With social distancing rules set to be relaxed, daily coronavirus case count shoots up

The COVID-19 outbreak is showing signs of worsening ahead of the easing of social distancing next month. The number of newly confirmed cases stood at 645 as of midnight on Tuesday, up 250 from the previous day. The number is expected to reach 700 on Wednesday. The total number of confirmed cases to date is 152,545. Health Minister Kwon Deok-chul said at a meeting on Wednesday, “Cluster infections are occurring in places with many risk factors such as schools, academies, workplaces, chur

June 23, 2021

Haeundae vows to stop social distancing violations by US soldiers

The district office of Busan’s Haeundae-gu said on Wednesday it will crack down on the violation of social distancing rules on Haeundae beach with local police and US military police over the period of July 2-4, which culminates with the US Independence Day holiday. American soldiers who violate social distancing rules will be immediately identified by US military police and slapped with fines, the ward office said, as there have been complaints against US servicemen in the area on US pub

June 23, 2021

S. Korea reports gloomier childbirth data in April

The number of babies born in South Korea declined to a fresh record low in April, data showed Wednesday, underpinning the country's gloomy demographic situation with the chronically low birth rate. A total of 22,820 babies were born in April, down 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest for any April since 1981, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. South Korea is struggling with a sustained fall in childb

June 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Police to remove gendered requirement for physical test

Starting in 2026, all police hopefuls will have to take the same physical test regardless of gender. The National Police Committee on Monday passed a plan to introduce a physical examination that requires the same standard for both men and women, the National Police Agency said. The new physical exam is a timed event involving five stations -- running an obstacle course, skipping hurdles, pushing and pulling a 32-kilogram object, carrying a 72-kilogram human-like doll for 10 meters and pullin

June 23, 2021

Bill that could add four holidays this year gains traction

A bill aimed at expanding the substitute holiday system is gaining support at the National Assembly, as the ruling party pushes to ensure it goes into effect in the coming weeks. The substitute holiday system at the moment provides an extra day off when the Lunar New Year, Chuseok or Children’s Day holidays fall on weekends. The bill seeks to expand this rule to all holidays that may fall on weekends, which would provide extra days off in almost any year. If the bill passes and comes int

June 23, 2021

Home prices in Seoul double under Moon government: civic group

The average sales price of apartments in Seoul has nearly doubled under the Moon Jae-in government, a civic group said Wednesday. The Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice announced the results of its study that has tracked the prices of 115,000 units in 75 apartment complexes since President Moon took office four years ago. The average price of a 99-square-meter apartment in Seoul rose to 1.19 billion won ($1.04 million) from 620 million won from May 2017 to May 2021. The rise in apartmen

June 23, 2021

New cases at 2-week high amid variant woes

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases spiked to a two-week high of over 600 on Wednesday as virus variants are emerging as another major challenge in the country's virus fight amid the accelerating vaccine rollout. The country reported 645 new cases, including 605 local infections, raising the total caseload to 152,545, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added one COVID-19 death, raising the death toll to 2,007. The fatality rate came to 1.32 percent.

June 23, 2021

8 USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for COVID-19

Seven American service members and a family member stationed in South Korea have tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea said Tuesday. Four service members at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and two soldiers stationed at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, tested positive on June 17 and 18 after coming into contact with individuals who had recently tested positive for the virus. One service member, also from Camp Humphreys was confirmed

June 22, 2021

[Newsmaker] Pollution from Coupang fire kills fish, harms locals’ health

Dust, fire-flakes and contaminated water from the massive fire at a Coupang warehouse in Icheon last week have been killing fish, damaging farms and causing health problems among local residents. More than 1,800 dead fish were found in three reservoirs about 1 kilometer away from the Coupang warehouse in the three days to Monday, according to Icheon city officials. A city official said a natural surface active agent used in the firefighting water could have killed the fish as it blocks the air

June 22, 2021

[News Focus] 1 in 4 Koreans aged 15-29 still de facto jobless

SEJONG -- The tally for unemployed or underemployed young people in South Korea remains at a serious level, despite recent improvement in the hiring market. The de facto jobless -- unemployed plus underemployed -- among those aged 15-29 was 1.011 million in December 2019, a month before COVID-19 initially hit the nation, according to the Supplementary Index III for Employment, created by Statistics Korea. At that time, the de facto jobless rate was 20.8 percent out of the economically active

June 22, 2021

Virus worries remain on S. Korea’s plan to return to full in-person classes in fall

Education workers have raised concerns over South Korea’s plans to resume in-person classes from fall, as COVID-19 continues to spread and authorities have not clarified how they would deal with a virus outbreak in a classroom setting. Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said Sunday that students from all grades would be allowed to fully attend in-person classes starting next semester while daily number of new COVID-19 cases remains below 1,000. The attendance cap is set at two-thirds for mid

June 22, 2021

New infections in 300s for 2nd day, variants remain worry

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 300s for the second consecutive day Tuesday amid a vaccination drive, but the potential spread of COVID-19 variants remains worrisome ahead of eased distancing rules starting July. The country reported 395 new cases, including 351 local infections, raising the total caseload to 151,901, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added two COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 2,006. The fatality rate ca

June 22, 2021

Are you essential? Korea’s vaccine priority list questioned

Korea’s COVID-19 vaccinations primarily proceed in the order of age and vulnerability, but priority vaccine status is also granted to people in essential jobs. In the country’s rollout plan for the third quarter unveiled Thursday, the pandemic’s less visible essential workers -- in delivery chains, transportation networks, service sectors -- still facing COVID-19 risks have been sidelined in priority vaccinations. Instead the plan included “intracompany vaccina

June 21, 2021

S. Korea acknowledges 1st death after vaccination

South Korea's health authorities on Monday acknowledged the country's first death after vaccination as a man died last week of a rare case of blood clotting after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The man in his 30s, who died Wednesday, was confirmed to have the very rare but serious side effect, called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), following inoculation on May 27.   The patient showed symptoms of a severe headache and nausea nine days after receiving th

June 21, 2021

79% of S. Koreans want surveillance cameras in hospital operating rooms: poll

Nearly 8 out of 10 South Koreans believe surveillance cameras should be installed in hospital operating rooms, a poll showed Monday. According to the survey conducted by Realmeter on Friday, 78.9 percent of respondents said they support installing closed-circuit (CC) TV cameras, with 48.8 percent showing strong support and 30.1 percent moderate support. Only 17.4 percent said they opposed the idea, while the remaining 3.6 percent said they were undecided on the matter. The poll was conducted

June 21, 2021

Parcel shipments rise 27% in Seoul last year due to COVID-19

Parcel shipments in Seoul increased 26.9 percent last year from the previous year, a study showed Monday, as an increasing number of people prefer ordering food and daily necessities online amid the spread of COVID-19. According to the AI-based study by the University of Seoul, parcel deliveries of food, household items and health products in the capital surged by around 50 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast, the study said maternity and baby care produc

June 21, 2021

Value of household chores up 36% in 2019 from 5 years earlier

The value of household chores grew nearly 36 percent in 2019 from five years earlier, with men's participation in such work rising amid an increase in one-person households and double income families, data showed Monday. The value of household work, such as child care, meal preparations and cleaning, came to 490.9 trillion won ($433 billion) in 2019, compared with 361.5 trillion won in 2014, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The 2019 figure was equivalent to 25.5 percent of the coun

June 21, 2021

Labor, business far apart on 2022 minimum wage demands

The obstacle-strewn journey to setting next year’s minimum wage level has effectively kicked off, with those representing labor and business presenting starkly different views on how the rate should be set to assist those suffering from COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic setback. This year’s negotiation is the last one to be held during the Moon Jae-in administration, which the labor side has claimed is the final chance to uphold his campaign promise to hike the rate to above 10

June 21, 2021

New infections back under 400, virus fight hampered by rising variants, pandemic fatigue

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 400 in about a week on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but rising COVID-19 variant cases, along with pandemic fatigue, are hampering the country's virus battle amid the accelerating vaccinations. The country reported 357 new cases, including 317 local infections, raising the total caseload to 151,506, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Daily infections stayed in the 400s or 500s in the past five days after rep

June 21, 2021

[Herald Interview] Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon maps out city’s future in 2030 World Expo bid

Newly-elected Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon is focused on highlighting the city’s strengths as it prepares a bid for the 2030 World Expo. “Going forward, we have a lot of important tasks ahead of us. We will make sure to do our best to establish strategies to attract the event while working closely with the government,” Park said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. The host of the 2030 World Expo will be voted on by the 169 member states of the Bureau of International

June 20, 2021