Public sector aims for 37.5% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

South Korea's public sector aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decade by 37.5 percent from the 2017 level, the environment ministry said Tuesday. The new target is designed to support the Moon Jae-in government's plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, which means to effectively reduce carbon emissions to zero. It is higher than the target of 24.4 percent set for the country as a whole and applies to the central government, local governments, education offices and publi

Dec. 8, 2020

Seoul, other areas nationwide under tougher restrictions to curb rising tide of infections

South Korea on Tuesday implemented stringent coronavirus restrictions, effective for the coming three weeks, as a third wave of the pandemic tightened its grip on the country. The government imposed the second toughest curbs of the five-tiered virus restriction system in the capital area, which has been experiencing a rapid climb in new cases, and mid-level restrictions in the rest of the country. The country has been reporting around 600 cases daily, and test positivity rates have been over f

Dec. 8, 2020

4 more service members test positive for new coronavirus

Four more service members tested positive for the new coronavirus amid continued cluster infections at barracks, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Three Army officers at the Sangmudae Artillery School in the southwestern county of Jangseong were confirmed to have been infected after coming into contact with a colleague who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry. The total number of COVID-19 cases reported at Sangmudae has grown to 30. One soldier stationed in the western city of

Dec. 8, 2020

S. Korea says will secure COVID-19 vaccines for 44 million people

The South Korean government said Tuesday it has agreed to buy 64 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, unveiling for the first time which and how many doses of vaccines the country intends to use. Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo said at a news conference Tuesday that Korea has prepurchased 20 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca, with deals for a further 44 million doses “now in the final stages” with Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen. Pfizer and Moderna have each commi

Dec. 8, 2020

Infection route of 1 in 5 COVID-19 cases unknown

Transmission routes were unknown for 1 in 5 coronavirus cases reported over the past two weeks in South Korea as of Tuesday, signaling a tough battle in reining in the spread of the virus as the world watches COVID-19 vaccinations begin in the UK. Korea added 594 coronavirus cases -- 566 locally transmitted and 28 imported from overseas -- in the 24 hours ending Monday at midnight, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. For the past two weeks, transmission routes for 2

Dec. 8, 2020

‘Heartbreaking choices’: If patients outnumber beds, who gets care first?

South Korea may soon be forced to choose which seriously sick patients get priority for care, as intensive care units at hospitals across the country are filling up in the third wave of COVID-19, experts warn. 　 As of the weekend, only 13 beds were available at ICUs in hospitals in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province combined, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s latest data shows. All such beds in Daejeon, South Chungcheong Province and North Jeolla Province had run out. Addressing t

Dec. 7, 2020

S. Korea to announce COVID-19 vaccine procurement plans: official

The government will announce coronavirus vaccine procurement plans on Tuesday, including how much the country has secured so far and when those vaccines will be available, a foreign ministry official has said. The amount of vaccines that South Korea has secured so far is expected to be more than 30 million doses as the government had earlier said it would procure 10 million doses through the COVAX Facility procurement program and purchase 20 million doses more through negotiations with pharmace

Dec. 7, 2020

17 USFK-affiliated people test positive for new coronavirus

Sixteen American service members and one civilian worker for the US military have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival in South Korea over the past few weeks, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday. Five service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on US government-chartered flights, while the others arrived here on commercial flights via Incheon International Airport, west of the capital, between mid-November and Friday, according t

Dec. 7, 2020

Veteran football administrator faces embezzlement investigation

GWANGJU -- Ki Yeong-ok, a longtime football administrator and father of former South Korean captain Ki Sung-yueng, is facing a police investigation into charges of embezzlement. Officials in the city of Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, said Monday that they have asked police to look into evidence of apparent misappropriation by the senior Ki while he was the general manager of the city-run K League 1 club, Gwangju FC, from 2015 to 2019. The city's auditors are claiming that Ki embezzled

Dec. 7, 2020

Go stones, jewel beetle ornaments, guilt-bronze crown unearthed at Silla-era tomb

Hundreds of Go stones and jewel beetle ornaments were some of the unusual relics found alongside a guilt-bronze crown and gold accessories at an ancient tomb presumed to belong to a woman from a royal family in the Silla era, cultural heritage authorities said Monday. The relics were found at an ancient tomb -- Tomb No. 44 -- in Jjoksaem in the southern city of Gyeongju last month, where the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (GNRICH) has been running an excavation projec

Dec. 7, 2020

Govt. buildings to have AI face recognition, QR code access control system

A new access control system utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) face recognition and quick response (QR) code technologies will be introduced to government buildings to enhance their security and improve the convenience of visitors, as well as civil servants, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said Monday. The new entry log system will be test-operated in parts of the government complex in the central administrative city of Sejong and later expanded to other government buildings in Seou

Dec. 7, 2020

45-year-old workers earn highest labor income during life cycle: data

The average annual labor income peaked at the age of 45 for South Korean workers in 2017, while those aged 59 began spending more than they earned, data showed Monday. People aged 45 saw their annual average labor income hit 33.54 million won ($31,000) per person in 2017 during their life cycle, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. People aged between 0 and 27 posted a life cycle deficit, a gauge of the gap between consumption and labor income, due largely to education fees. Suc

Dec. 7, 2020

[Newsmaker] Questions remain as infamous child rapist set for release on weekend

Infamous child rapist Cho Doo-soon is set to be released Saturday, with controversy lingering as to whether he should be released and what the country should do to protect potential victims. Cho, who brutally assaulted an 8-year-old girl in 2008, will be released from prison Dec. 12 after 12 years in prison. It is not known which correctional facility he will be released from on that date, but he will be set free between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Upon release, Cho will be tracked at all times via a GP

Dec. 7, 2020

Military to maintain toughened social distancing rules until year-end

The military will maintain a toughened social distancing scheme until the end of the year, banning troops from vacationing and taking off-installation trips, the defense ministry said Monday, as South Korea struggles to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. The military began enforcing Level 2.5 social distancing guidance late last month following a series of cluster COVID-19 infections at barracks across the country. The greater Seoul was placed under Level 2 distancing rules at that time.

Dec. 7, 2020

S. Korea to draw up rules for better working conditions for foreign fishing crews

South Korea said Monday it will launch a new set of rules next year to improve the working environment of foreign crews on local fishing boats, which centers on providing a standardized contract and guaranteeing enough break time. The latest measures came amid growing concerns that the country has been lacking clear guidelines to protect the rights of foreign fishermen, which account for roughly a fifth of the total workforce in the segment. With younger South Koreans avoiding physically stren

Dec. 7, 2020

South Korea faces 'biggest crisis' in fight against COVID-19

President Moon Jae-in ordered the government Monday to step up its contact-tracing and testing capacities in the Seoul metropolitan area as the country battles “the biggest crisis” since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. 　 Despite a fall in the number of coronavirus tests carried out over the weekend, South Korea added 615 coronavirus cases -- 580 locally transmitted and 35 imported from overseas -- in the 24 hours ending Sunday at midnight, according to

Dec. 7, 2020

S. Korea warns of further virus spike to over 900 next week as new infections above 600 for 2nd day

South Korea's health authorities warned on Monday that the country's daily virus cases may top 900 next week as a string of cluster infections from private gatherings and infection-prone facilities continued amid a surge in untraceable infection cases. They will streamline test procedures for quick results to rein in fast spread of the new coronavirus. The country added 615 more COVID-19 cases, including 580 local infections, raising the total caseload to 38,161, according to the Korea Disease

Dec. 7, 2020

Standstill issued for poultry farm in Gyeonggi on suspected bird flu case

South Korea on Monday issued a standstill order for all poultry farms in Gyeonggi Province after the region that surrounds Seoul identified one suspected case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI). Under the decision, all poultry farms will be banned from moving birds as well as related automobiles for the next 48 hours through early Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. On late Sunday, the ministry said it was carrying out an investigation into the s

Dec. 7, 2020

S. Korea investigating another suspected case of bird flu from farm

South Korea is looking into another suspected case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) from a chicken farm in the south of Seoul, in yet another sign that the disease could be spreading quickly nationwide. Local authorities are carrying out an investigation into the suspected case at an egg farm in Yeoju, 105 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The farm raises around 193,000 chickens. The ministry said it may take up to three days

Dec. 6, 2020

Seoul belatedly begins stricter social distancing

The second-strictest social distancing rules in South Korea’s COVID-19 playbook will be imposed across the Seoul metropolitan area for the next three weeks from Tuesday, the government said Sunday. The Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo told a news briefing escalating the country’s response to the pandemic was necessary to “keep the health care systems from collapsing.” The next tier of restrictions, which is set to last until Dec. 28 at midnight, reduces th

Dec. 6, 2020