The number of medical tourists to South Korea tumbled nearly 77 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Roughly 117,100 foreign patients visited South Korea last year, down a whopping 76.5 percent from some 497,500 a year earlier, according to the data from the local medical community. The data is based on statistics gathered by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Seoul Asan Medical Center, one of South Korea's five major hospitals,

Social Affairs Sept. 6, 2021

With five birdies in the final round of the 2020-2021 PGA Tour season, South Korean golfer Im Sung-jae has broken a scoring record that stood for 21 years. Im sank a 21-foot putt for a birdie on the second hole during the closing round of the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Sunday (local time). It was Im's 494th birdie, helping him eclipse the previous record of 493 birdies by Steve Flesch in 2000. The tour began tracking records in 1980. Im finished with

Golf Sept. 6, 2021

Over 30 million South Koreans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Sunday, health authorities said, as the vaccine rollout is gaining speed among the general public. Slightly more than 30 million people have been inoculated with their first vaccine shots as of 11:15 a.m., accounting for around 58 percent of the country's 52 million population, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. A total of 17.7 million, or 34.6 percent of the total population, hav

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2021

South Korea's female population is forecast to surpass that of males in nine years, a government report showed Sunday. The total number of women reached 25.86 million last year, accounting for 49.9 percent of the country's entire population of 51.82 million, according to the report compiled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The ratio of males to females in the South Korean population fell to 100.4 in 2021 from 101.4 tallied in 2000. The ministry said the sex ratio will likely hit

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2021

South Korea will host a hydrogen mobility show this week to showcase the latest technologies in fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and trams, and discuss major trends in the hydrogen economy, its organizer said Sunday. H2 Mobility+Energy Show will take place at an exhibition center in Goyang, just north of Seoul, from Sept. 8-11, with more than 150 companies and research institutions from 12 countries, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.  It is the nation's sec

Industry Sept. 5, 2021

More South Korean students will be allowed to take in-person classes starting Monday as attendance cap restrictions in schools have been eased despite the extended distancing measures. The Ministry of Education reaffirmed Thursday it will allow schools to expand in-person classes even under the Level 4 distancing scheme, the most stringent set of rules, as planned. The ministry decided to ease the attendance caps in steps last month as schools began their fall semesters, citing the need to res

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2021

Over 8 out of 10 South Koreans have encountered hate speech against women online, a survey showed Sunday. According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) survey on 1,200 people aged 15 and older from May 20-25, 80.4 percent of the respondents said they have read malicious online comments targeted at women. Hate speech against people from certain regions, feminists and the elderly came after at 76.9 percent, 76.8 percent and 72.5 percent, respectively. Other online targets

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2021

St. Louis Cardinals' starter Kim Kwang-hyun suffered his seventh loss of the season following the shortest start of his major league career, unable to survive an early onslaught by the Milwaukee Brewers. Kim gave up four runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings against the Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee on Saturday (local time). Kim got the hook with the Cardinals trailing 4-0 in the second inning, and they lost by the same score. The South Korean left-hander fell to 6-7 for the

Baseball Sept. 5, 2021

There is no time to mope or dwell on what could have been. After a disappointing, scoreless draw against Iraq to open the final Asian qualifying campaign for the 2022 FIFA World Cup last Thursday, South Korea will pursue their first win of the phase against Lebanon on Tuesday. The kickoff for the teams' second Group A match is 8 p.m. at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. Lebanon also had a 0-0 draw in their first match Thursday against the United Arab Emirates in D

Soccer Sept. 5, 2021

Doosan Infracore Co., South Korea's major construction equipment maker, said Sunday it has won orders to deliver 28 large excavators to Egypt. Doosan Infracore said it has signed a supply contract for 36-ton excavators with the Egyptian defense ministry, which will be used for a state-run railway construction project. The construction unit of Korean conglomerate Doosan Group won orders for 30 pieces of construction equipment with the Egyptian government earlier this year. Doosan Infracore s

Industry Sept. 5, 2021

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases fell to the 1,400s on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, while health authorities extended the tough restrictions ahead of a major national holiday. The country added 1,490 more COVID-19 cases, including 1,461 local infections, raising the total caseload to 260,403, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest tally is down from 1,804 on Saturday and 1,709 on Friday. Daily cases have stayed above 1,000 for

Social Affairs Sept. 5, 2021

As many as 140 people were given questionable Pfizer vaccines that had passed or were nearing the recommended inoculation deadline after thawing at a general hospital in Seoul last week, health officials said Saturday. According to the officials, Korea University Guro Hospital in southern Seoul used Pfizer vaccines that came close to or exceeded the inoculation deadline after thawing during its inoculation work conducted from Aug. 26-27. About 140 people received the questionable vaccines tha

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2021

One more Afghan, who was on South Korea's list of people to be evacuated from the war-torn Afghanistan, arrived here Saturday, the justice ministry said. The Afghan, whose identity was withheld, landed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 8 a.m. The person flew in from India with help from Korean diplomats following a business trip there. The person is among hundreds of Afghans brought here by South Korea and labeled as "special contributors" for their contribu

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2021

South Korean superband BTS, along with Coldplay front man, Chris Martin, will appear on YouTube's weekly music show next week, the septet's agency said Saturday. The K-pop sensation and Martin are set to appear on a special episode of YouTube Originals' weekly music series "Released" that will air at 12:45 p.m. Friday, according to Big Hit Music, the group's agency. They are expected to share their experiences as musicians on the global stage and talk about a set of topics, such as

K-pop Sept. 4, 2021

The current law requiring only foreigners to have a higher education qualification to teach at local cram schools, or hagwon, is discriminatory, the state human rights watchdog said Saturday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said it is discriminatory for private teaching institutes to require foreign nationals aspiring to become hagwon instructors to have a college degree or higher, while only requiring their local counterparts to have a junior college degree or higher. T

Social Affairs Sept. 4, 2021