Ex-Seoul Mayor Park sexually harassed secretary: watchdog

The state human rights watchdog said Monday that former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's actions toward his secretary amounted to sexual harassment. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea said it reached the conclusion after looking into allegations Park sexually harassed the former municipal government employee over several years until his death in an apparent suicide in July. The announcement came after police wrapped up their probe into the case last month without seeking any indictments

Jan. 25, 2021

Court rules in favor of importing life-size sex dolls

Another court ruling came on Monday in favor of importing a life-size sex doll despite persistent controversy over the sex doll which many denounce as sexually objectifying women and prompting an increase in sex crimes. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of a firm seeking to import one life-size sex doll into the country from China, ordering the head of Gimpo Airport’s customs agency to revoke its decision to block the import of the doll. The customs agency suspended the imp

Jan. 25, 2021

Pohang city orders mandatory virus testing for each household

Pohang city has ordered its residents to have at least one person get tested for the coronavirus from each household. “Although the spread of COVID-19 is on the decrease across the country, the city of Pohang is seeing an increase in the number of local community transmissions including infections stemming from the Sangju evangelical church facility and sauna-related cases,” said Pohang Mayor Lee Kang-deok in a press conference Monday. “We are issuing an administrative orde

Jan. 25, 2021

Total cases of new COVID-19 variants reach 27 in S. Korea

South Korea reported nine more cases of COVID-19 variants over the past week, health authorities said Monday as they scrambled to block the influx of highly contagious new strains into the country. Nine people were infected with the mutated virus variants over the past week -- four from the United Kingdom, three from South Africa and two from Brazil, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Seven of the patients were confirmed to be infected during the quarantine process

Jan. 25, 2021

Investing 101 for teens in South Korea gain popularity

Korean teenagers have jumped on the stock investment bandwagon, as investment tutorials targeted at students -- as young as elementary school kids -- have soared over the winter holidays. Bae Jin-han from the Fine Start Academy recently launched a lecture series over the winter vacation aimed at teens interested in investing in stocks. Nicknamed “super ant” -- a term referring to retail investors -- Bae is a parent of a 15-year-old child who made 600 million won ($543,000) worth

Jan. 25, 2021

Seoul City recruiting 350 youth interns for global enterprises and startups

New opportunities are opening up for young job seekers after the novel coronavirus caused severe internship cuts in 2020. On Monday the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it would provide 350 job seekers with professional training and field experience. The Seoul Youth Internship Job Training Camp will place participants at global companies such as 3M, GM, Procter & Gamble, Visa and Coca-Cola, as well as at emerging startups in industries such as computer programming and big data.

Jan. 25, 2021

Police to crack down on unauthorized entertainment facilities

Police will start cracking down on unauthorized entertainment facilities that hinder quarantine efforts in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the National Police Agency said Sunday. Starting Monday, police will team up with local governments across the country and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for a 3-week long special inspection period. As the government’s ban on gatherings at five types of entertainment facilities such as bars and pubs still remains in effect, the

Jan. 25, 2021

S. Korea confirms 9 more cases of COVID-19 variants, total now at 27

South Korea confirmed nine more cases of contagious variants of the new coronavirus on Monday, bringing the variants' total caseload to 27, as health authorities remain vigilant against the possibility that highly transmissible new variants could spark another uptick in virus cases here. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the nine people were confirmed to have been inflected with the virus variants over the past week. Of them, four arrived in South Korea from Britain, t

Jan. 25, 2021

Labor income gap widened amid COVID-19 pandemic: report

The labor income gap among wage earners in South Korea worsened last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a government report showed, despite narrower disparities in disposable income under the Moon Jae-in administration. The Gini coefficient -- a measure of income inequality within a population -- went up slightly to 0.306 last year when calculated on the basis of hourly labor income, according to a report from the Korea Employment Information Service. The report was based on employment data fr

Jan. 25, 2021

12 USFK-affiliated people test positive for COVID-19

Ten US service members and two dependents have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday. One service member arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on a US government chartered flight, while the others arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of the capital, on commercial flights from Jan. 8-20, according to USFK. Five of them tested positive on their first mandatory COVID-19 test prio

Jan. 25, 2021

Virus variants, infection cluster in Daejeon put authorities on alert

South Korea is on alert as a new infection cluster traced to a missionary school in Daejeon could serve as a major threat to the country’s response to its ongoing third COVID-19 wave. Since the outbreak first came to light Saturday, Korea discovered a total of 127 fresh cases traced to the IEM School, a Christian missionary training center in Daejeon, by Sunday’s end, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The boarding school, made to recruit and train teenag

Jan. 25, 2021

Despite COVID-19, govt. seeks to expand in-person classes due to challenges of remote learning

South Korean school kids are expected to attend more in-person classes this year, as concerns are growing over the widening education gap and child care among working parents. "The ministry is planning to expand in-person instruction this year, either by giving schools more leeway, or expanding exceptions" to the government's health protocol on the issue, a ministry official told Yonhap News Agency on Sunday. The greater Seoul area, where nearly half of the country's 51.8 million pop

Jan. 25, 2021

S. Korea culls nearly 22m poultry amid bird flu outbreaks

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Monday it has completed destruction of 21.7 million poultry since late November to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic bird flu at farms. The total number of confirmed cases of malign H5N8 strain of avian influenza here reached 72 on the previous day, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. The latest case was traced to an egg farm in Hwaseong, south of Seoul. With authorities culling more poultry being raised at near inf

Jan. 25, 2021

Owners of fierce dogs required to hold insurance policy from Feb.

South Korea's agriculture ministry said Monday owners of fierce dogs are obligated to have insurance packages starting next month, in line with the country's efforts to protect people from related incidents. The measure will go into effect on Feb. 12, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The move is aimed at helping victims of fierce dog-related incidents promptly receive compensation. The country categorizes Tosas, American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshi

Jan. 25, 2021

2 Army members test positive for new coronavirus

One Army officer and a civilian worker for the military have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Monday. The officer underwent a test after showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. He has not visited his base in the city of Pocheon, north of Seoul, recently, as he has been on leave, according to the ministry. The civilian worker on an Army base in the border town of Paju was confirmed to have been infected in a virus test required to return to work after weeksl

Jan. 25, 2021

Man gets suspended prison sentence for attacking bus driver

CHEONGJU -- A local court has sentenced a man to a suspended prison term for assaulting a bus driver who asked him to properly wear his face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Cheongju District Court said Sunday the 54-year-old was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service on charges of assault. The man boarded a bus in Cheongju, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 15 and was asked by the 37-year-old driver to c

Jan. 25, 2021

Authorities on alert as mass virus outbreak infects 127 at missionary school

State and local health authorities remained on heightened alert Monday as a new coronavirus outbreak at an unauthorized missionary school reported over the weekend has infected more than 120 students and faculty. The number of infected people at IEM School, an unauthorized Christian missionary training school in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, stood at 127, according to health authorities. The outbreak was first reported on Saturday. The school is a boarding facility that recruits teen

Jan. 25, 2021

New virus cases over 400 again on cluster infections

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 400 again on Monday due to largeSouth Korea's daily new coronavirus cases bounced back to over 400 again on Monday due to large-scale cluster infections linked to religious training facilities, as the country is set to decide whether to extend or lower its toughest-ever virus curbs later this week. The country added 437 more COVID-19 cases, including 405 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 75,521, according

Jan. 25, 2021

S. Korea reports 1 new highly pathogenic bird flu case

South Korea on Sunday confirmed one additional case of highly pathogenic bird flu at a poultry farm near Seoul, raising the total caseload to 72. The latest case of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza (AI) was reported from an egg farm in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, according to the government. The government said that it has slaughtered all poultry within a 3-kilometer radius of the farm in a precautionary measure and restricted movement of poultry in the city for a week. The total number of ca

Jan. 24, 2021

First case of pet with COVID-19 confirmed in S. Korea: PM

A kitten has tested positive for the new coronavirus in the first virus case involving a pet reported in South Korea. "During a recent tracking process involving a mass outbreak, health authorities found that a pet has tested positive for COVID-19 in the first such case," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a government response meeting held at the Seoul government complex Sunday. The infected animal is a kitten that was found at a religious facility in the southeastern city of A k

Jan. 24, 2021