Graphic warnings on cigarette packs to show more harmful effects

Nine out of 12 graphic warnings on cigarette packs will change starting Wednesday, as part of efforts to show the harmful effects of smoking more clearly, health authorities said Monday. Products with new warnings will be sold at retail stores from the end of January next year. The new graphic warnings include more alarming images of the harmful effects of smoking in lung cancer, oral cancer, heart disease and stroke. The current images of laryngeal cancer and sexual dysfunction, as well

Dec. 21, 2020

Private gatherings of 5 or more banned in Seoul area until Jan. 3

Seoul officials said Monday that nonessential gatherings of five or more people would be banned before Christmas and through the New Year’s holiday. The metropolitan government told a virtual news briefing that “all gatherings of a private nature involving five people or more both indoors and outdoors” would be banned between Wednesday and Jan. 3. An exception is being made for weddings and funerals, where up to 50 people will still be allowed. Gyeonggi Province, which sur

Dec. 21, 2020

[News Focus] Seoul reviewing second chance for medical students to sit licensing exam

The government is considering allowing fourth-year medical students another chance to take the state medical licensing exam, as the country anticipates a shortage of medical personnel next year. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a radio interview Sunday that “there is a possibility” that medical students who boycotted the licensing exam this year could be given the opportunity to take the state-run test soon. “We were really cautious in concern of public opinion, but the

Dec. 21, 2020

[Newsmaker] Concerns mount over COVID-19 outbreak at detention center

A massive coronavirus outbreak has been discovered at a detention center in southeastern Seoul, with the source of infection remaining unknown. As of Monday morning, a total of 215 people -- including 185 inmates -- tested positive for the virus at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center, according to health authorities, after some 3,557 inmates and staff members underwent testing on Friday. District courts in Seoul are on alert as many of the inmates from the detention center are said to have att

Dec. 21, 2020

Unemployed foreigners hit record high

South Korea saw a record number of unemployed foreign nationals this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, mostly because fewer foreigners entered the country and temporary and manual jobs were lost, government data showed Monday. The number of unemployed foreign nationals was 69,500 as of May, up 38.2 percent from the previous year, marking the biggest on-year jump. The figure is the highest since relevant data began to be compiled in 2012, according to Statistics Korea. The unemployment rate o

Dec. 21, 2020

PM warns against false information on COVID-19

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Monday warned against producing and spreading false information about COVID-19, saying the government will deal with such acts with zero-tolerance. “With the COVID-19 crisis continuing, false and fabricated information such as ‘Level 3 social distancing confirmed’ and ‘hoarding of daily necessities begins’ are spreading again,” the prime minister said during a meeting of the central disaster headquarters. “Actions of sp

Dec. 21, 2020

Military hospital near Seoul begins receiving COVID-19 patients

A military hospital in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, began receiving coronavirus patients on Monday, the defense ministry said, amid a shortage of hospital beds due to a spike in the number of new infections. The hospital can provide up to 80 beds for COVID-19 patients, according to the ministry. Two other military hospitals in the southeastern city of Daegu and the central city of Daejeon also opened to civilians last week as part of the military's efforts to help the government's handling of t

Dec. 21, 2020

S. Korea ups disinfection operations at wild bird habitats on avian influenza

South Korea said Monday that it has expanded disinfection operations at major wild bird habitats and poultry farms to cope with the rising number of highly pathogenic bird flu cases. "Due to the influx of migratory birds into the country, contaminants can get into local farms at anytime," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. "As we are facing a grave situation, there will be zero tolerance of any violation of the quarantine guidelines," i

Dec. 21, 2020

[Newsmaker] COVID-19 cases top 50,000 in S. Korea amid worsening pandemic

South Korea's total COVID-19 caseload broke the 50,000 mark on Monday as new cases have been rising at their fastest pace ever, hampering authorities' antivirus efforts. New cases stood at 926 earlier in the day to push up the total to 50,591, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily death toll hit a record high of 24, raising the total to 698. The caseload surpassed the 50,000 mark in the 11 months since the nation reported its first case on Jan. 20. The

Dec. 21, 2020

New virus cases under 1,000 on fewer tests, daily death toll hits new high

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell below 1,000 for the first time in six days Monday, mainly due to less testing over the weekend, as health authorities are set to announce new virus restrictions over the Christmas and New Year's Day holiday period. The daily virus death toll also hit a record high amid rising patients. The country added 926 more COVID-19 cases, including 892 local infections, raising the total caseload to 50,591, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention

Dec. 21, 2020

S. Korean contractor at Camp Humphreys tests positive for COVID-19

A South Korean employee at a US military base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, US Forces Korea (USFK) has said. The contractor who works at Camp Humprheys was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 on Friday after developing symptoms, according to the USFK. He lasted visited the base Wednesday. The contractor was in isolation at his off-installation home, waiting to be transferred to a medical facility designated for virus patients,

Dec. 21, 2020

More Koreans dying of COVID-19 without ever receiving care

As the third surge of new coronavirus infections packs hospitals, more patients around South Korea are dying without ever having access to medical care. Another Seoul resident died waiting for hospital treatment more than a day after being confirmed to have COVID-19, marking the second such known casualty in the capital, public health officials said Sunday. They said the man in his 60s died at his home in Guro-gu, southern Seoul, in the early hours of Sunday. He was diagnosed with the virus

Dec. 20, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘I’ve found peace,’ says man exonerated after 31 years

CHEONGJU, North Chungcheong Province -- Yun Sung-yeo, 53, served two decades behind bars for the rape and murder of a child until he was released on parole in 2009. On Thursday, the court overturned his conviction after an infamous serial killer confessed to the crime. “You know in your heart you didn’t do it. But no one else really believes you. Now, my family and I don’t have to live in shame,” he told The Korea Herald at a home for newly released inmates in Cheongju,

Dec. 20, 2020

New infection cases hit fresh high, virus response faces biggest peril

South Korea's new coronavirus cases spiked by more than 1,000 for the fifth straight day to hit a fresh record high Sunday, putting the country's virus battle in the most trouble so far amid rising death tolls. The country added 1,097 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,072 local infections, raising the total caseload to 49,665, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The tally marked a rise from 1,053 cases Saturday and 1,062 Friday. The previous record high was repo

Dec. 20, 2020

[Photo News] Cold wave of winter air hits Seoul amid COVID-19

The cold winter air swipes through central Seoul on Thursday morning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Puffs of warm breath can be seen swirling out from behind people’s masks in the frigid and windy weather. The weather remains in subfreezing temperatures as winter approaches its peak deeping into December. People walk through a park with hot drinks in their hands to keep warm during the day. Photos: (Yonhap) By Song Donna (donnadsong@heraldcorp.com)

Dec. 19, 2020

Vice justice minister said to have run-in with taxi driver before appointment

Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu allegedly engaged in an altercation with a taxi driver while intoxicated in early November, when he was working as a lawyer, police officials said Saturday. Lee grabbed the taxi driver by the collar at an apartment complex in southern Seoul one night, as the driver was waking him up, according to officials at the Seocho Police Station. Lee, who had served as a judge before practicing law, was appointed to the No. 2 post at the Ministry of Justice on Dec. 2 ami

Dec. 19, 2020

Private general hospitals ordered to offer more intensive-care beds to COVID-19 patients

South Korea's government issued an emergency order earlier this week dictating private hospitals nationwide earmark a certain portion of their intensive-care beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients, officials said Saturday. The administrative order, the first of its kind, was delivered by the Central Disaster Management Headquarters to all local governments Friday, the officials said, as part of government efforts to cope with the worsening hospital bed shortage caused by a recent surge in cor

Dec. 19, 2020

Civic groups decry criticism from US of leafleting ban as 'interference in internal affairs'

A group of 17 civic organizations on Friday issued a joint statement decrying criticism from some quarters of the United States of a recently legislated ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea as "interference in internal affairs." The group, including the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, stressed that flying propaganda leaflets has nothing to do with freedom of expression but is an "act that foments conflict." "The interference in int

Dec. 18, 2020

All frontline workers, high-risk people to be vaccinated by November next year

South Korea said Friday it would prioritize frontline workers and people in high-risk groups in vaccinations, but some of them may have to wait until November next year. Yang Dong-gyo, head of the medical safety prevention bureau of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said at a briefing that the government aims to complete the vaccinations before the flu season begins in November. Priority groups include the elderly, residents of group facilities such as nursing homes, chronic

Dec. 18, 2020

[Newsmaker] S. Korea faces shortage of hospital beds as cases on the rise

South Korea faces a dearth of hospital beds due to a surge in confirmed cases especially in Seoul and nearby areas. A total of four coronavirus patients have died while waiting for hospital treatment in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, authorities said Friday. And 251 patients, most of them severe cases, in Gyeonggi Province and 580 patients in Seoul are on standby for available hospital beds. 　 According to Gyeonggi Provincial government Friday, two coronavirus patients in their 70s and a pati

Dec. 18, 2020