South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell for the third consecutive day to below 50,000 on Saturday amid the gradual slowdown of the spread of the virus. The country reported 43,457 new COVID-19 infections, including 280 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,359,702, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. The latest figure is down by more than 8,000 from the previous day. An omicron variant had led to a virus resurgence in early July, with the daily caseload spiking

A local court issued a warrant Friday for the arrest of the suspect in the shocking murder of a female subway worker inside a subway ladies' restroom in Seoul. The 31-year-old Seoul Metro employee, surnamed Jeon, was apprehended Wednesday evening at Sindang Station on Line No. 2 after allegedly stabbing his female colleague in her 20s to death in the subway station's ladies' room. The case shocked the nation as it was revealed the killing took place one day before a court was set to sentence him

Unionized financial workers staged a one-day nationwide strike Friday calling for a wage hike and a 4.5-day workweek. The strike, called by the Korean Financial Industry Union, caused minimal disruption to operations of five major commercial banks, including KB Kookmin and Shinhan, with about 1 percent of union members participating, according to the companies. In three major state-run banks, including Korea Development Bank, which are scheduled or rumored to relocate to provincial cities, 50

The Ministry of Justice will amend the current anti-stalking law in order to enhance the system to protect victims, in response to a murder at Sindang Station in Seoul that took place Wednesday. The Justice Ministry announced Friday it will abolish a certain provision of the anti-stalking law that stipulates a perpetrator cannot be prosecuted without the agreement of the victim. The ministry analyzed that the provision hinders investigative agencies from offering protection in the early stages a

Heavy rains may soak South Korea's southeast coast early next week under the influence of Typhoon Nanmadol, which is currently moving northwest from waters near Japan's Okinawa, the weather agency said Friday. With a central atmospheric pressure of 955 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 40 meters per second, this year's 14th typhoon was passing over waters 860 kilometers east-southeast of Okinawa at 9 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. After passing

South Korea on Friday authorized the use of SKYCovione, a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine developed by SK Bioscience Co., for booster shots against the coronavirus in addition to its use as primary inoculations. The decision was announced by Second Vice Health Minister Lee Ki-il at the meeting of the government's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. Hospitals and clinics will be allowed to administer SKYCovione vaccines as third and fourth inoculations from Sept. 26. The stat

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday that he has ordered the Ministry of Justice to work on the anti-stalking law in order to prevent a repeat of the murder of a subway station worker by a colleague who had stalked her for years. Saying that such crimes has no place in society, Yoon said he directed the Justice Ministry to take countermeasures. "The report of the stalking murder of a station employee at Sindang Station yesterday has gravely shocked the public," he said. "We have en

Health authorities on Friday issued an advisory over a possible seasonal influenza outbreak across the country, the first of its kind since 2019, amid growing concerns of a possible "twindemic" -- a simultaneous outbreak of COVID-19 and the flu -- this fall and winter. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the advisory was issued after the national influenza-like illness (ILI) case rate was tallied at 5.1 per 1,000 people from Sept. 4 to last Saturday. The advisor

Two 20-year old men who recruited minors to rob jewelry stores, along with three others, have been taken into custody, the Daejeon Jungbu Police Station said Thursday. According to police, the two men organized the robberies and the teenagers carried out the theft. Those involved in the delivery of the jewelry and money were taken into custody, along with 11 people booked without physical detention. Two teenagers among the suspects are accused of breaking into a jewelry shop and stealing 67 item

A man has been arrested for killing a female subway attendant at Sindang Station at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, according to police on Thursday. The suspect, in his 30s, is a former colleague and stalker of the victim. He is alleged to have waited for nearly an hour at the station while wearing a sanitary cap and followed the victim into the ladies’ toilet before he killed her with a weapon. The woman, in her 20s, suffered a cardiac arrest and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Th

The woman thought to be the mother of two children found dead in a suitcase last month in New Zealand was apprehended in Ulsan early Thursday. Korean National Police Agency announced that the woman, who allegedly murdered her two children, was taken into custody in Ulsan. The woman was confirmed as a Korean-New Zealander who acquired New Zealand nationality after losing her Korean nationality. The woman is accused of killing her two children, seven and 10 years old at the time of death, in Auckl

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the 70,000 range Thursday amid a moderate declining trend, but health authorities remain concerned over a possible "twindemic" -- a simultaneous outbreak of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza. The country reported 71,471 new COVID-19 infections, including 352 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 24,264,470, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Thursday's tally is a drop of over 20,000 from 93,981 the

Boksun was once hailed as a hero for helping save her owner while he was experiencing a stroke three years ago. Last month, she was found bleeding heavily at her home in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, having been brutally injured by an abuser. Her owner took her to a vet, but after learning about the hefty medical costs, gave up on saving her. She was later found dead inside a refrigerator of a dog meat restaurant. The tragic story of Boksun, made public by a local animal rights group, raise

PRS for Music, a British music copyright collective, has submitted a petition to police here denouncing Korean streaming media services' inappropriate use of music. PRS for Music is a collective founded in 1914 that oversees copyright issues for pop stars such as the Beatles, Elton John, Adele and more. Local media reports said PRS submitted a petition to the Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station on Sept. 5 calling for authorities to penalize local streaming platforms for using music without proper

The Ministry of Environment plans to push for the use of multiuse parcel boxes from 2024 to protect the environment amid a rise in the number of delivery services. The ministry ran a pilot project on multiuse parcel boxes from October 2021 to August this year, joining hands with local retailers and courier service providers. The companies employed multiuse parcel boxes for deliveries, retrieving them from customers to clean and use them again. According to the ministry, the project showed multi