Over 1,900 police detectives lost their qualification this year to lead investigations after refusing field assignments too long, the National Police Agency said Monday. Detectives are reviewed yearly for renewal of their qualifications under a system introduced in 2005. This year’s number of investigators losing their status is the highest since the system was introduced, the NPA said. The tot...

Fine dust plagued most parts of South Korea on Monday due to air stagnation caused by the high atmospheric pressure in the west, weather authorities said. As of 8 a.m., the density of ultrafine dust, called PM 2.5, had hit the "very bad" level for the greater Seoul area, North Chuncheong Province and the central city of Sejong, and the southeastern city of Daegu, according to the Comprehensive A...

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the fourth straight day Monday amid tightened distancing rules to curb the spread of COVID-19. The country added 3,007 new COVID-19 infections, including 2,768 local infections, raising the total caseload to 667,390, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea reported 34 more COVID-19 deaths, rais...

Korea’s new policy requiring people to be completely vaccinated or cleared in tests to enter public places is stirring up a wave of protests and court challenges. On Saturday civic groups and local community organizations marched from Seoul Station to Gwanghwamun Square demanding that the compulsory vaccine-or-testing policy be scrapped. The Saturday rally, among the firsts of many that is being...

As of Saturday, 90.1 percent of 18-year-olds have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, passing the 90 percent threshold. More than 79.6 percent have received a second shot. However, following the suspension of the vaccine pass enforcement at cram schools, the increase of the overall vaccination rate in minors above 13 has slowed down. According to the Education Ministry, some 76.2 perce...

Korea on Sunday was blanketed by dangerous levels of ultrafine dust expected to persist until at least Monday, which prompted the government to issue emergency reduction measures for the first time this year. According to the Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office under the Ministry of Environment, the ultrafine dust density levels in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and South Chuncheong Province we...

Lottery system invites scandals, addiction, and conspiracy theories, all while raking in a king’s ransom

The captain of a fishing boat that had capsized in waters off South Korea's southwestern coast was found dead Sunday, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard said the captain in his 70s was found inside his boat's wheelhouse just before noon Sunday. The vessel, carrying five crew members, capsized after colliding with a bigger fishing vessel in waters 3.5 kilometers northeast of Jang Island in So...

Bae Eun-sim, the mother of a late student activist whose death became a symbol of South Korea's pro-democracy movement in 1987, died Sunday. She was 82. Bae had been hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction last Monday, and was discharged Saturday. She died at Chosun University Hospital in the southwestern city of Gwangju after collapsing on Sunday. Bae's surviving family members decided ag...

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the third straight day Sunday as the country maintained tightened distancing curbs amid concerns over the spread of the omicron virus variant. The country added 3,376 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,140 local infections, raising the total caseload to 664,391, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Th...

South Korea's military on Saturday reported 22 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,425. Of the new cases, 13 are from the Army, six from the Air Force, one from the Navy, and one from an officer of the defense ministry. A unit under the direct control of the ministry also reported one case. The military said 1,612 are breakthrough cases out of the total mili...

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the second day Saturday as the country maintained tightened distancing curbs amid persistent worries over a resurgence in infections and the spread of the omicron variant. The country added 3,510 new COVID-19 infections, including 3,300 local infections, raising the total caseload to 661,015, according to the Korea Disease Control and...

South Korea‘s daily coronavirus cases continued to drop, falling below 4,000 for the first time in three days for Thursday. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency‘s data, the country added 3,717 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Thursday. South Korea has recently seen a modest downward trend in daily COVID-19 cases lately. The numbers of COVID-19 cases for Tuesday and Wedn...

A Seoul court on Friday ruled against a same sex couple demanding the same spousal health insurance coverage as heterosexual couples, saying matrimony in South Korea is still considered a union between a man and a woman. In February of last year, So Seong-wook filed the administrative lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) after the agency canceled So's coverage under the i...

Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin on Friday continued to express his discontent over Instagram’s removal of his post expressing his hostility toward communism. Chung criticized Instagram for its engagement in political activities by deliberately taking down posts that don’t match the preference of the platform, according to a story by local media outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, which...