[Newsmaker] Police raid LH in probe into alleged business irregularities

Police raided the headquarters of Korea Land and Housing Corp. (LH) and five other locations Thursday as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities involving business contracts. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said its officers searched the state housing developer in Jinju, about 435 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as well as the offices of its suppliers and the homes of three suspects in Gyeonggi Province near the capital. The company is suspected to have given favors to supplie

April 8, 2021

New virus cases most in 3 months; AstraZeneca jabs rollout set to resume

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases hit the highest in three months Thursday as the country pushes for the resumption of AstraZeneca vaccine rollout amid lingering woes over its safety. The country reported 700 more COVID-19 cases, including 674 local infections, raising the total caseload to 107,598, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It marked the highest level since 870 cases on Jan. 7 and a rise from 668 on Wednesday. The country added two more deaths from C

April 8, 2021

South Korea pauses AstraZeneca vaccinations for people under 60

South Korea has paused AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations for people younger than 60 following a third case of blood clotting in a recipient. The latest case was a previously healthy medical worker in her 20s who came down with blood clots in her lung and her leg about two weeks after her vaccination, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency told reporters in a closed door briefing. The decision to withhold the vaccine’s use for younger populations will likely strike a blow to the

April 7, 2021

Korea finds third blood-clotting case among AstraZeneca vaccine recipients

A medical worker in her 20s developed blood clots in the lungs and a leg after getting a first dose of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Korean health authorities said Wednesday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency told reporters in a closed door briefing that the previously healthy woman started experiencing breathlessness roughly 12 days after she was inoculated with the AstraZeneca shot on March 17. She was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism, or blood clots in the lung, and

April 7, 2021

[#WeFACE] ‘Seoul needs more forests, parks’

While politicians make real estate development in Seoul their top priority, environmental campaigners say the next mayor must pay more attention to climate and environmental issues for the sake of future generations.　 “The direction we’ve been running so far has been to create added value by building more properties, roads and cars. I think it is time that we can turn around a little,” said Kim Dong-eon, eco-city team leader at the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement,

April 7, 2021

Elections plagued with tons of unrecyclable plastic waste

Concerns over the environmental impact of elections are once again rising in the wake of Wednesday’s by-elections in Seoul and Busan, with rival election campaigns producing tons of trash. Only a fraction is likely to be recycled. Environmentalists are seeking legislative changes to prevent the use of nonrecyclable banners and placards as voters flock to online channels when making their political choices. The move could help the country become more eco-friendly and could make campaigns

April 7, 2021

S. Korea approves Janssen's COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea's drug safety agency on Wednesday approved the COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen as it showed around 66 percent efficacy against the new coronavirus, becoming the third vaccine approved here. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety authorized the use of Janssen's one-shot regimen as the vaccine is effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 infections among adults aged 18 and older. It marked the third COVID-19 vaccine approved by South Korean authorities fol

April 7, 2021

S. Korea investigating new bird flu case

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it is investigating a new suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu case amid the country's prolonged battle against the animal disease. The latest suspected case was reported at a duck farm in Jangheung, 394 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. If confirmed, it will mark the first case since late March. Since November last year, South Korea has reported 108 cases of the H5N8 strain of

April 7, 2021

1 Marine tests positive for new coronavirus

A Marine based in the southeastern port city of Pohang tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday. He was confirmed to have been infected after undertaking a COVID-19 test to exit quarantine, as he came into close contact with a civilian who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 668. The authorities are carrying out virus tests on members of the Defen

April 7, 2021

New virus cases most since mid-Feb., another wave of pandemic looming

South Korea reported the most new coronavirus cases since early January on Wednesday as sporadic cluster infections continued to pile up across the country, raising concerns that the country may again grapple with another wave of the pandemic. The country reported 668 more COVID-19 cases, including 653 local infections, raising the total caseload to 106,898, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. It marked a sharp rise from 478 the previous day and the largest since 674 da

April 7, 2021

[News Focus] Korea ranks No. 24 of 31 OECD members in 2020 employment

SEJONG -- South Korea’s employment rate had been outstripped by those of most members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development even before the coronavirus pandemic hit. And despite its relatively successful handling of the pandemic, Korea’s ranking made little progress in 2020. Korea recorded a 65.9 percent employment rate for people aged 15-64 last year. In a comparison by the French-based organization of 31 of its members, Korea ranked 24th. The OECD ha

April 6, 2021

S. Korea records highest temperature for March, earliest cherry blossom bloom in Seoul in 99 yrs

South Korea recorded its highest average temperature for March last month, with Seoul seeing its earliest cherry blossom bloom on record, the state weather agency said Tuesday. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), last month's average temperature was 8.9 C, the highest since monitoring on a national scale began in 1973. The previous records were 8.1 C in 2018 and 7.9 C in 2020. High atmospheric pressure brought high temperatures, which in turn led to the earliest cherry

April 6, 2021

Single foreigners raising Korean kids can also get child support

Marital status will no longer matter in getting child care support from the government under a new rule that will benefit low-income foreigners raising their Korean children. Under current rules, foreigners who are not married to Korean nationals are not eligible to receive a monthly child care support of 200,000 won ($180) per child even though they are raising their Korean children. This will change when a set of revised rules on support to single-parent families takes effect in May. The ch

April 6, 2021

Seoul to educate students on Myanmar crisis

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Tuesday that it would provide educational materials for schools in the city on the violence of the military government in Myanmar and how it is oppressing the country’s people. The package, consisting of PowerPoint slides, a workbook and a guidebook for teachers, comes in two versions depending on grade level. To make it accessible to multicultural students who aren’t fluent in Korean, the office said, the package will also be availabl

April 6, 2021

[Seoul Struggles 4] Inter-floor noise, the scourge of apartment life

Finding a place to live in Seoul was no problem for Seo Jee-sun when she had a full-time job at a massage parlor in Seoul, but the real problem was finding a house where she can sleep at night without having to worry about noise from upstairs. Living on the 12th floor of an apartment building in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, Seo was happy to find a rather affordable housing option with reasonable monthly rent, except the unit came without an option to sleep comfortably at night. For the past six mo

April 6, 2021

Revised law allows extending unit period of flexible work hours to 6 months

A revised law took effect Tuesday to give employers greater flexibility in implementing the 52-hour legal workweek, the labor ministry said. The revised Labor Standards Act increases the time period over which employers must ensure employees work no more than an average of 52 hours a week, from three months to a maximum of six months, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The change comes at the request of businesses that have complained of difficulties in meeting production deadl

April 6, 2021

Military reports 3 new COVID-19 cases

An arms procurement agency official, a civilian worker for the military and a soldier tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, was confirmed to have been infected after showing symptoms. Over the past week, the agency reported three COVID-19 patients, including the latest one. "Contact tracing is under way. All the employees who use the same building w

April 6, 2021

[Newsmaker] COVID-19 vaccination tops 1m in S. Korea

South Korea has inoculated over 1 million people in 40 days since the country launched its long-awaited COVID-19 vaccination campaign, health authorities here said Tuesday. An accumulated 1,014,019 people were administered with their first shots as of noon Tuesday, which account for around 1.95 percent of the country's 52 million population, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). On Feb. 26, the country began its inoculation program, with health care workers and p

April 6, 2021

New virus cases in 400s for 2nd day, upticks worrisome amid spring break

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for the second day in a row Tuesday amid sporadic cluster infections nationwide, with a potential resurgence looming amid loosened vigilance and increased spring travelers. The country reported 478 more COVID-19 cases, including 460 local infections, raising the total caseload to 106,230, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The daily caseload had been hovering above 500 since Wednesday last week, before falli

April 6, 2021

Law against workplace bullying misses the mark, leaves many victims vulnerable: civic group

A legislative revision targeting workplace bullying has missed the mark, one civic group said Monday, as it would not protect subcontractors or address harassment by customers. Pro-labor civic group Gabjil 119 said Monday that the latest legislative revision, which passed in the National Assembly last month, was designed only to further protect directly employed workers from harassment by their employers. It would leave laborers and contract workers vulnerable, the group argues. Lawmakers la

April 5, 2021