New sentencing guidelines subject biz owners to up to 10 1/2 yrs in prison for workplace deaths

New sentencing guidelines will subject business owners to up to 10 1/2 years behind bars in the event of their employees' deaths owing to lax safety or health protection measures, the top court said Tuesday. According to the Supreme Court, its Sentencing Commission fixed the guidelines on workplace disaster cases during its online meeting held a day earlier. The new guidelines call for jail sentences between one and two and a half years for business owners for on-duty deaths at their workplace

Jan. 12, 2021

S. Korea identifies remains of another Korean War soldier

South Korea has identified the remains of a soldier killed in the 1950-53 Korean War through DNA analysis after they were recovered from a former battle site, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The identification of the remains of Ssg. Ban Cheol-hwan was possible as his 70-year-old daughter, Ban Gyeong-ah, registered her DNA sample with the government last month, according to the ministry. Ban's remains were excavated in the northeastern county of Inje in 2016. The identification marks the 158

Jan. 12, 2021

New virus cases in 500s on tougher curbs, alert high over potential upticks

The number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea remained in the 500 range on Tuesday, possibly indicating that the country's virus curve is flattening on the back of tightened social distancing measures. The country added 537 more COVID-19 cases, including 508 local infections, raising the total caseload to 69,651, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Tuesday's daily caseload is slightly up from 451 recorded a day earlier. Monday's daily caseload marked the

Jan. 12, 2021

Two Busan churches ordered to shut down for violating in-person worship ban

Two churches in the southeastern port city of Busan have been ordered to shut down after repeatedly holding in-person worship services in violation of the pandemic-driven social distancing rules, local officials said Monday. Under the administrative orders by Busan's ward offices, the two Protestant churches -- Saegyero and Seobu -- have been forced to shut down for defying the antivirus distancing measures. Busan has been under the second-strongest social distancing scheme of Level 2.5 since

Jan. 11, 2021

Homeowners in their 20s and 30s more willing to date: study

Among those in their 20s and 30s in South Korea, those who have a permanent job or own a real estate are more likely to pursue a romantic relationship, a study revealed, showing economic power is a key factor influencing one’s dating and marriage prospects. A study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs polled 3,002 people aged between 25 and 39 from Aug. 31-Sept. 13 in 2018. The chances of dating for those who own a property increased by 27.9 percentage points compared t

Jan. 11, 2021

CEO says controversial AI chatbot ‘Luda’ will socialize in time

Korean firm Scatter Lab has defended its Lee Luda chatbot in response to calls to end the service after the bot began sending offensive comments and was subjected to sexual messages. Kim Jong-yoon, CEO of Scatter Lab, posted answers Friday to the public’s questions through the development team’s official blog, saying the bot was still a work in progress and -- like humans -- would take a while to properly socialize. Kim acknowledged that he had expected this controversy to ignite

Jan. 11, 2021

S. Korea to send vessel for search operation on Indonesian plane crash

South Korea said Monday it has sent a research vessel to waters near Jakarta to join the ongoing operation to search for victims of a deadly plane crash. The 12-ton research vessel, set to arrive at the scene later in the day, will utilize high-end equipment to carry out underwater search operations, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The research ship was built under an official development assistance project for Indonesia. The rescue operation came after an airplane of Indon

Jan. 11, 2021

Optimism grows as S. Korea records lowest number of cases in 41 days

South Korea is mulling whether to readjust its social distancing rules as optimism rises from a continued fall in the daily count of new coronavirus cases. The country on Monday saw 451 new COVID-19 cases -- 419 locally transmitted and 32 from overseas -- raising the total number of cases recorded here to 69,114, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Monday’s tally is the lowest figure recorded since 451 new cases were confirmed Dec. 1. The daily number of new cas

Jan. 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Lawyer aiding fake refugee applications gets suspended jail term

South Korea’s top court confirmed on Monday a suspended jail term for a Korean lawyer, who was charged with helping Chinese citizens file fraudulent refugee applications. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that had sentenced the lawyer one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of violating the Immigration Control Act. The law firm where the lawyer belongs was slapped with a fine of 5 million won. Upon a request from a refugee broker, the lawyer, only

Jan. 11, 2021

42 USFK-affiliated people test positive for coronavirus

Forty-two people affiliated with the US military, including 37 service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon their arrival in South Korea, US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday. Of the total, eight service members and a dependent arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on government-chartered flights while 29 service members, a civilian and three dependents arrived here on commercial flights via Incheon International Airport, west of the capital,

Jan. 11, 2021

Record W11.85tr paid in unemployment benefits in 2020 amid pandemic

A record 11.85 trillion won ($10.79 billion) was paid in unemployment benefits last year amid the business challenges of COVID-19, government data showed Monday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the government paid more than 956 billion won in job-seeking benefits in December, bringing the yearly total to 11.85 trillion won. Job-seeking benefits are meant to help the unemployed find jobs, and are commonly known as unemployment benefits because they account for most of the une

Jan. 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] S. Korea investigating another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Monday it is currently investigating another suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu traced to poultry farms amid growing concerns over wild birds carrying the disease into the country over the winter season. Authorities are currently investigating the suspected case of the HN58 strain of bird flu from a duck farm in Muan, 385 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Since late November, South Kor

Jan. 11, 2021

Military reports 2 new COVID-19 cases

Two service members from an Air Force unit tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total caseload there to 10, the defense ministry said Monday. The Air Force members stationed at the unit in Gapyeong, 60 kilometers east of Seoul, were confirmed to have been infected, as around 170 members of their base have been undergoing tests after the first COVID-19 case was reported Saturday, according to the ministry. "We are taking necessary steps to find virus cases and prevent the

Jan. 11, 2021

Factory worker dies after getting stuck in machine at Yeosu industrial complex

YEOSU -- A contract worker for a bituminous coal storing company at the national industrial complex in Yeosu has died after his body got stuck in a machine, authorities said Monday. According to Yeosu Fire Station, the 33-year-old mechanic was caught in a machine used for coal transportation at the company in the South Jeolla Province city, some 455 kilometers south of Seoul, around 7:55 p.m. Sunday. He was taken out from the machine at 10:32 p.m. by rescuers dispatched to the scene. The badly

Jan. 11, 2021

New virus cases at over 1-month low on fewer tests, infection slowdown

South Korea's new coronavirus cases rose by the smallest number in 41 days Monday apparently on the back of tightened social distancing measures and fewer tests over the weekend. The country added 451 more COVID-19 cases, including 419 local infections, raising the total caseload to 69,114, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). "The COVID-19 pandemic is on the path toward a slow downturn, yet dangers of cluster infections on the community level still persist

Jan. 11, 2021

S. Korea's highly pathogenic bird flu cases rise to 51

The number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases in South Korea stood at 51 on Sunday after the country added another confirmed case from a duck farm in a southeastern county, officials said. The latest case was found in a broiler duck farm in Geochang, South Gyeongsang Province, about 300 km away from Seoul, according to officials. It was confirmed as the malign H5N8 type. A standstill order has been issued for all poultry farms in Geochang. The agriculture ministry said Saturday that tests

Jan. 10, 2021

Korea’s new COVID-19 cases fall, but deaths rise

South Korea’s new cases of COVID-19 have fallen, but deaths and hospitalizations are climbing amid a lack of hospital beds and outbreaks among vulnerable populations. In this month alone, 208 people have died of COVID-19, which makes up over 18 percent of a total of 1,125 deaths here so far. This compares with 148 deaths reported in the initial wave in the spring and 91 deaths during the summer resurgence last year. The case fatality rate, or the proportion of people who died from the d

Jan. 10, 2021

[Photo News] Arctic cold waves freeze ports in Hwaseong

Arctic cold waves froze the water surrounding Jeongok Port and Gungpyeong Port in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday morning, as winter temperatures continued below zero. The boats appear to be frozen in place near Jeongok Port as they remained still, scattered across the water. People walked across on the solid ice, which once was a body of flowing water. (Photos: Yonhap) By Song Donna (donnadsong@heraldcorp.com)

Jan. 10, 2021

[Feature] Cash incentives fail to boost childbirth

Having a baby is not even a question for Lim Ji-yeon, 34, as she and her husband made the decision that it was not for them years ago. Both Lim and her husband thought having a child would be nice, but that was before they had to really consider the idea of becoming parents after getting married in 2018. They quickly gave up on that dream, vowing to devote the remaining years of their lives solely to themselves. “Why have a baby to voluntarily go through all the struggles? There’s

Jan. 10, 2021

New virus cases stay below 700 for 3rd day despite steady cluster infections

South Korea's new coronavirus cases remained at the 600 mark for the third consecutive day on Sunday as social distancing measures had a slight effect despite steady cluster infections. The country added 665 more COVID-19 cases, including 631 local infections, raising the total caseload to 68,664, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was slightly up from a one-month low of 641 on Saturday, the fewest daily infections since Dec. 8, when the country add

Jan. 10, 2021