South Korea's new coronavirus cases hit an all-time high on Thursday since the start of the pandemic amid eased social distancing rules, putting health authorities on alert over further upticks. The country reported a record high of 3,292 new daily cases, including 3,272 local infections, raising the total caseload to 406,065, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). Thursday's daily caseload marks the highest since the country reported its first COVID-19 case in J

The French culture minister has said she will actively consider lending "Jikji," the world's oldest existing metal-printed book made in ancient Korea, for exhibitions in South Korea, Culture Minister Hwang Hee said. France's Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin made the remarks in response to Hwang's request to lend the item during their talks in Paris, Hwang told South Korean correspondents in Paris on Wednesday (Paris time). Hwang said he brought up the topic while discussing

US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai was to visit South Korea on Thursday for talks on pending trade issues such as supply chains for key components and steel tariffs. Tai is scheduled to arrive here from Japan later in the day for a four-day stay, the USTR office said in a release. It will be the first time in 10 years that the top US trade official visits the country. The chief plans to meet with South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo on Friday for the joint committee meeting of the

Nearly 500,000 high school seniors and other exam takers nationwide sat down to take the annual national college entrance test Thursday, the second such exam held against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 509,000 high school seniors, graduates and others signed up to take the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a single-day five-session exam, held this year at 1,251 test sites nationwide. It is the second CSAT the country has held since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will hold a meeting with hospital chiefs in the Seoul metropolitan area to discuss operations of intensive care beds amid a rising number of critically ill coronavirus patients, his office said Thursday. Kim will have an emergency meeting with heads of 22 tertiary hospitals in the capital area on Friday to discuss the bed situation for serious COVID-19 patients following concerns over the region's medical capacity. The Seoul metropolitan area, including the surround

The government of the southeastern city of Gimhae apologized Thursday for ordering mandatory COVID-19 tests of foreign children registered at the city's daycare centers amid a backlash over xenophobia and rights violations concerns. A government memo obtained by Yonhap News Agency earlier this week showed the municipality, located 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, ordered 93 daycare centers to cooperate with preemptive tests of foreign children under their care on Monday and Tuesday. The city

South Korea ranks low among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in terms of the employment rate for university graduates due mainly to a severe mismatch between their majors and job openings, a report showed Thursday. The employment rate for South Koreans aged 25-34 with university diplomas came to 75.2 percent in 2020, the 31st lowest among 37 comparable OECD member countries, according to the report from the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). Th

T he United States is very satisfied with its consultations with South Korea and Japan on the best way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday. The US diplomat, however, declined to offer any direct response when asked if the US supported declaring a formal end to the Korean War as proposed by South Korea. "The United States is very satisfied with the consultations we are having both with the Republic of Korea and with Japan and with

North Korea on Wednesday slammed the United States for its ongoing nuclear command training exercise, calling it a nuclear war drill targeting the entire world. Global Thunder, led by the US Strategic Command, is an annual command military exercise that provides training opportunities, with a specific focus on nuclear readiness. The exercise, which kicked off on Nov. 1, involves a number of countries, including South Korea. In a commentary posted on its website, the North's foreign ministry s

The US Forces Korea on Wednesday started inoculating children in its affiliated community with a pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at three of its bases, its officials said. The vaccination program for children aged 5 to 11 started at the medical facilities in Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and Camp Walker in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of the capital, the USFK said. The vaccination came after the US Food and Drug Administration authorized the

Data on Celltrion COVID-19 drug’s effectiveness against delta not available yet

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that it will buy mid-range missiles from South Korea in what would be Seoul’s largest arms sale worth nearly 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion). “We have reached very advanced stages in negotiations with the Korean side and are close to concluding a final agreement in this regard,” said Tariq Abdul Rahim Al Hosani, CEO of Tawazun Economic Council. The body is the chief weapons buyer for Abu Dhabi. The Middle East country would be the first to

Prosecutors push on with probe into alleged bribery, corruption as clock is ticking

Some say Lee’s proposal would reduce wealth disparities; others say it goes too far

North Korea has expressed concerns over the spread of the coronavirus and a "catastrophic public health crisis," after countries across the globe eased a set of antivirus rules as part of efforts to gradually get back to pre-pandemic normalcy. The North's official radio broadcaster Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported Tuesday the virus situation is at a serious stage, citing "premature" decisions to lift social distancing measures against COVID-19. "Countries