[Newsmaker] Top court confirms acquittal of Olympic short track champion in sexual harassment case

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it has confirmed the not-guilty verdict for South Korean-born short track speed skater Lim Hyo-jun in a sexual harassment case. The top court has upheld the appellate court's decision to acquit Lim of sexually harassing a male teammate at South Korea's national skating team in June 2019. The 2018 Olympic gold medalist was accused of pulling down his male teammate's pants and exposing a body part, with female skaters present, during practice at a national train

June 2, 2021

New infections back to over 600; inoculation drive gains pace

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 600 for the first time in six days Wednesday due to continued cluster infections, while health authorities are ramping up efforts to speed up the nationwide vaccination campaign to slow down the spread of the virus. The country reported 677 more COVID-19 cases, including 654 local infections, raising the total caseload to 141,476, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload stayed in the 400s for

June 2, 2021

Sejong University’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management ranks 6th in world

Sejong Univeristy’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management is the sixth best in the world for its subject, according to ShanghaiRanking’s the 2021 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. It climbed three places from last year’s ninth place, maintaining the top spot among Korean universities for two consecutive years. ShanghaiRanking began to publish world university rankings by subject in 2009. More than 1,800 universities across 93 countries and regions are listed. To

June 1, 2021

Emotions soar as nursing homes, hospitals reopen for in-person visits

At a long-term care hospital in this city just south of Seoul, an elderly woman in a pink-toned blouse sat on a bed stroking her husband's face for the first time in 16 months. The two had been together for around 70 years before the husband was admitted to the hospital and COVID-19 restrictions forced them apart early last year "I couldn't see you even if I wanted to," the 87-year-old husband, surnamed Lee, said, as his eyes teared up. "When you miss your love, look at her pic

June 1, 2021

‘Like getting a ticket to a hot concert’: 1 million Johnson & Johnson appointments fill up in 16 hours

All 1 million slots for vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine filled up Tuesday within about 16 hours after opening in South Korea. Korea is set to get 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine later this week to inoculate members of the military in their 30s or older, as well as members of the reserve and civil defense forces. As there are close to 4 million people who fit the bill, the vaccines were made available through an online system on a first

June 1, 2021

Appeals court reduces prison term for mastermind of sex abuse ring to 42 yrs

Cho Ju-bin, the mastermind of a notorious online sex blackmail ring, had his sentence commuted by an appeals court Tuesday. The Seoul High Court sentenced him to 42 years, down three years from the original sentence, on charges of violating laws to protect minors from sexual abuse, operating a criminal ring and concealing criminal proceeds. While the accused ran an "unprecedented" online criminal ring to exploit "countless" young victims and inflicted "irreversible&quo

June 1, 2021

Over 520 suspects caught trading drugs on dark web using cryptocurrencies

Seoul police said Tuesday they have recently cracked down on more than 520 drug trafficking suspects on charges of distributing, selling or buying drugs over the dark web using cryptocurrencies. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said 521 suspects -- 49 distributors and sellers of smuggled drugs and 472 drug buyers and users -- were apprehended and 13 of them were placed under arrest. The suspects are accused of using cryptocurrencies and the dark web to buy and sell cannabis and other banne

June 1, 2021

S. Korea reports 5th MIS-C case

An additional case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) has been confirmed in South Korea, bringing the total caseload to five, health authorities said Tuesday. The 8-year-old boy tested positive for the COVID-linked syndrome in April and has since recovered from the illness, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The boy was hospitalized after being infected with COVID-19 earlier this year. After fully recovering, he was released in early Febr

June 1, 2021

S. Korea reports 202 more COVID-19 variant cases, total nearing 1,600

South Korea has confirmed 202 more cases of COVID-19 variants, including 168 local infections, health authorities said Tuesday, amid concerns that the spread of more transmissible virus strains may further complicate the country's fight against the pandemic. Of the newly confirmed variant cases, 170 were the Britain-originated strain, followed by 24 Indian variant cases and eight South African ones. There was no additional case of the virus strain from Brazil, according to the Korea Disease Con

June 1, 2021

65 S. Koreans flown from India test positive for COVID-19

A total of 65 South Koreans who arrived from India last month on special flights have tested positive for the new coronavirus, health authorities said Tuesday. Of 2,171 people who returned home from the pandemic-ravaged country, 3 percent were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 as of Sunday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea has airlifted its nationals from India 13 times via special flights since May 4 after the South Asian country bec

June 1, 2021

1st batch of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrives in S. Korea

The first batch of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, enough for 27,500 people, arrived in South Korea on Tuesday, health authorities said. The first batch of 55,000 bottles is part of a contract for 40 million doses signed between the Seoul government and the US pharmaceutical company. The vaccine was initially scheduled to be delivered Monday but was delayed one day due to "local circumstances" in the United States. The vaccine will be administered to health care workers under the age

June 1, 2021

[#WeFACE] Zero-waste movement gains ground

For someone who is not familiar with the term “zero waste,” it might seem like simply creating no waste. But there is a whole lot more to it. To establish guiding principles, the Zero Waste International Alliance defines it as “the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.&rd

June 1, 2021

New infections in 400s for 3rd day, virus curbs eased for vaccinated people

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained in the 400s for the third consecutive day Tuesday, while health authorities are easing distancing rules for vaccinated people to speed up the inoculation drive. The country reported 459 more COVID-19 cases, including 449 local infections, raising the total caseload to 140,799, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It is the first time that the daily caseload has stayed around 400 for three days in a row since late March,

June 1, 2021

Prosecutors seek 3 yrs in jail for ex-top prosecutor’s mother-in-law over fraud charges

A team of state prosecutors requested Monday that a local court sentence the mother-in-law of Yoon Seok-youl, a former top prosecutor, to three years in jail. The 74-year-old, identified only by her surname Choi, is accused of violating the Medical Service Act in connection with her involvement in a nursing facility. She illegally received about 2.29 billion won ($20 million) from the National Health Insurance Service while running the nursing hospital in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, from 2013-20

May 31, 2021

Korea confirms first rare blood clot case linked to AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

South Korean health officials said Monday that a rare blood clotting condition associated with the COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson -- thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS -- was confirmed in a man in his early 30s. The Seoul man, a “worker in a sector prone to COVID-19 exposure,” received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine April 27, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Roughly 10 days later, he started

May 31, 2021

Korea says it can vaccinate up to 14 million by end June

The South Korean government said Monday the country could vaccinate up to 14 million people by the end of June, 1 million more than the goal it made earlier this month. Son Young-rae, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s spokesperson, told reporters in a closed-door briefing that the extra Johnson & Johnson vaccines provided by the US were “sufficient to surpass the goal set for the year’s first half by at least a million.” “The ministry will strive to get

May 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul’s smoking rate drops to record low amid COVID-19 pandemic

The smoking rate in Seoul dropped to its lowest level ever in 2020 as more smokers quit amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that the smoking rate for adult residents of Seoul was 15.5 percent in 2020, down 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier. It is the lowest figure ever recorded since the city began collecting the data in 2008. The smoking rate for adult men in Seoul fell below 30 percent for the first time, hitting 28.9 percent, down 2.0 percent fr

May 31, 2021

S. Korea to send air tanker to US this week to bring COVID-19 vaccines

South Korea plans to send a military air tanker to the United States this week to bring coronavirus vaccines that Washington pledged to provide to the country, the defense ministry said Monday. The US plans to provide Johnson & Johnson (J&J)'s Janssen vaccine doses for 1 million people after President Joe Biden vowed to help South Korea with vaccine supplies to fully inoculate all 550,000 Korean troops. "We are scheduled to send a (KC-330) air refueling tanker on Wednesday, which

May 31, 2021

S. Korea vows to improve working environment of Indonesian crewmen

South Korea and Indonesia agreed Monday to rev up monitoring on the working environment of Indonesian crewmen boarding local fishing boats and root out possible violations of human rights. Oceans Minister Moon Seong-hyeok held a virtual meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Ida Fauziyah and inked a memorandum of understanding to increase transparency in the recruitment process of workers, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The agreement came as Indonesia takes up around 36 pe

May 31, 2021

Jeju's tourist arrivals top 1 million in May amid spike in COVID-19 cases

JEJU -- Jeju Island attracted more than 1 million tourists this month alone, industry data showed Monday, as the southern resort island raised its anti-COVID-19 social distancing measures by one notch to Level 2 on the same day to cope with growing local transmissions of the coronavirus. According to the data from Jeju's tourism association, 1,089,690 tourists arrived on Jeju from May 1-30. With an additional 31,000 visitors expected on the last day of May, the monthly tally is estimated to top

May 31, 2021