8 percent in employment rate in the first quarter of 2021, the figure for Korea sto

Aug. 1, 2021

Daily infections dip to 1,400s amid no signs of letup

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases retreated to the 1,400s on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but the fourth wave of infections showed no signs of slowing down despite the adoption of the toughest virus curbs in the greater Seoul area. The country added 1,442 COVID-19 cases, including 1,386 local infections, raising the total caseload to 199,787, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally is down from 1,710 cases reported Friday and

Aug. 1, 2021

Daily virus cases over 1,500 as infections show little signs of letup

South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases retreated to the 1,500s on Saturday, but the fourth wave of infections is showing little signs of letting up despite weeks of the toughest antivirus rules in the greater Seoul area. The country added 1,539 COVID-19 cases, including 1,466 local infections, raising the total caseload to 198,345, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest tally is down from 1,710 cases reported Friday. The country added six more COVID

July 31, 2021

17 million people aged 18-49 to receive COVID-19 shots starting in mid-August

South Korea will carry out COVID-19 vaccinations in August for people between the ages of 18 and 49 as part of its efforts to achieve herd immunity by November. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced Friday that the country would make vaccinations available to 17.8 million people aged between 18 and 49 in August and September, with the aim of administering first shots to a total of at least 36 million people by the end of September. Those whose occupations involve frequent c

July 30, 2021

S. Korea rescues drifting fishing boat from Russian waters

South Korea's oceans ministry said Friday it has rescued a fishing boat drifting in Russian waters by dispatching a state-owned patrol ship. The 82-ton boat with seven people on board was fishing for squid before reporting a malfunction in its engine to the South Korean authorities, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The rescued boat is expected to arrive at the island of Ulleung in the East Sea later in the afternoon. South Korea earlier secured the right to catch 41,260 tons

July 30, 2021

Seoul experiences 10 straight tropical nights

Seoul experienced 10 consecutive tropical nights, though the nighttime temperature cooled somewhat in recent days, the state weather agency said Friday. Seoul, other large cities, some coastal areas and Jeju Island saw their temperatures stay above 25 C between Thursday night and Friday 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 minimum temperature overnight was 25.8 C in

July 30, 2021

Searing heat inflicts growing damage on agricultural, livestock, fish farms

With a searing heat wave scorching South Korea for nearly two weeks, heat damage to agricultural, livestock and fish farmers has been snowballing nationwide, officials said Friday. Seoul and almost all parts of the country have been gripped by a prolonged heat wave that sent daytime highs above 35 C, caused the tropical night phenomenon and affected the vitality of all living things. According to local government officials and farmers, temperature-related agricultural, livestock and fisheries

July 30, 2021

Daily virus cases over 1,700 as infections grow amid summer vacation season

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases increased to more than 1,700 Friday as health authorities strive to contain the virus spread amid summer vacation season.  The country added 1,710 COVID-19 cases, including 1,662 local infections, raising the total caseload to 196,806, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The latest tally is up from 1,674 cases reported Thursday but is lower than a record 1,896 cases Wednesday.  The country added four more COVID-19

July 30, 2021

S. Korea reports five presumed heat-related deaths this week

At least five people are presumed to have died of heat-related illnesses this week as scorching weather continued to grip the country, health authorities said Thursday. A total of 869 people were reported to have suffered heat-related illnesses from May 20 to Wednesday, more than double the number reported the same period last year, which stood at 356, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The number of deaths from heat illnesses was tallied at 12, including four since

July 29, 2021

Summer power shortage spells disaster for smaller clinics with COVID-19 vaccines

As Korea bakes through a record-setting heat wave and demand for cooling surges, a possible power crisis is raising concerns for medical institutions that store and administer COVID-19 vaccines, many of which are smaller clinics unlikely to be equipped with a backup source of electricity. With sizzling weather of over 30 degrees Celsius set to continue, the national electric grid is already stretched thinly, according to updates from the Korea Power Exchange. At one point in the past week, th

July 29, 2021