South Korea had its worst air quality this winter on Saturday, with fine dust and yellow dust covering most of the country. The weather authorities issued an ultrafine dust advisory for all regions except for the southernmost island of Jeju. The daily average concentration of ultrafine dust particles was measured at 86 micrograms per cubic meter, far exceeding 2021’s yearly average of 18.

South Korea's air quality reached the worst level this winter Saturday due to high levels of fine dust and yellow dust, according to weather authorities. As of 10 a.m., the daily average concentration of ultrafine dust particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, known as PM2.5, was 86 micrograms per cubic meter, while that of fine dust known as PM10 was 143 micrograms per cubic meter across the country, according to Air Korea run by the environment ministry. The figures were much hi

Police said Friday they were unable to tell whether Lee Ki-young, suspected of the murders of a taxi driver and an ex-girlfriend in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is a psychopath or not. "We've concluded that we are lacking materials with regards to some evaluation methods to assess (Lee's) psychopathy," said an official of Ilsan Dongbu Police Station. According to police, they will not further conduct another psychopathy test, while prosecutors are likely to continue with such testing, as t

Police investigating a deadly fire at the soundproof tunnel on the second Gyeongin Expressway in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, which killed five people on Dec. 29 last year, have raided a road management company. Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said Friday that it raided the offices of the 2nd Seoul-Incheon Linking Highway Co. as well as the Seoul office of a company entrusted with road management work on Thursday. The search and seizure operation, which involved 22 investigators, lasted

South Korea vowed Friday to take stern actions against a Chinese tourist who was arrested in central Seoul after fleeing COVID-19 isolation for two days. The 41-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 immediately after arriving in Korea with his wife. He was sent to a quarantine facility near Incheon Airport, but escaped the facility on Tuesday. "The escapee, who tested positive upon arrival in Korea and was arrested Thursday, will face serious punishment under the law and according to princi

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell for the third consecutive day to come below 60,000 on Friday amid the government's efforts to prevent the virus inflow from China and other regions. The country confirmed 56,954 new coronavirus infections, including 258 from overseas, bringing the total to 29,420,226, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The daily caseload surged to over 80,000 earlier this week but has since been on a steady decline. Compared with a week earlier,

Kakao, which runs the KaKaoTalk messenger app, started handing out three emoji packages to its messenger users Thursday as a general compensation for a data center fire last October, but faced criticism that a free service it also offered transitioned into a paid subscription. “To compensate all our users for the damage caused by the fire at SK C&C data center last year, we are going to hand out the ‘heart package’ which includes our three new emoticons,’ Kakao announ

Seoul says it will study impact of traffic returning to the area to determine future policy

Police on Thursday arrested a Chinese man who ran away from a quarantine hotel after testing positive for COVID-19. Incheon Jungbu Police Station said the fugitive was caught in a hotel in Seoul at around 12:55 p.m. on Thursday. The 41-year-old, who tested positive for COVID-19 at Incheon Airport after arriving from China, is accused of refusing quarantine and fleeing from a hotel in Yeongjong-do, Incheon, at around 10:04 p.m., Tuesday. A hotel surveillance camera showed the man running away six

Tunnel fire victim’s family lambasts the lack of apology, appropriate measures following the deaths; structural issues pointed out as main cause of disaster

137 out of 194 imported cases reported Thursday came from China

The city government of Seoul opened the doors to a more dynamic skyline in South Korea's capital city on Thursday by scrapping the apartment building height limit, a move that could prop up Seoul's chilly housing market. The 2040 Seoul Plan confirmed Thursday will immediately put an end to the floor limit for new residential buildings across Seoul, introduced in 2013 by since-deceased former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Seoul has prohibited any plans

A man in his 60s has been charged for illegally practicing medicine for 27 years, the authorities said Thursday. According to the authorities, the man practiced medicine for over 27 years in more than 60 different hospitals with a forged license. Suwon District Prosecutors' Office charged the man with forgery and violation of the Health Crime Control Act on Monday, authorities said Thursday. The charges regard treating patients and prescribing medicine at general hospitals and orthopedics c

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell for the second consecutive day to come below 65,000 on Thursday, as the government has been on alert over a wintertime surge and began requiring a pre-entry negative virus test result for entrants from China. The country confirmed 64,106 new coronavirus infections, including 194 from overseas, bringing the total to 29,363,272, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Following a weeklong downturn to around the 20,000 level, the daily caselo

A 2.4 magnitude earthquake struck waters off the southern island of Jeju on Thursday, the state weather agency said. The quake occurred in waters 64 kilometers east-northeast of Seogwipo City on Jeju at 12:28 a.m., the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The epicenter was at a latitude of 33.38 degrees north and a longitude of 127.23 degrees east at a depth of 24 km, the agency said, adding no damage is expected. (Yonhap)