S. Korea approves AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s

South Korea will expand the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 65 and older to ramp up the vaccine rollout as new overseas studies showed its effectiveness, health authorities said Thursday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) initially excluded administering vaccines developed by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Oxford University to the elderly, citing insufficient clinical data. The inoculation campaign -- launched in late February --

March 11, 2021

‘COVID-19 won’t be the last pandemic of our lifetime’

COVID-19 won’t be the last pandemic of our lifetime, and South Korea must make better investments and preparations for future events, experts said Thursday. On this day last year, March 11, the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. Yet another “disease X” -- a currently unknown pathogen with the potential to cause a serious international epidemic -- could be just around the corner, according to epidemiology professor Dr. Chun Byung-chul of Korea Un

March 10, 2021

S. Korea reports another suspected bird flu case in 10 days

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it has identified another suspected case of avian influenza for the first time in more than a week, raising concerns over another uptick in the animal disease. The latest suspected cases of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported at an egg farm in Naju, 355 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The farm was raising 214,000 chickens. The test results are expected to come out within

March 10, 2021

Lawmakers, Burmese residents call for revival of democracy in Myanmar

Politicians and Burmese residents in Korea raised their voices together, pressing for the revival of democracy in Myanmar and an end to military control in the Southeast Asian nation. A group of lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and local representatives of Myanmar-related organizations held a press conference in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday. “It has been over 40 years, but Myanmar is going through the same pain that Gwangju citizens experienced in

March 10, 2021

13 more public servants found to have bought land in possible speculation

Thirteen more public servants were confirmed to have bought land for possible property speculation, two local governments said Wednesday, as a snowballing land speculation scandal involving employees of a state housing corporation sparks public outrage. The municipal government of Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, said it confirmed land purchases by five more employees in the area of Gwangmyeong and nearby Siheung that has been designated by the central government as the site of a major housing d

March 10, 2021

Presumed dinosaur bone found on western island

A fossil assumed to be a toe bone of a dinosaur dating back to 120 million years ago has been discovered on a western island, a local government said Wednesday. The city government of Ansan, southwest of Seoul, said the 4.5-centimeter-long fossil was found by a citizen on Daebu Island last month. It is believed to have belonged to a plant-eating basal ceratopsian dinosaur known as Koreaceratops, which existed on the Korean Peninsula about 120 million years ago during the Albian age. The phala

March 10, 2021

Zero-carbon drive will address businesses’ needs: minister

The Ministry of Environment will prioritize the needs of the industrial sector and provide necessary support for businesses as South Korea looks to move forward with its carbon neutrality plan, the ministry said Wednesday. Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae said in a press briefing Wednesday that the ministry understands the financial burden companies will face as the government fulfills its goal to have Korea become carbon-neutral by 2050 with increased emphasis on renewable energy sources and

March 10, 2021

Korea scrambles to contain outbreaks among migrant workers

The South Korean government is speeding up the process of testing foreign workers for COVID-19 as the number of confirmed cases rises, but language barriers and the presence of significant numbers of unregistered migrant workers are hampering its efforts. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun expressed concerns on Tuesday about the mass outbreaks reported at workplaces where many foreigners work, saying they could lead to a fourth wave of the pandemic. He called on foreign workers to cooperate with

March 10, 2021

Seoul draws record $10.2b in FDI in 2020 despite pandemic

Seoul attracted a record 10.2 billion in foreign direct investment last year despite the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic, the city government said Wednesday. Last year was also the second consecutive year FDI in the capital city topped $10 billion, continuing an upward trend since 2017, according to the local government. The increase comes at a time when total FDI in the world dropped sharply by 42 percent last year from 2019 to $850 billion amid the pandemic, the lowest level in 15

March 10, 2021

Military reports 7 new COVID-19 cases

Four Army officers, two draftees and an Air Force officer have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of infections at barracks across the country, the defense ministry said Wednesday. One Army officer stationed in Wonju, Gangwon Province, tested positive after showing symptoms, and the authorities then carried out tests for all unit members, which confirmed two more officers and an enlisted solider had been infected, according to the ministry. "Testing is still u

March 10, 2021

New virus cases most in nearly 3 weeks, current virus curbs likely to be extended

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose by over 400 for a second consecutive day Wednesday, the highest in 19 days, as cluster infections continued to pile up across the country ahead of adjustments of social distancing rules. The country reported 470 more COVID-19 cases, including 452 local infections, raising the total caseload to 93,733, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The country added three more deaths from COVID-19, raising the total to 1,648. The dai

March 10, 2021

Korea ‘failing to communicate herd immunity uncertainties’

South Korea is not adequately communicating the uncertainties of its herd immunity goals to the public, experts said Tuesday, warning that this was likely to damage the credibility of official announcements. Inoculating 70 percent of the population with their first doses by September and reaching herd immunity by November as proclaimed by the government is “almost physically impossible,” according to Dr. Ma Sang-hyuk, the Korean Vaccine Society’s vice president.

March 9, 2021

13 more COVID-19 cases reported in connection to livestock meat facility, bringing total to 90

A local government on Tuesday confirmed 13 more coronavirus cases linked to a livestock product market south of Seoul, raising the total caseload at the facility to 90. The city government of Anseong, about 80 kilometers south of Seoul, said the newly confirmed patients were four employees and nine others who have come into contact with patients. The total tally tied to the cluster was 77 as of midnight Monday, 69 of whom were employees there. The city's health authorities conducted mass test

March 9, 2021

6 tested positive after first COVID-19 vaccine shots: authorities

Six people were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 after getting their first doses of vaccines, which have been administered to health care workers and patients at long-term nursing facilities since late last month, the health authority said Tuesday. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said three more tested positive for the coronavirus after their first vaccine shots, in addition to three cases confirmed Monday. Two nurses and a medical employee working at the Na

March 9, 2021

[News Focus] Korea has 2nd-longest working hours in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea’s working hours are still far longer than the average among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as of 2019. In the French-based organization’s analysis of hours worked annually by its 35 members, Koreans ranked second. Of the 37 members, Colombia and Turkey were not included. The OECD defined average annual hours worked as the total number of hours actually worked per year divided by the average number of people in employment

March 9, 2021

[News Focus] Remote learning platforms continue to malfunction

Online classes continue to fall short of expectations, with two main learning management platforms experiencing malfunctions a week into South Korea’s second school year in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Education said Monday that some users in Gyeonggi, North Jeolla and South Jeolla provinces had experienced delays accessing the e-Learning site, a remote learning system run by the Korea Education and Research Information Service, due to server issues. The users tried to access th

March 9, 2021

Private education spending slips in 2020 amid pandemic

Spending on private education for children declined nearly 12 percent last year amid the fallout of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Total expenditures on private education for primary, middle and high school students amounted to 9.3 trillion won ($8.1 billion) last year, down 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The average monthly spending on private education per student reached 289,000 won last year, down 10.1 percent from a year earlier

March 9, 2021

[Seoul Struggles 2] Lack of booths leaves Seoul smokers cornered

A Friday night in Gangnam means restaurants and bars crowded with people socializing and celebrating the weekend, but come the morning, every back alley and corner is strewn with cigarette butts. Gutters that start relatively empty and clean in the morning end up filled with cigarette butts by nighttime, and the view is unpleasant for smokers and nonsmokers alike. “It’s flat-out disgusting,” said Yoon Eun-hye, a 26-year-old nonsmoker who visits the Gangnam Station area almos

March 9, 2021

Police arrest 40 members of drug trafficking ring

Police said Tuesday they have arrested about 40 members of a drug trafficking ring including its key figure. They were found to have smuggled methamphetamine from Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries and distributed the illegal drugs to individuals, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said. Among them is a man in his 50s who is suspected to have played a leading role in the organization. Police apprehended him at a studio flat in southwestern Seoul in mid-February after a six-month m

March 9, 2021

Haemi martyrdom shrine proclaimed as Vatican's int'l pilgrimage site

The Haemi Martyrdom Holy Ground, a Catholic sacred place in Seosan, central South Korea, has been proclaimed as an official international pilgrimage site by the Vatican, the city government said Tuesday. The Holy See designated and proclaimed the Seosan martyrdom holy ground, also known as the Shrine of Haemi, as an official international pilgrimage site on March 1, according to the municipality of Seosan, a South Chungcheong Province city about 280 kilometers south of Seoul. On Nov. 29 last y

March 9, 2021