The South Korean government announced Friday that it would introduce anti-epidemic measures for the inter-seasonal resurgence of COVID-19 next week. During a COVID-19 response meeting on Friday, Lee Ki-il, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, officially confirmed that the country is going through a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lee added the government is currently consulting with medical experts for anti-epidemic measures to counter the resurgence that has re

Social Affairs July 8, 2022

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon has tested positive for COVID-19, the Ministry of Justice announced Friday. According to the ministry, Han received a PCR test on Thursday after he arrived at Incheon Airport from his eight-day visit to the US, which included a meeting with the director of the FBI. The ministry noted Han would work from home until Wednesday next week, following the country‘s mandatory seven-day self-quarantine rule applied to those infected with COVID-19. Han had visited

Social Affairs July 8, 2022

A letter of apology will have a smaller impact in court, beginning in October this year, according to the Sentencing Commission, an independent agency affiliated with the Supreme Court, Thursday. An apology letter is a widely used measure in court, through which defendants can show that they are sorry for their offending behavior and fully understand the seriousness of their wrongdoings. However, while apology letters have been widely regarded as an effective measure to improve defendants&l

Social Affairs July 7, 2022

S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections reached the highest in the recent 40 days, raising concerns about a possible resurgence during the summer season. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 18,147 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Monday. The total caseload reached 18,413,997. The daily tally reported on Tuesday nearly doubled from 9,894 a week ago. It was also the biggest increase since last week when the country started to see sig

Social Affairs July 5, 2022

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections are going up again, ending the downward trend that continued since the omicron-driven wave that pushed up daily cases to over 620,000 in March. As the daily counts continue to increase, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s new antivirus measures will be put to the test soon. Over the last week, the increases in the county’s daily infections speeded up. On Monday, the number of COVID-19 infections went up just by 586 from the previous wee

Social Affairs July 4, 2022

South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases topped 10,000 for the second consecutive day, highlighting the risk of a resurgence in the country during the summer season that some experts have pointed out. During the 24 hours of Saturday, the country added 10,059 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total caseload to 18,389,611, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The country added eight COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 24,570. The fatality rate now stands at 0.13 p

Social Affairs July 3, 2022

South Korea‘s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the government would step up deterrence against North Korea amid its ongoing missile tests and nuclear threats during a meeting with reporters in Sejong, Tuesday. According to Han, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration will prepare stronger measures to counter potential military threats from North Korea than the previous administration did. Unlike the previous government’s approach toward North Korea, which the public could perceive as n

Social Affairs June 29, 2022

The Seoul city government on Tuesday announced that it would offer online Korean classes during a six-month trial period, starting Friday this week. According to the city government, the online language classes will be available on the official website of King Sejong Institute Foundation, a public institution operated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The classes will be available, free of charge, to all foreign residents staying in Seoul as well as those staying in other regions

Social Affairs June 28, 2022

Park Eun-ha (Enna Park), Busan’s ambassador for international relations and former ambassador to the UK, is certain that Busan is capable of hosting the World Expo 2030. Park, who is helping Busan‘s bid, emphasizes that an all-out effort involving not only Busan but the whole country should be made so that the city can be selected as the venue for the upcoming Expo, during an interview with The Korea Herald on Friday. Having served the country as a diplomat for some 40 years, Par

Social Affairs June 27, 2022

South Korea’s first confirmed monkeypox patient, who entered the country from Germany, was found to have proceeded unchecked through Incheon Airport’s health inspection, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The KDCA said the monkeypox patient reported at the airport’s lobby after having passed the airport’s screening Tuesday. When entering the country, the patient’s symptoms were a low-grade fever of 37 degrees Celsius, sore throat, fati

Social Affairs June 24, 2022

The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday announced its policy plans, which are expected to increase labor market flexibility. During the first press briefing held after his inauguration at the government complex in Sejong, President Yoon Suk-yeol‘s first Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik focused on two issues, the country’s 52-hour workweek policy and seniority-based pay models adopted by the majority of companies in South Korea. According to Lee, the government will review opt

Politics June 23, 2022

Only 14 percent of South Koreans paid for online news content last year, according to a recent report. The proportion of people who said they paid for news content, however, has been gradually increasing over the past years, the report added. According to the 2022 Digital News Report, published by Reuters Institute, the proportion of survey respondents who had paid for online news content in South Korea last year increased by 1 percentage point from the previous year.　 The data, based on a Yo

Social Affairs June 22, 2022

Police interpreters in South Korea are often underpaid, mistreated and unprotected, prompting many to avoid taking on the role, a local study shows. Police interpreters are individuals who engage with non-native speakers in interpreting in police interviews and courts. The study, written jointly by police officer Choi Seob-min of National Office of Investigation and professor Jeong Ji-su of Korean National Police University, said many police interpreters here have experienced burnout. Acc

Social Affairs June 20, 2022

The rallies near the homes of President Yoon Suk-yeol and his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, are turning into partisan feuds among people with little regard for residents affected by the demonstrations, with both sides proposing a volley of revisions to amend the demonstration law. Since April this year, a total of seven legislative motions, most of them separately, by the People Power Party and Democratic Party of Korea, have been proposed to revise the demonstration law. But local residents will

Social Affairs June 19, 2022

Chungjeong Apartment, one of the oldest apartment buildings in South Korea, will be torn down, as part of plans for redevelopment in central Seoul, the Seoul city government said Thursday. The city has looked to redevelop the area for about 40 years, but projects have been put off because of disputes over compensation. With the fate of the building decided, delayed plans for the redevelopment area, which includes part of Seodaemun-gu and Jung-gu, are expected to proceed. The five-story buil

Social Affairs June 16, 2022