The growing presence of omicron is putting disease control authorities on alert in Korea, with the tally rising by 12 in one day to 24 on Monday. Korea now has 24 known omicron cases -- six of them recent travelers from Nigeria and South Africa along with 18 people they came in contact with after returning. Omicron cases were first detected here on Wednesday. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said in a government meeting concerning the COVID-19 response Monday that “all resources will be dire

Despite some hiccups, the Korean government will go forward with its plan to implement a “vaccine pass” system for school pupils aged 12 to 18 from February. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said teenagers born between 2003 and 2009 will be allowed to go to private cram schools, cinemas and cyber cafes only if they are fully vaccinated from February. Alternatively, those who have not been fully vaccinated will have to show a recent negative COVID-19 test result for

As an increasing number of web comics make the jump from online to both local television channels and global over-the-top platforms, the rich storylines of the original works are once again enjoying the spotlight. While the web comics brought local broadcasters smash hit dramas, the success of the adaptations have also played an essential part in growing the popularity of webtoons. Web comics, also known as webtoons, are comics posted online that are read by scrolling down the screen, mostly

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling party, is chasing Yoon Suk-yeol, his rival from the main opposition party, closing the gap in support to 6.5 percentage points, a poll showed Monday. In a survey by local pollster Realmeter, Lee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea posted 37.5 percent support against Yoon of the main opposition People Power Party at 44 percent. The survey, conducted at the request of OhmyNews, a local online media outlet, took responses from 3,054 p

The main opposition party candidate vows to create a fair nation and reclaim power from the liberal bloc

Almost one in two corporate executives of South Korea’s top conglomerates and listed companies were under 51, either Generation X or Millennials, industry data showed Monday. Of 7,438 executives in South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates and 197 listed companies, 46.8 percent, or 3,484 of them, were Gen Xers -- those born between 1969 the early 1980s -- or Millennials also referred as Generation Y -- those born after 1981, as of the third quarter of this year, according to corporat

The risk level of the pandemic in South Korea's capital area over the past week has been at the highest level for two weeks in a row, health authorities said Monday. Earlier, South Korea introduced a new five-tier assessment system to evaluate the risk level of COVID-19 on a weekly basis that is used to decide whether to further ease virus restrictions under its three-phase "living with COVID-19" scheme, which began on Nov. 1. If the risk level reaches the fourth degree or higher, th

The South Korean government will beef up efforts to monitor fake news on North Korea that "distort the policy environment" for inter-Korean relations, officials said Monday. On Friday, the National Assembly approved a 1.5 trillion won ($1.27 billion) budget for the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs next year, including 200 million won to launch the new monitoring program. The program was suggested following "needs for a more systematic monitoring due to the fre

Coffee chains, food companies and the milk industry are seeing oat milk as a new alternative to dairy, as the industry tries to appeal to a growing number of health-conscious consumers and the budding vegan trend in South Korea. While oat milk is considered a common alternative to typical dairy milk in countries like the United States and Europe, the drink is relatively new here in Korea.  Leading the local oat milk trend here is, ironically, the milk industry.  In a country where

Asia Power Index shows N.Korea’s military capability outstrips Japan and Australia

Samsung Electronics was recognized with a $110 billion Tower of Export at the 58th Trade Day in South Korea, in an unprecedented move among companies of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed Monday. This comes as the Korean technology bellwether earned $113.2 billion from July 2020 to June this year from exports of semiconductor chips, consumer electronic goods and mobile handsets. This accounted for a fifth of the total exports of Kor

A major US ride-sharing company will operate electric water taxis powered by Samsung SDI batteries near the Golden Gate Bridge next year. According to industry sources on Monday, the San Francisco-based startup will operate three electric water taxis -- each loaded with 220 kilowatt-hours of Samsung SDI batteries -- in the Golden Gate Strait starting in the second quarter of next year. The price of the electric water taxi is around $280,000 and it can carry one driver and six passengers. Th