The South Korean government announced Monday that the reopening of schools, scheduled to begin Wednesday with high school seniors, would be delayed by another week amid a spike in new infections linked to bars and clubs in Seoul’s popular party district. High school seniors are to return to school first on May 20, a week later than scheduled. Under the new plan, students in the second year of hi...

A civic group that advocates for Korean victims of wartime sexual enslavement by Japan on Monday apologized to one of the survivors, who had accused it of not using donations transparently, but denied the accusations. At a press conference Monday, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said the donations were used transparently to suppor...

The majority of foreigners living in South Korea are excluded from the government’s efforts to protect people from COVID-19, but they are no less susceptible to the potentially deadly virus, Udaya Rai, head of the Migrants Trade Union, told The Korea Herald in an interview. From mask rationing to coronavirus relief cash handouts, migrants are largely left out of consideration, he said. “We are ...

A 29-year-old man living in Yongin tested positive for COVID-19. He went clubbing in Itaewon, a party district in Seoul, when he had no symptoms, exposing at least 1,500 people to the virus. It was the first local infection in four days, triggering fears of further community spread. Another thing that made headlines was that the patient visited “gay clubs.” Human rights activists on Friday deno...

A civic group that advocates for Korean victims of wartime sexual enslavement by Japan is facing controversy, after a victim accused the group of misappropriating donations and exploiting the victims for their cause for nearly 30 years. The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, which holds weekly rallies demanding an apology and reparation...

South Korea is on alert over the possible further community spread of COVID-19, after a man who visited bars and clubs in Itaewon, a party district in central Seoul, tested positive for the virus. It is the first local infection in four days. The 29-year-old patient, who lives in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has no known overseas travel history or exposure to someone who had traveled or been infe...

A man confirmed to have COVID-19 was found to have visited clubs in Itaewon, one of the popular nightlife districts in Seoul, authorities said Thursday, triggering concerns about the community spread of the virus. The 29-year-old man, who lives in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has the first domestic infection reported in South Korea in four days. Most new cases over the past week have come from ove...

The South Korean government said Wednesday it will issue fines and file criminal complaints against Mercedes-Benz Korea, Nissan Korea and Porsche Korea for manipulating emissions data on their diesel vehicles. The Ministry of Environment said that some 4,381 diesel-powered vehicles of 14 models sold in the country by the three carmakers between 2012 and 2018 were fitted with illicit devices t...

Class sizes will be smaller, with all students sitting alone and each desk placed some 2 meters apart from others. Each class will take breaks at different times to minimize physical contact among students. Activities involving a group of students and moving between classes are discouraged. At cafeterias, students get lunch at different times. They line up 1 meter apart from each other to be ...

Schools are getting ready to welcome back students. Public museums and libraries are preparing to reopen and professional baseball and soccer leagues will kick off their long delayed new season this week. Life is South Korea is getting back to normal, as the country’s fight against COVID-19 enters a new phase with a marked slowdown in new cases. “Our war against the coronavirus has yet to...

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 ...

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 st...

The South Korean government said Monday it would soon put forward a timetable to reopen schools, as the rate of new coronavirus infections stabilizes. Currently, all students are taking online classes at home. “We cannot compromise children’s safety for anything, but we cannot confine students to their homes until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Mond...

Those who break compulsory home quarantine rules will be asked to wear electronic wristbands starting Monday, authorities said Friday, as part of efforts to curb violations. Due to privacy concerns, wearing it will not be mandatory, raising questions over the effectiveness of the policy. Violators who do not agree to wearing the location-tracking wristbands will be required to stay at state fac...

South Korea’s government on Friday released a detailed draft of “routine distancing” guidelines that the public should follow to fight the novel coronavirus, saying the pandemic could last as long as two years and there is no going back to pre-coronavirus normalcy. As Korea has seen a slowdown in new cases following social distancing campaign that began on March 22 across the country, the govern...