South Korea's low-cost carriers said Monday they have delayed or reduced their flights on international routes due to the spread of the omicron variant. Air Seoul Inc., a budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., has delayed its planned flights to Guam from Jan. 29 to March 27. Air Seoul has offered one flight a week, respectively, on the routes from Incheon to Qingdao and Yantai in China since the summer of 2020 to meet business travel demands. Jeju Air Co., the country's biggest low-cost

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

Suga of K-pop supergroup BTS has fully recovered from the new coronavirus and been released from isolation, his agency said Monday. "Suga was released from isolation at noon as he was confirmed to have fully recovered from COVID-19," Big Hit Music said on the agency's fan community platform Weverse. The rapper tested positive for the virus on Dec. 24 after returning home the previous day from Los Angeles, where the group had large-scale live concerts between late November and early D

K-pop Jan. 3, 2022

Six Afghan evacuees airlifted to South Korea from Afghanistan taken over by the Taliban last year have found jobs, the justice ministry said Monday. The six recently got employed at a manufacturer in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, and other companies, while another person was admitted to a graduate school in an unidentified regional city. Accordingly, a total of 20 evacuees from seven households will start leaving their temporary residences in the southwestern city of Yeosu early this m

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

The upcoming expansion of South Korea's vaccine pass requirement to big box and department stores is inflaming protests that the measure represents discrimination against unvaccinated people and a breach of their right to basic needs. Under a revised vaccine pass scheme announced Friday, people will be required to present proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result to shop at discount or department stores measuring 3,000 square meters or more, starting Jan. 10. The fresh addition o

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

Two deaths in connection with the omicron variant of the coronavirus were reported in South Korea on Monday, reportedly the first deaths in the country linked to the highly transmissible variant, officials said. Health authorizes in Gwangju, 329 kilometers south of Seoul, said two recently deceased coronavirus patients in the city, both in their 90s, have posthumously tested positive for the omicron variant. The patients, who died last Monday and Wednesday, respectively, both tested positive f

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Monday promised a sweeping overhaul of its campaign committee and shed a feminist politician unpopular among young male voters as the party scrambled to stop the declining support of its presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol. The party's floor leader, Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, and its chief policymaker, Rep. Kim Do-eup, also offered to leave their positions in a demonstration of their commitment to overhauling the campaign plagued by factional feuding. The

Politics Jan. 3, 2022

South Korea's defense ministry said Monday the person that crossed the eastern inter-Korean border into North Korea over the weekend is presumed to be a North Korean defector. The ministry's statement came amid reports the man appears to be the one who crossed a barbed wire fence on the heavily fortified border to enter the South in November 2020. "Regarding the border crossing, the authorities presume the person is a North Korean defector and are in the process of verifying related facts

North Korea Jan. 3, 2022

North Korea remains unresponsive after South Korea sent it a message about an unidentified person having crossed the eastern inter-Korean border over the weekend, Seoul's defense ministry said Monday. On Sunday, South Korea sent the message through a western military communication line "in light of protecting our citizen," though it has yet to verify details about the person who crossed the heavily fortified border on Saturday night. The fate of the person was not immediately confirm

North Korea Jan. 3, 2022

Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases on Monday fell below 1,000 for the first time since mid-November, as the country has extended the enforcement of tighter social distancing measures for two more weeks, officials said. The number of cases in the capital was recorded at 993, 190 fewer compared than the 1,183 tally on Sunday and down 503 compared with a week ago, according to city health officials. Of the total, 964 were local infections and 29 were from overseas. It marked the first time Seoul's dail

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

South Korea's top military officer has called for troops to stick to "basics and principles" in a New Year's message, his aide said Monday, a directive eclipsed by a botched effort to stop an unidentified person from crossing the inter-Korean border over the weekend. For delivery on the first week of the new year, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Won In-choul had the message ready on Friday, the day before the person crossed the heavily fortified border in what is decried as

Defense Jan. 3, 2022

The local performing arts scene saw its revenue soar nearly 80 percent in 2021 from a year earlier, thanks to eased social distancing rules and a rising vaccination rate, data showed Monday. The combined revenue of 12,000 theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 307.1 billion won ($258.1 million) last year, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). The 2021 amount marked a 78.4 percent on-year surge from 172.1

Culture Jan. 3, 2022

South Korea's military on Monday reported eight additional COVID-19 cases, including seven breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,311. Of the new cases, five are from the Army, one from the Navy, one from the Air Force and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 240 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,507 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

Defense Jan. 3, 2022

Indonesia's recent ban on coal exports is expected to have a limited impact on South Korea, the industry ministry said Monday, but the Seoul government set up a task force to closely manage the situation as a precaution. Last week, Indonesia announced it has banned exports of coal in January, citing concerns over widespread blackouts due to low supplies at its domestic power plants. Jakarta is one of the world's major exporters of thermal coal, and around 20 percent of South Korea's coal impor

Economy Jan. 3, 2022

Prime Minister Kim Boo-Kyum on Monday called on public servants to keep political neutrality and discipline as the country prepares for the presidential and local elections this year. "Please restrain from any activity that can be misinterpreted ahead of elections," Kim said at the government's new year kick-off ceremony in Seoul. "We will strictly deal with activities regarding producing or providing government policy data in an unofficial way." South Korea is scheduled

Politics Jan. 3, 2022

The number of smartphone users on 5G mobile networks had topped 20 million as of November for the first time since the service was commercialized in 2019, data showed Monday. The total number of 5G users reached 20.19 million in November last year, accounting for around 28 percent of the total 72.57 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea, which has a population of 52 million, first commercialized 5G networks in April

Technology Jan. 3, 2022