[Photo News] Koreans look forward to a world without COVID-19

Nursing home workers in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, wait in line at the Heungkuk Gymnasium for the first round of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination on Friday. Booths set up around the gymnasium are where medical workers administer the vaccinations. (Photos: Yonhap) By Song Donna (donnadsong@heraldcorp.com)

Feb. 27, 2021

Front-line medical workers get 1st injections of Pfizer's vaccine in S. Korea

A group of 300 medical workers treating novel coronavirus patients started receiving the first batch of the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. in South Korea on Saturday, one day after the country kicked off a free vaccination campaign. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals treating COVID-19 patients in the greater Seoul area were administered with their first shots of Pfizer's two-dose vaccine regimen at a state-run vaccination facility in central Seoul. The in

Feb. 27, 2021

S. Korea investigating new suspected case of bird flu, caseload now at 102

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Saturday it is investigating yet another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms, with the confirmed caseload staying at 102. The latest suspected case of the deadly H5N8 strain of avian influenza was reported from an egg farm in Pocheon, 46 kilometers north of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. South Korea reported its first highly contagious bird flu case from farms since 2018 in Nove

Feb. 27, 2021

New virus cases stay above 400 on 2nd day of mass vaccination

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed above 400 on Saturday, the second day of mass vaccinations, as sporadic cluster infections continued to linger throughout the nation. The country reported 415 more virus cases, including 405 local infections, raising the total caseload to 89,321, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Saturday's daily caseload marks a rise from 406 tallied the previous day. The figure reached a weekly low of 332 on Monday, before g

Feb. 27, 2021

Court upholds ban on conservative groups' rally scheduled for Monday

A Seoul court on Friday upheld a ban on street rallies conservative groups planned to hold on March 1 Independence Movement Day, as concerns continue to mount over the spread of the new coronavirus in the capital city. The Seoul Administrative Court dismissed their request to suspend Seoul city government's measure to prohibit anti-government rallies at Gwanghwamun Square in the city center. The groups are critical of the liberal Moon Jae-in administration. The March 1 Independence Movement Da

Feb. 26, 2021

12-year-old US resident identified as suspect of terror threat against Incheon airport

INCHEON -- A 12-year-old YouTuber living in the United States has been identified as the alleged culprit of a terror threat against Incheon International Airport on the national holiday next week, officials said Friday. The teenage boy, who was born in South Korea and is residing in the US, is accused of having uploaded a YouTube video that warns of an attack at the Incheon airport, west of Seoul, at 11 a.m. on the March 1 Independence Movement Day, according to the Incheon International Airpo

Feb. 26, 2021

[Newsmaker] Woman nabbed for posting flyers containing misinformation on coronavirus vaccines

INCHEON -- A woman has been apprehended for distributing flyers carrying misinformation that coronavirus vaccines will kill people, police said Friday. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency booked the 68-year-old woman after she allegedly posted 33 flyers that carried false information on COVID-19 vaccines on information boards at bus stops and utility poles in the city, about 40 kilometers west of Seoul, on Feb. 8. The posters contained messages such as "There are chips p

Feb. 26, 2021

Air Force officer tests positive for COVID-19

An Air Force officer based in Osan, 55 kilometers south of Seoul, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Friday. The officer was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 in a virus test conducted before he returned from a vacation, according to the ministry. The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 572. Of them, 559 have been fully cured, while 13 are under treatment. Nationwide, South Korea added 406 new viru

Feb. 26, 2021

New virus cases over 400 again as mass vaccinations begin

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases rose above 400 again on Friday as the country started its vaccination program and decided to extend current social distancing guidelines for two more weeks. The country reported 406 more virus cases, including 382 local infections, raising the total caseload to 88,922, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Friday's daily caseload marks a slight uptick from 396 tallied the previous day. The figures hovered above 600 last w

Feb. 26, 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 decide to extend the current distancing levels for another two weeks starting next week during today's meeting," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a regular COVID-19 response meeting held at the government complex in Seoul. The greater Seoul area, home to aroun

Feb. 26, 2021

South Korea officially starts COVID-19 vaccination

The first COVID-19 vaccination in South Korea has taken place, as the country kicked off its first-ever nationwide immunization campaign during a virus pandemic. At 9 a.m. Friday, COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca started to be distributed at 1,915 public health center and nursing homes across the country. The vaccines were contract manufactured by SK Bioscience at its factory in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. Health officials had announced that more than 5,000 nursing home residents a

Feb. 26, 2021

Parliament seeks to toughen punishment for child abuse homicide

The National Assembly is pushing for a law revision to strengthen the punishment of homicide by child abuse in the wake of a series of recent fatal abuse cases that shocked the nation. The Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed a revision bill on child abuse crimes, under which those convicted of child abuse murder will be punished with at least seven years in prison, life imprisonment or the death penalty. The bill is expected to advance to a full floor vote on Friday. Current

Feb. 25, 2021

[From the scene] One day to go: AstraZeneca vaccines distributed across Korea

SUWON, Gyeonggi Province -- Korea’s first COVID-19 vaccines are being dispersed across the country, ready for Friday’s rollout. The delivery of the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine began Thursday morning. Over the next four days, more than 1 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be doled out to at least 1,900 public health centers and nursing homes. Before the vaccines could reach the vaccination sites, they had been transported from a SK Bioscience plant in North Gy

Feb. 25, 2021

Police investigate terror threat against Incheon Airport ahead of March 1 holiday

Police are investigating a video that warns of an attack at Incheon International Airport on the March 1st Independence Movement Day. According to the Incheon International Airport Police Corps, they were tipped off by a citizen on Tuesday about a suspicious YouTube video threatening to attack the airport at 11 a.m. on the national holiday. The video, uploaded on Sunday, has since changed its content to a message that Osama Bin Laden, the late leader of Al Qaeda and the mastermind of the Septe

Feb. 25, 2021

Migrant worker posthumously tests positive for coronavirus

A migrant worker who died at home in Yangju, north of Seoul, posthumously tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday, health officials said. The 49-year-old Nigerian national was found dead on Wednesday by an acquaintance, who visited the home at the request of the worker's family member. Health authorities conducted coronavirus testing after the family told them the deceased person recently had cold symptoms. The result came back positive Thursday. officials said. Health officials took inf

Feb. 25, 2021

Doctor-government conflict continues as vaccinations begin

Doctors appear to be losing ground in their conflict with the government after facing negative public sentiment toward their call for collective action. The Korean Medical Association said Wednesday that it agrees with the intention of the bill on revoking licenses for doctors convicted of serious crimes, but argued that adjustments need to be made within the legislative proposal to prevent over-regulation. “We completely agree even within ourselves that doctors who committed severe crim

Feb. 25, 2021

S. Korea to raise guard against African swine fever, hunt more wild boars

South Korea said Thursday it plans to beef up its readiness against African swine fever (ASF) at inter-Korean border areas by hunting more wild boars and installing more fences to prevent them from traveling farther south. Under the plan, the country will reduce their number to just one per square kilometer at the areas infected with ASF from the current 1.4 by hunting more of them in March and April, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The number of wild boars na

Feb. 25, 2021

January sees record drop in no. of restaurant, hotel workers amid pandemic

The number of people working at restaurants and hotels fell by a record 24,000 in January amid the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the labor ministry said Thursday. The total number of workers in the restaurant and hotel industry stood at 1.05 million last month, down 24,000, or 18.7 percent, from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It is the biggest decline for the sector since record keeping began in June 2009, the ministry said. Restaurants

Feb. 25, 2021

[Feature] Why do old people pick up cardboard in Seoul?

When the temperature dropped to minus 7 degrees Celsius in mid-February, Lee Deok-ja, 74, was dragging her handcart around Deungchon-dong, western Seoul, picking up cardboard. It was about 12:30 p.m. and her handcart was empty. Lee said she had already been to the junk shop three times that day. Instead of filling up the handcart -- which appears to weigh more than 40 kilograms when empty -- the petite lady chooses to go to a junk shop several times a day and fill her cart little by little.

Feb. 25, 2021

S. Korea reports another highly pathogenic bird flu case, total now at 102

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Thursday it has confirmed yet another case of highly pathogenic bird flu, raising the total caseload to 102. The latest confirmed case of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza came from an egg farm in Wonju, 132 kilometers east of Seoul, on the previous day, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul accounted for 36 cases, followed by South Jeolla Province with 17. North Jeolla Province took up

Feb. 25, 2021