Korea partners with US on COVID-19 vaccines

South Korea, through a newfound partnership with the US, is expected to assume a bigger presence in the global supply chain of COVID-19 vaccines, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Sunday. No concrete plans have been revealed on how this will stabilize the supply of vaccines in Korea. The announcement comes after President Moon Jae-in and the US President Joe Biden agreed on a “comprehensive partnership” on COVID-19 vaccines Friday. Moon went into the summit under pressure

May 23, 2021

New cases back under 600 again, vaccinations to rev up

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 600 again on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend amid increased sporadic cluster infections, as the country's vaccination scheme is set to gather pace again. The country reported 585 more COVID-19 cases, including 570 local infections, raising the total caseload to 135,929, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. South Korea reported 666 cases on Saturday and 561 on Friday. There were five additional virus deaths

May 23, 2021

Additional batch of Pfizer vaccines for 219,000 people arrives in S. Korea

Another batch of the new coronavirus vaccine by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., enough to inoculate 219,000 people, arrived in South Korea on Sunday, as the country aims to speed up its inoculation program. South Korea and Pfizer earlier signed a direct contract to secure 66 million doses that can vaccinate 33 million people. A total of 3.75 million doses of two-dose Pfizer jabs have been shipped in as of Sunday, with another batch of 3.25 million doses set to arrive here by the end of Ju

May 23, 2021

[Photo News] South Korean civic groups protest against Israel-Gaza attacks

A total of 160 South Korean civic groups, including People‘s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, National Council of YMCAs of Korea, and Palestine Peace & Solidarity, hold a protest rally against Israel’s bombing of Gaza in front of the Israeli Embassy in Jongro, central Seoul.  Members of the civic groups hold up banners with messages denouncing Israel’s use of bombs and asking for the violence to stop, such as “Cease fire first and now” and “#F

May 22, 2021

[Weekender] Tired of green-bottle rotgut, drinkers turn to traditional soju

Drinking in South Korea almost invariably involves soju. The ubiquitous green bottle filled with watered-down alcohol has been, and is, at center stage of Seoul’s drinking scene. The soju most people usually think of -- a mixture of water, alcohol and sweeteners -- is very much an integral part of Korea’s social fabric, and accounts for close to 40 percent of all alcohol consumed in Korea. But while it may be an iconic feature of Korean drinking, many say its taste doesn’t l

May 22, 2021

New cases bounce back to over 600, cluster infections continue

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose back to above 600 on Saturday, health authorities said, as the fourth wave of the virus continued with sporadic cluster infections and variant cases. The country reported 666 more COVID-19 cases, including 633 local infections, raising the total caseload to 135,344, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Saturday's daily caseload compares with 561 on Friday, 646 on Thursday and 554 on Wednesday. There were four additional virus d

May 22, 2021

New cases back under 600, virus curbs extended for 3 weeks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 600 on Friday, as health authorities decided to extend the current distancing rules for another three weeks amid continued cluster inflections and spreading variant cases. The country reported 561 more COVID-19 cases, including 542 local infections, raising the total caseload to 134,678, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's daily caseload compares with 646 on Thursday, 654 on Wednesday and 528 on Tuesday. T

May 21, 2021

Karaoke owner accused of murder ‘deeply sorry’

Karaoke owner Heo Min-woo, 34, was handed over to the prosecution to face murder and other charges Friday. He is accused of brutally killing and mutilating a male customer after a quarrel over payment. Heo is also accused of dismembering and deserting a dead body and violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the Incheon Jungbu Police Station said Friday. The accused man stood in front of the Michuholl Police Station in Incheon on Friday and spoke to the press. “I am so

May 21, 2021

Intercultural group launched for foreign, Korean residents of Yeongdeungpo-gu

Yeongdeungpo-gu, the district in Seoul with the highest number of foreign residents, has established an intercultural communication group comprising South Korean and foreign residents to actively discuss regional policies and enhance public-private cooperation. Based on data reported by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in November last year, Yeongdeungpo-gu had 55,524 foreign residents, who made up 14.1 percent of all residents in the district. The district government said it had sel

May 21, 2021

Police patrolling Jeju Airport to fight COVID-19 as more tourists visit the island

Police on Jeju Island are reinforcing preventive measures against the coronavirus as the resort island attracts a growing number of tourists. Jeju police will patrol Jeju International Airport with tourist police May 24-31, and will regularly inspect the area to prevent people from violating social distancing rules or mask mandates. “The number of tourists visiting Jeju Island is surging to pre-COVID levels, nearly 70,000 people a day, and tension is rising as some people do not wear

May 21, 2021

S. Korea confirms 1st 'breakthrough' COVID-19 case

South Korea on Friday confirmed the first case of so-called breakthrough COVID-19 infection, in which a person tests positive for the novel coronavirus even after being fully vaccinated. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the person in his or her 20s, whose identity has been withheld, contracted COVID-19 more than 14 days after receiving two doses of a vaccine. A "breakthrough case" is when a person tests positive for COVID-19 between their first and second d

May 21, 2021

Man booked for animal abuse

A man in his 80s was booked on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act, police said. According to the Pohang Nambu Police Station, the man was arrested on two counts of animal cruelty. The man is accused of throwing two cat carcasses on his neighbor’s rooftop on May 12. Police said he said he did this because he felt “unhappy” about his neighbor feeding stray cats. The victim submitted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling for “a thorough investigat

May 21, 2021

S. Korea to extend current social distancing measures for 3 weeks: PM

South Korea will extend its current social distancing measures for another three weeks, the prime minister said Friday, amid continued cluster infections and spreading variant cases. "The number of new daily average patients as of late remains in the 500 level, not budging below that point, and infections are continuing from all quarters in our daily lives," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said as he announced the extension of virus curbs during a regular COVID-19 response meeting in Seou

May 21, 2021

New cases back under 600; virus curbs extended for 3 weeks

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 600 on Friday, as health authorities decided to extend the current distancing rules for another three weeks amid continued cluster inflections and spreading variant cases. The country reported 561 more COVID-19 cases, including 542 local infections, raising the total caseload to 134,678, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Friday's daily caseload compares with 646 on Thursday, 654 on Wednesday and 528 on Tuesday. Th

May 21, 2021

'Ghost building' in Sejong comes under scrutiny

A state agency affiliated with the Korea Customs Service (KCS) has come under probe from the prime minister's office over its alleged construction of a "ghost" building in the central administrative city of Sejong, informed officials said Thursday. The Office for Government Policy Coordination sent its inspectors to the Customs Valuation and Classification Institute (CVNCI), a KCS affiliate headquartered in Daejeon, central South Korea, to look into its controversial construction of a

May 20, 2021

Two dead, six injured in car crash, building collapse

Two people were killed and six others injured in a car crash and subsequent building collapse in Seoul on Thursday, officials said. The accident occurred on a road in southwestern Seoul at around 11 a.m. when two trucks collided and one of them ran into a nearby five-story building, according to police and firefighters. An explosion and fire broke out at the building after gas leaked from a pipe hit by the five-ton freight vehicle, they said. An adjoining single-story building collapsed appar

May 20, 2021

Ex-German leader ordered to compensate wife's ex-husband for derailing marriage

A Seoul family court on Thursday sided with the ex-husband of Gerhard Schroeder's South Korean wife and ordered the former German chancellor to partially compensate the man for destroying his marriage. The man, whose identity was withheld, filed a lawsuit in 2018 seeking 100 million won ($81,708) in compensation, claiming Schroeder was responsible for the destruction of his marriage with the woman, Kim So-yeon. The Seoul Family Court on Thursday partially accepted the claim and ordered Schroed

May 20, 2021

Should young people who’ve had one AZ shot switch to Pfizer for second?

Young South Koreans who have received their initial shots of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine are calling for access to the Pfizer vaccine for their second shots, now that people under 30 are no longer eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine over rare blood clot risks. Of the around 135,000 people in their 20s who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine, most are health care workers. As such, they were at the top of the vaccine priority list when the immunization campaign kicked off in late Fe

May 20, 2021

[Exclusive] Korea has no tests to diagnose rare blood clots linked to COVID-19

South Korea does not have test kits to diagnose a form of blood clot that is now listed as a rare side effect of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, sources in the health care sector told The Korea Herald. Health officials said in recent government briefings that the country has yet to confirm any cases of the post-vaccination blood-clotting syndrome termed thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS. But Korea is still waiting for an immunological test that is used in a TTS diagno

May 20, 2021

Local offices seek subsidies for foreign kindergarteners

Education superintendents of 17 cities and provinces across the country have called on the central government to provide subsidies for kindergarteners of foreign nationality. The National Council of Governors of Education passed the proposal to offer financial support for foreign kindergarteners in its regulatory meeting on May 13, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Monday. The government currently covers tuition for elementary, middle and high school students of foreign national

May 20, 2021