S. Korea striving to identify workers killed in warehouse fire

Police on Thursday strived to identify some of the 38 construction workers killed in a warehouse fire in Icheon, south of Seoul, after wrapping up a search and rescue operation in one of the country's deadliest blazes in years. The fire, which injured 10 others, two of them seriously, engulfed a four-story building under construction in Icheon, 50 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Wednesday afternoon and was put out five hours later. Firefighters brought in excavators to search every corner

April 30, 2020

S. Korea's southwestern region hit by another quake

A 2.4 magnitude earthquake hit the southwestern region county of Haenam on Thursday, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. The quake occurred at 7:13 a.m., 21 kilometers west-northwest of Haenam in South Jeolla Province, at a depth of 21 km, according to the KMA. The epicenter was at 34.66 degrees north latitude and 126.40 degrees east longitude, the agency said. "The earthquake was felt in the areas near the epicenter," the agency said, warning residents to take caut

April 30, 2020

[Graphic News] Walking tour catches on among S. Koreans

　According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, walking tours are gaining popularity among South Koreans, especially those in their 20s and 30s. 　It was conducted with 4,000 people aged between 15 and 79 across the country from December 2018 and November 2019. 　The survey showed 37 percent of the respondents went on a walking tour during the period, up 6.1 percentage points from a year earlier. (Yonhap)

April 30, 2020

Late 'comfort woman' recognized for lifelong human rights activities with Amnesty Award

The late Kim Bok-dong, a former sex slavery victim-turned human rights activist, received Wednesday a posthumous award from Amnesty International in recognition of her passion for and efforts toward the human rights of sex slavery victims. The Korean branch of the UK-based non-governmental organization has chosen the late activist as a recipient of the 22nd Amnesty International Korea Media Awards, acknowledging Kim's dedication to justice for sex slavery victims. Up to 200,000 women, mostl

April 29, 2020

COVID-19: Kids have questions, too

With the spring semester postponed indefinitely, children in Korea are staying home to stay safe from COVID-19 and help reduce its spread. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a kids Q&A session on Wednesday, marking the upcoming Children’s Day holiday observed each year on May 5, to address their concerns and curiosity about the new virus. This is the disease control agency’s first novel coronavirus briefing featuring children since it started holding th

April 29, 2020

38 workers killed in Icheon construction site fire

At least 38 people were killed in a fire that broke out at a construction site for a logistics warehouse in Gyeonggi Province, authorities said Wednesday. Ten others were injured. The blaze was extinguished at around 6:42 p.m., about five hours after it was first reported at the site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, according to fire authorities. Some 78 workers were believed to be present. As of 8:30 p.m. firefighters were still searching the building for more victims. “There’s

April 29, 2020

Tests in recovered patients found false positives, not reinfections, experts say

South Korea’s infectious disease experts said Thursday that dead virus fragments were the likely cause of over 260 people here testing positive again for the novel coronavirus days and even weeks after marking full recoveries. Oh Myoung-don, who leads the central clinical committee for emerging disease control, said the committee members found little reason to believe that those cases could be COVID-19 reinfections or reactivations, which would have made global efforts to contain the vi

April 29, 2020

[Video] Virus scare leads to drive-thru upgrades

Drive-thrus became familiar in Korea when fast-food giant McDonald’s opened its first location in 1992. The contactless system allows people to purchase or receive goods and services without leaving the car. Recently, the country began setting up drive-thru testing sites for more examinations to combat the virus. The quick service has since sprawled across the nation at a rapid pace and been imported by other countries. Taking a cue from the road-style facilities, schools have also ad

April 29, 2020

Top court confirms jail term of ex-Aekyung CEO in humidifier sterilizer case

South Korea's top court on Wednesday confirmed a jail term of 2 1/2 years for a former chief of Aekyung Industrial Co., one of the local producers of deadly humidifier sterilizers in the early 2000s. The Supreme Court upheld the jail term given by lower courts to Ko Kwang-hyun, former CEO of Aekyung Industrial, for covering up toxicity-related data on the company's disinfectant product Humidifier Mate. The top court also confirmed a one-year prison term for a former senior executive vice pres

April 29, 2020

Holiday travelers urged to take precautions against COVID-19

The government on Wednesday called for caution during the six-day holiday that starts Thursday, while local governments rolled out strengthened regulations. The holiday period begins with Buddha’s Birthday, which falls April 30 this year, and ends with Children’s Day on May 5. According to a survey, nearly 40 percent of South Koreans have travel plans, with Gangwon Province and Jeju Island likely to see a major influx of tourists. While urging the public to refrain from traveli

April 29, 2020

Top court rules in favor of pregnant employees in unsafe work environments

In a key ruling that acknowledged the risks of unsafe work environments on a fetus, South Korea's top court on Wednesday ruled in favor of nurses who claimed their children's congenital heart defects should be covered by workplace accident compensation. The Supreme Court ordered the Seoul High Court to review its decision that the nurses were not eligible to receive government compensation given to workplace accident victims. "The mother's body and a fetus are considered a 'single unity'

April 29, 2020

Seoul to plug undocumented migrants loophole in COVID-19 efforts

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday directed swift action on undocumented migrants amid concerns that their crowded and substandard living conditions, lack of access to masks and testing could create new clusters of COVID-19 infections, as seen in Singapore. 　 An estimated 380,000 migrants illegally residing in the country should be able to get masks and receive medical treatment without worrying about their status or about being deported, Chung said at the meeting on the government&rsqu

April 29, 2020

Mostly clear, warm weather expected over long weekend

Mostly clear and warm early summer weather is expected over the long weekend from Buddha’s Birthday on Thursday through Children’s Day on Tuesday, with sporadic rain in some areas. 　 Temperatures will go down slightly from Sunday through Tuesday, but will be warmer than average.　 According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Wednesday, Thursday, a public holiday marking the birth of Buddhism’s founder, will see morning lows of between 5 and 15 degrees, and afternoo

April 29, 2020

[Newsmaker] Students get suspended prison sentences for trespassing on US envoy's residence

Four South Korean university students indicted for breaking into the United States ambassador's residence in Seoul last October were all given suspended prison sentences by a local court Wednesday. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the four students each to an imprisonment of one year, suspended for two years, after finding them guilty of obstruction of business charges. The students were also ordered to conduct community service. The four are among 17 student members of a progressi

April 29, 2020

Telegram chat room accomplice indicted for leaking personal data

A former social service agent was indicted Wednesday for allegedly leaking personal data to the key suspect in a high-profile sexual blackmail ring on the messaging service Telegram. The 26-year-old, surnamed Choi, was indicted and detained on charges of breaching the Personal Information Protection Act and leaking personal data to unauthorized people, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. Choi, who was serving alternative military service at a local community center, is

April 29, 2020

S. Korea braces for long holiday amid virus slowdown

South Korea reported yet another single-digit increase in the number of coronavirus infections with just nine new cases Wednesday, but the country is keeping a watchful eye on this week's holidays, which could lead to more cases. The number of COVID-19 infections in South Korea reached 10,761, marking the 11th day in a row that the number of new infections stayed at 15 or below, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The figure peaked on Feb. 29 at 909. Hea

April 29, 2020

Prosecution attempts to search TV newsroom in probe into reporter's blackmail case

Seoul prosecutors stormed five locations Tuesday as part of their probe into a blackmail case involving a cable news reporter. The reporter from Channel A is suspected of pressuring a jailed financier to divulge corrupt acts by a pro-government commentator. He allegedly tried to leverage his ties with a senior prosecutor deemed powerful enough to influence the inmate's case. The prosecutors searched his home and other places but failed to enter news offices at the broadcaster's headquarters

April 28, 2020

Migrant workers ‘self-isolate’ in crowded homes

Migrant workers staying in cramped accommodations during their mandatory two-week quarantine could pose a risk to South Korea’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, experts and activists said Tuesday. On Monday, some 20 migrant workers from Myanmar, who arrived in Korea on April 23, were caught staying in accommodation inappropriate for quarantine, with shared kitchens and bathrooms, where strict self-quarantine is nearly impossible, according to the Bupyeong-gu Office. “It

April 28, 2020

S. Korea far from stemming coronavirus: KCDC

South Korea’s health officials said the country was still far from completely stemming the novel coronavirus and that the upcoming long weekend will be another challenge in keeping the virus curve as flat as it is now. More than 2 in every 5 transmissions of the coronavirus could occur while the original patient is in the early stages of the infection, officials said Tuesday. “Besides asymptomatic cases, COVID-19 is highly infectious at least two days prior to showing symptoms, a

April 28, 2020

Korea hit by three minor quakes in two days

South Korea has been rattled by three minor earthquakes in and around the southwestern region over the past two days, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said Tuesday. A 2.4 magnitude earthquake hit Geumsan of South Chungcheong Province, 198 kilometers south of Seoul, shortly after noon Monday, while Mokpo, a South Jeolla port, 410 km south of the capital, logged a 2.1 magnitude quake just before 1 p.m., according to the KMA. Earlier on Monday, a 2.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Nor

April 28, 2020