Most Popular
-
1
40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
-
2
Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
-
3
N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
-
4
Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
-
5
Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
-
6
[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
-
7
Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
-
8
S. Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10m by 2044 amid low births
-
9
Doggy patrol team on the move to protect their cities
-
10
Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
-
[Graphic News] Social distancing campaign in South Korea
The government started a social distancing campaign late last month, calling on people to avoid mass gatherings and maintain a distance of 2 meters from others. The period was extended on April 4 to last for an additional two weeks. No. of trips outside neighborhood of registered address (unit: 10,000 trips) (Source: SKT, Statistics Korea) Jan. 25: 3,000 Lunar New Year holidays (1/20 First confirmed case of COVID-19 reported) Feb. 15: 1,376 Initial plunge of 24.4% from the
April 10, 2020
-
Korea’s daily virus tally drops to 7-week low: ministry
South Korea’s daily infection tally on Thursday fell to 34 -- the lowest since Feb. 20, the eve of its first COVID-19 spike induced by a “superspreading event” at a church in Daegu. The total now stands at 10,423, according to the Health Ministry figure. The worst may have passed for Daegu and surrounding North Gyeongsang Province -- whose cases together account for 77 percent of the national total -- which added four and zero cases, respectively. But mor
April 9, 2020
-
Ministry, universities discuss students' demand for refunds
South Korean officials and universities on Thursday began to discuss how to meet students' growing calls for refunds over disruptions in schools caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Most universities delayed the start of the new semester by two weeks last month and are running online classes to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Students have filed petitions and held rallies, saying their right to learn has been violated and demanding schools refund their tuition. On Tuesday, Vice Education Minis
April 9, 2020
-
[From the scene] Back to school – at home
A sense of excitement and anxiety was missing from the classroom on the first day of the new spring semester. Middle school English teacher Yoon Suk-joon, 58, was all alone as lessons began, with no students around. He greeted his students in a virtual classroom, with a laptop, headset and projector. As the semester’s first class began for ninth graders in Soongmoon Middle School at 11 a.m., some 45 students clicked on a link via Google Classroom, a service that offers online learning
April 9, 2020
-
221 detained in police crackdown on digital sex crimes
Police said Thursday they have detained 221 digital sex criminals nationwide last and this year after opening an investigation into 274 sexual crime cases. According to the National Police Agency (NPA), 32 of the detainees have been put under arrest for various digital sex crimes, including production and distribution of sexual exploitation materials, nonconsenting sharing of sex videos of women and secret filming of women in public places. By crime type, police have detected three cases of p
April 9, 2020
-
[News Focus] Compared with OECD average, South Korea has far fewer foreign residents
SEJONG -- The number of foreign residents in South Korea has risen dramatically over the past few decades, during which the nation hosted major international sports festivals including the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, data showed. But the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that Korea has far fewer foreign residents in proportion to its population, compared with other member countries. The OECD defines a foreign national as som
April 9, 2020
-
Concern grows over recurring cases of COVID-19
Amid a dose of optimism Thursday after counting the lowest number of new infections in a single day, South Korean health authorities are growing uneasy over a steady increase in the number of patients who have tested positive twice. As of Thursday at 12:01 a.m., Korea had 74 recovered patients who tested positive for the virus for a second time, up nine from the previous day, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reactivation of the virus is the most probable expl
April 9, 2020
-
S. Korea finds no genetic mutation in new coronavirus: KCDC
South Korea's health authorities said Thursday they have not found a genetic mutation in the new coronavirus so far, evidence that they cited to dismiss concerns over possible errors in diagnostic testing. The result came after a genetic analysis of 73 genes from coronavirus patients, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a statement. The KCDC said gene mutation could lead to higher infectiousness or toxicity, and could even raise concerns over possible errors in
April 9, 2020
-
8 in 10 people support electronic wristbands for self-isolators
Nearly 8 in 10 South Koreans agree to the use of electronic wristbands to monitor people under self-quarantine as recently proposed by the government to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, a poll showed Thursday. The poll of 500 adults nationwide, conducted Wednesday by Seoul-based pollster Realmeter, found 77.8 percent supported the proposal of requiring all people subject to two-week self-isolation, including new entrants from abroad, to wear electronic wristbands. Only 16.5 percent opp
April 9, 2020
-
S. Korea's new cases drop below 40
South Korea confirmed 39 more novel coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 10,423. More new cases were reported in the Seoul metropolitan area than rest of the country. Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province saw 22 more cases. The worst-stricken Daegu, whose cases total 6,807, added four cases, and North Gyeongsang Province zero. South Chungcheong Province and South Gyeongsang Province each confirmed one and two, respectively. Twenty-three of the new cases were f
April 9, 2020
-
Airman under probe for allegedly taking college entrance exam on behalf of superior
An airman is under investigation over allegations he took the annual state-administered college entrance exam on behalf of one of his superiors, military officials said Thursday. The service member, whose identity has been withheld, is suspected of taking the annual College Scholastic Aptitude Test in November on behalf of the senior who has been discharged from the military service last month, it said. On the test date, a photo of the superior was attached on the identification slip, but the
April 9, 2020
-
HUFS president appointed chairman of university education council
Kim In-chul, president of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, took office Wednesday as the 25th chairman of the Korean Council for University Education. In his inaugural address, Kim said South Korea’s universities face the challenge of providing quality education on a par with competitors on the global stage. “The job of laying the groundwork for improving the quality of higher education cannot be delayed,” he said, pledging reform. The council will work closely with the
April 9, 2020
-
[Graphic News] Air passengers drop to record low in March amid virus woes
The number of air passengers in South Korea fell to a record low last month due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, data showed, as countries around the globe impose lockdowns and restrict travel and people shun travel. The number of air passengers stood at 1.74 million in March, according to industry data, marking the first time that the figure has fallen below 2 million since the country started to record such statistics from 1997. The passenger number was 10.62 million in January but
April 9, 2020
-
S. Korean schools to resume classes online as virus woes linger
In an unprecedented move, middle schools and high schools in South Korea resumed classes online Thursday as students stay home to avoid the coronavirus that has infected more than 10,000 here. Seniors at middle schools and high schools nationwide greeted their classmates and teachers virtually from their living rooms or bed rooms as they logged onto "Zoom" or "Google Classroom" to begin the new school year. The government had earlier postponed the new school year, which us
April 9, 2020
-
S. Korea reports six more African swine fever cases in wild boars
Six wild boars found dead near the border with North Korea have tested positive for African swine fever, authorities said Wednesday, bringing the number of such cases to 496 in South Korea. The carcasses were found in the eastern border counties of Hwacheon and Yeoncheon, near the central section of the heavily fortified border, according to the National Institute of Environmental Research, which is affiliated with the environment ministry. Last year, South Korea mobilized hundreds of soldier
April 9, 2020
-
Indonesian man deported for violating self-isolation rules
An Indonesian man was deported from South Korea after violating rules mandating self-isolation for international arrivals, the justice ministry said Wednesday. The 40-year-old was deported to Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon after he was found to have falsely reported his local address and left the registered self-isolation venue, the ministry said in a press release. Authorities tracked him down at an acquaintance's house in the southern city of Gimcheon, 234 kilometers away from Seoul, a
April 8, 2020
-
[Newsmaker] COVID-19 makes case for universal health care
Easy access to health services is helping South Korea better navigate through the novel coronavirus crisis, experts suggest. More hospital beds mean more patients will likely recover from COVID-19, says preventive medicine professor Shin Ae-sun of Seoul National University College of Medicine. In a recent analysis of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states with over 3,000 confirmed virus cases, those with greater hospital bed capacity tended to have a higher
April 8, 2020
-
S. Korea's 31st virus patient still undergoing treatment: KCDC
South Korea's 31st coronavirus patient, considered a probable "super spreader," has become the country's longest-infected COVID-19 patient, health authorities said Wednesday. The 61-year-old woman, who tested positive for the new coronavirus on Feb. 18, is still receiving treatment at Daegu Medical Center in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). She has been hospitalized for 51 days, the longest of any
April 8, 2020
-
Govt. recommends temporary closure of private academies
The government on Wednesday recommended that all private educational institutes nationwide temporarily close to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Issuing an administrative order, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said private educational facilities, including foreign language schools, will be allowed to operate on the condition that they thoroughly follow government guidelines on preventing the spread of COVID-19. The guidelines require all lecturers and stud
April 8, 2020
-
No noticeable drop in foreigner arrivals despite mandatory quarantine: authorities
South Korea did not see a noticeable change in the number of short-term visitors during the past week despite the introduction of a 14-day mandatory quarantine on arrivals, authorities said Wednesday. Imported cases of the new coronavirus have become a major concern in the country despite the slowing infection rate, leading the government to make it mandatory for everyone arriving in Korea from abroad to self-quarantine for two weeks starting on April 1. In the wake of calls for more dras
April 8, 2020