A 77-year-old man was rescued after being locked in a bathroom for 15 days at his home in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, local police said Wednesday. He lives alone in an apartment unit there. According to local media reports and the Iksan police, the man was found lying on the floor of the bathroom by a rescue team sent to check on him, following a police report field by an acquaintance that the man had been out of contact for nearly three weeks. When found, the man could barely move or t

Civic groups opposing the government's plan to expand the COVID-19 vaccine pass program to adolescents filed a petition with the state human rights commission on Wednesday, arguing that the scheme would violate the learning rights of students. The decision to require teens aged 12 to 18 to present vaccine certificates at multiuse facilities, most notably public study rooms and cram schools, starting February has been met with wide opposition among parents, arguing the measure amounts to forcing

President Moon Jae-in pledged Wednesday to provide a variety of support for an initiative to create jobs through joint cooperative projects between local governments, businesses and residents. The government has pushed for the initiative to create "mutually beneficial local jobs" in an attempt to build an economy in which workers and businesses can grow together by creating new jobs with labor and management cooperating and upholding the value of people and labor. In congratulatory

Construction machinery manufacturer Hyundai Doosan Infracore Co. said Wednesday that it has won preorders for 100 excavators from North America. Under the deals with dealers in North America, Hyundai Doosan Infracore will deliver the 10-ton excavators during the third quarter of next year, the company said. The South Korea's top construction equipment maker, however, did not reveal the value of the deals. Hyundai Doosan Infracore released its 10-ton excavators for the first time at a meeting

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Wednesday the 2022 economic policy will be focused on supporting pandemic-hit small merchants and helping the country's economy pull off a full recovery. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks at a meeting with heads of major economic institutes and experts from investment banks over the government's economic policy for next year. "Next year, we should make efforts to help the Korean economy pull off a complete recovery and put it on an u

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential nominee of the ruling Democratic Party, said Wednesday he will increase the government's investment in startups to 10 trillion won ($8.50 billion) by 2027 and help create 300,000 annual jobs in new technologies and industries. If elected, Lee said he will also improve the financial, tax and regulatory system for small businesses and offer them tailored assistance to support their growth to mid-sized and large firms. "Fair growth in which businesses large an

Peter Chung Soon-taick will officially assume the role of the new archbishop of Seoul on Wednesday, succeeding Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, who served in the post for nearly a decade. Chung's installation ceremony and Mass will be held at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul at 2 p.m., according to the Archdiocese of Seoul. During the ceremony, the 60-year-old archbishop will accept pastoral staff symbolizing the authority of the pastoral office from his predecessor Yeom and take a seat in

South Korea's military on Wednesday reported 31 additional COVID-19 cases, including 28 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,583. Of the new cases, 26 people are from the Army, two from the Air Force, two from the Navy and one from a military unit under the direct control of the defense ministry, officials said. Currently, 302 miliary personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 854 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

South Korea has asked for Russia's cooperation to ensure the stable supply of urea, grain and other major items amid Russia's export quotas, Seoul's finance ministry said Wednesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the request Tuesday during a virtual South Korea-Russia joint committee meeting on the economy, science and technology with Yury Trutnev, Russia's deputy prime minister and presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District. During the video conference, Hong asked for the smoot

Seoul's daily coronavirus cases reached a record high of 2,901 on Wednesday as the country's total surpassed 7,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, officials said Wednesday. Seoul's total was up 781 from the previous day and up 628 from the previous high of 2,273 logged Friday, according to the Central Disease Control Headquarters. Of the total, 2,890 were local infections and 11 were from overseas. Seoul saw its daily virus figure exceed 2,000 every day except for Sunday in the p

Ai Weiwei, whose first large-scale show in Korea opens this week, won’t be here in person

South Korea's average temperature in the January-November period reached an all-time high of 14.4 degrees Celsius, making this year likely to be the warmest year ever, the state weather agency said Wednesday. The 11-month average temperature marks the highest since 1973 when the country beefed up weather observation networks across the nation, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. With the average daily temperature in December projected to be warmer than previous years, the yea

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party, is leading his rival Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party by 8.2 percentage points in a hypothetical multicandidate race, a survey showed Wednesday. Yoon earned 45.3 percent support against Lee's 37.1 percent in the survey of 1,036 adults conducted Monday and Tuesday by Realmeter. Yoon gained 1.6 percentage points from the previous Realmeter survey released on Nov. 29, while Lee added 2 points. The poll