Social distancing rules extended for 2 more weeks as new COVID-19 cases reach 3-week high

South Korea will extend its social distancing rules in place for two more weeks, as the country reported the highest daily addition of COVID-19 cases in three weeks. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a meeting Friday that the government will continue to impose Level 2 social distancing rules in Greater Seoul, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, until March 28. Level 1.5 rules will be maintained throughout the rest of the country, while the ban on private gatherings of five or more

March 12, 2021

Police arrest four on drug trafficking charges

Police said Friday they have arrested four people on charges of smuggling and distributing illegal drugs from Southeast Asia. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has recently busted a drug trafficking operation that brought in 6.3 kilograms of methamphetamine from March to November last year, according to officials. The narcotics have an estimated street value of 21 billion won ($18.6 million) and are enough to be used by 210,000 people, the agency said. The authorities seized 4.3 kg of thei

March 12, 2021

[Newsmaker] S. Korea's Christian community expresses concern about situation in Myanmar

South Korea's Christian community has expressed concerns about political instability in Myanmar in connection with the recent coup and vowed for solidarity with the pro-democracy movement there. "The Catholic Church in Korea expresses her deepest concern about the outbreak of violence and the subsequent bloodshed in our neighboring country, Myanmar," the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea said in a statement released Thursday. It said South Korea has gone through similar military

March 12, 2021

New virus cases reach 3-week high; virus curbs to be extended

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases remained above 400 for the fourth consecutive day Friday, hitting a three-week high and prompting authorities to extend the current social distancing measures for two weeks. The country reported 488 more COVID-19 cases, including 467 local infections, raising the total caseload to 94,686, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added 10 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the total to 1,662. The daily caseload has staye

March 12, 2021

S. Korea to extend current social distancing measures for 2 weeks: PM

South Korea will extend its current social distancing measures for another two weeks, the prime minister said Friday, as sporadic COVID-19 cluster infections continue to pop up across the country. "The government will extend the current distancing levels, which end March 14, for another two weeks," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. The greater Seoul area, home to around half of the nation's 52-million population, will remain under

March 12, 2021

Medical workers share what to expect after COVID-19 vaccination

South Korean health care professionals, who are being offered the country’s first doses of COVID-19 vaccines, on Thursday gave those further down the priority list a heads up on what to expect when they finally get vaccinated. Onetime director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Jung Ki-suck said in a phone call with The Korea Herald Thursday morning that his reaction to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been mild so far, though “more feisty” than

March 11, 2021

9 USFK-affiliated people test positive for COVID-19

Eight American service members and a contractor for the US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival here, the US military said Thursday. Four of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on US government chartered flights, while the others arrived here on commercial flights, according to the USFK. They have been transferred to isolation facilities for confirmed patients, and the US military has completed disinfection

March 11, 2021

S. Korea newly confirms 75 cases of emerging COVID-19 variants

South Korea has detected a total of 75 cases of "emerging" variants of the novel coronavirus since December, health authorities said Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said these variants are different from the three most-known mutations from Britain, South Africa and Brazil that are known to be more transmissible. There is no indication yet whether these new strains are more deadly than current circulating variants of the virus, the KDCA said. Of the t

March 11, 2021

Northwestern University Korea Alumni Association supports multicultural families

Northwestern University Korea Alumni Association donated food, children supply, book vouchers and masks to the Yongsan-gu Multicultural Family Support Center on Wednesday. This is the Association’s ongoing efforts to assist marginalized members of society suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-packaged boxes of food, including non-perishable items and masks, were distributed to the Center through in-kind donations by the CEOs of Foosung HDS (Nayeon Kim), Noodle Lovers (Cei Chung), Med

March 11, 2021

Unrest in Myanmar bears similarities to Gwangju Uprising in 1980

The nationwide crackdown and shootings at protesters in Myanmar against the military rulers’ overthrow of an elected government last month are becoming increasingly reminiscent of what happened in Gwangju 41 years ago. Scores of people have been killed and about 1,800 others have been detained since the military coup on Feb. 1 that ousted Myanmar’s civilian leaders including state councilor Aung San Suu Kyi. The Southeast Asian country had been under military rule for nearly half a

March 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Hazing among nurses comes back to spotlight with online post

An online community post has once again shed light on the prevalence of hazing among nurses. In a post uploaded onto local community website Nate Pann on Friday, a user who claimed to be a nurse accused a nursing professor of verbally and physically harassing her over a 13-month period around nine years ago. The post alleged that the female professor, who was then a senior nurse, had bullied the younger staff member when both worked in an intensive care unit at the Chungbuk National Universit

March 11, 2021

Nearly 40% of S. Koreans think air quality improved last year amid pandemic

Nearly 40 percent of South Koreans think air quality relatively improved last year from two years earlier, a survey showed Thursday, as fine dust air pollution declined amid the pandemic. Some 38.2 percent of those surveyed by the Statistics Research Institute said the country's air quality improved last year, up from 28.6 percent in 2018. Since 2012, the index gauging people's satisfaction toward air quality had been on the decline due largely to fine dust. But last year, it improved apparen

March 11, 2021

Supreme Court upholds prison terms for producers of Mnet's rigged audition program

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld prison sentences for two disgraced producers of Mnet, South Korea's leading music channel, for rigging the vote results of a popular audition program. The top court approved lower courts' sentences of two years in prison and forfeiture of 37 million ($32,600) for Ahn Joon-young, the producer of the audition program "Produce," and 20 months in prison for chief producer Kim Yong-beom. The Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court handed

March 11, 2021

Top court dismisses appeal against not-guilty verdict for owner of abusive facility for vagrants from '80s

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal filed against a not-guilty verdict for the late owner of a state-run facility for vagrants. The top court ruled the acquittal of an illegal confinement charge handed down in 1989 to Park In-keun, the late owner of Brothers Home, was consistent with the criminal law, dismissing an extraordinary appeal lodged by former Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il. The court also did not accept the prosecution's claims that the verdict from three decades ago sho

March 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Yun Jung-hee's siblings request guardianship over iconic actress in S. Korean court

Siblings of actress Yun Jung-hee, known to be long suffering from Alzheimer's disease in France, have requested guardianship for their older sister at a South Korean court, according to sources. Yun, 76, is best known outside the country for her lead role in South Korean director Lee Chang-dong's "Poetry," which won best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. She has been long married to renowned pianist Paik Kun-woo. The development is the latest in a legal fight over her g

March 11, 2021

Almost 1% of population vaccinated in S. Korea

South Korea has inoculated almost 1 percent of its population in 13 days after the country launched its long-awaited COVID-19 vaccination campaign, health authorities here said Thursday. On Feb. 26, the country began its inoculation program, with health care workers and patients aged below 65 at long-term care facilities, as well as front-line medical workers, among the first in line to receive their first shots. An accumulated 500,635 people were administered with their first shots as of midn

March 11, 2021

3 draftees, 1 civilian worker for military test positive for COVID-19

Three draftees and a civilian worker for the military have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections at the barracks to 614, the defense ministry said Thursday. The civilian works at the Army convention center, located inside the defense ministry compound in Seoul, and last visited her workplace on Sunday, according to the ministry. "Contact tracing is under way. We are also conducting virus tests for other center members and those suspected of havin

March 11, 2021

S. Korea investigating 2 suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Thursday it is looking into two suspected cases of highly pathogenic bird flu amid growing concerns over a prolonged battle against the animal disease. The latest suspected case of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported in Chungju, 147 kilometers south of Seoul, the previous day, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Authorities are also investigating a separate suspected case at an egg farm in Naju, 355 kilometers s

March 11, 2021

New virus cases above 400 for 3rd day, potential resurgence fears growing

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed in the 400s for the third straight day Thursday amid growing concerns over a potential resurgence as a spate of cluster infections and increased untraceable cases put health authorities on edge. The country reported 465 more COVID-19 cases, including 444 local infections, raising the total caseload to 94,198, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added four more deaths from COVID-19, raising the total to 1,652.

March 11, 2021

2 Korean War veterans receive French military decoration

Two South Korean veterans who fought during the 1950-53 Korean War in a French battalion of the United Nations forces were to receive a military decoration from France on Thursday, the veterans affairs ministry said. French Ambassador to Seoul Philippe Lefort will deliver the decoration, called La Medaille Militaire, to Park Dong-ha, 93, and Park Moon-jun, 90, who fought alongside French troops in multiple battles on the Korean Peninsula during the war, according to the ministry. The decoratio

March 11, 2021