Virus tally exceeds 500 for 3rd day, authorities under pressure to toughen social distancing

The daily number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea exceeded 500 for the third straight day Saturday, as health authorities face growing pressure to toughen social distancing restrictions amid continued sporadic infections across the country. The country added 504 more COVID-19 cases, including 486 local infections, raising the total caseload to 33,375, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It reported six additional coronavirus fatalities, bringing the total to 522

Nov. 28, 2020

PM warns of full-fledged virus resurgence as daily cases exceed 500

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday that South Korea has confirmed more than 500 COVID-19 infections for the second consecutive day and warned that the virus appears to be spreading again in earnest nationwide. "As the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 patients reached above 500 for the second straight day (as of the start of Friday), it's a situation in which a resurgence is getting into full swing in our country as well," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a meeting of

Nov. 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] Opposition parties call for parliament-led probe into Choo-Yoon clash

Opposition parties on Friday submitted a written request for an investigation led by the National Assembly into the justice minister’s unprecedented action to suspend the top prosecutor from duty. The request was signed by 110 lawmakers -- 103 from the main opposition People Power Party, three from the minor People’s Party and four independent lawmakers. The procedural legitimacy of the disciplinary actions taken by Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae against Prosecutor General Yoon Seok

Nov. 27, 2020

Stalking perpetrators to face up to 5 years in jail under new law

The government will push for a new law to drastically raise punishments for stalking perpetrators, the Ministry of Justice said Friday. The ministry made a prior announcement of the plan for the legislation via the government gazette, which calls for punishing convicted stalkers with up to five years in prison. Under the new law, acts of continuously or repeatedly approaching, following or blocking a victim against his or her will; waiting for or watching a victim in and around his or her resi

Nov. 27, 2020

Protesters deter shipments of construction materials onto THAAD base in Seongju

SEONGJU -- The defense ministry's latest attempt to bring non-weapon materials and construction equipment onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in central South Korea on Friday ran into fierce protests from local residents and civic activists opposed to the deployment of the American missile defense system. About 70 residents and activists gathered on a bridge leading to the base for the THAAD system in the central town of Seongju, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to b

Nov. 27, 2020

About 900 illegal migrant workers deported or arrested from Aug.-Nov.

Nearly 900 migrant workers were deported or arrested over a three-month period after being caught working illegally in South Korea, the Ministry of Justice said Friday. Immigration authorities have rounded up 1,294 illegal foreign workers from Aug. 1 to Nov. 2 before deporting 885 of them out of the country and placing four others under arrest, the ministry said. They also busted 254 employers of illegal migrant workers and imposed a fine on 232 of them, the ministry said, adding 17 others wer

Nov. 27, 2020

[Video] The one day that brings Korea to a standstill: Suneung

Around 490,000 college hopefuls will flock to test sites across the country on Dec. 3 to take the Suneung -- South Korea’s national college entrance exam. On this day, silence brings the nation to a standstill, as the cold air turns jittery with angst. Military training temporarily ceases, flights are grounded and government institutes and banks delay opening by an hour to prevent traffic during the rush to testing sites. Suneung is the College Scholastic Ability Test in Korean -- the

Nov. 27, 2020

Number of weekday moviegoers falls amid worsening pandemic

The number of weekday moviegoers in South Korea dropped this week under the heightened antivirus curbs during the third wave of the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Friday. The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said 83,050 and 60,891 visited theaters on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, down from 91,175 and 86,091 from the previous Wednesday and Thursday. The figure is expected to be in further decline as concerns are swelling over a recent hike in COVID-19 cases. The daily caseload of the

Nov. 27, 2020

Former YG chief fined on overseas gambling charges

A Seoul court on Friday fined Yang Hyun-suk, former CEO of YG Entertainment, over charges of high-stakes gambling he committed while abroad on numerous occasions. The Seoul Western District Court found him guilty of gambling at Las Vegas casinos in the United States over the past several years and ordered him to pay a fine of 15 million won ($13,600). The court said his behavior could "have a bad influence on the public, especially young people," but that it considered Yang showed re

Nov. 27, 2020

[Newsmaker] Twelve more facility types to be subject to school bus safety regulations

A revised law will require 12 more types of facilities to follow school bus safety regulations starting Friday, police said. The new categories include alternative schools, international schools and public libraries, according to the National Police Agency. The six original types of facilities were kindergartens, elementary schools, special education schools, day care centers, academic institutes and sports facilities. "The added 12 are frequently used by children and operate buses for th

Nov. 27, 2020

Supreme court orders desert cafe chain to return licensing fee to Chinese company

South Korea's top court said Friday it has upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of a Chinese company in a dispute with a Korean desert cafe chain over a licensing fee. The Supreme Court confirmed the previous ruling that ordered Sulbing, one of the country's biggest dessert cafe chains, to return the licensing fee of 956 million won ($864,000) to the Chinese company. The Chinese company signed a contract with Sulbing to open a chain in Shanghai in 2015, which would be directly managed by th

Nov. 27, 2020

COVID-19 cases top 500 for 2nd day amid third wave

South Korea’s new daily COVID-19 case count topped 500 for the second consecutive day Friday, prompting health authorities to consider further tightening social distancing measures amid a full-blown third wave of infections across the country. The country reported 569 new cases -- 525 locally transmitted cases and 44 imported from overseas -- in the 24 hours ending Thursday at midnight, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.　 A day earlier, Korea saw the daily cas

Nov. 27, 2020

PM says new daily virus cases over 500 again, warns of full-fledged resurgence

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Friday that South Korea has confirmed more than 500 COVID-19 infections for the second consecutive day and warned that the virus appears to be spreading again in earnest nationwide. "As the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 patients reached above 500 for the second straight day (as of the start of Friday), it's a situation in which a resurgence is getting into full swing in our country as well," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a meeting of

Nov. 27, 2020

‘No one is happy’: Contact tracers in S. Korea report burnout

Months into the pandemic, contact tracers in South Korea are battling burnout and psychological distress, according to a recent study. Yoo Myoung-soon, a public health communications professor at Seoul National University, reported the findings after conducting five rounds of group interviews with 20 contact tracing officials in Gyeonggi Province between Oct. 24 and Nov. 7. The study published Thursday showed over 80 percent of surveyed contact tracers were experiencing “high level

Nov. 26, 2020

Justice minister, top prosecutor headed toward legal showdown

Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, on his second day of being suspended from work, filed a lawsuit against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae on Thursday, claiming the minister’s disciplinary action is unjust and groundless. The lawsuit was filed with the Seoul Administrative Court. Yoon on Wednesday night also filed for a pretrial injunction to quash the suspension order. The move came as the Justice Ministry asked its disciplinary committee to convene Dec. 2 to deliberate on allegations level

Nov. 26, 2020

Calls grow over further heightened virus curbs as worst COVID-19 outbreak yet to land in S. Korea

A new coronavirus flare-up in South Korea is creating a sense of crisis that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to come in the winter season, given the faster-than-expected spread of the virus and continued sporadic infections across the nation, and calls are growing over the implementation of further enhanced virus curbs. The number of new cases spiked to 583 on Thursday, the highest in over eight months, raising the total caseload to 32,318, according to the Korea Disease Control and

Nov. 26, 2020

Education minister asks for help safely carrying out nationwide exam amid COVID-19 spike

The education minister on Thursday asked citizens to temporarily suspend their usual gatherings ahead of next week's nationwide college entrance exam so it won't be affected by the recent spike in new coronavirus cases. "(I) earnestly ask all South Korean people to suspend their usual gatherings for a week starting today with the hearts of parents with children who are taking the exam in mind," Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said during a news conference held at the government complex

Nov. 26, 2020

Prosecutors' backlash intensifies against justice minister's suspension of prosecution chief

Prosecutors around the country held emergency meetings to discuss the justice minister's unprecedented move to suspend and discipline the chief prosecutor over allegations of his interference in sensitive investigations, legal sources said Thursday. Earlier in the day, six top district prosecutors pleaded with Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae to rethink the decision in a statement posted on the online bulletin board of the prosecution. They expressed concerns over perceived risk of political neutra

Nov. 26, 2020

Car crash on Incheon airport expressway kills 2, injures 3

Two passenger cars crashed on an expressway leading to Incheon International Airport, the gateway to Seoul, early Thursday morning, killing two people and injuring three others, police said. The accident occurred near the North Incheon Toll Gate on the Incheon International Airport Expressway shortly before 6 a.m. when a K7 sedan collided with a Cruze sedan from behind before running into a retaining wall. The driver of the K7 car, identified only as a 26-year-old, was killed on the scene, and

Nov. 26, 2020

Mastermind of sex abuse ring sentenced to 40 years in prison

A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced the mastermind of one of the country's largest online sex trafficking rings to 40 years in prison. The Seoul Central District Court found Cho Ju-bin guilty of violating laws to protect minors from sexual abuse and of operating a criminal ring to make profits by producing and selling abusive videos. The court also ordered to make public his personal details for 10 years and ban him from working at children-related facilities for 10 years after his release. Ch

Nov. 26, 2020