Prosecutors questioned a former national security adviser Tuesday as part of an investigation into allegations that the previous Moon Jae-in government repatriated two North Korean fishermen against their will. Chung Eui-young, who also served as foreign minister, was among 11 former officials that an organization monitoring North Korea's human rights accused of involvement in the fishermen's 2019 deportation despite their wishes to defect to South Korea. In November 2019, the governme

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases rose to around 20,000 on Tuesday as the government is working to fully restore pre-pandemic normalcy amid an overall downtrend. The country reported 19,629 new cases, including 31 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,176,646, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Tuesday's figure was a marked gain from the previous day's 7,416 cases. It was about 60 percent larger than that of a week earlier, when fewer people ap

About 1 in 20 young people in Seoul live in isolation or seclusion from society due mainly to difficulties in finding a job or mental problems, a survey by the city government showed. An estimated 4.5 percent, or about 129,000, of Seoul residents aged between 19-39 were surveyed to be in social isolation or seclusion, the city government said following a survey conducted last year on 5,513 Seoul citizens in the age group. The corresponding number for the entire country may reach 610,000 if the s

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Monday reiterated a zero-tolerance stance against subway protesters in wheelchairs affiliated with Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination, who are demanding residences that allow for independent living. The mayor stressed the negative impact of the protests on ordinary commuters, and noted that funding for disability housing was a matter under the central, not municipal government's purview. "I don't think the protesters in wheelchairs are underpr

Drug arrests reach record-high in 2022

Complete lift of mask mandate likely around in May, according to COVID-19 response team

South Korea on Monday lifted most mandatory indoor mask-wearing rules after more than two years amid a recent COVID-19 downtrend, with infections for the day falling to the lowest level in about seven months. The country reported 7,416 new cases, including 22 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,157,017, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It is the lowest level since July 4 last year when the daily caseload came to 6,239. Monday's figure also was around 20

Ending a 27-monthslong mandate on Monday, South Korea lifts mandatory masking at most indoor spaces except for on public transportation and at hospitals. But confusion lingered among students, teachers and workers demanding accurate and detailed guidelines for schools and workplaces. The eased indoor mask mandate still requires people to wear masks in special circumstances, as the risk of getting COVID-19 is still relatively high here, they said. At schools, for example, masks will still be mand

Unusually cold weather in South Korea is driving a surge in winter illnesses, such as hypothermia, frostbite and chilblains, according to health authorities. The latest data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency found that the number of such patients reached 345 as of Friday since December, a 65.9 percent rise from the same period a year ago. The temperature in Seoul last week dropped below minus 17 degrees Celsius, a threshold that the country’s weather agency says has been

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 20,000 on Sunday, just a day ahead of the country's planned lifting of a mask mandate for indoor places that has been in place for more than three years. The country reported 18,871 new cases, including 37 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,149,601, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The daily caseload had been above 30,000 for the second straight day Friday due to increased tests after the Lunar Ne

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell under 30,000 Saturday as the country plans to lift a mask mandate for most indoor places next week. The country reported 23,612 new cases, including 48 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,130,730, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload had been above 30,000 for the second straight day Friday due to increased tests after the Lunar New Year holiday that ended Tuesday. Saturday's daily i

Prosecutors indicted the head of a hotel adjoining the site of the deadly Itaewon crowd crush without physical detention Friday, amid allegations the hotel's illegally extended structures made the cramped area even narrower. The 76-year-old head of Hamilton Hotel, surnamed Lee, was accused of illegally building structures near the main building of the hotel and occupying an adjacent road without permission, in violation of the building and road acts. More than 150 people, mostly in their 20

Plan to remove force as rape conviction requirement axed within hours after ruling party backlash

The number of arrests in South Korea in connection with online drug trades reached 3,092 in 2022, a more than 20 percent increase from the previous year, data showed Friday. The number of packages seized, however, declined from 957 to 657 over the same period, according to data revealed during a vice ministerial pangovernmental meeting held in Government Complex Seoul. Since the total weight of drugs confiscated was nearly double that of 2021, and nearly seven times over the past two years, th

Ruling to unseat Cho unless acquitted in higher court