Vaccine shortage stalls Korea’s progress toward herd immunity

A vaccine shortage is stalling Korea’s progress toward herd immunity. Koreans now in line for vaccination -- those aged 65 and up -- have to wait until the last week of May to get their first dose as second doses being are prioritized, health officials said Wednesday. As new vaccination appointments at around 2,000 clinics across the country have been canceled, a senior Ministry of Health and Welfare official Yoon Tae-ho told a press briefing that vaccine shipments were “on their

May 12, 2021

Teachers worry about students losing social skills during pandemic: survey

Teachers are worried about the effects the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has on their students, a survey showed, as class disruptions continue to take a toll on educators’ well-being. With the 40th Teacher’s Day coming up on Saturday, the Korean Federation of Teachers’ Associations conducted a survey on 7,991 teachers at kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools and universities across the country from April 26 to May 5. Asked about the worst problem that public educat

May 12, 2021

[Seoul Struggles 7] Going meat-free troublesome in Seoul where not much is promised

For Kim Seung-mok, a 35-year-old office worker in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, trying to find a restaurant to dine with colleagues for lunch is a hassle to say the least. As a committed vegan, Kim struggles to agree on a lot of menus that his fellow office workers choose for lunch, when almost everything contains meat. After almost three months of trying, he now opts to bring his own tofu salad or self-made lunch box to the office for a midday meal. “It was awkward for me to sit beside my

May 12, 2021

Virus infections traced to Seoul internet cafe rise to 49

A total of 49 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in connection with an internet cafe in northern Seoul, the metropolitan government said Wednesday. The first case was a customer who tested positive on May 3, after which a total of 44 people tested positive by Monday, followed by four more on Tuesday, according to the local government. All of them live in Seoul except for one. An epidemiological survey found that the business followed COVID-19 protocols, but ventilation was difficult and

May 12, 2021

New cases back above 600 amid spreading variants

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose back above 600 on Wednesday, with health authorities remaining on alert over a potential spike amid spreading variant cases. The country reported 635 more COVID-19 cases, including 613 local infections, raising the total caseload to 128,918, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's figure jumped from 511 cases Tuesday, 463 Monday and 564 Sunday though it is lower than the 701 Saturday. The daily caseload usually spi

May 12, 2021

S. Korea disapproves homegrown blood plasma therapy for COVID-19

Biotech company GC Pharma failed Tuesday to get conditional approval for its experimental plasma treatment against the new coronavirus.  The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety rejected GC Pharma's application for the drug, GC5131A, submitted late last month, after an advisory panel of experts found its second-phase clinical trial involving 63 patients failed to prove its remedy effect. The agency concluded that there were no meaningful differences between the control group and experimental

May 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Seoul prosecution chief to be indicted

Lee Sung-yoon, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, was expected to be indicted for abuse of authority on Tuesday on the recommendation of a panel of experts. He is alleged to have stopped an inquiry into an illegal travel ban on an ex-vice justice minister. If indicted, Lee would be the first incumbent Seoul prosecution chief to stand accused in court. Out of the 13 panel members present -- including law professors, lawyers and those in religious service -- eight vot

May 11, 2021

Driver's licence to be required for electric scooter users

Starting Thursday, electric scooter users in South Korea will be required to have a driver’s license. A revision to the Road Traffic Act that takes effect May 13 will make many current electric scooter users ineligible to use them, and they face fines if caught riding illegally. At the moment, anyone above the age of 13 can use an e-scooter on the street, but when the revision takes effect the minimum age will be 16. The police said Tuesday that people who drive e-scooters without a val

May 11, 2021

S. Korea tightens regulations on sales of whales

South Korea's oceans ministry on Tuesday rolled out tougher regulations on sales of whales in line with its efforts to curb illegal whaling activities in local waters. Under the new rule, all whales captured illegally will be destroyed, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Previously, hunted whales were seized by local authorities and were later put up for public sale. "The revisions came in line with the global trend to bolster regulations to protect whales and ban trade of

May 11, 2021

S. Korea lowers avian influenza alert level after month of silence

South Korea said Tuesday it has decided to lower the alert level for highly pathogenic avian influenza as no new cases have been reported for more than a month. The alert level for the animal disease was lowered to "blue" from the previous "red" Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea operates a four-tier alert level system for animal diseases, namely blue, yellow, orange and red. Blue is the lowest level, while red is the hig

May 11, 2021

New cases back above 500 amid possible hike woes

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose back above 500 on Tuesday, with health authorities remaining on alert over a potential spike amid spreading variant cases. The country reported 511 more COVID-19 cases, including 483 local infections, raising the total caseload to 128,283, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's figure rebounded from 463 a day earlier but is lower than 564 Sunday and 701 Saturday. The daily caseload usually spikes after weekends as m

May 11, 2021

Three more S. Koreans test positive for COVID-19 after returning home from India

Three South Koreans who arrived from India on the third special flight tested positive for the new coronavirus, health authorities said Monday. Of 164 people brought home from the virus-ravaged country on Sunday, three tested positive, 146 tested negative, and the results for the remaining 15 have yet to be confirmed. The latest cases raised the total number of infections among evacuees from India to 14. South Korea has operated three chartered flights to bring 540 citizens home from the coun

May 10, 2021

Independent panel recommends indictment of Seoul prosecution chief for power abuse

An independent panel created to review the validity of an ongoing investigation into the Seoul prosecution chief recommended Monday that he be indicted on charges of abuse of power. The 15-member panel reached the conclusion by 8 to 4, with one abstention. Two members were unable to attend for unspecified reasons. Lee Sung-yoon, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, is being probed over allegations he exercised undue influence in 2019 to stop an inquiry into the allegedly ill

May 10, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Safety is taking a back seat in Korea’s vaccine rollout’

South Korea’s COVID-19 vaccination program has on critical occasions disregarded evidence-based approach and principles of safety first, a top infectious disease epidemiologist and vaccine expert said. “In a race to vaccinate Koreans as quickly as possible, safety concerns went unaddressed, costing in the process what is most integral to any successful vaccination program -- public trust in the system,” Dr. Chun Byung-chul, a professor at Korea University’s preventive

May 10, 2021

[Newsmaker] Moon’s approval ratings inch up to 36%

President Moon Jae-in’s approval ratings inched up to 36 percent in a weekly poll, while 60.3 percent disapproved of his presidential performance. In a survey of 2,015 adults nationwide conducted by Realmeter on May 3, 4, 6 and 7, approval ratings went up by 3 percentage points from the week before. Those who gave the president a thumbs-down slid 2.3 percentage points. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent. Compared to

May 10, 2021

Police seek arrest warrant for man for alleged abuse of 2-year-old adopted daughter

Police said Monday they have sought an arrest warrant for a man suspected of abusing his 2-year-old adopted daughter to the point she fell unconscious with bleeding in her brain. The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency said the suspect, who is in his 30s, admitted to hitting the child with his hands on Saturday morning because she "kept whining." According to the man, the girl then fell asleep, but when she didn't wake up several hours later, he took her to a hospital near his home in Hwase

May 10, 2021

[Video] Inside Asia’s first underground seed vault

Six hundred meters up a mountain in the southern part of the country’s longest range, Baekdu-daegan, stands a building in a clearing with a seed-shaped roof. But the above-ground structure of the Baekdu-daegan Seed Vault belies the true size of this sprawling underground structure. The idea of building a Seed Vault in South Korea initially began with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in 2010. Officially launched in 2016 and designated a national security facility since

May 10, 2021

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shows 94% efficacy, eligible for approval: panel

A South Korean panel of experts said Monday that the vaccine for the novel coronavirus by US pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc. showed more than a 94 percent efficacy rate and is eligible for use. The advisory board consisting of outside experts announced its review on the efficacy and safety of the Moderna vaccine, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The panel's review is the first step of three separate independent evaluations before the ministry gives final approval. The p

May 10, 2021

New cases under 500 on fewer tests, potential surge still worrisome

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose by the smallest number in a week on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but health authorities remained worried over a potential spike amid spreading variant cases. The country reported 463 more COVID-19 cases, including 436 local infections, raising the total caseload to 127,772, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's figure fell from 564 Sunday and 701 Saturday as fewer people took virus tests over the week

May 10, 2021

Cases of ‘worrisome’ COVID-19 variants soar in Ulsan

Korean health authorities said Sunday variants of the virus causing COVID-19 -- namely, the variants first identified in the UK and California -- are behind the recent surge in Ulsan, and now possibly neighboring Busan. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s spokesperson Son Young-rae told reporters Sunday that although case rates have declined over the past week by 5.4 percent compared to the week before, variants accounted for as many as 15 percent of all newly diagnosed cases. Korea

May 9, 2021