Daily virus cases below 1,000 for 2nd straight day

The number of new daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in South Korea stayed below 1,000 for a second consecutive day, officials said Wednesday. Concerns still remain though, as the virus is spreading quickly in jails and hospitals where social distancing is nearly impossible. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the number of people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus was 840 on Tuesday, up by 125 from the previous day. Of the new confirmed cases, 809 were locally

Jan. 6, 2021

Cold wave warning to be issued in Seoul for first time in 3 years

A cold wave warning is set to be issued in Seoul on Wednesday for the first time in about three years, as the capital and central parts of the nation came under the grip of the season's coldest weather. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that the cold wave warning will take effect for the whole of Seoul at 9 p.m., marking the first such warning since the previous one was issued on Jan. 23, 2018. The cold wave warning is issued when the morning low is below minus 15 C for more t

Jan. 6, 2021

[Newsmaker] Coffee shops, bars, internet cafes join protest against virus restrictions

Coffee shops, bars and internet cafes have joined a growing list of businesses protesting the government's coronavirus restrictions, with shop owners lighting signboards, staging demonstrations and petitioning the Constitutional Court. The shop owners say the restrictions are applied unfairly, allowing some businesses to reopen while shuttering others, and without any promise of proper compensation for their losses. The complaints have grown since the government extended Level 2.5 social dista

Jan. 6, 2021

Correctional staff to be tested for virus weekly, more facilities to undergo mass testing

South Korea's government on Wednesday said it will test weekly all correctional employees nationwide for the coronavirus to slow down its rapid spread and prevent mass outbreaks. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), all staff working at correctional facilities will receive quick tests to detect bits of coronavirus proteins called antigens. The test is slightly less accurate than laboratory tests called PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, but produces results withi

Jan. 6, 2021

S. Korea culls 13.6m poultry as highly pathogenic bird flu cases near 50

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it has completed culling 13.6 million poultry as a preventive measure to cope with the rising number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases from local farms, with the total caseload approaching closer to 50. Under the country's quarantine guideline, all birds within a 3-kilometer radius of infected farms should be culled, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. They included 10.8 million chickens. The ministry confirmed

Jan. 6, 2021

PM orders measures to address unfairness complaints on forced gym closures

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday demanded authorities come up with measures to address growing complaints from owners of commercial gyms forced to shut down for weeks under strict social distancing schemes. Indoor gyms in the capital area are subject to an assembly ban under Level 2.5 social distancing measures, which were recently extended by two weeks until Jan. 17. In announcing the extension, however, the government allowed ballet and taekwondo schools to hold classes of up to nin

Jan. 6, 2021

New cases below 1,000 for 2nd day amid tentative signs of slowdown

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases stayed below 1,000 for the second consecutive day on Wednesday amid signs of a slowdown, while nursing homes and churches continued to be hot spots for virus outbreaks despite extended virus curbs. The country added 840 more COVID-19 cases, including 809 local infections, raising the total caseload to 65,818, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Wednesday's daily caseload rose from 715 on Tuesday but fell sharply from 1,

Jan. 6, 2021

54 violations of quarantine measures identified

The government’s joint inspection team for checking social distancing measures caught a karaoke bar in Gyeonggi Province that received customers through an online prebooking system on Dec. 22. The bar had turned off its outside signboards and closed the doors. The inspection team went undercover near the bar and spotted customers walking out at around 11 p.m. This was one of 54 cases of violation of quarantine measures identified so far. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety on Tuesd

Jan. 5, 2021

Namsan Park’s noise-free, pollution-free operation kicks off

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it will replace all 27 buses on four of the green circuit bus lines that travel along the Namsan Park area with electric, low-floor buses. The bus routes go to Namsan Park, Myeong-dong, Seoul Station, Insa-dong, and the main palace Gyeongbokgung. The city will ban diesel tour buses that used to pick up and carry group tourists from entering Namsan Park. Namsan Park was designated a “clean-air district” in 2015, showing off i

Jan. 5, 2021

S. Korea passes 1,000 COVID-19 deaths

More than 1,000 people in South Korea had lost their lives to COVID-19 as of Monday at midnight. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday announced 26 more deaths from the previous day, bringing the death toll to 1,007. The country reported its first death from the virus on Feb. 20 last year. The third surge of the pandemic in Korea is proving to be the deadliest yet. About half of all deaths in the country had taken place between the first day of December and Tuesday. The

Jan. 5, 2021

S. Korea confirms three more highly pathogenic bird flu cases

South Korea said Tuesday it has identified three more highly pathogenic bird flu cases from local poultry farms to raise the total caseload to 46. Authorities said they have found the highly contagious H5N8 strain of avian influenza in Buan, 280 kilometers south of Seoul, and the central city of Sejong, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. Earlier in the day, South Korea also found another case from a duck farm in Cheonan, 92 kilometers south of Seoul. The minist

Jan. 5, 2021

Season's coldest weather to grip S. Korea this week

South Korea is forecast to come under the grip of the season's coldest weather later this week, with the morning lows dipping to minus 17 C in the greater Seoul area and minus 23 C in Chuncheon, 85 kilometers east of Seoul, the state-run weather agency said Tuesday. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) has issued a cold wave alert or advisory for Seoul and the central regions, warning that temperatures will be as low as around minus 20 C there between Thursday and Saturday. The KMA ex

Jan. 5, 2021

[News Focus] 3 in 7 women from North choose South Korean husbands

SEJONG -- South Korea is home to about 35,000 defectors from North Korea. Recent government agency data revealed sharp gender disparities in their spouses’ countries of origin. The analysis concerns country of origin only, regardless of whether the defectors’ spouses have acquired South Korean citizenship. According to Statistics Korea and the Korea Hana Foundation, at least 3 out of every 7 female married defectors -- 43.3 percent -- had South Korean-born spouses as of 2019. The

Jan. 5, 2021

S. Korea reports 2 more British COVID-19 variant cases

South Korea's health authorities on Tuesday confirmed two more cases of a more transmissible variant from arrivals from Britain, bringing the total caseload here to 12. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the two people, who entered the country on Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 from Britain, respectively, were confirmed to have the new COVID-19 strain. The two tested positive for COVID-19 after landing and were immediately quarantined, meaning others in the community had no contac

Jan. 5, 2021

Annual bar exam starts after govt. lifts ban on COVID-19 patients

The national bar examination began across South Korea on Tuesday, one day after the Ministry of Justice reversed its earlier decision to ban anybody infected with the new coronavirus from sitting for the annual exam. The ministry initially planned to prohibit anybody diagnosed with COVID-19 from taking the bar exam scheduled to continue through Saturday. It had only planned to offer separate test sites for those put under self-quarantine or with suspected coronavirus symptoms. But the ministry

Jan. 5, 2021

Seoul to invest W1.1tr in digital initiatives

Seoul‘s acting Mayor Seo Jung-hyup on Tuesday vowed to prepare for the future of the city in the post-coronavirus era by investing in Digital New Deal initiatives, responding to climate change and stabilizing the housing market. “We will spend 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) by 2025 on the Seoul-style Digital New Deal policy, which focuses on fostering big data, networks and artificial intelligence, which will lead the era of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ and the con

Jan. 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] Toddler’s death thrusts child abuse back into spotlight

Another high-profile child abuse case has once again spurred a nationwide political movement in South Korea. The public is calling for legislative change to protect children’s rights, including heightened punishment for child abusers and an improved system to investigate potential cases. But the movement could end up as just another short-lived hype, experts warn, saying that earlier such endeavors fell short of yielding meaningful results. The 16-month-old girl at the center of the lat

Jan. 5, 2021

Virus cancels famous winter festival in Gangwon Province

South Korea’s Gangwon Province usually attracts millions of visitors during the winter season each year with its various winter festivals under the theme of ice fishing and sledding. This winter, however, is not the same, as the prolonged coronavirus pandemic has canceled most of the northeastern province’s famous winter festivals, including the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival. The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, established in 2003 and featuring trout ice fishing, had brought

Jan. 5, 2021

[Newsmaker] Gyms reopen in defiance of coronavirus restrictions

A growing number of gym owners have reopened their businesses this week in defiance of the government's coronavirus restrictions, claiming the rules are unfair and putting their livelihoods at stake. Indoor gyms in the capital area are subject to an assembly ban under Level 2.5 social distancing measures, which were recently extended by two weeks until Jan. 17. In announcing the extension, however, the government allowed ballet and taekwondo schools to hold classes of up to nine people, sparkin

Jan. 5, 2021

Another soldier tests positive for coronavirus

A soldier based on the southwestern Jin Island has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The enlistee was confirmed to have contracted the virus in a test conducted before his return from holiday, according to the ministry. The latest case brought the total number of COVID-19 patients among the military members to 509. Nationwide, South Korea added 715 additional coronavirus cases Tuesday, raising the total caseload to 64,979. (Yonhap)

Jan. 5, 2021